Psalm 24--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: Psalter Setting, #755
UMH: Lift Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates, #213
FWS: Holy Ground, #2272
FWS: Hosanna, #3188
Give Us Clean Hands--Chris Tomlin

Call to Worship:
We come, praying for clean hearts and hands that we may worship God.
Our God has promised that all faithful people will receive God’s blessings.

We come, praying that through God’s grace we may stand before God.
Grace-giving God, through you alone we are able to come to worship you.

We come today, praying that we may receive blessings from our God.
Trustworthy God, you have always fulfilled your promises, and we
joyfully celebrate and give thanks for the mercies of our Gracious God. Amen.

Sermon Illustrations:
Jesus sculpture finds a home: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/ontario-man-jesus-sculpture-gets-big-fan-pope-175159441.html
Sculpture of Jesus as a homeless man sleeping on a bench was rejected from a number of sites, but has finally found a home. Could provide for an interesting point about how Jesus would have clearly walked the path that lead to the hill of God. But, when our priorities are not righteousness, the hill of God cannot be found.

Psalm 104--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale, #122
UMH: This Is My Father's World, #144
UMH: All Creatures of Our God and King, #62
UMH: All Things Bright and Beautiful, #147
UMH: For the Beauty of the Earth, #92
FWS: Bless the Lord, #2013
All of Us Belong--Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan

Prayer:
God, whose fingers sculpt sun and moon
  and curl the baby's ear;
  Spirit, brooding over chaos
    before the naming of day;
  Savior, sending us to earth's ends
    with water and words:
  startle us with the grace, love, and communion
    of your unity in diversity,
  that we may live to the praise of your majestic name. Amen.
(W&S # 42)

Video:
Could be cool to have this playing during reading of Psalm 104.

Starling Swarm - Blender from Everton Schneider on Vimeo.

Sermon Illustrations:
New book "Earth from Space" shows high-resolution photos of Earth's surface from orbiting satellites. http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/25/tech/innovation/earth-from-space-book/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Anne Cameron Cutri's Psalm 104 Comic--click below to check it out.

Psalm 100--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: Psalm 100 setting, #821
FWS: How Can I Keep From Singing, #2212
FWS: Sing allelujaha to the Lord, #2258, Trad.
This is the Day
Psalm 100--Matt Gilman
Make a Joyful Noise--The Rizers (Children)

Video:

Psalm 100 from James Drake on Vimeo.

Prayer:
Exalted One, we joyfully celebrate our unlimited trust in your faithful promises. We pray that all people will someday sound a cacophony of hallelujahs as they truly accept your steadfast love. May these gifts that we gladly lay upon your altar enable ministries that support this chorus of praise. We pray with praise and thanksgiving in our hearts. Amen.

Sermon Illustrations/Resources:
"Why We Sing" by Carolyn Winfrey Gilette
"Ode to Joy" by Stacy Horn
"Have Christians Stopped Singing" by David Murrow
"The Singing Thing: A Case for Congregational Song" by John L. Bell

Missional Connection:
Lincoln County Second Chance Choir: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-county-inmates-perform-at-churches-as-second-chance-choir/article_62c1bcc7-5dff-53e9-aa86-7a5a995823e0.html
Inmates from Lincoln County have formed a choir, and are performing at area churches. For them, the experience brings them closer together and creates an opportunity for local congregations to make connections with those who imprisoned.

Psalm 100--Exegetical Thoughts

Make a Joyful Noise by Dave Becker

Thus far in this semester's exploration of the Psalms, we've heard a lot of different noises: instructive voices, cries of the suffering, an imaginative prayer. But here, arriving at Psalm 100, we get to hear some real music. McCann points out that the bold claim of the Psalms is that life and praise of God are inextricably bound--to stop praising God is to die (54), and so, we find an expression of this praise and thanksgiving here.

Mays points out that praise born of thanksgiving isn't just a happy smile. Rather, he says it is "the gladness that wells up from the whole person" (Preaching 179). A part of the function of Psalm 100 is instructive (a pattern in the Psalms). Limburg explores how Psalm 100 teaches us who we are (God's still-loved creation), what we are to do (praise God), and why we should praise (because of God's steadfast love; 337-338). In his Psalms commentary, Mays indicates that Psalm 100 functions in two ways to facilitate praise--first, as an initiation into worship (as a call to worship and movement into the presence of God), and as a theology of worship.

Worship reorients. It moves us away from our self-centeredness and into an awareness of God's grace. The seven imperatives of Psalm 100 express this movement: make (vs. 1), worship (vs. 2), come (vs. 2b), know (vs. 3), enter (vs. 4), give (vs. 4b), and bless (vs. 4b). The direction I would like to take with Psalm 100 begins with the opening imperative--"Make a joyful noise to the Lord."

