Hope Presbyterian Church

Tag: (2016) Using the Psalms to Help Us Pray

  • 8/28/16 “Persevering In Prayer” Revelation 5:1-14

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    8/28/16 “Persevering In Prayer” Revelation 5:1-14
    Loading
    /

    Revelation 5

    5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

    6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

      “Worthy are you to take the scroll
        and to open its seals,
      for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
        from every tribe and language and people and nation,
    10   and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
        and they shall reign on the earth.”

    11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,

      “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
      to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
      and honor and glory and blessing!”

    13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

      “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
      be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

    14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

    (ESV)

  • 8/21/16 “Praying With Salvation Hope: Answered Prayers” Acts 4:23-31

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    8/21/16 “Praying With Salvation Hope: Answered Prayers” Acts 4:23-31
    Loading
    /

    Acts 4:23–31

    23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

      “‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
        and the peoples plot in vain?
    26   The kings of the earth set themselves,
        and the rulers were gathered together,
        against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

    27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

    (ESV)

  • 8/14/16 “Thankful Prayer: A Loving Readiness for Death” Psalm 116; John 11:32-44

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    8/14/16 “Thankful Prayer: A Loving Readiness for Death” Psalm 116; John 11:32-44
    Loading
    /

    Psalm 116

    116:1   I love the LORD, because he has heard
        my voice and my pleas for mercy.
    2   Because he inclined his ear to me,
        therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
    3   The snares of death encompassed me;
        the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
        I suffered distress and anguish.
    4   Then I called on the name of the LORD:
        “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”
    5   Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
        our God is merciful.
    6   The LORD preserves the simple;
        when I was brought low, he saved me.
    7   Return, O my soul, to your rest;
        for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
    8   For you have delivered my soul from death,
        my eyes from tears,
        my feet from stumbling;
    9   I will walk before the LORD
        in the land of the living.
    10   I believed, even when I spoke:
        “I am greatly afflicted”;
    11   I said in my alarm,
        “All mankind are liars.”
    12   What shall I render to the LORD
        for all his benefits to me?
    13   I will lift up the cup of salvation
        and call on the name of the LORD,
    14   I will pay my vows to the LORD
        in the presence of all his people.
    15   Precious in the sight of the LORD
        is the death of his saints.
    16   O LORD, I am your servant;
        I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
        You have loosed my bonds.
    17   I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
        and call on the name of the LORD.
    18   I will pay my vows to the LORD
        in the presence of all his people,
    19   in the courts of the house of the LORD,
        in your midst, O Jerusalem.
      Praise the LORD!

    (ESV)

    John 11:32–44

    32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

    38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

    (ESV)

  • 8/7/16 “The LORD Who Keeps My Soul” Psalm 121

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    8/7/16 “The LORD Who Keeps My Soul” Psalm 121
    Loading
    /

  • 7/31/16 “Remembering to Pray in Pain: Crying Out to God” Psalm 88; Luke 18:1-8

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    7/31/16 “Remembering to Pray in Pain: Crying Out to God” Psalm 88; Luke 18:1-8
    Loading
    /

    Psalm 88

    A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

    88:1   O LORD, God of my salvation,
        I cry out day and night before you.
    2   Let my prayer come before you;
        incline your ear to my cry!
    3   For my soul is full of troubles,
        and my life draws near to Sheol.
    4   I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
        I am a man who has no strength,
    5   like one set loose among the dead,
        like the slain that lie in the grave,
      like those whom you remember no more,
        for they are cut off from your hand.
    6   You have put me in the depths of the pit,
        in the regions dark and deep.
    7   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
        and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
    8   You have caused my companions to shun me;
        you have made me a horror to them.
      I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
    9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.
      Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
        I spread out my hands to you.
    10   Do you work wonders for the dead?
        Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
    11   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
        or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
    12   Are your wonders known in the darkness,
        or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
    13   But I, O LORD, cry to you;
        in the morning my prayer comes before you.
    14   O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
        Why do you hide your face from me?
    15   Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
        I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
    16   Your wrath has swept over me;
        your dreadful assaults destroy me.
    17   They surround me like a flood all day long;
        they close in on me together.
    18   You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
        my companions have become darkness.

