Sermon Series
Praying through the Psalms
January 2025 – present
Why do we often feel distant from God? One big reason is that we don’t know how to draw near. So what does... it look like to draw near and how do we do it? Pastor Luke Herche addresses these questions in a sermon on Psalm 1. Listen as he answers the “how”, “what”, and “why” of meditation, teaching us about the act of meditation, the object of meditation, and the blessing of meditation.
Fear is one of the most primal emotions known to man. Emotions, in general, can be perplexing, and we sometimes don’t know... what to do with them. Do we seek to master them or to bow down to them? Or is there another option? And so we turn to Scripture to help us understand our very hearts. In this sermon on Psalm 56, written by David as he fled from Saul who was pursuing him to kill him, Pastor Josué Pernillo examines the internal wrestlings of David and poses five questions: What is fear? What does fear show? How does fear become disordered? What are sinful responses to fear? And how do we pray through our fear?
People are often shocked by the raw honesty of the psalms. The psalmists regularly give voice to their emotions: fear, sadness,... anger, joy, hope, guilt, shame, doubt, gratitude—the Bible doesn’t hold back, but encourages a faith-full honesty. The psalms show us that such emotion, in itself, is not sin. Psalm 137, a psalm dealing with the deep pain of loss, often poses a challenge to interpreters, but Pastor Luke Herche argues that even this psalm presents a godly, because god-ward, response to loss. Preaching on this psalm, Pastor Luke shows that when we face loss we should lament what is, long for what will be, and love like Jesus in the meantime.
Preaching on Psalm 88, a weighty psalm that famously ends with the words “my companions... have become darkness,” (ESV) Pastor Luke Herche teaches us to be honest, feel the tension, and cry out for help.
Pastor Luke Herche preaches on Psalm 32, teaching us that forgiveness brings joy, silence brings... misery, honesty brings forgiveness, and that now is the time for honesty.
Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches on Psalm 44, helping us to answer the questions: What is shame? What is the... experience of shame? How do we respond to shame? And where do we go with our shame?
The psalms give us the language for every season of the soul, and Psalm 16 is a psalm about joy. It begins... with a declaration that there is no goodness apart from God and it ends with a recognition that at God’s right hand are pleasures forevermore. Joy is central to the Christian life and this psalm helps us understand what it looks like, feels like, and what it means to rejoice in the Lord. Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches on this psalm, helping us to understand joy better through four questions: Why do we long for joy? Where do we look for joy? How does joy become distorted? And how do we rejoice in the Lord?
Things look bad. Looking at the world around us, it is easy to see that things are not what they should be—and this has been true... throughout human history. In Psalm 37, David, the King of Israel, looks around and sees that things are not right. The wicked prosper, people plot evil, scheme to hurt others, draw the sword and bend their bows. Today we see this same principle at work on the large scale and small scale, war mongers and classroom cheaters. But what do we do with that? When you begin to get upset about the success of the people around you who seem to not deserve it or you begin to be tempted to join them in their evil ways, the psalmist offers another way: fret not. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on this Psalm, showing that when things look bad we can do three things: look at the big picture, look at the cross, and look to the Lord.
Sorrow and wickedness and evil are all around us. In the words of Shakespeare, “Each new morn new widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows strike... heaven on the face.” But what do we do in light of all this evil in the world? In Psalm 94 we find a reflection in the face of wickedness, a sober psalm that looks at the world as it is and helps us to wrestle with the question of how to respond. Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches on this challenging psalm, teaching us that in the face of evil Christians can cry to a judge, hate wickedness, wait patiently, and hope for restoration.
How do you know when you’re being tempted? There are times when temptation seems obvious, but often it’s subtle and discreet, appealing at first... until you find yourself caught in a snare. The call in Scripture is constant to watch, be vigilant, stay awake, be aware of the temptation that is coming, and to pray. In Psalm 141, David, keenly aware of the snares that surrounded him cried out desperately to the one who could deliver him from sin and temptation. Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches on this psalm, showing us how we, too, can cry to the Lord for help, praying against a sinful heart, for sinful people, about the sinful consequences, for sin’s resolve.
