Kootenai Church Morning Worship: The Psalms

Jim Osman continues his exposition of Psalm 145 by turning from God's greatness to His goodness, and he starts by defining terms. What does it actually mean to call God good, given how loosely English uses that word for everything from pizza to a football game? Osman works through the Hebrew range of the term before landing on a fuller definition: God is the perfect sum, source, and standard of all that is wholesome, virtuous, beneficial, and beautiful, a goodness that is entirely underived and infinite.

From there he walks through the three aspects of that goodness David lays out in verses 7 through 9. In verse 7, God's goodness is abundant in measure, pouring forth in a way David describes as continual and uncontrollable, like a bubbling spring. In verse 8, His goodness is gracious in character, and Osman traces this verse straight back to God's self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 34, tying David's language to one of the most quoted descriptions of God in the entire Old Testament. In verse 9, that goodness is universal in scope, extending even to the wicked, though Osman is careful to distinguish, quoting J.I. Packer, that God is good to all men in some ways and to some men in all ways.

The message closes by confronting a hard question directly: how God's judgment of sinners fits with His goodness rather than contradicting it, and why believers will spend eternity praising Him for both.

Jim Osman continues in Psalm 145 with a picture of a God whose greatness cannot be searched out, known truly but never exhaustively, in any single attribute. He grounds that idea in Grudem's point that believers will never fully understand even one thing about God, not just God as a whole, and shows why that calls for a lifetime of praise rather than a passing thought.

From there Osman turns to verses 4 through 6 and three concrete ways David describes for praising an unsearchably great God. The first is teaching the next generation to love and praise Him, which Osman argues is the calling of fathers specifically, not something to hand off to Sunday school teachers or Christian schools. The second is personally meditating on God's word and works until His splendor becomes genuinely attractive to the heart, not just known in the head. The third is warning others of God's fearsome judgments, from the flood to Sodom and Gomorrah to the final judgment, as a necessary part of presenting the gospel honestly.

Osman challenges listeners to examine whether their own worship is shaped by daily meditation on God or whether it only shows up once a week, and he calls parents to make the praise of God the defining rhythm of their home.

Jim Osman opens a new mini-series on the Psalms with Psalm 145, a psalm he calls the perfect place to begin. He shows how this psalm stands as a capstone to David's writing, the last psalm attributed to David and the final acrostic psalm in the Psalter, working through the Hebrew alphabet in a way that mirrors the completeness of God's greatness.

Osman lays out the shape of the whole psalm before turning to the text itself. The first half is David's personal praise, and the second half calls all creation to praise God, with both halves resting on two reasons: Yahweh is great and Yahweh is good. Osman notes that a God who was great but not good would be terrifying, while a God who was good but not great could do nothing for us. Scripture presents both together.

Turning to verses 1 through 3, Osman examines the words David uses for worship, exalt, bless, and praise, and shows what it means to call Yahweh a great king whose greatness is unsearchable. He traces that unsearchable greatness from creation itself into the wisdom of redemption, where God's justice and mercy meet at the cross.

Listeners get a clear map for the psalm ahead and a fresh reason to make praise a daily habit, not just a Sunday morning activity.

What is the value of a book most modern Christians skip over on their way to the New Testament? Pastor Jim Osman makes the case for the Psalms in this introduction to a short new series, an exposition of Psalm 1 and Psalm 2.

Before turning to the text, Osman lays out why the Psalms deserve careful attention. They are the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament, they were written across roughly a thousand years, and their Hebrew poetry works through structural parallelism rather than rhyme, so the beauty and meaning of the Psalms translate fully into any language. Osman also traces how thoroughly the Psalms describe God's character and the span of Old Testament history, and how they teach believers not just what to think about God but how to feel about him.

Osman then revisits Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 as what he calls the gateway to the Psalter, the doorposts that frame every theme in the rest of the book. Psalm 1 contrasts the blessed man who delights in God's law with the wicked who will perish, and Psalm 2 answers the world's rebellion against God with an installed King on Zion, his own Son, who alone can ascend the holy hill and offers refuge to anyone who will trust him.

