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Dependence
Brian Mashburn
August 16, 2020
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Dependence
As we continue our way through the Bible's story by following the Bible-reading, video-watching schedule outlined in our 2020 Southwest Bible Project, I want to remind you that it is never too late to jump in with us.
Currently, we are reading a selection of Psalms, which is poetic and beautiful in nature, but raw, real, and gut-level honest in content. If you did not get to hear last week's teaching by Kyle Wade, I encourage you to go listen to it. It was a excellent introduction to the Psalms, and a great instruction for how to read it for all it is worth.
This week, we take a closer look at a specific Psalm, Psalm 107. When you read this chapter, you'll find two phrases that are each repeated four times.
The first: "Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress." (6, 13, 19, 28)
The second: "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men." (8, 15, 21, 31)
The first repeated verse can be received by us as an instruction concerning what we, as humans, need to do in this life that is far too much for us to handle on our own.
The second repeated verse can be received as an instruction concerning how we should (and will!) react when we encounter God's steadfast love in response to our cry.
I think you’ll enjoy this Psalm, but I have a very practical and timely application for you, specifically for everyone in the Southwest church family.
The interruption to life that the Covid Virus has caused over the last few months may have caused many of us to do unintentional spiritual harm to ourselves. Many are "waiting" for things to "return to normal". In the beginning, the hope was that this would be a temporary disruption of our rhythms, but this has not proven to be the case. In fact, we do not know how long the uncertainty will last.
So our leadership, after prayerful collaboration, is calling all of us to very purposefully re-engage in our shared practice of weekly worship.
Specifically, beginning August 13th, we are challenging you to get back into the habit of weekly shared worship in one of two ways. Either (1) join us at the building for our weekly worship services, or (2) join with 1 or 2 other families in a home to form a House Church, utilizing our online worship offerings.
The message of Psalm 107 is diametrically opposed to what much of our culture teaches people. Our culture says that maturity is measured by how self-sufficient we are. This chapter reminds us that life depends on God, and we need to connect with Him regularly to live it.