Offer To God

Sunday, October 20, 2024 Reading: Psalm 50:3-6

Connecting Question

Tell about your daily routine.

What’s a routine you share with others? Do not forget worship!

Prayer for Illumination

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

Context

This sermon series we will reflect on Psalm 50:14, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High”. For 4 weeks, one verse will celebrate and focus on what each of us might ‘Offer to God’. We are called to live and serve sacrificially. Through it all, God’s love is sure and steady no matter what. The whole psalm reminds the people that not only does God delight in our celebrations, but they’re necessary to connect us to our joy in God. We recognize that our offerings, our returning to God what God first gave, also does God’s work in the world. Join us on this journey of faith.

From Dr Fred Gaiser at EntertheBible.org:

The psalms are, first and foremost, poems and should be read as such–enjoying the figurative and metaphorical language, the emotional and rhythmic character, and the expansive and evocative style that invite the reader, as Martin Luther said, to “find in it [the Psalter] also yourself…as well as God himself and all creatures” (Luther’s Works 35:257). Second, the psalms are poems that were, for the most part, meant to be sung; they are the hymns and liturgies of the temple from which we learn about Israel’s worship and which now serve as elements of present worship. Third, these poems and prayers have been read since antiquity for meditation and instruction, by individuals and communities. They continue to offer solace–providing words of comfort and hope, lamentation and praise.

Look at the Book

The psalms are the prayerbook for Israel and Christians. Jesus read and prayed these psalms. What psalms might you know?
Psalms often use images for people and God and the world around us. Is there an image from the psalms that sticks with you? Where did you hear? When?
Many psalms were and are still used in the worship life of God’s people. Said or sung in worship, talked about, prayed, and psalms also help us see the heart of God.
Many psalms are “dedicated,” as is Psalm 50. “An Asaph psalm.” Rabbi Alter said Asaph was an “ancestor in the Levite family going back to David.” Who was David? Why does he matter if we read the psalms?
The relationship between God and the people is a covenant. “I will be your God, you will be my people.” What kind of covenants do we make with people today?
Verse 3, what is God invited to do? This is a show of power--using what? This Fall, where are you seeing God’s handiwork?
Verse 4, who is God calling out to? It is not simply people who are called to witness God’s work, but “whom” also?
Verse 5, who is speaking? How is a “covenant” celebrated? We no longer have this kind of system or do we? Instead of live animals, what might other things become as a sacrifice—not simply to God, but in other areas of life?
Verse 6, what image is God be described as? How do you resonate with that image? How have you experienced that?
In verse six, who does “righteousness”--justice--belong to? Why does that matter?
Tell about a sacrifice you experienced in your life.
As we pray for our generosity during this stewardship season, what do you think a lesson people many years from now will look back on our time and comment?
Where is our society being too stingy? Why is that?
If this psalm is a scene from a worship service, how might our worship at Easter help us trust God more with all areas of our lives? What inspires you to trust God more?
What would you like to talk about that we have not yet?

Taking it Home

If you had $100 to share, how would you?

God of the promise, you call your people together into your one mission in Christ’s name. Make us brave, grant us peace, challenge our expectations, and empower us to truly follow your Spirit’s lead. You are our one God who calls us together as one people, and we thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Grow Guide | Oct 20, 2024