Focal Passage: Psalm 5:1-12 My mother awoke to the sound of my cries in the wee hours of Jan. 1. I don’t remember the exact year, but I remember the reason. I had planned on ringing in the New Year, but I did not last. I later awoke and burst into tears over my failure to enjoy the opening minutes of the New Year. I was old enough to get

Focal Passage: Psalm 139:1-4, 7-16 Some Christians seem to have an aversion to “big” theological terms. Some of those terms, like justification and sanctification, come directly from the Bible. Other terms help us understand theological concepts in a single word instead of requiring a phrase. Psalm 139 reminds us of two such terms, omniscience and omnipresence. They refer respectively to the truths that God knows everything and that He is

Focal Passage: Psalm 23:1-6 Many of us grew up quoting the opening of Psalm 23 as, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Modern translations help us understand that David wrote of not being in want, or, as the CSB translates the end of verse one, “I have what I need.”  In a world consumed by more wants than it has ever known, the psalmist’s words remind us

Focal Passage: Psalm 32:1-11 Church discipline virtually disappeared from Southern Baptist churches for several generations and wasn’t emphasized in theological discussions until the dawn of the twenty-first century. While there were probably multiple contributing factors that brought about such a large-scale absence of accountability, the misuse of discipline was likely a major reason.  Many of our churches have nineteenth-century records of removing members found guilty of offenses like drinking, dancing,

Focal Passage: Psalm 38:1-8, 18-22 A 1963 episode of The Andy Griffith Show included a scene where the visiting preacher from New York City, Dr. Breen, preached a “sermon” (although he had no Bible and no biblical content!) on slowing down in life.   As a few of the main characters exited the service, they met the visiting preacher and began to brag on his sermon. Barney, who had been

Focal Passage: Psalm 105:1-11, 42-45  Many of us have spent so many years seeing Psalms as the big book that marks the middle of the Book, that we fail to remember that it is like a hymnal in the middle of the Bible.  The Psalms were meant to be sung, and some churches still sing from them every Sunday.  Psalm 105 begins with a call to worship. I grew up

Focal Passage: Psalm 18:16-29 Psalm 18 begins with David’s declaration of love for the Lord whom he described as his strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold. Did you notice the military significance of most of those words? As an experienced warrior, David knew that without God’s power he was as helpless as an unarmed man exposed in battle! A couple of centuries later, the prophet

Focal Passage: Psalm 110:1-7 When we think of a footstool, we typically think of some type of ottoman designed to prop up one’s feet. When Psalm 110:1 declares, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” the word picture is much more dramatic. Ancient artworks demonstrate a conquering king, such as Tiglath-Pileser III or Hadrian, with his foot on the neck of his conquered foe to