August 2, 2020
We’re in Psalm 108 this week, continuing our annual Christ in the Psalms series. You can find sermons for the previous 107 Psalms here. Kind of crazy to write that. So why the Psalms? The Psalms provide a “hymnal” for God’s people, teaching us how to bring the whole range of human emotion before Him in prayer and in worship.
Our artwork for Psalm 108 is an oil painting by Kari Langford. See the piece and read about the art and artist here. To learn more about our weekly Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces and see them all (they go back as far as Psalm 41!), click here.
Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday, August 2:
1. Read our text, Psalm 108.
My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your steadfast love is great above the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let Your glory be over all the earth! That Your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by Your right hand and answer me! God has promised in His holiness: “With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter. Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.” Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Have You not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies. Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes.
At times it feels like God doesn’t care. Though the past has proven how faithful and good He is, we long for Him to work on our behalf in this moment. And when it seems like God has rejected our pleas for help, it is easy to rely on self-made solutions that always disappoint, at least eventually. What we long for—what we need most—is God with us. And indeed He is. Jesus, called Immanuel, has taken on our rejection, has emerged victorious on our behalf, and now joins us in the struggle. We may now joyfully anticipate His constant work in our lives, hungering for His glory and pleading His pursuing grace.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
Don’t use Spotify? Click the song title below to see song on YouTube.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 108:1–5:
My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your steadfast love is great above the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!https://www.parkchurchdenver.org/2020/07/30/august-2-2020/ Let Your glory be over all the earth!
10,000 Reasons (Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman)
Psalm 108 (My Heart Is Steadfast) (Joel Limpic)
CONFESSION OF SIN: Based on Psalm 108:
Father, we confess that our hearts are often not steadfast toward You. Truth be told, our allegiances are divided and we are half-hearted creatures.
Jesus, find us in our slumbering ways and awaken our sleepy affections. Open our eyes to see Your beauty and grace with a new freshness.
Spirit, shine a spotlight on any wayward way in our lives. Plant boldness and courage and strength to love and follow You.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Psalm 103:10–13
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does He remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him.
PASSING THE PEACE
(Click to Read)
When we’ve met as a large group on Sundays, we’ve always had a time of greeting one another after singing. Many churches call this time “passing the peace.” In some church traditions, one person will say to another, “The peace of Christ be with you” to which the other person responds, “And also with you.”
While potentially unfamiliar for some, we felt that “passing the peace” during greeting times at home could be a powerful act in this age marked by very little external peace. In Isaiah 9, Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace. He wants His kingdom to be marked by this very peace! We want to “pass” to one another this peace that only Jesus can give, especially at a time like this.
It might feel a bit cheesy, but we encourage you to actually pray the peace of God over each other during our times. We encourage you to look into each other’s eyes as you say, “The peace of Christ be with you!” and have others respond with, “And also with you.” Be open-hearted to Jesus, asking Him to fill you with His peace.
SERMON & COMMUNION
Praises (Be Lifted Up) (Josh Baldwin)
Victory Belongs To Jesus (Todd Dulaney)