Praying the Psalms -- A Message from August 10, 2025

 

Over the summer weeks, our messages in worship have been focused on practices of faith. Over the weeks, we have focused on giving testimonies of faith, keeping sabbath, fasting, healing prayer, and committing to tithing. Today, we turn to prayer…and our guidebook for prayer in the Bible, the book of Psalms.

Scholars divide our Psalms into different types of Psalms: laments & complaints; praising God; thanksgiving to God; and Psalms expressing God’s wisdom and instruction. This morning, we are going to hear Psalm 86. It is considered to be a lament and is asking God for help….help for the individual who wrote the Psalm and help for the collective group of people who pray the words of the Psalm.

Listen now to the word of God as it is expressed in Psalm 86:  

Scripture Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.

2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 

3 have mercy on me, Lord,
    for I call to you all day long.

4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust in you.

5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
    abounding in love to all who call to you.

6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
    listen to my cry for mercy.

7 When I am in distress, I call to you,
    because you answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
    no deeds can compare with yours.

9 All the nations you have made
    will come and worship before you, Lord;
    they will bring glory to your name.

10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
    you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.

12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
    I will glorify your name forever.

13 For great is your love toward me;
    you have delivered me from the depths,
    from the realm of the dead.

14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
    ruthless people are trying to kill me—
    they have no regard for you.

15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
    show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
    just as my mother did.

17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
    that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
    for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Amen.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray….

Message Praying the Psalms

Song has always been a part of worship. In every world religion, music and singing are intricately linked to spirituality. Religious beliefs inspire songwriters and poets. The music they craft is then used in worship: to teach, inspire, praise and pray. For us, the book of Psalms is our oldest song book.

In ancient Judaism, as the scattered believers began to worship together at pilgrimage sites and shrines, they praised God with song. They sang, and they also used instruments….pipes, trumpets, tambourines, cymbals, harps, lyres, and other stringed instruments are mentioned in the Psalms. When I served my first congregation, people were very opposed to having drums in the sanctuary – yet, ancient believers in God made music with many instruments, including cymbals and tambourines!

The Psalms are both songs and prayers. This is also true today. Many of our modern hymns are not only songs…. They are also prayers. 

Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light:Take my hand, precious Lord,

Lead me home.

…..or…..

I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine can peace afford; I need Thee, O I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee! O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.

We can sing these familiar hymns to ourselves or out- loud, and the familiar words guide us as we talk to God…they are sung prayers.

The book of Psalms has one hundred and fifty psalms….they are all prayers, but they aren’t all the same. Some are prayers of praise that say how wonderful God is. Some are prayers of lament with the speaker crying out to God. Some thank God for God’s instruction and teaching and wisdom. Some are just prayers of thanksgiving to God….period.

Whatever mood you are in, whatever need you have, you can find a reflection of how you feel in the book of Psalms. 

I have had conversations with people who feel like they don’t know how to pray….especially when they are asked to pray out loud when other people can hear them.  They fear they don’t know the words to say. They feel like their words should be poetic or use some kind of fancy theological language. They may have memorized prayers as children but feel that those no longer are enough – “Now I lay me down to sleep” may feel silly for a 47 year old to pray at night.

When I am feeling like I don’t know what to say when I pray, I turn to the book of Psalms. Psalm 86 is a helpful example of prayer…it starts with the request: “Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” Through supplication, the one praying invites God to both hear their prayer and answer their prayer. We all go through times in our lives when we feel poor and needy, like things aren’t going the way we want – perhaps we or someone we love is ill, perhaps we are struggling with relationships, perhaps we are struggling with jobs or having enough of the things we depend on. We all are needy and need the comforting embrace of God. Psalm 86 puts to words our fears.

If we pray our way through the words of Psalm 86, it provides a template of how we can pray…

We should pray honestly and earnestly – we should be real with God “I am poor and needy” is a very honest statement. 

 God knows our hearts. God knows our fears. God knows our insecurities. We don’t have to pretend to have everything under control when we talk to God. We can express our rawest emotions.

