Yuri Gagarin is an unlikely candidate to make an appearance in our churches. The Russian cosmonaut died in 1968. Nevertheless, you may have heard of him. He was the first man in space. He is also becoming a favorite sermon illustration of some. Continue reading →
This series walks through Psalm 12 and its teaching that God’s Word is the pure and protecting source of guidance and deliverance. Part one outlined the three-act structure that developed the problem (1–2), proposed David’s solution (3–4), and presented God’s Word as . . . Continue reading →
With some irony, one of the hot topics in the news today is whether the news is reliable. The so-called “legacy media,” which is basically the major networks and news outlets, seems to face the common accusation of promoting agendas and certain . . . Continue reading →
As this series has explored, Psalm 11 is a prayer of trust in how God will come through for his people when dangers seem threatening. What could be a real threat to us if we lived in a poor shelter becomes no . . . Continue reading →
Psalm 11 is an expression of trust that God is our ultimate and true source of safety.1 It shows how the place where we find our refuge plays a key role in how threatened we will feel by the potential dangers around . . . Continue reading →
It is funny how our lodging place changes our perspective on the severity of our surrounding conditions. In a nice and sturdy house, a basic rainstorm seems inconsequential—people inside often even enjoy the patter of raindrops against their windows. On the other . . . Continue reading →
Having given this wonderful text of Psalm 42 an expositional and pastoral survey in our previous three articles, we return one last time for a fourth installment wherein we consider some further implications and applications: 1. The great Matthew Henry writes in . . . Continue reading →
When we left this psalm at the end of part 2, we noted that the psalmist was drawing from his spiritual reservoir, so to speak. Continue reading →
Last time, in part 1 of our study on Psalm 42, we began to consider how love for God’s house is the essence of true piety. Continue reading →
One reason to love the Psalms is that they serve as a fierce rejoinder to the trendy spirituality of our age. If we are honest, sometimes (whether through the influence of our wider culture or through the influence of other Christians), we . . . Continue reading →
During the height of Nazi ascendency in early twentieth-century Germany, when the Confessing Lutheran Church was becoming more and more oppressed by the regime, a young preacher gave a sermon on the 58th Psalm. Continue reading →
It is the practice of the congregation that I serve to gather together on Wednesday evenings for a fellowship meal, and what we do after supper truly thrills my soul. We sing consecutively through the Psalter—every word, every verse—and I have the . . . Continue reading →
This series has looked at Psalm 10 to draw out its teaching that God is near to his people even when we do not feel like he is. That point comes out through David’s twofold prayer. He first laments how the wicked . . . Continue reading →
As we saw in part one of this series, Psalm 10 is a lament about how God seems to be standing far off from his people even as the wicked succeed in their evil. While the psalm recounts how the wicked conduct . . . Continue reading →
When I was young and I asked to do something I really wanted to do, my dad had a line that drove me up the wall: “We’ll see.” It seemed like a “no,” but without outright saying it. It felt like the . . . Continue reading →
Last time in Psalms 14 and 53, we looked at the psalmist David in his struggle with the workers of evil and with corrupt and perverse people everywhere in his midst. The Lord of great fortune was with him and with the . . . Continue reading →
“I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”1 Does this sound familiar? Perhaps you have found yourself guilty of saying something like this. This was the programmatic catchphrase of Stuart Smalley, a fictional character played by Al Franken on . . . Continue reading →
Psalm 9 is a lesson about why history matters. We can easily question why we need to learn our history. At least, the modern assumption is that only the present matters. Psalm 9 reorients God’s people to the importance the past has . . . Continue reading →
Looking to the past ought to have an encouraging place in the Christian life, especially if we apply that practice to how we pray. Psalm 9 models how we can find great hope for the present by recalling what God has previously . . . Continue reading →
Most history teachers at some point in their tenure face that deflating student question: Why does this matter? In other words, what use is it to study the past? Is it not the present that is the most important thing? Why should . . . Continue reading →