This summer we're looking at the Psalms of Ascent. These were songs that pilgrims would sing as they were ascending up the road to Jerusalem. They would help to prepare them to worship. We are looking at them to help us along our own spiritual journey. This week, we're looking at Psalm 120 which is a song asking God to save us from slander.

Jesus’ command to go and make disciples is a call to go out into the places we go and love people as God loves them and teach them to love others as God loves them. The call isn’t relegated to the “professional christians” but to all who profess faith in Christ Jesus. We are able to more effectively do this through the power of the holy spirit who goes before us and also with us.

Pentecost is sort of the birthday of the modern church. It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Holy Spirit that indwells believers, guiding us along our faith journey. But while we all have the same holy spirit, we have not all had the same experiences. What does it mean for those of us in the western church to be guided by the holy spirit? Does it call us to speak out against the marginalization of other cultures, many of whom are brothers and sisters in Christ? Or does it compel us to use our culture’s power as an avenue to spread the gospel? Or is it something in-between? How do we best lean into the Holy Spirit so that we better display the fruits it is growing in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control?

This week, guest preacher, Chassidy Miller encouraged us to not miss out on Jesus while we are actively serving him. It's easy to get distracted by doing good, but we shouldn't miss out on our time with Jesus personally.

The author of 1 Peter uses the metaphor of stones used to construct a house to explain to believers their relationship with Christ. Christ is the all-important cornerstone, but believers are an important part of the structure as well. They are living stones who have received God’s mercy and love. Their relationship is part of a royal priesthood of believers wherein they have access to God directly because of God’s great love for them.

Because of the hope we have found, we are encouraged to love one another from the heart, without hyprocisy.

Suffering has long been a part of the experience of humanity and especially the Church. In the present day we may not see suffering in the same way as the audience of 1 Peter as far as persecutions against the church as a whole. All believers face suffering due to life events such as sickness and death. However, many believers face individual sufferings due to issues that not all of us face such as their ethnicity, sexual identity, etc. Those of us who are more privileged and sheltered from these types of suffering are called to speak out against them. This is a factor of living out the hope that we have found through faith in Christ.

Throughout the palm and passion narratives we see reflections of ourselves. More often than not, they point us to our need for a messiah, the lamb of God who takes away our sins.