From the first verse to the last, Psalm 18 is all about how God gives us the strength to face anything. Psalm 18 begins: To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said… Psalm 18, like so many of the psalms, repeatedly calls God a refuge, because we so constantly need it. When David says in the opening words of the psalm, “I love You, Lord,” he uses an unusual Hebrew word that conveys deep emotion and passion. May we, like David, consider how God delivered us (and continues to deliver us) through Christ our redeemer. Lord, help us to remember that our salvation in Christ is complete. The great work is already done. The great debt has already been paid. No matter what we face, may we put our trust in You. For this we praise You, O Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God’s Word leads us to celebrate His story being lived out in the world. As we live out the Good News of Jesus, we want to tell the story of what it looks like when the people of Messiah are engaged in God’s Word every day and joining Jesus on His mission. It’s then with joy that we celebrate God adding to our family those being saved.

God’s Word calls us to give witness to the good news of Jesus. Through the work of the Holy Spirit we are called to give witness to the good news of Jesus. As we live out God’s Word in the everyday places of life, we can share with others the reason for the hope that we have in Christ. NOTE: IN ACTS 2, THE DISCIPLES ARE LIVING OUT JESUS’ INVITATION TO BE HIS WITNESSES. IT’S STARTING IN JERUSALEM. AND WHAT THEY ARE GIVING WITNESS TO IS WHAT THEY THEMSELVES ARE WITNESSING.

God’s Word equips us to serve Him by serving others. Whether it’s serving within our Messiah family, engaging our community, or reaching out to the world; we want people to experience what Jesus means when He says that He didn’t come to be served but to serve. Everyone is gifted by God and can discover his or her part in the body of Christ.