MWR : Articles : Sunday School by Grimsrud

Last updated November 30.

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Articles : Sunday School by Grimsrud

Counting on God

We conclude our lessons on Psalms with this vigorous statement of faith in the face of adversity. Maybe we all can imagine ourselves in conflict with those who reject the message of God’s ways of justice and peace.

This psalm affirms God as our creator, who knows each of us better than we can know ourselves. “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away” (139:2). God not only knows us, God remains present with us throughout our lives. “If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make by bed in Sheol, you are there” (verse 8).

God, our refuge

Psalm 91 contains one of the Bible’s great affirmations of trust in God. Verse one gives us a powerful image that has echoed through the ages: you who live “in the shadow of the Almighty.” This “Almighty” is the psalmist’s “refuge and fortress” (91:2), one who “will deliver” (91:3) and whose “faithfulness is a shield and buckler” (91:4).

God is our home

Psalm 90 contains an interesting and challenging progression of thought. It begins with a powerful affirmation of human at-homeness with God, then shows how humanity continually threatens that at-homeness.

The God of life

From Genesis 1 to Isaiah 40-55 to Jonah, the Old Testament proclaims that God is the God of all creation, the maker of heaven and earth, the life giver, the compassionate ruler who brings healing justice to the nations.

In God we trust

In what (or whom) do we truly trust? The Bible, from start to finish, places this question at the heart of its portrayal of the life of faith. One term that has often been used in relation to this question is “idolatry.” Do we trust in the creator, covenant-making, healing God of Israel — or in something else, some kind of idol?

Subdued by God

Psalm 47 is one of those many Old Testament passages that does not exactly interpret itself. How we understand the meaning of the psalm will be greatly affected by how we understand it in relation to the rest of the Bible.

King of peace

Psalm 46 contains some of the richest imagery we will see this quarter portraying the God affirmed in Old Testament faith —imagery that remains potent for our convictions today.

Rules that give joy

The passages from the Old Testament that we are considering this quarter may be read, so far at least, as helping us understand God’s creative love for humankind. They help us move beyond unfortunate Christian stereotypes that see the God of the Old Testament mainly in terms of judgmental wrath and legalism.

God’s agents

In Psalm 8 we encounter one of those key passages scattered throughout the Bible that bring to the surface the basic assumptions of its teaching as a whole.

Wrath and mercy

Exodus 34, when read along with the two previous chapters, gives us one of the Bible’s most profound portrayals of God. In fact, these verses capture the basic message of the Bible as a whole about as well as any other single passage.