Psalm 96 A New Song of God’s Triumph

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Psalm 96

1 O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 Worship the LORD in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The LORD is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the LORD; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.

Psalm 96 is an exultant song of God’s glory and reign over all gods, nations, and the creation itself. 1 Chronicles 16 places the majority of this psalm within the song of thanksgiving appointed by David (1 Chronicles 16: 23-33) which marks the placing the placing of the ark of God in the tent. This psalm might have its origin in the songs of David, and its placement in 1 Chronicles creates an event that would make sense for this song of God’s triumphant ascension. However, this psalm also articulates the defiant faith of the chosen people in their God as they attempt to remain faithful in a multireligious world where they are not dominant among the nations. This new song allows the singers and hearers to articulate a vision of a world already giving glory and praise to the LORD who is enthroned over all gods and kings.

Three times the hearers are commanded to sing to the LORD, and the hearers are not limited to Judah or Israel. All the earth is to join in this song of blessing to the God of salvation. The song proclaims the gospel[1] that God has triumphed over the forces that opposed God’s reign. God’s works and glory are to extend to all the nations as the LORD transcends all the gods of the nations. The gods of the nations are ‘idols’ (NRSV), ‘nobodies’ ( (Brueggemann, 2014, p. 415) or ‘ineffective and incompetent.’ (Mays, 1994, p. 308) The LORD is the creator of the heavens compared to all the ineffective and incompetent nobodies who the nations once gave their allegiance to. The peoples and families of the earth are to bear witness to the glory and strength that is due to God. The nations are to stream to Jerusalem to bring an offering before God as the prophets envision. (Isaiah 2: 2-3, Micah 4: 1-2, Zechariah 8:21-23) The temple of God in Zion now occupies the central place in the world where all the families of the peoples come together in awe filled worship and celebration of the God who reigns over all the heavens and the earth.

God’s reign over the earth is to be a reign of justice that brings joy to the peoples of the earth and to the creation. The heavens, the sea, and the land all join in this praise of the nations. Those who have reigned with injustice, whose actions have done violence to people and the earth are now removed so the nations, the land, the sea, and the sky can all heal. The psalm envisions God’s kingdom coming and God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

The faithful ones who worship God declare God does reign over the earth and then enter into the tension of a world where God’s reign is not realized. Injustice continues to occur. The heavens, sea, and the earth are polluted by those who improperly use the gifts of creation and the blood spilled in conflict and war. The nations continue to give their allegiance to idols that are ineffective nobodies who cannot deliver what they promise. This psalm may be easier to sing in moments of triumph, but the defiant faith of this psalm bears witness to the world of the reality faith allows them to see: that God’s kingdom is already present in the midst of the world and the time will come when the nations will all see, worship, and give glory to the God who reigns over the heavens and the earth.

[1] The Hebrew bissar is the verb “for the duty of the herald who precedes a victor to bring a report to those who await good news from the battle.” (Mays, 1994, p. 308) This verb is normally translated in the Septuagint as the Greek euangelion translated as gospel in the New Testament.

Psalm 95 Lifting Up Voices and Listening in Silence

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Pieter de Grebber, Moses Striking the Rock (1630)

Psalm 95

1 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.”
11 Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Psalm 95 is a psalm which invites the hearer to move with the faithful into a noisy and jubilant time of worship which then is silenced so that God (or a prophet or priest speaking for God) can instruct the people in obedience. The life of worship and a life of obedience are linked here as it is frequently in the psalms and prophets. God in this psalm is the great God who reigns over all gods, is the master and creator of the earth and sea, and the one to whom the faithful owe their obedience. History and the memory of the disobedience of their ancestors becomes the invitation for the current generation to respond with obedience.

The first word of this psalm is the imperative form of the Hebrew halak[1] (to walk) and it impels the people to get moving to meet God in celebration and worship. Yet, within the command to move is also an allusion to a way of walking that is in accordance with God’s commandments and within the movement of the psalm is both the uplifted voices of the worshipping faithful but also the lives of obedience which listen to the voice of God. The invitation to ‘sing’ and ‘make a joyful noise’ while familiar in English are not as strong as the Hebrew verbs which they translate.[2] This is not a timid action of worship but instead is a community in full voice shouting and singing to their God and King. The praise of God echoes the sentiment of Psalm 24, where the earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it. The worldview of the psalms assumes the pluralistic world where the surrounding nations worship other gods, but the LORD is the sovereign over both the gods of the nations and the earth itself. The faithful come in jubilant acclamation to worship, bow down, and kneel before the God who is their maker, their king, and their shepherd who provides shelter and pasture for them. The movement and the noise climax in this acclamation and prepares the people for the time of silence that they may hear the words from their God (or God’s messenger).

