Psalm 42: Connecting with God in Our Sadness

RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 11.3.21.

Psalm 42 To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

1    As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

2    My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

       When shall I come and appear before God?

3    My tears have been my food

day and night,

       while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

4    These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:

       how I would go with the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

       with glad shouts and songs of praise,

a multitude keeping festival.

5    Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

       Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation 6 and my God.

       My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I remember you

       from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,

from Mount Mizar.

7    Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

       all your breakers and your waves

have gone over me.

8    By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,

and at night his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

9    I say to God, my rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

       Why do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?”

10    As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

       while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

11    Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

       Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Psalm 58: Connecting with God in Our Anger

RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 10.27.21

PSALM 58 (NLT)

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Do Not Destroy!”

1 Justice—do you rulers know the meaning of the word?

Do you judge the people fairly?

2 No! You plot injustice in your hearts.

You spread violence throughout the land.

3 These wicked people are born sinners;

even from birth they have lied and gone their own way.

4 They spit venom like deadly snakes;

they are like cobras that refuse to listen,

5 ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers,

no matter how skillfully they play.

6 Break off their fangs, O God!

Smash the jaws of these lions, O Lord!

7 May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.

Make their weapons useless in their hands.

8 May they be like snails that dissolve into slime,

like a stillborn child who will never see the sun.

9 God will sweep them away, both young and old,

faster than a pot heats over burning thorns.

10 The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.

They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

11 Then at last everyone will say,

“There truly is a reward for those who live for God;

surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”

Psalm 23: Connecting with God in Our Fear

RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 10.20.21

PSALM 23 A Psalm of David.

1    The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2        He makes me lie down in green pastures.

       He leads me beside still waters.

3        He restores my soul.

       He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

4    Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

       for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5    You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

       you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

       and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

Psalm 1:1-4; Luke 11:1-4: Putting Down Roots

RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 10.13.21.

PSALM 1:1-4 & LUKE 11:1-4

1 Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

       nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2    but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

3    He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

       that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

       In all that he does, he prospers.

4    The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

 

11 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

       “Father, hallowed be your name.

       Your kingdom come.

3    Give us each day our daily bread,

4    and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

       And lead us not into temptation.”

Mark 4:1-9, 20: The Good Life

RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 10.6.21. Jesus concludes this story with a vision of the good life—a life that is not just blessed but a blessing, full of good fruit.

MARK 4.1-9, 14, 20

4 Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. 2 He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

[Later, Jesus explained the parable to his disciples:] 14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. […] 20 And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Mark 4:1-9, 18-19: The Need for Relationships

RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 9.29.21. To live the “good life”, you need receptivity, roots, and relationships—people who love you, care about you, and who know a thing or two about the kingdom of God and the ways of following Jesus. If you don’t have people like that in your lives—who can point out the weeds and help you disentangle them—the life of Jesus is going to get squeezed out of you.

MARK 4:1-9, 14, 18-19 (NLT)

Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. 2 He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

[Later, Jesus explained the parable to his disciples:] 14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. […] 18 The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.

Mark 4:1-9, 16-17: The Need for Roots

RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 9.22.21. Not only do we need to be receptive to God’s word, we need to put down deep roots—i.e., a hidden support system that anchors us in times of trouble and sustains us in and out of season.

MARK 4:1-9, 14, 16-17 (NLT)

Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. 2 He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

[Later, Jesus explained the parable to his disciples:] 14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. […] 16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

Mark 4:1-9, 14-15: The Need for Receptivity

RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 9.15.21. The good life is a life that is receptive to the word of God. Busyness, cynicism, and perfectionism harden us, making it difficult for God’s word to enter and take root. We need a break, humility, and honesty. There is a crack in everything—that is how the light (seed…Word) gets in.

Mark 4:1-9, 14-15

Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. 2 He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

[Later, Jesus explained the parable to his disciples:] “14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. 15 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.”