Spend some time reading through Psalm 118

3/25/2021 0 Comments

Spend some time reading through Psalm 118

Beloved of God,

I want to make sure that you have marked down our Good Friday service on your calendars. We will be meeting together on Friday, April 2 at 6:45 pm for a service of reflection and Scripture reading as we head into Easter weekend. If you have young children, I hope you’ll reach out to Haley to find out about an opportunity for formation she is working on for them at that same time. If you would like to read scripture in the Good Friday service, please get in touch with me. I am still looking for a few more readers to help lead that service.
    As we approach Easter, I hope you will consider ways that you might help support North American Missions through the Annie Armstrong Easter offering. You may also decide to give directly to any of our supported missionaries or through another agency we partner with, but I hope that you will prayerfully consider making a contribution to the good work of Mission and missionaries in this Easter season.
    On Easter Sunday, we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper. If you are planning on joining us from home, I hope you’ll come by the church from 10 am to 12 pm on Saturday, April 3 to receive the elements to observe with us. There will also be an opportunity for you to flower the cross if you would like.
    As we approach Palm Sunday, I find myself looking back over the 118th Psalm. It’s hard not to equate this Psalm with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. After all, the people in that procession were quoting it, perhaps even singing bits of it: “Lord, save us! (Hosanna in Hebrew)...Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” As you look through Psalm 118, you’ll read several things that sound very much like Jesus. You’ll also read things that sound very much like what his neighbors wanted Him to be. And they’re right there, side by side, in Holy Scripture.
    One of the things Palm Sunday asks of us, is that we come again into the presence of this Jesus, and be really honest with Him and ourselves about who He is and who we want Him to be. Do we find Him too stern? Too merciful? Too divine to have compassion or understanding? Too human to have power and authority over our lives? Does Jesus either bless the poor, or the poor in spirit, but never both?
    Spend some time reading through Psalm 118, and then be praying through the rest of the week that Jesus will show you more clearly who He really is. Pray that you come to know Him deeply and truly. We are disciples after all, and disciples must know their master intimately.

Please join me this week in praying for:

An end to this pandemic.
Christians around the world as they begin to celebrate Holy Week.
Those we know and love who are in need of healing, help, and special care.
Doctors, nurses, PA’s, paramedics and others who are working hard to keep us all well.
Those in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local level.
Safety for those in our community who will be traveling for Spring Break.
In praise for the arrival of Spring, and in thanks for the ways that God gives us signs of care and providence through creation.
Those who are mourning loved ones they have lost to violence or disease.
Students, teachers, administrators and others as they prepare to go back into the classroom in the coming weeks.
One another (please email [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).