Wednesday Night Prayer Service
But, deliver us from evil – We have been praying by using the outline on Wednesday’s found in the Lord’s Prayer. In the part of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray about sin and the temptations we face day by day it makes sense that Jesus would pray for our deliverance. There are all kinds of enemies we face every day. Of them all, evil is the greatest. The ole’ devil wants to push us toward evil all the time. Jesus prays for our strength to stand against him and the evil he promotes, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11). Don’t try to fight against evil by yourself. You need the Lord to win the battle against evil.
Praises and Thanksgiving
- Praise God for the snow and praise God that snow melts. It is beautiful, but it is also nasty. The Bible says of snow, “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed you sons within you…He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes, He casts for His ice as fragments; who can stand before His cold?” (Psalm 147:12-13, 16-17). Snow is worthy of praise. I just don’t like it to snow on Sunday.
- Praise the Lord today that our Mission Team to Tanzania was able to fly out of Atlanta on Tuesday. They have asked us to pray today, “Pray that we will have the strength to share with our host families that God loves them and that He wants to have a relationship with them. Also, ask God to help us as we adjust to our new surroundings, culture, and our bodies as we adjust to the 8 hour time difference.” Keep Pastor Earl and Sherry Pirkle, Phyllis Simmons, Shari Sorah, and Dr. Rick Quarles in your prayers.
Prayers for our People
- The family of Scott Pethel (Tina – wife, Emily – daughter, Ken, Debra, Carol and Christy)
- Christy Kent, shingles
- Donna Roberts, COVID
- Joyce Reed, COVID
- Doug Bryant, Cancer Treatments and extreme back pain
- Mike House, anticipated back surgery
- The Grindles, COVID
- Pray for our national battle against COVID.
Prayers for our Church
- Sunday’s Sermon is “Saved and Sure”, John 17:14-16. Jesus prays that we will grow in Him and in the knowledge of our great salvation. He prays that our devotion to His word will make us different that the world. The word of God in us, makes us light in the midst of darkness. The world is opposed to the word of God and thus, it is opposed to us. Jesus also prays that we will make a difference in the world.
What keeps the Lord from ending the existence of the world?
Believers who witness and share the love of Christ in the world keep this world from being destroyed. The church is the only hope the world has today. Praise God for His church being in the world but not of the world.
- Pray for the construction and placement of our new Making Christ Real sign. The first message it will send is, “Jesus Christ is the Only Son of God.”
- Pray for our coming 2022 Emphasis, “The Year of Our Faith,” as we preach and teach the beliefs (Doctrines) of our faith. The first doctrine we will study is the doctrine of the Bible.
- Pray for our continued work of renovated the upper and lower buildings. Pray for coherence and planning taking place to complete the renovations.
- Pray for our coming SUPER BOWL SUNDAY, Men’s Chili Cook Off. This will be our first activity to take place in the newly renovated lower building.
- Pray for our Children’s Ministry Team leadership. Pray that we will soon see our children returning to Children’s Church on Sundays that we will see parents and grandparents gathering again to worship.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY
“Psalms”
By far, most of the Psalms are attributed to King David. Within the whole collection, 73 are attributed to him.
Asaph is the writer of 12 psalms.
The three sons of Korah are attributed with writing 11 psalms.
This only accounts for 96 out of 150 psalms. Other writers’ names as contributors to the Psalms are Adam (the first man), Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, Heman (the grandson of Samuel), and Jeduthun (name means “Lauder” or “praising”). We see that he was a Levite who led worship in the temple, “With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because His lovingkindness is everlasting” (1 Chronicles 16:41).
It is interesting to note that Melchizedek, king of Salem, blessed Abraham after his victory in battle of Chedorlaomer and all the kings with him, “He blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God most high who had delivered your enemies into your hand.’” (Genesis 14:19-20).
The Psalm attributed to Melchizedek is one that points to the coming Messiah in Psalm 110:4, “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The psalm is referred to again in Hebrews 7 confirming Christ’s superiority over the Levitical priesthood due to it unchanging nature and permanent authority from God, “…but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25).
From Abraham, through Melchizedek to Jesus Christ, the psalms carry forward God’s plan of salvation. Other psalms that you might want to read about God’s plan of salvation include:
What does it mean to you that the name for Jesus was spoken in songs by God’s people before He was conceived?
How amazing is the word of God?
The book of Psalms is divided into 5 books. No one knows for sure why, but it has been linked to the division of the first five books of the Bible as the Pentateuch. The reason will be stated by the older commentators, “As Moses gave five books of laws, so David gave five books of Psalms (Songs) to Israel.”
Another theory is that the Psalms were divided up for the purpose of reading them in public worship along with the books of the Law. In ancient times Jews customarily read through the five books of the Law in three-year reading cycles for public worship. They spent forty-one Sabbaths reading Genesis along with the first book of Psalms (which has forty-one psalms), thirty-one reading Exodus along with the second book of Psalms (which has thirty-one), and so on. The 5 books of the Psalms is as follows:
Book 1 – Psalms 1-41
Book 2 – Psalms 42-72
Book 3 – Psalms 73-89
Book 4 – Psalms 90-106
Book 5: Psalms 107-150
However, the books of the psalms are arranged, it is easy to see that the worship of Israel was according to structure. Coming before God in praise and adoration was not haphazard or off-the-cuff. There was reverence, order, and forethought given every time the people gathered to lift their hearts to the Lord. Israel paid attention to the words they used for God, repentance, forgiveness, praise, and gratitude. They were careful about how they spoke to God.
