Advent 2019

Passage IntroThe sermon at Downtown this Sunday was on Genesis 2:1-3, but in discussion this week we'll turn to Exodus 16, which should provide a story-line and a little more content for discussion. Here we pick up at what is, for some, a familiar spot in the story of...

Passage IntroThis psalm covers a wide gamut, from crushing abandonment to glorious hope. It starts down in the depths in verse 1, and when you see “the depths” in a psalm, typically the psalmist has in mind an earthen or watery grave. Take Psalm 88:6-7 for instance,...

Passage IntroKnowing some of Israel’s history is incredibly helpful when reading this psalm. Give it a read and you’ll know right off that it was written after David became king of Israel. The author asks the Lord to remember his promises to David and touches...

Passage IntroIn this psalm Israel in the midst of some difficult time and the psalmist looks back to another time when Israel was in distress and God visited them with his kindness. At that point God “restored the fortunes" of Israel, either when a crop came after...

Passage IntroFor the four Sundays of Advent this year we'll be looking at four special psalms called Songs of Ascents. In the Jewish calendar there were three religious holidays that necessitated traveling to Jerusalem, and the Songs of Ascents are psalms that were...