I. Word: Psalm 115:1-8

I have divided the 8 verses into two parts. Verses 1-3 will be referred to as “Part A” and verses 4-8 as “Part B”.

1Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
            But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.

      2Why should the nations say,
“Where, now, is their God?”

      3But our God is in the heavens;
            He does whatever He pleases.

      4Their idols are silver and gold,
            The work of man’s hands.

      5They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;

      6They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;

      7They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.

      8Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.

II. Reflection Questions

“Prayer is theology made experience.” Tim Keller

Definitions:

Theology is the study of God. It is an intellectual exercise that does not require anything more than the mind, although more can be used it is not required. It is like learning how to spell “Rocky Mountains”.

Experience is that which grabs and stimulates all of the members of your body. It is like climbing to the summit of the Rocky Mountains and looking around.

1. What do you learn theologically by comparing God in Part A, with idols in Part B?

2. Have you ever experienced that theological truth?

3. Are you willing to seek that experience? Not only for the next 5-1o minutes, but the rest of your life seek it out?

Happy New Year to you all!

This is the first Starter post of 2017! This past Saturday night at service we began 2017 like we do every year, focusing on Prayer and Fasting. I love these two weeks! Apparently I love exclamation marks because I have already used three!! Make that five. Sorry.

These next two weeks are so vital for us a church because the new year provides space to reflect on the past and dream about the future, and that is a great incubator for experiencing the power of God in prayer. I beg you, as you go back to work this week and get busy again being about your business, to make space for communing with God. This week in Starter we will be talking about different aspects of prayer, and different verses that speak to us about prayer. We hope that you will join in thinking, meditating, and praying through these verses as well.

I wanted to start this week with these verses because they are so foundational for me. The very first verse violently screams in perfect harmony what all of nature knows, what the whole Bible teaches, and what the church strives to embody…that life is not about us and our glorious pursuits, but about God who is the only thing glorious and worth pursuing!

This truth about God’s value and worth is what I see as the contrast between God in Part A and idols in Part B.

In verse 3 you see the very tough, but nevertheless true, truth that God does whatever He pleases. Now pause and re-read verse 4. Idols are things made with human hands, gods made by the artfulness of man. Man, however, is God’s workmanship, not the other way around. I once read a quote that says something to the effect of, “You know that you have made a god in your own image when he hates and loves the same people, things, and ideas as you do.” The only god above human creation is the God of the Bible. That makes Him dangerous…very dangerous! Dangerous to our comfort, our control, our plans, our ideas of what we need let alone what we want! Why does Jesus say that the door is small and the way is narrow that leads to life? Because we do not like our freedom, our control, and definitely not our comfort to be in danger, but that is exactly the path of the Christian because that was the path of Christ! Not to many people take that door or walk that path.

When we come to God this week to pray, we have to remember this truth! We have to operate out of this truth! Praying becomes routine and ritualistic for a lot of us, and this causes some to drift sleepily into the on coming traffic of apathy and self-centeredness…and that is true danger!

When we come to God this week in prayer why not come to Him true to His station and form…as the King? I don’t really like the idea of kings, and I am American so I do not think I even understand. But thinking about approaching God as a child coming to his father I do like and understand very well. When I was a child my dad was god to me…he held the power of life and death according to my 5 year old mind and I was convinced he would use it if provoked to far. My teenage years were me testing to see how far “to far” was! My dad is awesome and kind and respect worthy, but he was also sovereign and in complete control over every area of my entire life. I obeyed him, thanked him, relied upon him for everything, and expected him to slay any monster that ever woke me up in the middle of the night! His power and mind were outside of my control or understanding…much like God is to me now as an adult!

I have more joy and peace in the Gospel of Jesus now than ever before in my life, and I tell God how thankful I am now and know that I will be in the future, but if I forget my place in this story called life then I am in great danger of losing mine!

Come to God this week by means of prayer! Pray the scriptures, pray your own words, pray little, or pray a lot, but pray you must!

Come to God with your sin, your repentance, your joy, your sorrow, your success, your failures, your victories, your struggles, and your heart as well as your mind!

Come to God asking Him to help your theology graduate to an experience!