West Loop Church: November 2023

Monday, November 27, 2023

I Know My Sin (Psalm 51)

Read Psalm 51 and 2 Samuel 11:1-12:13.

Sin will take me further than I want to go.
Sin will keep me longer than I want to stay.
Sin will cost me more than I want to pay.
Why do you think you sin (1 Jn 2:16; Eccl 6:7; 5:10)? Is sin a big deal?
Can a man reveal your sin (Jn 16:8)?
Do you commit adultery and murder like David? See Exo 20:13-14, 17; Dt 5:17-18, 21; Mt 5:21-22, 27-28; Prov 5:20; 6:24-25; Rom 7:15, 17, 18, 19, 23. Did David break any other commandments?

What are 3 words in reference to God (Ps 51:1)? 3 verbs for cleansing and 3 nouns for sin (Ps 51:1-2)?

What is the basis of David's plea (Exo 34:6-7; Mic 7:18)? Why (Eccl 7:20; Rom 3:23)?
What is the difference between mercy and grace? Does he deserve mercy? Is mercy a license to sin?

How did his sin affect him (Ps 51:3, 8, 12; 13:2; 38:2, 6)? Who is ultimately offended by his sin (Ps 51:4; Gen 39:7, 9)?

How bad do you feel about your sin (Ps 51:17)?

Ps 22 Forsaken (Psalm 22)

The most profound mystery. When Jesus screamed his agonizing cry on the cross (Ps 22:1; Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34), it might surprise some that Jesus was NOT abandoned by God in the sense that God was not present. God was there as implied by the fact that Jesus prays, for you cannot address someone who has gone off. Thus, God is watching as Jesus was tortured, suffering as profoundly in his spirit as Jesus suffered in body and spirit. What unbearable agony it would be for a man to watch his son or grand-son be tortured in agony and not stop it when he could! In essense God listens to Jesus on the cross, screaming, "Why have you forsaken me?" and does nothing.

Do you have a "Why" for your Life?

Logotherapy is a meaning centered psychotherapy. It is driven not by power or pleasure, but by meaning. Viktor Frankl: Actualization is NOT the Goal. In the death camps, you have nothing to lose except your life.

The Perfect King (Psalm 72)

"Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness" (Ps 72:1).

The NT nowhere quotes this as Messianic, but this picture of the king and his realm is so close to the prophesies of Isaiah 11:1-5 and Isaiah 60-62 that if those passages are Messianic, so is this.

Royal righteousness (Ps 72:1-4). Imitating God: the world and its people set to rights.
Endless reign (Ps 72:5-7). Endless abundance under the king.
Boundless realm (Ps 72:8-11). World dominion.
Compassionate king (Ps 72:12-14). The caring rule.
Endless blessing (Ps 72:15-17).

The nations respond in devotion (Ps 72:15).
Shared abundance under the king (Ps 72:16-17).

Doxology and conclusion (Ps 72:18-19). Reflecting God: the earth filled with his glory.

Ps 88 Faith Without Hope as the Darkness Deepens

"Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you" ["by day I have screamed, by night, in front of you" {Motyer}] "...darkness is my closest [best] friend" (Ps 88:1, 18).