The second movement of the psalm begins in the second half of verse seven with the command to listen. The congregation is to move from full voice to silence and from motion to stillness. The command to listen is the Hebrew shema which is the critical verb at key points in the declaration of the law:

Now therefore, if you obey (shema) my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession our of all the peoples. Indeed the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”  Exodus 19:5-6 (immediately before consecrating the people and receiving the commandments)

Hear (shema) O Israel: The LORD is our God , the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6: 4-5[3]

Hearing or listening in Hebrew is not merely listening to the words but also involves living in response to the words. Lifting up praise to God in full voice without hearing and obeying God’s commands is often condemned in the psalms and prophets[4] and here the actions of the people of Israel at Meribah and Massah (Exodus 17: 1-7; Numbers 20: 1-13) are used as an example of the high cost of disobedience. The inability of their ancestors to listen is remembered as the reason for the long journey in the wilderness and the inability of the first generation that left Egypt to enter their rest in the promised land. The relationship between God and the people of Israel is a covenantal relationship which requires obedience. If the people will listen and obey then God will provide for them in the land, but if they do not hear and obey then they may end up without God’s guidance and blessing.

The two parts of the psalm, the movement and raucous noise and the obedient silence and reverential hearing, belong together. The faithful should move to the place where they can praise God in full voice in a jubilant and joyful way, but we must also remember that God desires our obedience. As Beth Tanner can state truthfully, “In worship today, God can be seen as too friendly, too nice, and too forgiving. We can easily forget the great power of the King God.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 718) The previous psalm reminded us, “Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,” (Psalm 94: 12). Now Psalm 95 uses the story of the people of Israel as an illustration of the dangers when the people refuse to follow God’s way of walking. The life of the faithful is one of coming (walking, halak), hearing (shema), and living in obedience to the ways of God in both jubilant worship, silent listening, and faithful living.

[1] Halak is an important word in Hebrew. Halakha which derives from halak is the collective body of the Hebrew laws (both oral and written) and it means ‘the way of walking.’ This movement at the beginning of the psalm is both the physical motion to the place of worship and the way of walking in accordance with God’s will.

[2] Ranan and rua in the intensified piel form mean to “call loudly” and “lift up a war-cry or cry of alarm.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 716)

[3] Deuteronomy 6: 4-5 has a central place in the practice of the Jewish people and this entire command is often called the shema because of the command to ‘hear.’

[4] See for example Psalm 50, 81, Isaiah 1, and Amos 5: 21-24

Psalm 94 Thy Kingdom Come

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Marc Chagall, Solitude (1933)

Psalm 94

1 O LORD, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve!
3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan,
7 and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people; fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, he who teaches knowledge to humankind, does he not chastise?
11 The LORD knows our thoughts, that they are but an empty breath.
12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,
13 giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.

James L. Mays begins his comments on this psalm by quoting a line from Maltbie D. Babcock’s song “This is my Father’s world”: “Though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” (Mays, 1994, p. 302) The opening line of the psalm names God as the God of vengeance, and yet God’s vengeance is necessary to avenge the wrongs done to the vulnerable and powerless who suffer in an unjust society. Because of this beginning this is sometimes called a psalm of vengeance, yet it is important to realize this vengeance is an action to restore society and to undo the work of those who utilize their positions of power to oppose God’s justice on earth and to oppress the ones God promised to defend. Much as the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer call for “God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven,” this psalm calls on God to act in concrete and visible ways to repair a society that has become controlled by those who have abandoned the ways of the covenant righteousness.

The proud and wicked have prospered in the society the psalmist lives in and they have turned the dream of a just society on its head. They have killed and oppressed the widow, the stranger, and the orphan who God has promised to protect, and who the leaders who work on God’s behalf are to ensure justice for. These arrogant evildoers perceive that they are not bound by the requirements of the law for the God of Israel has not acted to judge them. In their view, “without God everything is possible.” (Brueggemann, 2014, p. 407) These wicked ones view the LORD the God of Israel as either unwilling or unable to respond to their actions which violate God’s command, oppress the vulnerable among God’s people, and threaten God’s own heritage.

