Wilderness Wanderings

"My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn (Psalm 57:7-8). The setting of this psalm is riddled with irony. Saul, the first king of Israel, is squatting in a cave doing what people, rich and poor, male and female, must do: empty their bowels. The most powerful man in the nation is at his most vulnera...

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 56:3-4)   This psalm follows similar threads to the last few.  Enemies pursue constantly.  Prideful, arrogant people twist words, conspire, and lurk all to undercut the life of the of the psalmist.  There are many reasons to fear, as pastor Michael talked ab...

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught... But as for me, I trust in you (Psalm 55:2, 20). Fear! Have you known fear? Most of us have. A bully. A failing grade. A request to see the boss. A visit to the doctor. A rejection letter. Fear can be intense, overwhelming. It can simmer inside us for a long time. Sometimes it's rational, sometimes not. When we're afraid, our imagination goes into overd...

1 Save me, O God, by your name;     vindicate me by your might. 2 Hear my prayer, O God;     listen to the words of my mouth. 3  Arrogant foes are attacking me;     ruthless people are trying to kill me—     people without regard for God. 4  Surely God is my help;     the Lord is the one who sustains me. 5  Let evil recoil on those who slander me;     in your faithfulness destroy them. 6  I will s...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Daniel 3 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 What is th...

"God looks down from heaven on the entire human race. He looks to see if anyone is truly wise; if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away" (Psalm 53:2,3). This psalm is almost a total repeat of Psalm 14. There are a few minor differences, but the two psalms sing the same song. Why repeat what has already been sung? Nobody really knows; but maybe it's because the message is so difficult to r...

The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at you, saying, "Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!" But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. (Psalm 52:7-8)   Where is your trust rooted?  In God?  Or in your ability to provide for yourse...

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love...For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight (Psalm 51:1,3,4) In Christ's church, this is a well known and well-loved Psalm. It is often used in worship liturgies during the season of Lent, with its propensity for introspection. It raises eyebrows whe...

When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you. (Psalm 50:21)   Psalm 50 is the first of the psalms of Asaph, which tend to circle much more around the covenant and its requirements.  So it is here in psalm 50, which begins by setting up a scene of judgement.  God arrives as judge and calls the heavens and th...

People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish (Psalm 49:20). Ray Romano, star of Everyone Loves Raymond , addressed the studio audience after the last episode of the show was filmed. He spoke about his years as a struggling stand up comedian and then read from a note his brother had stuck in his luggage the day he moved from New York to Hollywood. "My older brother...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Daniel 2 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...

God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress. Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts...That you may tell of them to the next generation (Psalm 48:3, 12, 13). In the Bible, cities can be centres of pride and corruption. Babylon symbolizes this kind of civilization (Revelation 17:18). However, a city can also be a centre of strength where the...

God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he...

God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge (Psalm 46:1,7). Last Sunday, I mentioned in my sermon that songs shape our theology. We remember very few sermons, but there are songs we can sing from memory. These lyrics shape our thoughts and feelings about God. In 1529, Martin Luther wrote poem based on Psalm 46. The st...

Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. (Psalm 45:6)   Today's psalm picks up almost directly on the heels of yesterday's.  A question looms in psalm 44 about the suffering God's people have faced.  They've done nothing wrong, and yet have been crushed.  Their God and King has decreed victory, and yet they have faced defeat.  As Pa...

"We are brought down to the dust, our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love" (Psalm 44:25-26). Often in the Christian life, faithfulness does not equal success, at least, not the way the world measures success. The clearest example of this is the ministry of Jesus. He was faithful in preaching the Good News of the kingdom, in healing the sick, in...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Daniel 1 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 DIVE IN Wh...

I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?" Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:9-11)   These have long been two of my favourite psalms....

"Blessed are those who care about weak people. When they are in trouble, the Lord saves them." (Psalm 41:1).   Jesus aptly sums up Psalm 41 when he says, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Some of us can learn mercy by reading about it in the Bible. Many more of us learn mercy by taking the plunge and practicing it. Some years ago, the story of Sister Helen Pre...

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. (Psalm 40:1-3)   At the reception following Kevin's funeral yesterday, I heard some version o...

Show me, O Lord, my life's end, and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure (Psalm 39:4,5). Standing at a bassinet, delighting in new birth, we are often unnerved by how fragile life can be. Struck by the raw beauty of a small baby, we po...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings.  The text is Psalm 46 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...

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me. … All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. … Lord, I wait for you; y...

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).   These are not words I would have selected for our community this week, as we mourn a life tragically cut short. This verse seems to mock us in our grief. It's been carved on many a plague to adorn our kitchen walls and encased in a picture frame for our living rooms. Sometimes preachers will choose it for a...

Your love, Lord , reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you...