Category: Summer Study 2020
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The End!
We made it to the end! Woohoo! The last five psalms are known as the “Final Hallel”. If you remember from my sermon “hallel” means “praise”, so these five last psalms are the final praise. In the last psalm, Psalm 150, the verb “praise” occurs thirteen times! So we end with praise and a lot…
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The Last Psalm of David
We are coming to the end. In fact tomorrow is the end. Today I want to talk about Psalm 145. It is speculated that psalm 145 was the original ending of the Psalter. You will find psalms 146 to 150 to be a wonderful doxological closing, possibly added later in history. Psalm 145 is an…
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Shepherd, Refugee, and King
At the beginning of this study of the Psalms, I wrote another devotional with the same title, Shepherd, Refugee, and King. Yet, here we are toward the end of the study of Psalms and we encounter three Psalms by the same writer, David. It is hard for me to imagine what David was like in…
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Control What I Say
Psalm 141 is another psalm asking God to help control our speech. Imagine that! I guess this has been an ongoing problem for humanity. I guess it makes me feel a little better, that we, collectively, as a people have been struggling to say nice things to each other for such a long time. However,…
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Is This Really in the Bible?
I have done a lot of writing and talking about how the psalms allow us to say things and give things to God that we would never actually say or do. Well today is the psalm that really drives that home. When I first read this psalm, in Seminary, I was shocked. How in the…
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Bringing it All Together
Today we really begin to move towards the end of our Psalms study. Psalm 133 and 134 are the last two of the Psalms of Ascent. Psalm 135 is a wonderful Psalm of praise that recounts God’s deliverance of Israel from their captivity in Egypt. As you read the psalms today, watch the video, and…
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A New World
Yesterday I had my annual dermatologist appointment. I praise God that most of the time for me is just a regular check-up. When I got to the doctor’s office, I was shocked to see how many people were there. Lots of people, some waiting, and others coming in and out. Somewhat normal for a busy…
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Fruit of Your Labor
Happy Wednesday to everyone. So I have a confession to make. Today when you watch the video I will not be out on my front porch, I will not have curly hair and I will not be in my regular outfit because I nearly forgot to write and film the devotion for today. When you…
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Filled with Joy
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice,”(Phil. 4:4) but how could he rejoice being in prison? Maybe Psalm 126 might be a clue. Paul was literate in the Torah and understood the significance of the Psalms of Ascent. I can only envision a group…
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Where Does My Help Come From?
Yesterday you had a lot of reading but today, because we are in the Songs of Accents, you have very little reading. Remember they are purposely short so they are easy to memorize. While you are hiking up the hill on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem you don’t have the time or the energy to get…
Lake Deaton at Home 