Psalm 8

Here is our last Psalm for the Summer! Psalm 8

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Tell me what you think about this Psalm.
What strikes you as remarkable?
What thoughts are stimulated as you read it?
What does it say about God? About you?

Psalm 139:13-16

What do you think about Psalm 139:13-16?

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

What do you find remarkable? What strikes you as unusual?
Does it make any difference in the way you live your life? How? Why?

Psalm 139:1-12

David says some very striking things in this Psalm. After you read it, tell us what jumps out at you.

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in–behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

What is remarkable?
What thoughts does it stimulate?
Does this passage encourage or scare you? or both?

Psalm 133

Psalm 133

How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

Tell us what you think about this text. Here are some questions to guide your thoughts, but feel free to say whatever you think.

Why is unity a good and pleasant thing?

Do you think our church is united? Why or why not?

[For a little of the background on the oil illustration, see Exodus 30:22-33.]

Sunday's sermon

I am going to live dangerously and invite comments about today's sermon.

Do you think the sermon was faithful to the meaning of the text?

What else would you like to say?

Psalm 51:10-12

I would love to hear from YOU!

Tell me what you think about this passage?

What strikes you as unusual, significant, remarkable, etc.?

What do you think our church family needs to hear from this passage?

Feel free to say what's on your heart/mind.

Psalm 51:10-12
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.