Union Church

Listen along as we begin a new series looking at the book of Proverbs.

Notes//Quotes:

Prov 1:1-7

“You’ve heard of the meat of the word and milk of the word, proverbs is the hard candy of the word. You don’t just swallow it. You don’t just bite into it. You have to let it dissolve very slowly on your tongue.” Tim Keller

The book of Proverbs opens by breaking up the plain daylight of wisdom (ḥokmâ) into its rainbow of constituent colours. Derek Kidner

I used to wonder about that myself. Thought it was a bunch of mumbo jumbo: a magical power holding together good and evil, the dark side and the light. Crazy thing is...it’s true. The Force, the Jedi. All of it. It’s all true. - Hans Solo 

In my experience, when you think you understand the Force, you realize just how little you know." - Ahsoka Tano 

1-9 - 10 speeches calling to heed/listen to wisdom 

Prov 22:6

Prov 3:5-8

1 Cor 1:18-30

Listen in as we hear from multiple people in our congregation.

Listen in as Bill Berve continues our series through the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 37:1-7 - Larry and Jorgen

Do not fret because of evildoers,

"When you're looking to the left or the right to see how you measure up to other people whether good or bad--you have an inability to see what God is doing for you. In the case of both envy and self-righteousness, the answer is found in looking to God-being thankful for what He has given you (including the opportunity for eternal life) and using Him as the standard for righteousness, which can only produce humility since we fall so woefully short." (excerpt from Comparison & Envy study)

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you , says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” Jer:  29:11 

“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin. And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.  Do not fear therefore you are of more value than many sparrow.” Matt; 10:29 

Psalm 37:4 says, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Taking delight in the Lord means that our hearts truly find peace and fulfillment in Him. If we truly find satisfaction and worth in Christ, Scripture says He will give us the longings of our hearts. Does that mean, if we go to church every Sunday, God will give us a new Rolls Royce? No. The idea behind this verse and others like it is that, when we truly rejoice or "delight" in the eternal things of God, our desires will begin to parallel His and we will never go unfulfilled. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [the necessities of life] will be given to you as well.”   F.B. Meyer

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 

Listen along as we continue our series through the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Listen along as we do an overview of the imprecatory Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

NGRAM Picture (attached)

Psalm 69:22-25 

“In the ancient Near East in general, life was dominated by the need to cope with the terrifying threat of curses and omens” New Dictionary of Biblical Theology

The Psalms explore the full gamut of human experience from rage to hope. Indeed, it would be very strange if such a robust spirituality lacked such a dimension of vengeance, for we would conclude that just at the crucial point, robustness had turned to cowardice and propriety” Walter Brueggemann, Praying the Psalms

“Imprecations are appeals to the Judge of the earth to play the part of Judge” Peter Leithart

We must not either try to explain them away or to yield for one moment to the idea that, because it comes in the Bible, all this vindictive hatred must somehow be good and pious. We must face both facts squarely. The hatred is there – festering, gloating, undisguised – and also we should be wicked if we in any way condoned or approved it. These prayers of the psalmists "are indeed devilish”- CS Lewis

1 Sam 24:12-15

“The New Testament appears not in the least embarrassed with the Old Testament imprecations; on the contrary, it quotes freely from them as authoritative statements with which to support an argument. The New Testament not only quotes passages which, though themselves not imprecations, are found in a Psalm with an imprecatory section; but also, and this is more remarkable, it quotes with approval the imprecations themselves” Harry Mennega

Listen along as we continue our series in the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Listen along as we continue to learn prayer from the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 142:1-7

1 Sam 22:1

Abraham debated.

But Jonah? Jonah ran.

It's a reminder that arguing with God is not an obstacle to intimacy with God,

A portrait of the righteous in the Psalms tells the true story: they find their refuge in God and, as a result, receive a righteousness from him that increasingly characterizes their lives. They also anticipate the coming of the Righteous One, in whose mouth the psalmists’ words find their ultimate fulfillment. Christopher Ash

1 Sam 22:2-3

“Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all.” - Eugene Peterson  

Listen along as we continue our series through the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 19:1-14 - Mike G

Earth’s Moon is about 1/ 400th the diameter of the Sun, but it is also 1/ 400th as far from us, making the Sun and the Moon the same size on the sky—a coincidence not shared by any other planet–moon combination in the solar system, allowing for uniquely photogenic total solar eclipses. - Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Romans 1:20

Romans 8:20-22

We know Him by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe; which is before our eyes as a most elegant book, wherein all creatures, great and small, are as so many characters leading us to see clearly the invisible things of God, even his everlasting power and divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All which things are sufficient to convince men and leave them without excuse. Secondly, He makes Himself more clearly and fully known to us by His holy and divine Word; that is to say, as far as is necessary for us to know in this life, to His glory and our salvation.

Forgetting the awesome and glorious One who made it all and holds it all together by the sheer power of his magnificent will, will always insert me into the center. This means that no story will be more important to me than my story. I will ask no bigger question than the question of how I am doing. I will have no bigger concern than my satisfaction and comfort. I will ask life to serve me, to submit to my interests, and to deliver whatever I demand. This viewpoint will guarantee me a life of huge disappointment. And not only that, it is also an insane way to live. I am not the center of all things. The world will not do my sovereign bidding. God will not offer his awesome throne to me. Awe of self, worship of self, underlies every form of self-destructive living. Paul Tripp

Hebrews 1:1-4 

Colossians 1:15-20

Listen along as Anthony walks us through Psalm 6.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 6:1-10 - Chris Fisher Reading

Title: Surviving Suffering

“Waiting is hard. ‘How long O Lord’ is the cry of someone who has walked with more pain and sickness than they thought they could ever bear.”

 “The most precious use of the word hesed in the Old Testament is used as a description of what God does. Having entered a covenant relationship with His people, God bound Himself to act toward them in certain ways, and He is utterly faithful to His self-commitment…Psalm 136 explores what the Lord’s hesed means in its broadest possible terms, for each line concludes with the words: “his hesed endures forever.” Because of the Lord’s hesed, He created the universe, and He rules it daily through His providence (Ps. 136:5–9, 25)…In Psalm 23:6, the psalmist declares that the Lord’s goodness and hesed will pursue him all the days of his life. The word pursue normally describes the action of pillaging armies and covenant curse, but the psalmist is convinced that instead of the covenant curse he deserves, the Lord’s faithful love and goodness will hunt him down relentlessly instead.” 

“Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
 smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.” 

Listen along as we begin a new sermon series in the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 1:1-6 - Kim J

Book 1 - 1-41 - Distress//Confidence 

“Psalms are companions - They are the closest friends, wisest advisors, and faithful discerners. They understand your heart and provide words when we don’t have any.” Anthony Garcia

“The term refers to a wide range of behaviors and thoughts, but, at root, it is when somebody presents, or imagines, themself as the lead in a sort of fictional version of their life (usually their own, although sometimes, disturbingly, somebody else’s), and presents that "life" through social media.” - Psychology Today

“I have been induced to embrace the opinion of some among the ancient interpreters (Augustine, Jerome, etc.), who conceive that the first Psalm is intended to be descriptive of the character and reward of the JUST ONE, i.e. the Lord Jesus.” John Fry, 1842

“We want something from Him, not Him at all. Is that a relationship? Do we behave in that way with our friends? Do we aim at what friendship can give us or is it the friend whom we love? Is this true with regard to the Lord?” - Anthony Bloom, Beginning to Pray