Reading: Psalm 29
1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, “Glory!” 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 11 May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace! Reflection: I really like to read the Psalms. I like how they can reflect any kind of mood and that they show how you can come to God with praise and thanksgiving as well as laments and struggles. During the Pandemic the church I attend took the use of Psalms out of the Sunday services. We wanted to shorten the service a little and have less singing. I really miss having the Psalms in the service. Since that was the case, occasionally, I would focus on Psalms for my children’s message that I recorded for Facebook. As I read this Psalm I appreciated the strength and power of God that you see, but then at the end the Lord gives the people strength and peace. I also like how there is a lot of references to nature. Sometimes at camp there are strong storms that blow through. A few times I have been on the back porch of the A-center just admiring the power of God that was in the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. I am sure not all the campers enjoy these storms, but I appreciate a good thunderstorm. I also appreciate the calm that comes afterwards even if I do have to clean up some of the chairs and frisbees that have been blown off the porch. God’s power is all around us and sometimes it might take a good storm for us to remember that. In the end God does strengthen us and gives us peace. --Charlene Rineer Prayer: All powerful God, we praise you, and are in awe of your glory. Through the storms of life let us listen for your voice. Help us see you in the world around us. We thank you for giving us strength and peace. Amen. Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Epiphany, Christ is revealed, the disciples are called, and we see the early ministry of Jesus.
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