In verse 3, it says: “I call to you all day long.” We can pray all day long – not just before bed, not just before meals, not just when it is expected. We can talk to God whenever we need to talk to God, and God hears us all the time. Whenever we are troubled, we can pray. Whenever we encounter a situation that concerns us, we can pray. Whenever we meet someone who is in need, we can pray. There are no rules about when we should pray or how we should pray or what we should pray about.

Verse 12 says: “I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.” This line reminds us to be thankful and to appreciate God. When we pray, we are encouraged to tell God we are grateful for all God has done and does right now. It is a good exercise for us to notice the things God has done – God provides the beauty of the natural world. God provides delicious food to cook and eat. God provides our pets and our families and our friends. God showers us with Grace and forgives us when we fail. God loves us. It is important for us to appreciate God.

The author of Psalm 86 is believed to be King David. David was a great king. He led armies to victories. He was anointed by God to serve his country and on behalf of God. He was apparently beautiful, and played the harp like a virtuoso, and was strong, and brave, and smart. Yet, humility permeates this Psalm. We also should be humble when we pray…The psalmist asks God to be gracious to him. He refers to himself as God’s servant. He admits he is afflicted and needy. He admits his weakness and asks God to give him strength. These are humble requests. We should also be humble.

In the second verse of the Psalm, the author says: “I put my trust in you” O God. We are also encouraged to put our trust in God. We all face painful situations. We all struggle with grief and despair and loneliness. We all have experienced broken relationships, and threats of violence, and fear. Yet, in the midst of all that we have experienced, God has been with us. Psalm 86 talks about how great God’s love is for us and that God has delivered the Psalmist from the depths. Many of us have similar stories of deliverance – we have overcome trials and terrible times…we have lived through adversity and change…we have endured hard times. Throughout them all, God is the constant presence with us, to help us, guide us and encourage us. God is with us, therefore we are never alone. We are called to trust in God.

Sometimes, we hit roadblocks in our prayer life. We don’t know what to say. We may not feel creative. We may feel too sad to put to words our thoughts. We may have writer’s block with our words. 

Whenever that happens, I suggest turning to the book of Psalms. There, we will find the words already written that express our thoughts. There, we will find comforting words of assurance of God’s presence and good will for us. There, we will find words of guidance and support. 

My prayer is that we will all pray more often, more freely, and take everything in our hearts to the Lord in prayer. Amen

Tithing -- A Message for August 3, 2025

 

Over the summer, our messages have focused on practices of faith. We have heard about healing, testimony, fasting, and sabbath keeping. This morning, we are turning to tithing, a practice that is part of both Christianity and other world religions. How we spend our time, our talents, and treasure testifies to where our faith and our hearts lie.

Jesus talked about money – a lot. But, if you look at the list of scripture passages that we focus on in our worship services, you may not realize how often Jesus talked about money and resources. We will now turn to one of the stories we hear more often, as it is found in several of our Gospels…the story of the “Widow’s Mite.”

Listen now to the word of God as it is found in Mark chapter 12 verses 41 through 44:

Scripture Mark 12:41-44

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 

42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 

44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen

Let us pray….

Message Tithing

Tithing is a controversial subject….or at least a controversial subject in churches like Trinity. 

We have been raised in a culture that teaches us to feel uncomfortable talking about money…. if you research topics that are taboo to bring up at both dinner parties and in the workplace, one of the biggest topics to avoid is our “personal finances.” People don’t talk about their personal finances with their friends, their family members, and even their children – when I was a kid, it felt like my parent’s response to every request was “We can’t afford that.” But, there was never clarity about what we could afford – bubble gum and new bikes were in the same boat. Money and our personal finances are often awkward subjects for us to talk about.

Long, long ago, in Old Testament times, religious Jewish people were required to give offerings to the priests. Required – it was not optional. The people were primarily nomadic herdsmen or farmers, so they annually gave a tenth of their produce, herds or flocks to the priests….When the priests received these gifts, they were required to redistribute them – they supported the families of religious workers, immigrants, widows and orphans with the offerings. They were both used to finance and maintain the worship life of the people of Israel, and also provide for people who did not have enough resources to support themselves.  

