All Episodes
Displaying 21 - 40 of 83 in total
Episode 21: We interrupt this praise
When we come to church to worship and sing, we expect to be uplifted and encouraged. When we interact with others, we follow an implicit rule of niceness. But some psa...
Episode 22: Love your enemies—really
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus confronts what his hearers have been taught. While they had been told to love their neighbor and hate their enemy, Jesus taught them ...
Episode 23: Think before you speak
Even when we’ve been taught to be “nice,” we sometimes get carried away with negative emotion and speak without thinking. As we’ve seen, Psalm 139 contains some rather...
Episode 24: Wherever I go…
As suggested in the previous episode, the psalmist who wrote Psalm 139 marvels at the knowledge of being God’s handiwork. Moreover, the psalmist lives with a deep sens...
Episode 25: Simply wonderful
If Psalms 104 and 8 celebrate the wonders of God’s creation, Psalm 139 celebrates the wonder of being created human. We don’t typically wake up in the morning, look in...
Episode 26: Sheepish
Sheep are sometimes characterized as stupid; when we talk about people as being “sheep,” we mean that they are mindlessly following some leader. But sheep deserve more...
Episode 27: The simple life
In our world of ubiquitous advertising, it’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference between a “want” and a “need.” Our homes may be filled with things we tho...
Episode 28: The dark valley
The year 2020 was one of the most difficult of my life, as it was for some of you. At times, it felt like a long, dark valley. But as Psalm 23 suggests, even though we...
Episode 29: Welcome to the banquet
Psalm 23 is known as the Shepherd Psalm for an obvious reason. But the relationship between a sheep and a shepherd is not the only metaphor the psalmist uses to portra...
Episode 30: Blessing God
Earlier, we took a close look at Psalm 104—a “creation psalm” that begins and ends with the phrase, “Bless the Lord, my soul” and then adds, “Hallelujah.” That may be ...
Episode 31: The longsuffering and merciful God
Psalm 103 is a summons to bless God; the invitation is issued a full six times. We are to bless God not just for what he’s done, but for who he is. Thinking back to Go...
Episode 32: Bless God, fear God
Psalm 103, again, repeatedly calls God’s people to bless him for who he is and what he has done. It speaks of God’s love and compassion. But the psalmist also declares...
Episode 33: The fatherhood of God
Jesus taught his disciples to pray to God as their Father. The author of Psalm 103 also portrays God as our Father. But the psalmist says that God has compassion for u...
Episode 34: Retelling the story
We’ve explored Psalms 103 and 104; now we’ll dive into Psalms 105 and 106, which should be read back to back (and after, we’ll look at Psalm 107 as well). Psalms 105 a...
Episode 35: Superstition is not worship
When King David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, he had a song written for the occasion. As mentioned in the previous episode, the song—which can be found...
Episode 36: Editing the story
You’ve heard some of the reasons to read Psalms 105 and 106 together; now it’s time to examine each psalm more closely, beginning with Psalm 105. It begins with David’...
Episode 37: The whole truth (part 1)
If our life story was to be told in front of others, would we want the whole truth to be told? Probably not. But the psalmists knew that the story of God’s faithfulnes...
Episode 38: The whole truth (part 2)
Try to imagine the enormity of the miracle God did through Moses at the Red Sea. Could anyone experience that and not believe in God, in God’s power and compassion? Af...
Episode 39: The last word
God’s history of faithfulness to his people demands their faithful response in return. But Psalm 106 recalls episode after episode of sin and rebellion, culminating in...
Episode 40: Insert trouble here
The Psalter is divided into five books. Psalm 106 is the last psalm of Book IV. Psalm 107 then sets the tone for Book V by repeating the opening words of Psalm 106: “G...