Psalms 43-45, Acts 27:27-44 •Key Verses: Psalm 44:23-24 Nothing is quite as unsettling as the phone ringing in the middle of the night. You pick up the receiver, hoping it is a wrong number, irritated if it is, angered if it’s a prank, but anxious as its sound jars you...
Psalms 40-42, Acts 27:1-26 • Key Verse: Psalm 42:5 Depression has been called “the common cold of the mind.” Many people experience it in varying degrees; some are only mildly affected on occasion, while others are caught in a downward spiral of increasing hopelessness. Whereas some things can be fixed...
Psalms 37-39, Acts 26 • Key Verses: Psalm 37:3-5 “Don’t beat around the bush—get to the point” is the sentiment of some of us. We prefer concise, straight answers, not wordy explanations or instructions. David got right to the point in Psalm 37. “Trust in the LORD” (v. 3). “Delight...
Psalms 35-36, Acts 25 •Key Verse: Psalm 35:28 Weather probably tops the list, followed by sports arid perhaps something in the news as typical topics of conversation. It’s so easy to bring up these subjects. But do we really need another person to verify that it is hot today? If...
Psalms 33-34, Acts 24 •Key Verse: Acts 24:16 There is nothing like seeing a highway patrolman in the rearview mirror to get a person to drive the speed-limit—or even a few miles under, just in case the speedometer is off a bit. When the internal moral compass is off a...
Psalms 31-32, Acts 23:16-35 • Key Verse: Psalm 32:5 Someone once said, “Better the world on the shoulder like Atlas, than Gods hand on the heart like David.” This statement was in reference to Psalm 32:4, where David wrote, “Your hand was heavy upon me.” He described that experience with...
Psalms 29—30, Acts 23:1-15 • Key Verse: Acts 23:1 Similar to the proverbial ‘satisfaction of a job well done” is the experience of being able “to look them straight in the eye.” There is something about unblinking eye contact that communicates both truthfulness and determination. When we know we are...
Psalms 26-28, Acts 22 • Key Verses: Psalm 26:2-3 A candidate stepped out of the race and another stepped in to take his place. What was called a battle of titans now took on a different flavor. A relatively unknown candidate was now on the ballot against the well-known one....
Psalms 23-25, Acts 21:18-40 • Key Verse: Psalm 23:1 How much more change can we take? We have information overload, wireless communication that reaches everywhere and unbelievable stress. And the only change on the horizon is more change of the same kind – more information, expanded communication, all taking its...
Psalms 20-22, Acts 21:1-17 • Key Verse: Acts 21:1 “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out,” our pastor would say as the communion service concluded. And then we would sing the hymn “Blest Be the Tie That Binds.” Nothing more clearly communicates our oneness in Christ as...