The Joshua Victor Theory

 Sermon notes ·          Read Introit with reference to Hebrew poetry parallelisms. Explanatory, deepening, reflective. Praying the Psalms is an exercise in meditation. Explore in this Psalm how a relationship in prayer creates a wonderful openness between us and God. May He create in us a clean spirit! ·          Context of Psalm: relationship between believer and God. Like many Psalms, shows God’s qualities and the posture of the praying believer. ·          V. 1-2 Humility and repentance before God’s judgment, seeking God’s mercy, faithfulness, righteousness. Acknowledging guilt. No false standing before God. When have you been crushed by your sin, your guilt and failure, and utter unworthiness before God? We cling to His mercy. ·          V. 5 Remember, meditate, ponder—days of old, all you have done, the work of Y...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Does God really hear or answer our prayers? Why does it so often seem like He is silent, or deaf to our pleas? Our Introit, Psalm 28, explores this common fear. David, some 3,000 years ago, cried out this theme, found in all the other readings as well. The fear of rejection, silence, unanswered requests…these themes show up all throughout the Bible. We’re not the only ones. It’s the common experience of faith. Faith lives in this tension between the invitation to trust God and call out to Him for help, and His seeming slowness or inaction. Faith lives in this real tension between our present struggles and how and when God will respond.             It’s the Canaanite woman’s struggle in our Gospel reading, Matthew 15. She is crying out for help for her daughter. At first Jesus won’t even answer, then His disciples try to push her aw...