As you read the psalms in this study tonight, what have you learned about how you should talk to God?
Give some thought to your worship and how you should change it to give God the honor and favor He deserves.
Asaph is the writer of 12 psalms.
The three sons of Korah are attributed with writing 11 psalms.
This only accounts for 96 out of 150 psalms. Other writers’ names as contributors to the Psalms are Adam (the first man), Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, Heman (the grandson of Samuel), and Jeduthun (name means “Lauder” or “praising”). We see that he was a Levite who led worship in the temple, “With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because His lovingkindness is everlasting” (1 Chronicles 16:41).
It is interesting to note that Melchizedek, king of Salem, blessed Abraham after his victory in battle of Chedorlaomer and all the kings with him, “He blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God most high who had delivered your enemies into your hand.’” (Genesis 14:19-20).
The Psalm attributed to Melchizedek is one that points to the coming Messiah in Psalm 110:4, “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The psalm is referred to again in Hebrews 7 confirming Christ’s superiority over the Levitical priesthood due to it unchanging nature and permanent authority from God, “…but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25).
From Abraham, through Melchizedek to Jesus Christ, the psalms carry forward God’s plan of salvation. Other psalms that you might want to read about God’s plan of salvation include:
- Psalm 117:14-29 – As you read these verses, where did you hear verse 22-23 repeated in the New Testament? The same question can be applied to verse 26. The New Testament makes significant use of the Psalms in showing us how God’s plan of salvation is trustworthy and true.
- Psalm 22:1-10 – Where did you hear Jesus say what the Psalmist said in verse 1? Do these verses remind you of the suffering of Jesus at Calvary? How is it possible for king David to see the cross before there was a cross?
- Psalm 27:1-9 – Also read John 1:1-5 and John 8:12. Describe how the light of Jesus and the light of your salvation work together to give you assurance and peace.
- Psalm 62:1-8 – The word for SALVATION in this psalm is YESHUAH and means to DELIVER or to SAVE. What does this word sound like to you? Yes, it is the same word from which we get the name Jesus, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus (Yeshuah), for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Psalm 62 is attributed to King David and was preserved in the book of Psalms by Jeduthun a worship leader in the Temple.
What does it mean to you that the name for Jesus was spoken in songs by God’s people before He was conceived?
How amazing is the word of God?
The book of Psalms is divided into 5 books. No one knows for sure why, but it has been linked to the division of the first five books of the Bible as the Pentateuch. The reason will be stated by the older commentators, “As Moses gave five books of laws, so David gave five books of Psalms (Songs) to Israel.”
Another theory is that the Psalms were divided up for the purpose of reading them in public worship along with the books of the Law. In ancient times Jews customarily read through the five books of the Law in three-year reading cycles for public worship. They spent forty-one Sabbaths reading Genesis along with the first book of Psalms (which has forty-one psalms), thirty-one reading Exodus along with the second book of Psalms (which has thirty-one), and so on. The 5 books of the Psalms is as follows:
Book 1 – Psalms 1-41
- The superscriptions identify most of these psalms with David
- These psalms are mostly personal
- God is almost always identified as Yahweh (The Lord)
- Key verse—Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd…” (Read this entire Psalm)
Book 2 – Psalms 42-72
- Eighteen of these psalms are attributed to David and seven Korah and His descendants
- These psalms are mostly national referring to Israel
- God is most often referred to Elohim (God)
- Key verse--Psalm 51:17, “A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.” Would a broken and repentant heart help our nation today?
Book 3 – Psalms 73-89
- Most of these psalms are attributed to Asaph, David’s choirmaster. Some are given to Korah and his descendants.
- Again, most of these psalms are national in nature.
- God is most often referred to as Elohim (God)
- Key verse – Psalm 80:3, “Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make Your face shine down upon us.” (Read a couple of these psalms. No matter how a psalm begins, the last verse of every psalm ends with a doxology. What is a doxology? A praise verse). How would it impact your life to end every day with praise to God on your lips?
Book 4 – Psalms 90-106
- Two psalms are assigned to David and one to Moses, the rest have no superscription.
- These are mostly songs of worship.
- God is usually identified as Yahweh (the Lord).
- Key verse – Psalm 98:6, “Make a joyful noise (symphony) before the Lord, the King!” (Is the psalmist talking about instruments or voices? He is probably talking about both.)
Book 5: Psalms 107-150
- Fifteen of these psalms are attributed to David.
- These psalms are largely worship oriented with emphasis on HALLEL or praise songs.
- God is often identified as Yahweh (the Lord).
- Key verse Psalm 125:1, “Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion.” Where is Mount Zion? Where is your Mount Zion?
However, the books of the psalms are arranged, it is easy to see that the worship of Israel was according to structure. Coming before God in praise and adoration was not haphazard or off-the-cuff. There was reverence, order, and forethought given every time the people gathered to lift their hearts to the Lord. Israel paid attention to the words they used for God, repentance, forgiveness, praise, and gratitude. They were careful about how they spoke to God.
As you read the psalms in this study tonight, what have you learned about how you should talk to God?
Give some thought to your worship and how you should change it to give God the honor and favor He deserves.
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