Psalms: Dwelling in the Heart of God is a unique series with two bookend interviews plus eight devotional podcast episodes that we pray will press you more deeply into the character of our loving Father. This podcast series also coincindes with a Psalms reading plan.
The book of Psalms is such a unique book of the Bible, written poetically and lyrically, which can make it easy to resonate with, but potentially more difficult to understand correctly and contextually. We see psalms of praise and thanksgiving, but also psalms of lament, doubt, and calls for God's justice. The nature of the book of Psalms can make it easy for us to miss the context of the passages, which then leads us to miss so much of the content and heart of the book! But as we faithfully dig into each of these psalms, we can see more and more of the heart of God.
Our heart for this series is to walk through the book of Psalms with you, studying the various genres and seeking to paint a more full picture of the context and background so that you can come away with a more robust understanding of the text and a clearer view of the Lord in it. This series will be both informational and devotional. We'll be making connections to other parts of Scripture and providing background, context, and details for these psalms so that we might prompt you to lift your eyes to the God who is revealed in this book. We hope that in dwelling in the book of Psalms this summer, you would come to know more dearly the heart of God.
PODCASTS
In this last episode of our Psalms series, we’re chatting with Caroline Cobb about God’s big story that we see in Psalms. Caroline is passionate about rehearsing and responding to God’s story as we go about our everyday lives, and you will hear her heart clearly throughout this episode. We pray this episode—and the whole Psalms series!—prompts you to abide deeply with the Lord and to trust his character and his heart as revealed in Scripture. It has been a gift to come to know and love God more as we study God in Psalms this summer.
In this week’s episode we’re looking at the doxological psalms. The Greek word “doxa” means “glory,” so the doxological psalms are an expression of glory, or songs of praise that give glory to God. We pray this episode prompts you toward praise as you meditate on the glory of God!
In this week’s episode, we’re looking at the thanksgiving psalms, which are those psalms that express gratitude to God for who he is or what he has done. These psalms remind us of God’s character, give us language for our praise, and help us to give thanks to God, even if our current season is not what we hoped. We pray this episode encourages you to look to God in faith and to give thanks to God for who he is, how he has saved you, and what he has accomplished in Christ!
In this week’s episode, we’re looking at the liturgical psalms, which are the psalms that lend themselves most easily to public worship in a community gathering. These psalms are full of joy, hope, and proclamations of who God is, as his people call to each other: Remember and rejoice! We pray that this episode reminds you of the truth of God’s character and that it compels you to join hands with your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ as you offer worship and praise to the Lord together.
In this week’s episode, we’re looking at the corporate lament psalms, which are those psalms where the writer is grieving on behalf of a people or nation, or writing songs that a community could use to grieve together. These psalms help us see how we can walk through difficult things alongside others, lean into the body of Christ in the midst of tragedy or trial, and know God more, even in that place. By his grace, God meets us deeply in our suffering, and as we walk through both the joys and the brokenness of this life we can even come to know him more—and we can do this together.
This week we’re talking through the specialized lament psalms, which include penitential psalms, or psalms that express the writer’s remorse or guilt over sin, as well as several psalms of judgment, which show us God’s heart for justice. These are weighty psalms, but you’ll see that even here—in the midst of the shame and guilt and fear—there is hope to be found. These psalms show us the gracious heart of God, who calls out to us in our wretchedness and offers us redemption and relationship.
In this week’s episode, we’re looking at the individual lament psalms, or those that express grief or sorrow to God. These psalms are weighty, but they offer us a beautiful example of how lament can lead us to hope.
In this week’s episode, we’re looking at messianic psalms, which are those that contain references or prophecies that point to our long-awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ. These psalms shape our understanding of who Jesus is! We pray this episode prompts you to see more of Jesus in Scripture, and that it compels you to trust in the gospel and love Jesus more deeply.
In this week’s episode, we’re meditating on some of the wisdom psalms and learning from them how we can grow in wisdom ourselves. The wisdom that is described in the Psalms is this: trusting and delighting in God and his Word. We’ll talk about wisdom as a whole and also deep dive into three wisdom psalms to see what they can teach us about delighting in God as well as where we can see Christ in these psalms. We pray this episode encourages you to pursue the true wisdom and blessedness that is found in being like a tree planted by a stream, rooted and drinking deeply of the steadfast character and knowledge of God.
In this week’s podcast episode, we’re chatting with Dane Ortlund about the Psalms. In our conversation, Dane gives some incredibly helpful background, overview, and context that will help you as you dive into the book of the Psalms. He also offers a wealth of encouragement to those who are walking through what the psalmist calls “the pit.” He reminds us of God’s heart to us in the midst of our pain, our sin, and our suffering, and he lifts our eyes to see Christ in this beautiful book of the Bible. We pray this week’s episode reminds you of the gift it is that the Psalms offer a language for your deepest joy and pain, and we hope that the conversation prompts you to see God’s heart for you in Scripture.