The psalmist testifies to the tension of an unjust present and a life in hopeful expectation of God’s intervention in the world. In the present the wicked are prospering and crime does pay. (NIB IV: 1019) To challenge this honest observation of the present the psalmist relies on the language of the wisdom tradition in scripture. The proud, arrogant, wicked evildoers who profit by oppressing and murdering the vulnerable and believe that God does not see or hear about their actions are foolish. The wise are glad to be disciplined by God and God’s law, but the foolish will ultimately perish. They may prosper in the moment, but that moment is an empty breath.[1] Yet, even though their time in power may be short the threat to the vulnerable is acute and needs God’s intervention.

In the meantime, the psalmist also testifies to the ways God has continued to provide respite and protection for the faithful ones in the midst of injustice. In times where their feet were slipping, God held them fast. When their worries were great God provided consolation. Without God’s protection they would dwell in the silence of the dead. These actions of God may not have brought about the fullness of God’s kingdom for the psalmist, but they have been the necessary provision and protection in their time of waiting and the actions which renewed their hope for God’s intervention which they trust is coming.

For people of faith a part of the desire for God to reign as king comes from the experience of injustice in this world and the desire for the God of vengeance to bring God’s justice to those who exploit God’s people and God’s world. When wicked people sit in the positions of power and the laws and statutes that should provide protection have become warped and utilized to oppress, the faithful cry out for God’s reign and God’s vengeance to create a society where the vulnerable are protected and justice prevails. (Mays, 1994, p. 303) The work of the wicked is a concrete and visible reality in the world of the psalmist and the cry of the psalmist is not for some otherworldly deliverance from the toils of this earth. The psalmist demands the judge of the earth to rise up and cause justice to return to the righteous. The prayer is for God’s justice to be a concrete and visible reality which displaces the injustice of the world.

[1] This is the Hebrew hebel which is translated as vanity in Ecclesiastes. The word means ‘vapor, mist, or emptiness.’ It is an evanescent word which points to the impermanence of the object it describes.

Psalm 93 God the King

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Stained Glass window at the Melkite Catholic Annunciation Cathedral in Roslindale, MA depicting Christ the King with the regalia of a Byzantine Emperor

 

Psalm 93

1 The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.
4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!
5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.

This short psalm focused on the image of God as king makes explicit one of the assumptions of the psalter and the bible as a whole. Underneath the praise, lament, prayers, and appeals of the psalter is the understanding of God’s position of sovereignty and strength in relation to the people of God, the nations, and the world itself. God is able to respond because God is the sovereign over all creation. The God who is over all gods and who is the creator to whom the creation gives praise is also the object of the worship and the source of hope for the people of is the God. They confess that this God reigns in majesty and strength from everlasting.

The sovereignty of God is not linked to the king of Israel or Judah as in Psalm 2 and it is possible that this psalm emerges in a time where there is no earthly king who is entrusted with authority on behalf of God. In both Christianity and Judaism, “the reign of God is always proclaimed amid circumstances that seem to deny it.” (NIB IV: 1055) No matter the political situation the person proclaiming this psalm finds themselves within, the confession of God’s continuing reign over creation, the nations, and the world becomes a bedrock for the faith of the community. God’s decrees remain established and no floods or crashing waves can wash them away. No rulers or gods can rival God’s sovereignty.

Proclaiming God’s sovereignty in the midst of a secular world is an act of faith and defiance. It is only through the eyes of faith that the faithful one can witness the forces of creation giving praise to God. There may be moments where the reign of God is clearly visible to the faithful, but it often remains hidden by ‘circumstances that seem to deny it.’ Yet, the bedrock trust that God remains in control of the creation and that God reigns in strength is central to the life of faith.

Greenhouse for Faith

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The Greenhouse for Faith emerged out of a desire to capture what I would want a person in my community to know about the faith we are a part of. As a person formed by the Lutheran tradition of Christianity I have found it a beautiful, but often misunderstood approach of God. The initial courses in the Greenhouse for Faith begin with the Foundations course which talks about the central ideas of a Lutheran way of approaching faith. Then I will be adding a series of courses called Catechesis which reflects an ancient pattern of faith formation centered on the Ten Commandments, the Creeds of the church, The Lord’s Prayer, what our worship communicates, and a brief introduction to reading scripture.

