Wilderness Wanderings

O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.…  They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us. How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?...

"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord...His decreed statues for Jacob. Then they will not be like their forefathers--a stubborn and rebellious generation whose hearts were not loyal to God... (cf. Psalm 78:4,5,8) As shepherds outside of Gevas, Turkey, were eating breakfast one morning, they were surprised to see a sheep charge over the edge of a cliff and fall to its...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Daniel 6 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca...

"Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?" Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of lon...

"God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great...There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war" (Psalm 76:1,3). Christians continually return to the psalms to help us express both our praise and our anxiety. Through these songs, we give voice to our joy and our pain. Yet the psalms have a larger purpose then helping us shape our response to God. He uses...

We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds. You say, "I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity. When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. (Psalm 75:1-3)   I feel like I've been saying this over and over again for the past 3 years.  But it sure feels like the earth and all its people are quaking,...

"Why have you rejected us forever, O God? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? Remember the people you purchased of old...Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary (Psalm 74:1-3). Reading Psalm 74 reminds me of those news briefs coming periodically out of the Middle East a few years ago. Those reports depic...

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. … This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.   If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand...

"Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness…In his days the righteous will flourish, prosperity will abound till the moon is no more…May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway" (Psalm 72:1,7,16). When Israel first asked for a king as recorded in 1 Samul 8, God warned her it would be a disaster. Samuel told Israel a human king woul...

Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. (Psalm 71:17-18)   We never retire from the Christian life.  From our birth and youth, until our senior years and death we are witnesses to the work of God.  That h...

"Hasten, O God, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me" (Psalm 70:1). Anne Lamott once said that the best prayers she knows are: 'Help me!' and 'Thank you!' She has a friend who has two very different prayers. Each morning the friend prays 'Whatever' and each evening, 'Oh, well.' Recognizing it's a grand oversimplification, most of the prayers in the Book of Psalms can be divided into, 'Help...

You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. … But as for me, afflicted and in pain—may your salvation, God, protect me. (Psalm 69:19-21, 29)   Psalm 69 holds a lot of sufferin...

"May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him... Summon your power, God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before" (Psalm 68:1,28). In the Narnia Chronicles, C.S. Lewis uses the phrase, "Aslan is on the move". It instills hope in those who still believe in him. It is a tonic whispered among those outnumbered few who fight against those determined to crus...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Daniel 5 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca...

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him" (Psalm 67:1-3, 7). Have you ever asked God to bless you? Of course, you have. We Christians hardly ever pray without...

Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:8-12)   Psalm 66 is a song of praise to...

Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. O you who hear prayer, to you all people will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.…You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams...

Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent; they shoot suddenly, without fear. … But God will shoot them with his arrows; they will suddenly be struck down. He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake...

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the rich...

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2 This psalm, like so many others, comes from the cry of one who is afflicted. One whom the enemy seeks to destroy, or, if that isn't possible, at least to lower him to a place of undignified shame. It is from this place that David says in faith,...

1  Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2  From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. 4  I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah 5 For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who f...

You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses. You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor. You have shaken our land and split it open. Seal the cracks, for the land trembles. You have been very hard on us, making us drink wine that sent us reeling. But you have raised a banner for those who fear you—a rallying point in the face of attack. Now rescue your beloved people. Answe...

"Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood…You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely" (Psalm 59:1-2, 17). Once again David is besieged by his enemies. If our biblical editors are correct, he is in his own house with King Saul's so...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Daniel 4 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca...

Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity? No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. … The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then people will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth." (Psalm 58:1-2,11)   The world i...