How Christians handle tithing and supporting people in need differs depending on the type of Christian church and their history.  Some Christian congregations and expressions are very clear about the requirements of tithing.  LDS members, for example, have an annual “Tithing Declaration” meeting with a representative of their church where they go over their offerings and prove they have given 10 percent of their income that year.

Sometimes, part of becoming a member of a church or denomination is to agree to give an annual tithe. Tithing traditionally has been to give 10 percent of your income to the church….before we all had incomes that came to us in currency, congregational members sometimes gave 10 percent of their trade to the church…farmers gave produce or meat, carpenters gave objects they built, dressmakers gave clothing for the pastor’s family or impoverished people to wear. People gave a percentage of what they created to the church. 

In our church, and in churches like ours, the amount we tithe is very personal. Because we are a people who are very private about money and resources, we have traditionally seen the commitment of how much money to tithe as a commitment  between an individual person and God. But, when we read scriptures like the story of the widow’s mite we are reminded that we are commanded and encouraged by our generous God to be generous in return. We have to look at how much money we earn, consider our necessary expenses, and then consider how much we are able to give. For some of us, it would be no big deal to give 10 percent of our annual income to the church – we may have more than enough resources to cover our necessary expenses and 10 percent may not be a painful gift…in that case, perhaps we should give more than 10 percent. For others in this congregation, we may be relying on a very limited income and struggling to cover our basic needs. For those of us in that boat, God isn’t asking for us to take food out of our mouths or our children’s mouths to support the church. We are commanded to give what we are able to give, but not so much that we can’t cover our necessary expenses. 

Why should we tithe? Why would we tithe? We are not obligated, forced to tithe like the Jewish people of Old testament days. We are not part of a church that requires our members to tithe. So, why would we choose to give our resources to the church?

We choose to give to Trinity because we believe in the mission of our church. We are self-sustaining – the people who participate in our church are financially responsible for all that we do. We are the ones who keep the lights on and the piano tuned and the lawns mowed and the air-conditioning running. We believe that God has called us, the people of Trinity, to bring a message of hope and love and support to the people of the wider Skippack community. We are enriched and encouraged by the worship services we participate in in this beautiful sanctuary. We support the theology and beliefs we hold dear and share with the other people who are part of our church. We believe in the power of prayer, and we are strengthened and encouraged by the prayers of the people of Trinity. We work to welcome our friends and neighbors and the wider community to join us both here in worship and to work together outside in our community.  We collaborate with others believers to support the work of the Daily Bread Food Pantry and Every Good Gift’s ministry to young, single mothers. We love our church and we cheerfully support the mission of Trinity.

Although how much we give is a personal choice, we are encouraged to give as an expression of love for both God and for our special church. How we use our money demonstrates what we value and what we love. We love God and love our church – therefore, let us give as an expression of that love. 

Amen. 

Healing -- A Message for July 27, 2025

     This summer, my messages to you have been focused on different faith practices – fasting, keeping sabbath, and giving testimonies. It is important that we all find ways to put our faith into action by doing the work of Christianity for our personal growth and development and sharing acts of faith with the world.

This morning, we are turning to Christian healing. In the 21st century, we often leave healing and physical health to specialists – we trust medical doctors and nurses and physical therapists have “an edge” on treating our bumps and bruises. But, healing also has a spiritual component – the church has a role to play in helping each other heal from physical, mental and emotional injuries and illnesses.

