The Struggle, The Search, The Psalms
The Struggle for Answers
June 28, 2015 • Dale Oquist
June 28, 2015 Gathering How do we face the perplexing questions and still keep our faith? How do we wrestle with the unfairness of life without losing hope in God? Life maturity and spiritual growth begins when we deal with this unfairness. That is the very issue the writer of Psalm 73 wrestles with. Dale continues our series with The Struggle for Answers. He used this Psalm to help us find God in the midst of life’s inequities.
The Struggle to Sing
June 14, 2015 • Dale Oquist
We are continuing our study in the Psalms (The Struggle, The Search, The Psalms) in Psalm 71. We tend to sing or hum or whistle only when we are content or happy. But, the Psalms, this hymn book and prayer book of the Hebrew people, shows that songs are most powerful and uplifting when sung in the “dark night of the soul.” Think of the songs that came out of slavery and how music was a comfort for them in depressing times. On Sunday, Dale used the Psalms to show us why it is important to sing, especially when we don’t feel like it. That singing and expressing music in those moments can be an avenue to experience God’s presence that we would otherwise miss.
The Struggle to Choose
May 31, 2015 • Dale Oquist
We began a new series of teachings today from the book of Psalms “The Struggle. The Search. The Psalms.” Many times the images and ideas we have of prayer don’t come close to the prayer life we currently have. The Psalmist understands our struggle with life and connecting to God, so we have the Psalms. The main idea of Psalms 1 has to with what or who influences your life. More central to the message of the first Psalm is that we have a choice as to what influences our life on a daily basis – the culture around us or the Word of God. Choose wisely!