This is week 22 in an extended series on the Book of Psalms. Today's teaching is by Ben Cox, Ministry Leadership team member at theHeart church in Boone, NC.

 

Psalms 141-144

David was a person who made it a priority to pursue God with a passion!                        

 

DAVID'S PURSUIT

1) David did not pursue the Lord in a performance-based way to win God’s favor; or in a religious duty way; he did it with a deep awareness of his desperate need to connect with God/Love on a deep level.

 

 

Psalm 141:1-2

O Lord I call to you;

come quickly to me,

Hear my voice when I call to you.

May my prayer be set before you

like incense;

may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

 

Psalm 142:1-3a

I cry aloud to (You O Lord); I lift up my voice to (You O Lord) for mercy.                

I pour out my complaint before (You); before (You) I tell my trouble.

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who watch over my way.

 

Psalm 143:1&7-9

Lord, hear my prayer,

listen to my cry for mercy;

in your faithfulness and righteousness

come to my relief.

Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails.

Do not hide your face from me

or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Let the morning bring me word of your

unfailing love,

for I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go,

for to you I entrust my life.

 

DAVID'S PURSUIT

2) David pursued the Lord with a healthy mistrust of his human nature and a deep awareness of his need to trust the Lord to do for him what he could not do for himself.

 

Psalm 141:3-5

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;

keep watch over the door of my lips.

Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil

so that I take part in wicked deeds

along with those who are evildoers;

do not let me eat their delicacies.

Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;

let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.

My head will not refuse it,

for my prayer will still be against the

deeds of evildoers.

 

Psalm 143:2

Do not bring your servant

into judgment,

for no one living is righteous before you.

 

DAVID'S PURSUIT

3) David pursued the Lord with a keen awareness of a real battle taking place between  the forces of good and evil, darkness and light, the Lord and Satan.

 

Psalm 141:5b-7

… my prayer will still be against the

deeds of evildoers.

Their rulers will be thrown down

from the cliffs,

and the wicked will learn

that my words were well spoken.

They will say,

“As one plows and breaks up the earth,

so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”

 

Psalm 142:6

Listen to my cry,

for I am in desperate need;

rescue me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me.

 

Psalms 143:3-4

The enemy pursues me,

he crushes me to the ground;

he makes me dwell in the darkness

like those long dead.

So my spirit grows faint within me;

my heart within me is dismayed.

 

Psalm 143:9-12

Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,

for I hide myself in you.

Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God;

may your good Spirit

lead me on level ground.

For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life;

in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;

destroy all my foes,

for I am your servant.

 

1 John 1:8

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA: TWITTER & INSTAGRAM

#150Daysofpsalms

 @theheartboone

This is Week 21 in an extended series on the Book of Psalms.  Today's teaching is by Josh Anderson, Community Life Pastor at theHeart church in Boone, NC.

 

Psalm 139:13-17

Who do you believe God to be?

 

 

Have we come to believe that God doesn’t care?

 

Psalm 139:13-17

God makes himself

known to us

And we come to know ourselves

 

Psalm 139:13

“For you created my

inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

 

Psalm 139:13-17

God is not only the creator, He is Our Creator

 

Genesis 1:27

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.”

 

 

Psalm 139:14

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.”

 

God our Creator

fearfully made

: to be full of respect and reverence (full of fear)

 

God our Creator

fearfully made

“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Luke 12:7

 

God our Creator

wonderfully made

: to be unique or distinct

 

God our Creator

wonderfully made

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

 

Psalm 139:13-17

Who do you believe God to be?

 

 

Have we come to believe that God is distant?

 

Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes?

See how the flowers of the field grow.

They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”

 

Psalm 139:16

“Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.”

 

Psalm 139:13-17

God is not only the author, He has written us into His story

 

God our Author

God’s Will

Romans 12

God’s will is good, acceptable and perfect

Psalm 37:4

delight in the Lord

 Psalm 139:14

your works are wonderful

 

Psalm 139:13-17

Who do you believe God to be?

 

 

Have we come to believe that God only cares about what we’ve done?

 

Psalm 139:17

“How precious to me

are your thoughts, God!

How vast is the sum of them!”

 

God our Purpose

If God isn’t at the center of our lives, then something else is.

 

Matthew 6:31-34

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

Psalm 139:13-17

Through Christ, God makes himself known to us

 

John 1:1-4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life,

and the life was the light of men.

 

1 John 2:3

“We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.”

 

Christ our Redeemer

Through christ, we are no longer separated from the one who created us

 

 Galatians 3:13

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written,’Cursed is everyone who is hanged upon a tree.’”

 

Titus 2:13-14

“…the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself people for his own possession who are zea

This is Week 20 in an extended series titled 150 Days of Psalms. Today's teaching is by Doc Hendley, founder of Wine to Water, an American charitable organization devoted to providing clean water and sanitation to people around the world. He and his family have been members of theHeart family for the last 2 years.