Our reorientation begins with noise. Joyful noise. Often assumed to be singing. The significance of singing as a human activity is one that cannot be denied. And we know from the liturgical notes in the Psalms themselves that their being sung was likely a part of the worship of the Hebrew people. In the Christian tradition, congregational singing has ebbed and flowed; a brief overview of Christian singing can be found here. By the time of the Reformation, congregations stood mute as the music was made by professionals. Reformers changed this, bringing music to the congregations, changing the words to popular music to theologically rich imagery. The first hymnal was printed in 1532, and music became a main vehicle of theology for the average church-goer. However, technological advances, changing tastes in music, and the explosion of mega-churches has found that congregational singing is on the decline. Joyful noises seem only to be for those with polished enough voices (or with enough familiarity with the music) to be up on stage.

In the view of Psalm 100, this is a shame. "All the earth" is called to this joyous form of worship of God. And I believe that new science about the effects of group singing on our very physiology confirm that joining in with others in musical praise of God leads us to be able to to act out the subsequent imperatives of Psalm 100. 

In her article "Ode to Joy," Stacy Horn provides an easily-to-understand description of the physiological occurrences during song, with links to supporting research. She writes:  

Music is awash with neurochemical rewards for working up the courage to sing. That rush, or “singer's high,” comes in part through a surge of endorphins, which at the same time alleviate pain. When the voices of the singers surrounding me hit my ear, I'm bathed in dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is associated with feelings of pleasure and alertness. Music lowers cortisol, a chemical that signals levels of stress. Studies have found that people who listened to music before surgery were more relaxed and needed less anesthesia, and afterward they got by with smaller amounts of pain medication. Music also releases serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of euphoria and contentment.  “Every week when I go to rehearsal,” a choral friend told me, “I'm dead tired and don't think I'll make it until 9:30. But then something magic happens and I revive ... it happens almost every time.”  "Ohio State music professor David Huron believes singing may generate prolactin, which is released in nursing women, and in tears of sorrow. Prolactin has a tranquilizing, consoling effect, and this is why sad music makes us feel better, according to Huron. There's even evidence that singing about death not only feels good, it's good for you. Researchers discovered that a choir singing Mozart's Requiem showed an increase in s-IgA, an immunoglobulin that enhances our immune defense.It doesn't even matter if you can sing well. I can't. The best I can manage is singing in tune. Most of the time. Hopefully. One of my main goals in our weekly rehearsals is not being heard. Over the years I've become a master in the art of voice camouflage, perfecting a cunning combination of seat choice, head tilt, and volume. Luckily, in a 2005 study, investigators found that group singers experienced the same benefits even when “the sound produced by the vocal instrument is of mediocre quality.” It’s arguable whether my vocal instrument even reaches that level, but I’m happy to reap the benefits nonetheless.While any singing has rewards, there are reasons you should find a choir rather than simply singing in the shower and leaving it at that. Studies have found that group singing releases oxytocin, a chemical that manages anxiety and stress and, according to McGill University professor Daniel Levitin, enhances feelings of trust and bonding."

Singing physically makes it possible for us to come, know, enter, give thanks, and bless. More than that, group singing actually syncs us up physically, as reasearch has found that singers in a group actually sync up their heart rates. Now, if God's will for us is to do justice, to be in community with one another, singing together does so in a way that brings us together not just emotionally, but biologically.

In Psalm 100, humanity is instructed to make a joyful noise with the understanding that it is reorienting act. Most interpretation has focused on this in a theological or social way. But in a time of praise bands, of decreasingly participatory worship, and of rampant individualism, it seems that a reading of Psalm 100 from the biological effects of singing might just have a profound impact on how we worship. In a new way, Psalm 100 leads us into worship and instructs us about what worship is at a biological level.

Psalm 32--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: Amazing Grace, #378
UMH: Grace Greater Than Our Sin, #365
W&S: Confession (Musical Response), #3138
FWS: You Are My Hiding Place, #2055
While I Keep Silence--Wright
Psalm 32--Mike & Liz Mumford
You are my Hiding Place
Pretty much any Kyrie would be appropriate, too.

Prayers of Confession and Pardon:
W&S: #84-97
BOW: #474-494

Video:

Songs of Deliverance from Biltmore Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Sermon Illustrations:
10 Risks Happy People Take: http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/10/20/10-risks-happy-people-take-every-day/
Many of these "risks" have to do with opening up about being imperfect, off-track, and being willing to grow. Sounds like what it means to open up to God in confession. Could see using this list in a sermon series on beatitudes: "Happy are those..."

Nelson Mandella's ability to forgive: http://newday.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/08/finding-forgiveness/?sr=sharebar_facebook
A video on Nelson Mandella's forgiveness of those who imprisoned him. Conversation turns to how to begin the process of forgiveness. Clincial Psychologist discusses changing perception--confession and assurance from God can help us do this. Biblical scholar Brent Strawn discusses Psalms, especially in dealing with enemies (at 6:40). Conversation with God keeps our own sin and sin of others from taking over our entire lives.

Missional Connection:
Freeing Slaves to Rebuild Lives: http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Resources/News-Stories/2013/December/1203freeingslavestorebuildlives
Some of our confession may need to be on a societal level. In the case of human-trafficking, I think many of us would prefer to keep our silence on the matter--to pretend that this issue just didn't exist. But in acknowledging and talking about this issue, we begin to confess the sins of our world, even if they are not our own personal sins, and can participate in sharing God's grace in these darkened paths.