This sermon sets up a five week series through Psalms 145, 113, 34, 46, and 62, built around psalms the congregation actually sings.

Pastor Jim Osman opens in Psalm 119:97–104 with the psalmist's breathtaking declaration — "Oh, how I love your law!" — and shows what that kind of love actually looks like and what it produces in the life of a believer.

This passage divides naturally into two halves, each anchored by a defining affection. The first four verses trace the fruit of loving the Word: wisdom that surpasses enemies, insight that exceeds teachers, and understanding deeper than age and experience. But the psalmist isn't boasting about himself. He's boasting about the Word of God — that one person armed with Scripture is better equipped for life and eternity than the accumulated wisdom of all the world's academics and sages without it.

The second half moves from love to its necessary companion: a genuine hatred for every false way. Pastor Osman presses hard on this point — you cannot truly love truth without hating falsehood, and you cannot love God without hating evil. Spurgeon's insight frames it memorably: hatred is a stabbing affection, and the believer who rightly hates sin in himself will attack it, pursue it, and put it to death.

The sermon closes with a direct challenge: the blessings of Psalm 119 are not for the lazy or negligent. They are reserved for those who consistently, relentlessly, and faithfully read, meditate on, and obey the Word of God. There is no shortcut to Christian maturity — only one path.

Jim Osman guides listeners through Psalm 119:33-40, revealing four essential prayers every believer should bring before God regarding His Word. This isn't merely an intellectual exercise—it's a roadmap for spiritual transformation through Scripture. Osman unpacks how the psalmist longed for God to grant understanding that leads to obedience, not just head knowledge. He challenges listeners to pray for hearts genuinely inclined toward Scripture rather than worldly gain.

The sermon addresses a crucial tension: our eyes naturally drift toward worthless distractions while our hearts chase empty profits. Osman demonstrates how the Word cultivates genuine fear of God, turning believers from vanity toward what truly gives life. He confronts the reality that many Christians survive on one spiritual meal per week when a daily feast awaits them in Scripture.

This message closes with two pointed challenges: commit to regular, systematic Bible reading, and for men, recognize that spiritual leadership begins with personal time in God's Word. Transformation doesn't happen by accident—it requires dependence on God's work through Scripture combined with diligent pursuit of His truth.

In this sermon, Jim Osman powerfully unpacks the believer’s resurrection hope from Psalm 16:9–11. Emphasizing that resurrection hope is personal, prophesied, and pleasurable, he demonstrates how David's words ultimately point to Christ’s victory over death. Osman also shows how this resurrection hope not only assures eternal life but transforms how Christians view death and anticipate the joys of God's presence.

Jim Osman unpacks the beauty of Psalm 16:5–8, revealing Yahweh our treasure and eternal reward. He illustrates how God is not only our portion and inheritance but also our wise guide and powerful guard. Throughout this passage, Osman emphasizes the joy found in knowing Yahweh our treasure, encouraging believers to find full satisfaction in Him alone. His message challenges us to delight in God above all else.

Jim Osman preaches on Psalm 16:1-4, illustrating how Yahweh our refuge is the unwavering hope for believers amid life's dangers. Emphasizing that Yahweh our refuge is not only our protection but also our ultimate good, Osman explains David's dependence on God's goodness, delight in God's people, and disdain for idolatry. Through this powerful passage, listeners are encouraged to forsake all idols and trust fully in the Lord, who preserves and sustains His people.

In this opening message on Psalm 16, Jim Osman introduces the powerful theme of trust in Yahweh. He explains how the Psalm reveals Christ as the Holy One who would not see decay and how David, though imperfect, points forward to Jesus. Osman highlights the structure and significance of Psalm 16 and shows that true hope, joy, and resurrection life come when we trust in Yahweh.