 

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;2     Lord, hear my voice.Let your ears be attentive    to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,    Lord, who could stand?4 But with you there is forgiveness,    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,    and in his word I put my hope.6 I wait for the Lord    more than watchmen wait for the morning,    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,    for with the Lord is unfailing love    and with him is full redemption.8 He himself will redeem Israel    from all their sins.

This is Week 19 in an extended teaching on the Book of Psalms. Today's teaching is by Scott Lycan - husband, father and grandfather - as well as serving in a leadership role in Meniscus, Inc and Appalachian School of Ministry and Missions. THEHEART is a vibrant church in Boone, NC whose mission is to reconcile people to God and others through Christ's Love. Simple.

 

Psalm of Ascent…”Going Up”

Psalm 120    I call on the Lord and He answers me.

Psalm 121    I lift up my eyes to the hills –

      where does my help come from?

  My help comes from the Lord,

      maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 122    I rejoiced with those who said to me;

     “Let us go the house of the Lord.”

Psalm 123    I lift my eyes to you,

     to you whose throne is in heaven.

     If the Lord had not been on our side –   Let all Israel say –

Psalm 124    “If the Lord had not been on our side,

     our enemies would have eaten us alive.

Psalm 125  Those who trust in the Lord are like Mt. Zion,

     they cannot be shaken.

Psalm 126    When the Lord brought us back –

  the captives of Zion – we were like men who dreamed.

  Our mouths were filled with laughter

  and tongues with songs of joy.

  Then it will be said among the nations,

  “The Lord has done great things for them.”

  The Lord has done great things for us,

  and we are filled with joy.

  Restore…like streams in the desert.

 

Psalm of Ascent…”Going Through”

Psalm 120    In my distress, deliver me from lying lips,

  from a deceitful tongue

Psalm 121    The Lord is your keeper, your shade…

  He will keep you from evil, He will   keep your life

Psalm 122    May they prosper who love you.

  Peace within your walls and security

  within your towers.

  For the sake of my friends and relative,

  I will say, “Peace be with you.”

Psalm 123    Have mercy upon us, for we have more   than enough contempt.

  Our soul has more than its fill of the scorn of   those who are at ease, of the   contempt of the proud.

Psalm 124  When our enemies attacked us, they would   have eaten us alive.

  When their anger was kindled, the flood   would have swept us away.

Psalm 125  The Lord surrounds his people, as the   mountains surround Jerusalem,

  That the scepter of the wicked will not  

  remain, so that the righteous might not stretch out their hand to do wrong…  

  those who turn aside to their own crooked way.

 

Fulfillment of the Ascent

Psalm 126   Restore us, O Lord, like streams in the desert.

  May those who sow in tears,

  reap with shouts of joy

  Those who go out weeping,

  bearing the seed for sowing

  shall come home with shouts of joy

  carrying their sheaves of harvest.

 

 

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord is giving you.

  Exodus 20:12

 

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life,

and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life;

 he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name

of the Son of God so that you may know

that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have

in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will,

he hears us. And if we know that he hears us –

whatever we ask – we know that we have what we ask of him.”

  1 John 15

 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

  John 10:10

 

Freedom in Forgiveness

“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your sins.”

  Mark 11:26

This is Week 18 in the series 150 Days of Psalms. Today's teaching is by Graham Aitken. Graham and his family have been part of theHeart family for 2 years. The complete schedule of reading through the Psalms can be found at  www.theheart.us

 

Subtitle: A Life of Peace

 

Songs of "Hallel" meaning Songs of "Praise"

 

"The Psalms are amonthe oldest poems in the world, and they still rank with any poetry in any culture, ancient or modern, from anywhere in the world. They are full pof pwer and powerful hope."

N. T. Wright

 

Bring your whole life to God. He wants to hear.

 

Cultivate a life of peace. Be intentional.

 

We need one another.

 

"There is no suffering on earth that Christ will not be with us,

suffering with us and praying with us - Christ our only helper."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This is Week 17 in a series titled 150 Days of Psalms. Today's teaching is by Wes Peterson. Wes Peterson is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband, and father of three incredible kids. He has been in Boone, NC and at TheHeart for 3 years.  theHeart is attempting to be and do church in a simple way, with a singular focus on reconciling people to God and each other through Christ's Love.

 

If you would like to join us in reading through the Psalms, this week's readings are Psalms 113-119.

 

Confidence in God produces HOPE that overflows in WORSHIP.

This is week 15 in an extended series called 150 Days of Psalms. Today's teaching is by John Page, former local pastor of another congregation. John is a committed volunteer on our welcome team at theHeart Church in Boone NC.  Thank you for joining us!

This is Week 14 in an extended series on the book of Psalms.  Today's teaching is by Matt Matthews.

