God's Agents of Renewal

every fall since becoming the pastor at 6th Avenue, i've shared messages as a part of an Old Testament series. we've studied:

• Nehemiah
• The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• Joseph
• Moses and the Exodus
• Joshua

this fall, we're continuing from that previous progression into the book of Judges. the Judges arrived individually throughout Israel's history with the same annointing or purpose: to lead Israel back to God.

Israel had this up and down spiritual, and resulting national, history. at one time they're all following after God with all their heart, keeping His law for living well in community together--then, before you know it, they're all chasing after idols and pursuing the very things that were contrary to God's law.

enter the Judge--divinely raised up by God to bring the heart of God's people back to an awareness and submission to God's will. some were willing, others needed time to accept that role.

the point was, without that Judge, it wasn't long before the people settled back into selfish and shameful practices.

we are so like Israel...

left to ourselves, we settle into selfish, even shameful practices. we need leadership--His divinely appointed leadership within our lives.

enter the Spirit--Jesus says to his disciples, "It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you...But when he comes, He will guide you into all truth." ( from John 16:7, 13). The Spirit is given by our Savior to continue to be God's divine and guiding presence in our lives so we will not fall back into selfish practices, but continue in knowing and following God's will.

the Judges were people, filled with their own imperfections and faults--yet the Spirit of God is perfect, ever-present, able to intercede, as well as intervene in our behalf so that we are truly "blessed in the heavenly realms with every Spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

we invite you to join us any Sunday morning (9:30) this fall for our journey into understanding and applying the lessons of the Judges--for more information, visit us on the web at Visit6th.com

Favorite Psalms

note: the blog posts here now correspond with our church's website Visit6th.com and the polls or events which are highlighted there. in this way, we hope to gain a better interaction between the user and the site, .

So, What's Your Favorite Psalm?

With a 150 to choose from, that's a difficult multiple choice question--i'm guessing the answer "other" will gain the most votes! Psalms were songs, though we're not certain of all their melodies or different instrumental parts, they were likely originally written to be sung and heard. in the current context, we may ask, "what's on your ipod?" or, "what song is stuck in your head?"

the Psalms are among the favorite books of the Bible, and a collection of some the Hebrew people's favorite songs for worship, celebration, inspiration, and instruction. the book of Psalms may be likened to a church's hymn book. their lyrical value has been admired from beyond the religious context and are often quoted and remembered in the best and worst of times.

as we began a series of messages on this topic, it's given me time to reflect on quite a few in preparation for messages & related discussions. in such preparations, i've had a lot of inspiration and challenge from 2 in particular--Psalm 22 and Psalm 23.

Psalm 22 is the one Jesus began to quote from the cross--the perfect place to start our series after Easter. given the excruciating nature of the crucifixion, it's possible that the entire Psalm may have been "playing" through the mind of our Savior--encouraging him to finish the redemption task for which He had been sent. the prophetic references are amazing in their own right, but contemplating how the emotion and inspiration may have aided our Savior on our behalf is truly awe-some.

Psalm 23 is perhaps the most quoted, beloved, and recognizable Psalm. it's often used in the context of comfort in times of challenge or grief (like in funerals). however, in my recent contemplation in preparation for a message on Psalm 23, i considered the source of it's inspiration--David's days as a Shepherd. that is, the days in David's job, his 9-5, his mundane routine. could it be that history's most comforting song grew out of one's work experience? as we contemplate the value the Scriptures place on work, and God's continuing presence with us (even at work), perhaps God has something truly comforting and encouraging for us within our own work context. perhaps, God has an enduring song that can transcend our 9-5 routine--and even bring hope to others

so, what's your favorite Psalm? we've explored several Psalms from Books I & II (that is, through Psalm 72) in our Sunday morning worship at 6th Avenue. this series (which began with Psalm 22 on April 19 and will continue through the end of July), obviously, won't be able to cover them all during this time, but we'll cover quite a few more.

we encourage you to join us each Sunday morning at 9:30 am as we discuss these psalms--you can also listen online at our website's "listen" page as the messages are uploaded. and consider taking time this summer to reload the "Psalms playlist" by reading one per day, and meditating on each one. leave your comments, thoughts, and questions from your readings here for others to read, be inspired, or to share answers from their experiences and studies.

as always, in all things, let us continue to serve, love, and pray to bring God glory...

nearly home...

Keli, the kids, Cheryl, and Zach are all home safe and sound...and me, well...i stayed behind from our final leg home. we flew from Manchester to JFK just fine. getting through customs in New York was a little difficult--not for us--but for a guy who tried to bully his way through security, resulting in shutting down an area that our flight and 4 other international flights needed to access. so, we were re-routed back up through ticketing and through security, and to our gate, with just a few moments to spare before loading up for Cincinnati.

into Cincy was no problem (i think we taxied at JFK for as long as the flight was). once we found our gate, we heard "we need a volunteer for the Huntsville flight to take a flight tomorrow" -- having just heard a wonderful testimony of how such a moment prepared the way for a divine moment for Jim Lyon, we investigated. though it would have been nice to be home, i stayed behind with perks from Delta to allow me the opportunity for a future flight and a few extra skymiles.

knowing now that the family has made it safely. i too can call it a night and get some rest before the adventure re-begins tomorrow morning. sometime this week, i'll be posting some further updates, as well as some pictures, and a review of Chad Davenport's sharing with our church on Wednesday, June 3 about the Westside Christian Fellowship in Auckland, New Zealand.