Psalm 82--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: What Does the Lord Require, #441
UMH: O Day of God Draw Nigh, #730
UMH: Psalter Setting, #804a
UMH: This Is My Song, #437
To the Powers of the Earth (Psalm 82)--Stephen Pearson
Psalm 82 from the Emergent Psalter--Isaac Everett

Video:

Psalm 82 from The Voice Translation

Prayer:
God, every time the powerful meet together, you take a seat at their table.
Though unseen, you see.
Though unaddressed, you address.
And you say to them, "Strengthen the weak. Stand up for the orphans. Rescue the needy. Pursue the wicked."
But the powerful ignore your words. They fail to consider your call.
Therefore, God, take charge. Take over.
Do what they will not.
Strengthen the weak. Stand up for the orphans. Rescue the needy. Pursue the wicked.
And help us to do the same. Amen.

Sermon Illustrations:
"Confronting Visual Biases" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/22/the-passage-cardboard-signs_n_4319568.html
What if, instead of doing injustice, the powerful actually stood in for those who were weak, orphaned, lowly, or destitute? A charity in London asked its volunteers to do just that. They hold hand-lettered, cardboard signs that proclaim their privilege and their decision to use that privilege to help those who do not have it. Pretty sure this divine council would get excellent performance reviews.

Missional Connection:
Health care for mothers and children in Sierra Leon: http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Resources/News-Stories/2013/December/sierraleonematernalchildhealth

Psalm 69--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee, #142
FWS: God is So Good, #2056
FWS: Nothing Can Trouble, #2054
FWS: Wade in the Water, #1707
Ps. 69--Lord, In Your Great Love, Answer Me--Eric Becker
Ps. 69--Sons of Korah
Fantasia on Genevan Psalm-Tune 69, W. van Twillert, MEERE
Psalm 69, Faithful--Nijael Mustafa


Video:
Music video for Psalm 69 by Sons of Korah--Kim Gribbon

Sermon Illustrations:
Why Is Asking for Help So Hard? www.nytimes.com
If actually talking to God about our problems is part of what helps us to understand God's steadfast love and will of shalom in our lives, and if just the act of being able to speak to God in the midst of trouble helps us to turn to praise, then why is it so difficult to even take that step? (Could use this article as a way to introduce ideas from Brueggemann's "The Costly Loss of Lament.")

Psalm 13--Worship Resources

Music:
UMH: Psalter for Psalm 13, #746
UMH: Be Still My Soul, #534
UMH: Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior, $351
FWS: How Long, O Lord, #2209
W&S: Falling on My Knees, #3099
W&S: Bidden, Unbidden, 3019
Psalm 13 (How Long O Lord)--Brian Doerksen
Psalm 13--Nate Hale
How Long (feat. Bethany John)--The Psalms Project (Rel. 12/6/2013)
Der 13. Psalm "Herr, wie lange" Op. 27--Johannes Brahms


I Believe--Mark Miller
“I believe in the sun,
even when it is not shining.
I believe in love,
even when I do not feel it.
I believe in God,
even when God is silent.”

This statement of faith was scrawled on a cellar wall in Cologne by a Jewish person hiding from teh Nazi Gestapo during WWII. American soldiers discovered it below a Star of David when searching the bombed house. This poem is the text for Mark Miller's anthem, "I Believe."

Video

How Long from The Inspire Collective on Vimeo.



Depression Conversation Starters:

From "Adventures in Depression, Part Two" Hyperbole and a Half

"Depression 'second leading cause of disability worldwide'" - Medical News Today

Depression Basics -- Halfofus.com

Psalm 1--Worship Resources

Music:

UMH: Psalter for Psalm 1, #738

UMH: #601 "Thy Word Is a Lamp"

Faith We Sing: "I Will Enter His Gates" 

"Blessed Is the Man" Psalm 1:1-2, The Psalms Project

"He Is Like a Tree" Psalm 1:3

Video:
Psalm 1 - Sacred Guardian by Elijah Aaron

Prayer for Illumination from Worship & Song

Eternal God,

in the reading of the Scripture, may your Word be heard;

in the meditations of our hearts, may your Word be known;

and in the faithfulness of our lives, may your Word be shown. Amen.

Collect based on Psalm 1:

God of torah,

who invites all to follow the way--

   the way that leads to life,

   the way that leads to peace,

   the way that leads each of us to this very moment--

watch over our learning

so that we may be more than educated,

   more than well-read,

   more than simply proficient;

watch over our learning

so that we may become

students of your instruction

   students who delight in your instruction

as we continue in the way.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ,

   our trailblazer and our teacher.

Amen.

Articles and Illustrations:

"10 Decisions That Will Make You Happier and Healtier" Huffingtonpost.com

"10 Things Happy People Do Differently" Psychologytoday.com

"What the Happiest People Know for Sure" Oprah.com

"Atheism as ultimate white privilege" patheos.com