Over the last 12 weeks, we have been in a series journeying through the Psalms of Ascent. Remember, this is a collection of psalms that served as a soundtrack for the Israelites’ travels to Jerusalem to celebrate the pilgrim feasts. These were songs that were sung over and over, not just so that they’d be memorized, but so they’d be lived.
Pastor Greg did a great job of reminding us where we’ve been over the last 12 weeks during the message, but let me take a moment and review it here as well.
- Psalm 120 was about the fact that repentance is the beginning of discipleship.
- Psalm 121 reminded us that our help comes from God, not from idols.
- Psalm 122 called us to dwell on the calling to be people of peace.
- Psalm 124 taught us about the freedom we have through a relationship with God, like a bird set free from a cage.
- Psalm 126 showed how pain increases our focus and dependency on God, how God uses it for good.
- Psalm 127 we asked the question, “Who’s building your house?”, and we were challenged to raise up God’s family and our own with His help.
- Psalm 129 reminded us that we are “fighting from victory not for victory” because the spiritual battle has already been won by Jesus.
- Psalm 130 taught us about “God working in the waiting.”
- Psalm 131 we heard about humility, “staying low to grow.”
- Psalm 132 was a call to understand that releasing our plans is necessary to embracing God’s promise.
- Psalm 133 was a call to a “muy bueno” unity.
I hope reading back through the Psalms and the main idea behind them brings back some memories. I hope it stirs up some of the ways God spoke to you through this series. I hope it gives me hope about the way he’s going to continue to speak to you in the future.
When we designed this series, the overall goal was to encourage our church along the path of discipleship. Life is a journey, and these journey songs make a great Road Trip Playlist for our lives. They touch places deep within our heart that may be wounded, they give hope to desperate situations, and they call us to obedience in the face of challenge. Take some time today and think back through the Psalms and ask Jesus for one thing he wants to say to you through the review, and then ask him what he wants you to do in response.
I stumbled across one more song that I think is worth hearing. It’s a capstone or summary of the Road Trip. It’s entitled The Ascension by Phil Wickham. Click here to listen to it on YouTube.
Pastor Ryan Paulson
Lead Pastor