 

Subtitle: Within

 

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you    from the fowler’s snare    and from the deadly pestilence.4 He will cover you with his feathers,    and under his wings you will find refuge;    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.5 You will not fear the terror of night,    nor the arrow that flies by day,6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,    nor the plague that destroys at midday.7 A thousand may fall at your side,    ten thousand at your right hand,    but it will not come near you.8 You will only observe with your eyes    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”    and you make the Most High your dwelling,10 no harm will overtake you,    no disaster will come near your tent.11 For he will command his angels concerning you    to guard you in all your ways;12 they will lift you up in their hands,    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;    I will be with him in trouble,    I will deliver him and honor him.16 With long life I will satisfy him    and show him my salvation.”

This is Week 13 of 150 Days of Psalms. Today's teaching is by Amanda Opelt, Ministry Leadership Team member at theHeart church in Boone, NC.

Subtitle: Injustice

 

PSALM 78

 

A maskil of Asaph.

1 My people, hear my teaching;    listen to the words of my mouth.2 I will open my mouth with a parable;    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—3 things we have heard and known,    things our ancestors have told us.4 We will not hide them from their descendants;    we will tell the next generationthe praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,    his power, and the wonders he has done.5 He decreed statutes for Jacob    and established the law in Israel,which he commanded our ancestors    to teach their children,6 so the next generation would know them,    even the children yet to be born,    and they in turn would tell their children.7 Then they would put their trust in God    and would not forget his deeds    but would keep his commands.8 They would not be like their ancestors—    a stubborn and rebellious generation,whose hearts were not loyal to God,    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,    turned back on the day of battle;10 they did not keep God’s covenant    and refused to live by his law.11 They forgot what he had done,    the wonders he had shown them.12 He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors    in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.13 He divided the sea and led them through;    he made the water stand up like a wall.14 He guided them with the cloud by day    and with light from the fire all night.15 He split the rocks in the wilderness    and gave them water as abundant as the seas;16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag    and made water flow down like rivers.

17 But they continued to sin against him,    rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.18 They willfully put God to the test    by demanding the food they craved.19 They spoke against God;    they said, “Can God really    spread a table in the wilderness?20 True, he struck the rock,    and water gushed out,    streams flowed abundantly,but can he also give us bread?    Can he supply meat for his people?”21 When the Lord heard them, he was furious;    his fire broke out against Jacob,    and his wrath rose against Israel,22 for they did not believe in God    or trust in his deliverance.23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above    and opened the doors of the heavens;24 he rained down manna for the people to eat,    he gave them the grain of heaven.25 Human beings ate the bread of angels;    he sent them all the food they could eat.26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens    and by his power made the south wind blow.27 He rained meat down on them like dust,    birds like sand on the seashore.28 He made them come down inside their camp,    all around their tents.29 They ate till they were gorged—    he had given them what they craved.30 But before they turned from what they craved,    even while the food was still in their mouths,31 God’s anger rose against them;    he put to death the sturdiest among them,    cutting down the young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;    in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.33 So he ended their days in futility    and their years in terror.34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;    they eagerly turned to him again.35 They remembered that God was their Rock,    that God Most High was their Redeemer.36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,    lying to him with their tongues;37 their hearts were not loyal to him,    they were not faithful to his covenant.38 Yet he was merciful;    he forgave their iniquities    and did not destroy them.Time after time he restrained his anger    and did not stir up his full wrath.39 He remembered that they were but flesh,    a passing breeze that does not return.

40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness    and grieved him in the wasteland!4

This is Week 12 in the series called 150 Days of Psalms. Today's teaching is by Jason English, Teaching and Vision Pastor at theHeart church in Boone NC.

 

Subtitle: Writhed

PSALM 77:1-17

I cried out to God for help;

I cried out to God to hear me.

When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;

at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted.

I remembered you, God, and I groaned.

I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.

You kept my eyes from closing;

I was too troubled to speak.

I thought about the former days,

the years of long ago;

I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

"Will the Lord reject forever?

Will he never show his favor again?

Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

Has his promise failed for all time?

Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

Then I thought, "To this I will appeal:

the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

I will consider all your works

and meditate on all your mighty deeds."

Your ways, God, are holy.

What god is as great as our God?

You are the God who performs miracles;

you display your power among the peoples.

With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, God,

the waters saw you and writhed;

the very depths were convulsed.

The clouds poured down water,

the heavens resounded with thunder;

your arrows flashed back and forth.

 

writhed [chuwl]

twist. whirl. dance. writhe. tremble.

birth. born. create. creation.

 

PSALM 77:18-20

Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,

your lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

 

whirlwind [galgal]

wheel. chariot wheel. rolled. driven (by wind).

{galgatha}

 

"The Greeks learned in order to comprehend.

The Hebrews learned in order to revere.

The modern man learns in order to use.

 

To the modern man everything seems calculable; everything reducible to a figure...

sure of his ability to explain all mystery away."

-Abraham Heschel

 

yirat haShem

 

Glenn Deuel -  Biomes

deuel.bandcamp.com