My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22)

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

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¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.^[b]

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.^[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth^[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce^[e] my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you^[f] I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!

Lost Boy

(Luke 15:11-32) Presented to Swift Current Community Lenten Lunch, 07 March 2013, Swift Current Salvation Army and CKSW Radio 10 Mar 13 by Captain Michael Ramsay

A distinguished, prominent big city pastor cruised through a small town. He became a little turned around and when he was lost and driving through the streets of this prairie town his eyes fell upon a child not more than two feet tall at the door of one of the houses. The boy was on tiptoes valiantly attempting to reach the doorbell. Amused at the efforts of this small boy and wanting to help, the pastor parked his car and went over to assist the boy. He reached up and pushed his finger onto the button and the chimes rang inside. Satisfied that he had done his good deed for the day, the pastor turned to the child,

“Okay, what happens next?”

With a smile the child replied, “Now we run!”
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The pastor of our story today was at a loss, I believe, as he was lost in the prairies. Today we are speaking about the lost. We read the parable of the lost son. This is actually the 3^rd parable in a series of 3 or 4 parables. The parable of the lost son and especially the parable of the lost coin and the parable of the lost sheep are all speaking about how important the lost are to God and just how much He will do to bring them to salvation, to bring them back to Him.[1] The next parable after the parables of the lost then goes on to explain just how important this salvation from the Father is. God really loves us. So, to make a gross understatement, it bothers Him when we are lost.

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read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/03/luke-1511-32-lost-boy.html

Beastly Quiz

From Revelation 17:1-18 and 20:9-27: What is and What’s to Come. Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army 03 Mar 13 by Captain Michael Ramsay

Quiz: Name that beast. There are 3 beasts for you to guess. You have 6 clues to name that beast. See how you do.

BEAST #1:

1. A Swiss inventor created him.
2. The creature killed his maker’s family.
3. His creator pursued the creature to the Artic where the creator died.
4. This beast doesn’t really have a name.
5. He is remembered by the name of his creator.
6. His creator is Dr. Frankenstein.

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BEAST #2

1. This beast is in need of a shave.
2. Zevon and CCR (maybe) sing about him.
3. Michael J. Fox played one.
4. This beast comes out at night.
5. He should be avoided during the full moon.
6. What the 3 little pigs ask?

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BEAST #3

1. This beast has many names throughout the world
2. He has been spotted in the U.S., China, and Canada
3. In China, he may be related to Frosty yet
4. In the U.S, he needs to see a specialized cobbler
5. In Canada, apparently he drinks Kokanee beer
6. It is another name for a timepiece made in Regina

Answers (and sermon) at: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/03/revelation-171-18-and-209-27-what-is.html

Revelation 3:7-13: Vs. Philadelphia

Presented Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 17 Feb 2013, by Captain Michael Ramsay.
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I was at a prayer meeting earlier this week and the leader shared this story out of a devotional book that is often insightful and inspiring. He read:
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A retired gentleman from around here calls his adult son in Philadelphia one autumn day and says, “Your mom and I are getting a divorce. This has been fifty plus years of pure aggravation and I am done with it!”
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“What? Dad, you can’t!” replies the son.
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“I’ve had it and I am so upset. You just call your sister and tell her. I don’t walk to talk about it anymore. I am done with this.”
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The son calls his sister and he tell her everything that dad has just shared with him. She says, “They can’t do that! Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it right away.”
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She calls her dad, “Dad”, she says, “Don’t do anything hasty. My brother and I are both on the next flight from Philadelphia here to come there and talk to you and Mom. Don’t do anything until we get there.”
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Dad hangs up the phone and looks at his wife and says, “The kids are coming home for Thanksgiving and they are even paying for their own plane tickets…but what are we going to do about Christmas.”
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That little story was about a phone call to Philadelphia in the present day United States. Today’s pericope is about a letter to a different Philadelphia at a different time.

 

read more: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/02/revelation-37-13-vs-philadelphia.html

St. Patrick’s Day Quiz

1. Where was St. Patrick born?

1. Ireland
2. Scotland
3. France
4. Saskatchewan

2. What was the nationality of St. Patrick's parents?

1. Irish
2. Scottish
3. Roman
4. Martian

3. What is the traditional colour associated with St. Patrick?

1. Blue
2. White
3. Green
4. Orange

4. What object did St. Patrick famously use to share the gospel?

1. Clover
2. Shamrock
3. Rainbow
4. Snake

5. In Eire what would one call a criminal who comes down with a skin disease?

1. a criminal with a skin disease
2. a leper con

 
ANSWERS AT http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/03/john-125-mark-147-matthew-2611-poor.html