Foundations Course (Click link for each video discussion)

Catechesis Part I: The Ten Commandments

Catechesis Part II: The Creed

Catechesis Part 3: The Lord’s Prayer

Catechesis Part 4: Introduction to Worship

Catechesis Part 5: Introduction to Scripture

Foundations Course: Session 1 God the Foundation

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Greenhouse for Faith Foundations Course: Session 1 (God the Foundation)

The Greenhouse for Faith: What We Grow Here is Meant to be Planted in the World

This is an introduction to a way of thinking about God that is ancient, but it is beautiful. It has brought life and meaning to one of the larger families of faith throughout the world. Yet it is very different from what many churches teach.

These reflections use the image of a greenhouse as a model for thinking about God, our relationship with God and the world God created.

The Foundation: that which everything else builds upon is a way of thinking about God.

This way of thinking focuses in on who God is and what God has already done.

“Let God be God” is a short summary of this way of thinking because we focus on God as the primary actor.

God is the creator, rescuer, and the one who renews this world and our lives.

God loves this world and is active, passionate, and engaged in the world and in our lives.

God also works in ways that may be mysterious, hidden, or unseen by us in our lives.

Questions for reflection:

  • When you think about your relationship with God do you begin with what you believe you need to do or what God has done?
  • Do you think that God is active in the world? In your life?
  • How do you walk through times where God’s working in the world seems hidden from you?
  • What in your life are you thankful for? What is something that is a part of the world that you are thankful for?

Foundations Course: Session 2 Christ-Where God Meets Us

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Greenhouse for Faith Foundations Course: Session 2 (Christ)

The Greenhouse for Faith: What We Grow Here is Meant to be Planted in the World

There are four pillars that will be used in this greenhouse: Christ, Word, Faith, and Grace that help us understand the God who is our foundation. These are the classic ‘alones’ or ‘solas’ (Latin for alone) of Lutheran thought.

The first pillar is Christ: We are Jesus people. Jesus is where we come to know primarily what God is like.

The life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the key through which we understand everything else about God.

The God who comes down to be among us: the witness of Christmas is of the God who comes to meet us in Jesus. God comes where God can be approached and becomes vulnerable so that we may draw near. We don’t have to ascend to where God is because God approaches us where we are in Jesus.

In Jesus we also come to know the God who suffers for this world and the people God loves. On the cross we find a God who refuses to give up on the world or God’s people. The cross looks like a place where God’s love is absent, but we believe this is where we most clearly understand the depth of God’s love. A love that refuses to give up even when it is rejected and killed.

Questions for reflection:

  • How is Christ’s example of love different from romantic love?
  • How does Christ’s example of love inform romantic relationships?
  • How do you see your own leadership impacted by Christ’s example of love?

Foundations Course Session 3 Word Alone

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The Greenhouse for Faith: What We Grow Here is Meant to be Planted in the World

There are four pillars that will be used in this greenhouse: Christ, Word, Faith, and Grace that help us understand the God who is our foundation. We talked in the previous session about how we come to know about God in Christ.

The second pillar is the Word. When we talk about the Word we are primarily talking about three things: the Word of God as Christ, the Word of God as the proclamation of scripture and preaching in the church, and the Word of God as scripture.

  • The Word always goes back to Christ. When we talk about the Word of God we are first and foremost talking about the Word of God as John’s gospel relates it:
    • In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1
    • The Word who was with God, who was in the beginning and who was God is Christ. Christ is active in creation, throughout the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and continues to be active throughout our world.
  • The Word also goes back to scripture and proclamation. The Christ we talk about will also reflect the Christ we come to know through scripture and the preaching of the church.
    • Proclamation: We believe that God is active in the world and in the church, and particularly we believe that when a person from the community or the pastor both read and proclaim about scripture that God is active in that space. It is not that the pastor has the perfect words to say or that they are infallible, instead it is a trust and expectation that God and God’s Spirit are active in that time.
    • Scripture: Luther’s image of scripture being the manger where the Christ child is laid. Scripture is the source of where we come to know about God. We don’t believe that all scripture is equally valued, but instead it is that which presents Christ is the center of scripture. Christ is the key that unlocks everything else.

