response ⁽¹⁴⁹⁾

Psalm 72; Isaiah 6:1–5; Acts 7:44–53 The opening verse of Psalm 72 is a passionate plea to God regarding the transition from David (the king) to Solomon (the king's son). The plea consists of a having a wise, compassionate, righteous, and feared earthly king of…

Psalm 68, Genesis 28:10-22, Hebrews 11:13-22 How often do we look at the world asking, "what's wrong with the world today?" How often do we look around ourselves asking, "what's wrong with everyone?" How often do we look at ourselves in the mirror asking, "what's…

1 Chronicles 15:11-29, 2 Samuel 6:16-22, Luke 15:4-32, 1 Peter 1:3-9 Have you ever leapt for joy? David did. He and his men were proudly and joyfully bringing God’s Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. In Hebrew, the underlying emotion of all David’s celebrating/leaping/whirling/skipping is…

Luke:1:46b-55, James 5:7-10, Hebrews 12:1-2 Mary’s song/poem of praise is often called the Magnificat in the Protestant/Roman Catholic tradition, or the Ode of the Theotokos (Bearer of God) in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is a joy-filled response to God by Mary that appears to…