Easter
Preaching
Aids To The Psalms
Exploring The Message
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
"The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly."
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Alternate Image
The Singer has completed a new member class and today is the
day he formally joins his new church. As he climbs the ramp to
the church he is met by others who were in the new member class
with him and they are all greeted by members of the church.
Chatting excitedly they walk down the aisles to seats in the
pews. The service begins with wondrous glorious music, prayers
are prayed, scriptures are read and the preacher preaches a
powerful sermon. Following the sermon
the minister asks, "Those who wish to join the church and believe
they are good enough, please come forward." "Good enough?" thinks
the Singer as he sits frozen in his pew. "Who is good enough to
belong to the church? Certainly not I. Each day I fail to live up
to the Lord's commands, each day I sin. The Singer turns and
looks at the others who wish to join that day. As they look at
each other they begin to smile. In their class they became very
close. They became close to each other not because they were
"good" people, but because they shared the failings, the sins.
That is what they had in common. Shortcomings were confessed to
each other and to God. And when their sins were acknowledged they
felt God's love flooding over them, and they felt good! Good not
because of themselves or their accomplishments, but because of
God and what he accomplished through Jesus Christ. The class
smiles at each other, stands and walks confidently down the aisle
to be received into membership. They turn around and look into
the eyes of the congregation. A group of good sinners like
themselves. It is a good day.
Reflection
This Psalm pictures a new convert to Judaism arriving at the
temple gates. At the gate he shouts, "Open to me the gates of
righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to
the Lord." What a proud statement. With confidence the new member
enters God's house. This confidence is not self-confidence, but
God-confidence. God has created him as a being of life rather
than death. Once in the gates the proselyte joins the other
members of the temple as an equal. This is a graceful moment
which all the believers celebrate in unity of condition and
purpose.
That is what church membership is all about. It is the
wonderful knowledge that we belong. We belong to each other, to
creation and to God. We belong not because of our own efforts or
insights but because God wants us to belong and makes our
belonging possible. As we rejoice in the creation of each new day
that God has made, we rejoice in our continual re-creation by
God.
he has become my salvation.
There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
"The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly."
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Alternate Image
The Singer has completed a new member class and today is the
day he formally joins his new church. As he climbs the ramp to
the church he is met by others who were in the new member class
with him and they are all greeted by members of the church.
Chatting excitedly they walk down the aisles to seats in the
pews. The service begins with wondrous glorious music, prayers
are prayed, scriptures are read and the preacher preaches a
powerful sermon. Following the sermon
the minister asks, "Those who wish to join the church and believe
they are good enough, please come forward." "Good enough?" thinks
the Singer as he sits frozen in his pew. "Who is good enough to
belong to the church? Certainly not I. Each day I fail to live up
to the Lord's commands, each day I sin. The Singer turns and
looks at the others who wish to join that day. As they look at
each other they begin to smile. In their class they became very
close. They became close to each other not because they were
"good" people, but because they shared the failings, the sins.
That is what they had in common. Shortcomings were confessed to
each other and to God. And when their sins were acknowledged they
felt God's love flooding over them, and they felt good! Good not
because of themselves or their accomplishments, but because of
God and what he accomplished through Jesus Christ. The class
smiles at each other, stands and walks confidently down the aisle
to be received into membership. They turn around and look into
the eyes of the congregation. A group of good sinners like
themselves. It is a good day.
Reflection
This Psalm pictures a new convert to Judaism arriving at the
temple gates. At the gate he shouts, "Open to me the gates of
righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to
the Lord." What a proud statement. With confidence the new member
enters God's house. This confidence is not self-confidence, but
God-confidence. God has created him as a being of life rather
than death. Once in the gates the proselyte joins the other
members of the temple as an equal. This is a graceful moment
which all the believers celebrate in unity of condition and
purpose.
That is what church membership is all about. It is the
wonderful knowledge that we belong. We belong to each other, to
creation and to God. We belong not because of our own efforts or
insights but because God wants us to belong and makes our
belonging possible. As we rejoice in the creation of each new day
that God has made, we rejoice in our continual re-creation by
God.
