Read the Bible: Psalm 37 (Part 1)

Do not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.
3 Trust in the LORD and do what is good;
dwell in the land and live securely.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act,
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.

7 Be silent before the LORD and wait expectantly for him;
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the person who carries out evil plans.

8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated ​— ​it can only bring harm.
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the LORD
will inherit the land.

10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;
though you look for him, he will not be there.
11 But the humble will inherit the land
and will enjoy abundant prosperity.

12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him.
13 The Lord laughs at him
because he sees that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the bow
to bring down the poor and needy
and to slaughter those whose way is upright.
15 Their swords will enter their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD supports the righteous.

18 The LORD watches over the blameless all their days,
and their inheritance will last forever.
19 They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.

20 But the wicked will perish;
the LORD’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,
will fade away —
they will fade away like smoke.

Psalms 37:1-20 (CSB)

(Read the rest of Psalm 37 using the link below.)

Read the Bible: Psalm 36

An oracle within my heart
concerning the transgression of the wicked person:
Dread of God has no effect on him.
2 For with his flattering opinion of himself,
he does not discover and hate his iniquity.
3 The words from his mouth are malicious and deceptive;
he has stopped acting wisely and doing good.
4 Even on his bed he makes malicious plans.
He sets himself on a path that is not good,
and he does not reject evil.

5 LORD, your faithful love reaches to heaven,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your judgments like the deepest sea.
LORD, you preserve people and animals.
7 How priceless your faithful love is, God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They are filled from the abundance of your house.
You let them drink from your refreshing stream.
9 For the wellspring of life is with you.
By means of your light we see light.

10 Spread your faithful love over those who know you,
and your righteousness over the upright in heart.
11 Do not let the foot of the arrogant come near me
or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There! The evildoers have fallen.
They have been thrown down and cannot rise.

Psalm 36:1-12 (CSB)

Sunday School is for All Ages!

The commission God gave to Moses was no simple ask: Return to the place where you were rejected by your kinsmen (Ex. 2:13-14) and where you took the life of another (Ex. 2:12), stand before the most powerful ruler of the day, and issue a command on My behalf that will surely be rejected (Ex. 3:19). Sometimes we focus on his five objections to the call of God without the balance of the weight of Moses’s calling. The responsibility for which Moses was commissioned was great, but the promise of God to go with him and guide him was greater.

Sunday School for all ages begins weekly at 9:45 AM. All are warmly welcome.

Third Sunday of Lent (A Prayer)

“Almighty God, You know that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen” (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 2005.

Read more:

• John 17:9-19

• Philippians 4:6-7

• 2 Thessalonians 3:3

• Jude 20-25

TOMORROW: Ladies' Day

Join us as we acknowledge the ministry contributions of the ladies of Springfield PFWB Church. Our special guest speaker will be Jessica Runyon Rouse.

Questions? Contact us.

TOMORROW: Ladies' Auxiliary Breakfast

Join the Ladies’ Auxiliary Quarterly Fellowship Breakfast, tomorrow, 8:30 AM, at Cracker Barrel. All are welcome.

Read the Bible: Psalm 35

Oppose my opponents, LORD;
fight those who fight me.
2 Take your shields ​— ​large and small —
and come to my aid.
3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,
and assure me, “I am your deliverance.”

4 Let those who intend to take my life
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who plan to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.
5 Let them be like chaff in the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.
8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it ​— ​to his ruin.

9 Then I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will delight in his deliverance.
10 All my bones will say,
“LORD, who is like you,
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him? ”

11 Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.
13 Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.
14 I went about mourning as if for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning for a mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.
16 With godless mockery
they gnashed their teeth at me.

17 Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages;
rescue my precious life from the young lions.
18 I will praise you in the great assembly;
I will exalt you among many people.
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;
do not let those who hate me without cause
wink at me maliciously.
20 For they do not speak in friendly ways,
but contrive fraudulent schemes
against those who live peacefully in the land.
21 They open their mouths wide against me and say,
“Aha, aha! We saw it! ”

22 You saw it, LORD; do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Wake up and rise to my defense,
to my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me, LORD my God,
in keeping with your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up! ”
26 Let those who rejoice at my misfortune
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and reproach.

27 Let those who want my vindication
shout for joy and be glad;
let them continually say,
“The LORD be exalted.
He takes pleasure in his servant’s well-being.”
28 And my tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praise all day long.

Psalms 35:1-28 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Psalm 34

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will boast in the LORD;
the humble will hear and be glad.
3 Proclaim the LORD’s greatness with me;
let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant with joy;
their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good.
How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!
9 You who are his holy ones, fear the LORD,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Young lions lack food and go hungry,
but those who seek the LORD
will not lack any good thing.

11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is someone who desires life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.
16 The face of the LORD is set
against those who do what is evil,
to remove all memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.

19 One who is righteous has many adversities,
but the LORD rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants,
and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.

Psalms 34:1-22 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Psalm 33

Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.
2 Praise the LORD with the lyre;
make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing a new song to him;
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.

4 For the word of the LORD is right,
and all his work is trustworthy.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the LORD’s unfailing love.

6 The heavens were made by the word of the LORD,
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;
he puts the depths into storehouses.
8 Let the whole earth fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it came into being;
he commanded, and it came into existence.

10 The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD —
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!

13 The LORD looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.

18 But look, the LORD keeps his eye on those who fear him —
those who depend on his faithful love
19 to rescue them from death
and to keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait for the LORD;
he is our help and shield.
21 For our hearts rejoice in him
because we trust in his holy name.
22 May your faithful love rest on us, LORD,
for we put our hope in you.

Psalms 33:1-22 (CSB)

Sunday School is for All Ages!

Struggling with his calling to go to the pharaoh & the Israelites bound in Egyptian slavery, Moses raised two key objections.

His first: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11). God’s answer was revealing—He rightly restored Himself as the center of the narrative (Ex. 3:12).

Moses’s second objection, in essence, is “Who are you?” (Ex 3:13). God’s answer was again revealing: “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex. 3:14). No human in all of history can make that claim. We are because our parents were first. A.W. Tozer writes, “Man is a created being, a derived and contingent self, who of himself possesses nothing but is dependent each moment for his existence upon the One who created him after His own likeness” (1961, emphasis mine).

Only God can say, “I AM THAT I AM.” The rest of us say, “I am because He is.”

Sunday School for all ages begins weekly at 9:45 AM. All are warmly welcome.

A.W. Tozer. (1961). The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper Collins.