As we continue in our summer series with the Psalms of Ascent, we come to Psalm 130, one of the seven penitential Psalms. As the pilgrims journeyed to Jerusalem for one of the festivals at some point along the journey their thoughts may have centered upon the majesty and holiness of YHWH their God and their sinfulness.
So, how many of us grew up hearing things like “baptism is a sacred moment” or “communion is a sacred, solemn time?” I think that’s a lot of us! And, especially when we are younger, we don’t tend to fathom what that really means, to experience a sacred moment, largely in part because we haven’t…
The Psalmist begins by lifting his eyes. But where the writer of Psalm 121 looks to the hills, the author of our passage sets his gaze higher, to the one enthroned in the heavens. He looks to the one who, as Isaiah says, dwells on a high and holy place, but also with the…
I’m sure just about everyone here can quote at least the first stanza of this famous poem…. “Twas the night before Christmas…. and all through the house…not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.” The setting…
Today marks the beginning of our OT summer series and we’ll be looking at the Psalms of Ascent. Which are a collection of fifteen Psalms in the Psalter (Ps. 120-134). The Hebrew term for “ascent” carries the sense meaning “going up” or “ascending in procession.” Notes
We’re using this first part of the year to look at the signs and statements of Jesus found in John’s Gospel. As Mark noted last week, we’re doing so in order to see how each of these signs/miracles and each of these “I am” statements reveal something about Jesus as the full manifestation of God’sglory—not…
I’m thankful we observe the Christian calendar at TCC. It provides us a framework for worship and helps us to mark time not primarily by days and months but according to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Today is Ascension Sunday, which is the 1st Sunday following Ascension Day (which was last Thursday). So,…
