Psalm 50 (links validated 1/29/24)

Quick Locator

ReadingsRelated PagesResourcesInformation
Links
66
Categories
6
Last Updated
last Tuesday, 6:10 pm
Last Checked
last Tuesday, 6:10 pm

New Resources

  • Exegesis (Psalm 50)

    by Richard Donovan
  • Sermon Starters (Transfiguration)(B)(2024)

    by Scott Hoezee
    In various other connections I have noted that in Barbara Brown Taylor’s book Speaking of Sin, she has a chapter title that is intentionally paradoxical: “Sin Is Our Only Hope.” And of course what she means by that is along the lines of the idea that if you are sick and it takes the doctors forever and a day to diagnose what’s wrong, once you get the diagnosis, in most (but alas not in all) cases that diagnosis is a great thing because it leads to the proper treatment and hopefully through that a cure A friend of mine who is a doctor has noted to me that “No one wants to be what doctors call ‘An Interesting Case.’” God’s holiness means we are forced to admit vis-à-vis God that we are sinners and God as a holy God cannot help but see we are not holy. But that becomes the spring of grace to forgive us and thus what is noted above: since God now sees only Jesus when he looks at us, even the prospect of judgment can, paradoxically enough, comfort us!
  • Transfiguration (B)(2024)

    by Steven Hoskins
  • The Rising (Sermon Seeds)

    by Stephanie Perdew
  • The Rising (Weekly Seeds)

    by Stephanie Perdew
  • Transfiguration (B)

    by Howard Wallace

Resources from 2013 to 2023

[If you have any questions about navigating through the site (and for some helpful tips even if you do!), please check out our video guide. Just copy this link (https://www.loom.com/share/afe3352a69f44bff814af8b695701c5e) and paste it into your favorite browser.]
  • Transfiguration (B)(2018)

    by Aaron Bolerjack
  • Epiphany 6B (2015)

    by Doug Bratt
  • Taking the Right Path

    by Bob Cornwall
  • Judgment in Light

    by Melissa Dow
  • Quality, Not Quantity

    by Evan Garner
  • An Acceptable Sacrifice

    by Deanna McCleskey Hayden
  • Sermon Starters (Proper 5A)(2023)

    by Scott Hoezee
    In an episode of the original Star Trek series titled “The Apple,” the crew of the USS Enterprise visits a planet that is ruled by a god by the name of Vaal. One inhabitant of this planet named Akuta has what looks like a small antenna attached to his neck and it is through this device that Akuta receives commands and messages from Vaal. Mostly what he receives are messages for when it is time to throw large quantities of food into Vaal’s giant mouth at the head of a cave no one can enter. When Vaal is hungry, the people dutifully feed their god. Of course it turns out Vaal is not a god but a malevolent machine that Captain Kirk ends up destroying as Vaal was trying to kill Kirk and company and destroy their ship in orbit. But the basic premise of this episode—that gods require things, including food and other sacrifices—has a long background in actual history. Many religions have had the premise that gods and goddesses need to be appeased, fed, and served. Gods can be quite demanding and their needs must be met or else! Back in the day Israel was surrounded by people who believed that to be true of their gods and since Israel had a tradition of sacrificing animals and birds to their God Yahweh at the Temple in Jerusalem similar to the sacrificial traditions of other religions in the Ancient Near East, it was likely tempting to assume that Israel’s God had needs same as the gods of other religions at the time. Psalm 50 was written to clear up this confusion...
  • Sermon Starters (Transfiguration)(B)(2021)

    by Scott Hoezee
    The character of Sheldon Cooper on the TV show The Big Bang Theory is a study in obsessive-compulsive hang-ups and other social difficulties. He is averse to touching or being touched, hugging or being hugged. And he has lived his life determined never to be in anyone’s debt. So when one December he and his friends decide to exchange names to buy one another Christmas gifts, Sheldon hatches a plan. He and his next-door neighbor Penny will be giving gifts to one another. So Sheldon goes to a Bed, Bath, & Beyond and buys half a dozen gift baskets of varying sizes and hence of varying amounts of money. His plan is to receive Penny’s gift, go to his bedroom office to Google the cost of the gift he receives, and then give Penny the gift basket that has about the same monetary value as his gift from Penny. That way they will be even. He will then return the other 5 baskets for a refund. Except that when Sheldon receives Penny’s gift, his plan melts down immediately...
  • Proper 5A (2023)

    by Rolf Jacobson
  • Transfiguration (B)(2018)

    by Stan Mast
    It is fascinating that the very sins condemned by God in Psalm 50 are now in the headlines. After decades of glorifying sexual sin of all sorts in the movies, Hollywood is in an uproar because it has discovered that some of its brightest stars are sexual predators. After producing thousands of movies about criminal activity, society is shocked that young basketball stars would shoplift in China and then have one of their fathers downplay the importance of such a crime. And our whole culture is overwhelmed by the blizzard of evil words blasting out of Washington...
  • Proper 14C (2019)

    by Tabitha Ssonko
  • Proper 14C

    by Howard Wallace
  • Proper 14C (2013)

    by Wesley White

Resources from the Archives