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October 27, 2024–November 17, 2024
Thanks for checking the notes for our community study of psalms. Below you will find the following:
A short message with suggested journal and poetry prompts from Pastor Sadie.
Foundational notes on The book of Psalms to ground you in our community study
Details about our community study and a little bit about what to expect each week
A link to information about a specific kind of prayer that we are going to be practicing as a community (Intentional Prayer from The Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius of Loyola)
Community sourced ideas and information that will grow throughout our study
A Note from Pastor Sadie
While The Book of Psalms is incredibly diverse and spans centuries, it is interesting and astonishing to note that what unites the psalms is that the authors are engaging in open and authentic expression of prayer. As we look at the psalms together, our focus will mirror the psalmists’ theme of authentic and intentional prayer expression. Our spiritual ancestors knew how to speak their truths, even their painful truths, and in speaking, they were able to create space within themselves and their communities for healing.
How can we keep ancient wisdom alive? We can acknowledge that authentic and intentional prayer expression is ours too. It doesn’t just belong in the past. It belongs right here, and right now.
Please use the following prompts for journaling and prayer time throughout our study. If you would like to try your hand at writing your own psalm, we would love to have you share it with our community if that feels right to you.
Journal Prompts
If you were to write your own psalm, what kind of psalm would it be?
What would be your authentic expression of prayer?
Would you feel angry and hurt and need to shout at God to take away the pain?
Would you be so overcome with wonder at life that your psalm would describe the majesty of God and all creation?
Would your psalm be soft and gentle, like a lullaby for a restless child?
What is your authentic expression of prayer?
Foundations for our study of Psalms
notes adapted from The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Introduction to Psalms
The book of Psalms is an anthology of sung poetic prayers.
The word psalm is derived from psalmos which translates to Hebrew mizmor. The Greek and Hebrew translate to a song recited to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument.
The psalms were written across at least five centuries. Interestingly, it’s thought that the earliest psalm is Psalm 29, which was adapted from early Canaanite worship.
The Psalms are an incredibly diverse book of poetic prayers that represent many geographic regions, cultural backgrounds, and even spiritual understandings. While there are many examples of psalms that were written during different time periods, the majority of the psalms are associated with the Jerusalem Temple.
Psalms were a central part of the temple liturgy in Jerusalem. In fact, many psalms were written in the context of the temple and were often performed as part of religious gatherings, rituals, etc.
Judeo-Christian tradition credits David as the writer of the psalms because many of them begin with Of David, David is described in other books as a poet and musician, and many of the psalms connect directly to David’s life.
Psalms and Genre
2/3 of the psalms are laments and hymns.
Laments are either individual or communal and include an invocation of God‘s name, the psalmist’s descriptive complaint, and an appeal for some kind of divine intervention.
Hymns generally focus on God as the creator or God as a victorious warrior. The hymns are not connected to specific requests, but are primarily focused on a desire for a close connection with God.
Other genres of psalms include the wisdom psalms which have literary connections to the wisdom books (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes), the royal psalms that some scholars believe were recited by the king in public ceremony, and the psalms that focus on the kingship of God.
Harbor Community Psalm Study Details
October 27–Psalm 136
Sunday Morning Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. What do you notice about the psalmist's recounting of his people's history alongside the repeated phrase "for his steadfast love endures forever"? What effect does the repetition have on you?
2. Do you think those who lived through things like overthrowing Pharoah in the Red Sea, wandering through the desert, or battling kings and their people felt like God's "steadfast love" was with them? Do you ever feel you are outside of God's "steadfast love"? Reflect on this.
3. How does looking back at history give us a different perspective on current events? How can developing a diverse historical perspective help us heal through the generations? How can a diverse historical perspective be used to divide and harm people in the present?
Community Altar
Today our Community Altar will be empty of all things except an open Bible, a cross, and two candles that are lit each Sunday morning by a child from the community. In our prayer time, we will reflect on the open space that is ready to be filled with our authentic selves. We will wonder together about what items, pictures, mementos, objects, or other representations of our authentic selves will fill the table next week.
Note about our Community Altar: Any items that you leave on our altar will be displayed in the sanctuary until our Hanging of the Greens service on Sunday, November 24, 2024 @ 10 am. During this service, you will be able to collect your items to return to your home.
November 3—Psalm 37
Sunday Morning Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. How is it true that the wicked are punished? How is it true that the righteous are blessed? (Hint: sometimes it isn’t true, but sometimes it is.)
2. What does it mean to be wicked? What does it mean to be righteous?
3. Think about how you would describe your enemies. What similarities and differences do you notice between your descriptions and the psalmist's? Think about how you would describe someone you perceived as righteous. What similarities do you notice between your descriptions and the psalmist's?
Community Altar
Last week our community altar was empty except for an open Bible, a cross and two candles. We reflected on the space that has been created for us to fill with our authentic selves. Today, we offer items that represent ourselves. As we lay our representations on the altar, we symbolically lay ourselves and our lives down. As we lay down, we imagine ourselves safely and lovingly held in the arms of the community and in the arms of our heavenly parent.
Special announcement for tonight: If you would like to find a sacred way to honor your ancestors, please join us for Ancestors’ Feast tonight beginning at 4:30 pm. Bring a dish to share that ideally represents something special from your lineage. We will begin serving food at 6 pm. We are looking forward to a fun and informal evening of storytelling, food, and maybe even some community sourced music.
If you can only join by zoom, please look for details in your Sunday Morning email for how to join.
November 10—Psalm 39
Sunday Morning Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. How does the psalmist describe their emotions? What descriptive language do they use? Have you ever felt these emotions in the ways the psalmist describes?
2. Can you relate to the psalmist's desire to be "delivered from my transgressions"? Have you ever felt "worn down by the blows of [God's] hand"? What do you think the psalmist means by this?
3. How does voicing the authentic emotion and pain the psalmist is experiencing end up liberating them? How have you been liberated by speaking your own truth, even when it took courage?
Community Altar
Today, we can either add a new item to our Community Altar, or we can light a candle to honor an authentic emotion we feel called to lay on the table. Are you feeling particularly sad? Maybe you feel discouraged, or heartbroken? Or maybe you feel ashamed of something of the past, or maybe your shame lies in the fact that others are suffering so greatly? What emotion do you need support with? What is there to learn from the emotion you are ready to lay on the table as you light a candle?
November 17—Psalm 23
Sunday Morning Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. What meaning does Psalm 23 have for you personally? Do you remember having to memorize it, hear it at a memorial service, or anything else?
2. Read the poetic psalm aloud in your group. What phrase stands out to you most? Does the phrase conjure a particular image, a memory, anything else?
3. What do you think the psalmist means when they describe the Lord preparing a table in the "presence of my enemies"?
Community Altar
Today we are spending time with one of the most beloved psalms of all time, Psalm 23. As you decide what to add to our Community Altar, consider the gifts of this psalm. What represents the “valley of the shadow of death in your life”? What is the rod and that staff in your world? What does the table that God is preparing for you look like? Who are the enemies who will be present?
Prayer Resources
Intentional Prayer
For our purposes, Pastor Sadie adapted the Intentional Prayer by St. Ignatius of Loyola, but if you would like to read more about this father of the faith or to more deeply engage the intentional prayer study, click below.
Community Sourced Resources
If you come across an article, website, piece of art, etc. that you feel aligns with our study, please let Pastor Sadie know and we will add it to this section of our Psalm Study.
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