Reading scripture can be challenging. One of the challenges is the way we often approach scripture: We often go to scripture seeking answers, but scripture wants to give us wisdom. Scripture invites us to learn a way of life, a way of encountering the world, and an invitation to follow the God who we come to know in Christ.

A tool for reading scripture: Law and Gospel. This is one tool in the toolbox of how we approach scripture, but it is a good way to start. Scripture encounters us as Law: that which condemns us, shows us where we have fallen short and need God’s grace and ultimately should drive us back to God and help us reorient our lives on God. Scripture also encounters us as Gospel: that which sets us free, forgives us, renews us, and tells us about what God has done for us.

Questions for reflection:

  • Think of one of the passages from scripture you are familiar with. Identify both the Law and Gospel in that passage and share your thoughts.
  • Think of scripture that is problematic or hard to interpret. How does looking at this scripture through Jesus’s teachings change your interpretation?

Foundations Course: Session 4 The Gift of Faith

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The Greenhouse for Faith: What We Grow Here is Meant to be Planted in the World

There are four pillars that will be used in this greenhouse: Christ, Word, Faith, and Grace that help us understand the God who is our foundation. We talked in the previous sessions about how we come to know about God in Christ and through the Word.

The third pillar is Faith. Faith is a word that is often used in churches but is rarely defined.

  • In many churches faith is the collection of beliefs which the person is expected to agree to or believe in. There is nothing wrong with good doctrine, but that is not the faith that we are talking about.
  • Faith for us goes back to God and it is a gift of God. God is the one who opens our eyes, our hearts, and our minds and gives us an openness to what God is doing in the midst of the world. This is one of the ways God is at work in the world continuing to create faith.

I am interested in seeing where God is already active in the world.

Faith allows us to see that we are both saint and sinner.

  • We can be honest about the times when we have missed the mark, where we have fallen short of God’s intent for our lives, where we have been caught up in sin. We can be honest about the brokenness in our lives and in our world.
  • Yet, it is primarily about what God has done in Christ and the gospel. God has forgiven, set us free, justified us and made things right between us and God. We as forgiven people are God’s saints set free to be a part of God’s work in the world.

Faith allows us to live in the tension of being saint and sinner. Therefore, I can rise us this day to live as a part of God’s kingdom.

Questions for reflection:

  • Does seeing faith as a gift from God impact other areas of your life?
  • How have you seen God being active within your own life?

Foundations Course: Session 5 It All Goes Back to the Grace of God

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The Greenhouse for Faith: What We Grow Here is Meant to be Planted in the World

There are four pillars that will be used in this greenhouse: Christ, Word, Faith, and Grace that help us understand the God who is our foundation. We talked in the previous sessions about how we come to know about God in Christ and through the Word and how God’s gift of faith opens us to be a part of what God is doing in the world.

The final pillar is grace which brings us back to the God who we come to know in Christ, through the scriptures interpreted through the key of Christ, and through God’s gift of faith which opens us up and reveals to us the gracious God who we come to know in creation, in Christ’s redemption, and through God’s continuing presence in our lives and in the world.

What do we mean by grace? Grace is God’s love which we come to encounter most centrally in Christ. It is the forgiving love that even when it is rejected does not let go of those who rejected it. It is a love that is willing to suffer for those that it cares about. It is the love that is summed up in what Luther called the gospel in miniature in John 3:16 where (to paraphrase) God so loved the world that God sent that which was most precious to God, the Son, God’s very self, to the world that God loves so that we may know that God loves the world and God loves us.

We live in light of this grace. We have been set free to live in light of this grace.

We live in a tension as people who are set free but also also people who follow a gracious God who comes to serve. As Luther expressed it:

“A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.

A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant to all, subject to all.” The Freedom of a Christian (1520)

If we follow Jesus we follow a Lord who reminds us that he came not to be served but to serve, and we as followers of Jesus live our lives in service to this world and the people that God loves.

Questions for reflection:

  • How would you describe Grace in your own words?
  • What are some of the tensions in your own life that you live with?
  • When is responding to God’s grace easy in your own life?  When is it hard?