Let us now turn to James’ Letter in the New Testament and read a bit of what he preached about healing, We will turn to James chapter 5, and read verses 13 through 16:

Scripture James 5:13-16

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 

15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Message Healing

When Jesus walked the earth the first time, one of the most notable things he did was heal people. Jesus was surrounded by people with countless physical and mental needs – people born blind, people with bleeding disorders, people with skin conditions like leprosy. In the Israel of the first century, when little was understood about the causes and spread of disease, people became outcasts when they were ill or had disabilities. And, when Jesus ministered on earth, part of his work was to provide miraculous healing for those in need ... .sight was restored, bleeding was stopped, a stooped over woman could stand up straight, skin was healed and clear, a paralysed man could walk again. Jesus healed people’s bodies and minds. 

After Jesus ascended to heaven, healing was still a major component of the Christian faith. The Apostles of the early church performed miraculous healings ... .Peter raised Tabitha from the dead…Philip healed lame and paralyzed people in Samaria…Paul healed a man who was crippled since birth in Lystra. Healing and Christianity went hand in hand.

As the Christian church became bigger and more established, stories of healing miracles started to fade away. Christians have always felt it was our duty to care for the sick – we have hospitals and nursing nuns and Christian burial societies going back far into the past. But, other than a few stories of saints, regular Christians were not expected to be able to heal each other of diseases as part of their Christian work.

In the 19th century, a religious revival swept the United States. During the Second Great Awakening, our formerly secular nation became very religious. And, many people were turned onto the Christian faith by revival preachers and new Christian groups. Healing started to be featured at revival worship services. Once again, healing was something people believed Christians could do.

But, there has been skepticism about the healing done by faith healers – films and books have portrayed faith healers as scam artists and crooks who pretend to heal others in the name of Jesus. Some of the famous faith healers were proved to be frauds, or to at least be complicated people full of both good and bad traits who possibly took advantage of vulnerable people. So, the work of famous faith healers was tainted by scandals.

Still, Christians have persisted in our work to encourage healing. Part of our regular work is to pray to God and lift up people who are suffering with physical, emotional, and mental ailments. At Trinity, we are a praying church. We eagerly await the opportunity to share our prayer requests for others and ourselves. We know that prayer makes a difference in our lives. It is comforting to know that others are praying for us. And, we believe healing comes through God – even when we are receiving attention and treatment by doctors and nurses, we believe the Holy Spirit is at work through their hands and their decisions.

One of the things working against us is that we sometimes lack belief when things seem miraculous ... .we live and have grown up in an era of rationalism and science. We struggle to believe in things that lack scientific evidence. And, we sometimes feel silly when we pray and ask God to heal us.

We must remember that nothing is 100%.... What was believed to be scientific in the year 1900 seems like quackery now – medical science is an ever evolving field. And, much of our emotional and mental health is dependent on things we strive to practice in Christianity when we get our heads and hearts into a healthier place, our physical health improves. We know that our psychological outlook makes a difference in our physical well-being. When we are feeling negative or depressed, we are less motivated to take care of our physical health: we exercise less, we eat unhealthy foods, we don’t make doctor’s appointments, and we ignore symptoms. 

Working on enriching our faith lives also helps us heal. Our psychological health improves when we ask God to support us…..when we lift up our concerns to God….when we ask God to forgive us…when we let go our our anger towards other people…when we ask other people to forgive us.

We can’t always explain how acts of faith work, but we know healing comes from God. Sometimes God works through doctors and nurses and physical therapists. Sometimes God works through the Holy Spirit. When we pray for healing, we are healed – sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, and sometimes burdens are lifted that we didn’t realize we were carrying. The healing that comes from God doesn’t work the way we expect medical science to work – if we have a headache, and take an aspirin, we expect the headache to go away. When we have a headache; and we ask God to heal us; sometimes God heals other things that are broken within us. 

When we struggle with a problem, it is important that we talk to God about it. When we pray and tell God our sorrows, we must ask God to make them better – to lift the burdens from us. Our faith requires us to pray for each other and to lift up to God prayers on each other’s behalf. When a friend or church member or relative is in need of healing, we must pray and ask God’s Holy Spirit to heal them. 

Let us do so whenever we hear of a need in others or whenever we have a need for ourselves. God makes a difference in our lives. God hears us when we pray. And God heals us in body, mind and spirit. Amen.