    (ESV)

    Luke 18:1–8

    18:1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

    (ESV)

  • 7/24/16 “Praying On the Run: God My Helper” Psalm 54; 1 Samuel 23:15-29

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    7/24/16 “Praying On the Run: God My Helper” Psalm 54; 1 Samuel 23:15-29
    Loading
    /

    Psalm 54

    To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

    54:1   O God, save me by your name,
        and vindicate me by your might.
    2   O God, hear my prayer;
        give ear to the words of my mouth.
    3   For strangers have risen against me;
        ruthless men seek my life;
        they do not set God before themselves. Selah
    4   Behold, God is my helper;
        the Lord is the upholder of my life.
    5   He will return the evil to my enemies;
        in your faithfulness put an end to them.
    6   With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
        I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
    7   For he has delivered me from every trouble,
        and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

    (ESV)

  • 7/17/16 “Praying In Depression: ‘To The God of My Life’” Psalm 42; John 12:27-36

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    7/17/16 “Praying In Depression: ‘To The God of My Life'” Psalm 42; John 12:27-36
    Loading
    /

    Psalm 42

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

    42:1   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.

    (ESV)

  • 7/10/16 “In the Midst of Disaster” Psalm 46; Matthew 8:23-27

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    7/10/16 “In the Midst of Disaster” Psalm 46; Matthew 8:23-27
    Loading
    /

    Psalm 46

    To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

    46:1   God is our refuge and strength,
        a very present help in trouble.
    2   Therefore we will not fear though the earth give 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

    (ESV)

    Matthew 8:23–27

    23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

    (ESV)

     

  • 7/3/16 “Starting the Day With Prayer” Psalm 5, Mark 1:29-39

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    7/3/16 “Starting the Day With Prayer” Psalm 5, Mark 1:29-39
    Loading
    /

    Psalm 5

    To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

    5:1   Give ear to my words, O LORD;
        consider my groaning.
    2   Give attention to the sound of my cry,
        my King and my God,
        for to you do I pray.
    3   O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
        in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
    4   For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
        evil may not dwell with you.
    5   The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
        you hate all evildoers.
    6   You destroy those who speak lies;
        the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
    7   But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
        will enter your house.
      I will bow down toward your holy temple
        in the fear of you.
    8   Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
        because of my enemies;
        make your way straight before me.
    9   For there is no truth in their mouth;
        their inmost self is destruction;
      their throat is an open grave;
        they flatter with their tongue.
    10   Make them bear their guilt, O God;
        let them fall by their own counsels;
      because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
        for they have rebelled against you.
    11   But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
        let them ever sing for joy,
      and spread your protection over them,
        that those who love your name may exult in you.
    12   For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
        you cover him with favor as with a shield.

    (ESV)

    Mark 1:29–39

    29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

    32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

    35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

    (ESV)

  • 6/26/16 “Our Prayer-Hearing LORD” Psalm 34; 1 Peter 3:8-17

    Hope Presbyterian Church
    Hope Presbyterian Church
    6/26/16 “Our Prayer-Hearing LORD” Psalm 34; 1 Peter 3:8-17
    Loading
    /

    Psalm 34

    Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

    34:1   I will bless the LORD at all times;
        his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
    2   My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
        let the humble hear and be glad.
    3   Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
        and let us exalt his name together!
    4   I sought the LORD, and he answered me
        and delivered me from all my fears.
    5   Those who look to him are radiant,
        and their faces shall never be ashamed.
    6   This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
        and saved him out of all his troubles.
    7   The angel of the LORD encamps
        around those who fear him, and delivers them.
    8   Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
        Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
    9   Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
        for those who fear him have no lack!
    10   The young lions suffer want and hunger;
        but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
    11   Come, O children, listen to me;
        I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
    12   What man is there who desires life
        and loves many days, that he may see good?
    13   Keep your tongue from evil
        and your lips from speaking deceit.
    14   Turn away from evil and do good;
        seek peace and pursue it.
    15   The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
        and his ears toward their cry.
    16   The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
        to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
    17   When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
        and delivers them out of all their troubles.
    18   The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
        and saves the crushed in spirit.
    19   Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
        but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
    20   He keeps all his bones;
        not one of them is broken.
    21   Affliction will slay the wicked,
        and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
    22   The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
        none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

    (ESV)