Where Justice Blooms

Songs of Refuge - Part 3

“OF SOLOMON.  Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!  2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!  3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!  4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!... 12 For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.  13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.  14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.  15 Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!  16 May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!  17 May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!  18 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.  19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!  20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.”

- Psalm 72:1-4, 12-20

Faith & Reason Lighting the Way

Songs of Refuge - Part 2

“TO THE CHOIRMASTER. OF DAVID.  In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee like a bird to your mountain, 2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" 4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test, the children of man. 5 The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. 6 Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 7 For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.”

- Psalm 11:1-7

A Song For The Shaken

“TO THE CHOIRMASTER. OF THE SONS OF KORAH. ACCORDING TO ALAMOTH. A SONG. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. (Selah)  4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.  5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.  6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.  7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Selah)  8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.  9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.  10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"  11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Selah)”

- Psalm 46:1-11

Faith That Endures

Stand Alone Message

“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.  24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.  27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.  28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.”

- Hebrews 11:23-28

Good News For Uncertain Times

Responding to Crisis Series - Part 7

“16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols… 19 And they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean." 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "' For we are indeed his offspring.' 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

- Acts 17:16-31

A Time of Crisis, A Time of Extraordinary Prayer - Part 2

Responding to Crisis Series - Part 5

https://youtu.be/YkOEWtKfRZ0

“For the LORD had said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.'" 6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. 7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”

- Exodus 33:5-11

A Time of Crisis, A Time of Extraordinary Prayer - Part 1

Responding to Crisis Series - Part 5

“The LORD said to Moses, "Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your offspring I will give it.'  2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people."  4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.  5 For the LORD had said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.'"  6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.  7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.”

- Exodus 33:1-7

A Time of Crisis, A Time of Repentance

Responding to Crisis Series - Part 4

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  2 And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?  3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.  4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?  5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

- Luke 13:1-5

“25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."  27 This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken- that is, things that have been made- in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.  28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.”

- Hebrews 12:25-29