Deus Misereatur

Sunday morning: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46.1). O Lord God, who rules in heaven and on earth, who directs orbits and oceans, governs harvests and hailstorms, who fashions the heart of all people and observes all their deeds (Psalm 33.15), who can set every man against his neighbor (Zechariah 8.10) but can also make wars to cease to the ends of the earth (Psalm 46.9); through your Son, Jesus Christ, you reconciled to yourself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1.20). Attend to our prayers as we seek your face and intercede on behalf of your Church and world. For your church all around this globe, and around the OKC area, such as: Northwest Baptist Church; Northwest Christian Church; Oak Dale Baptist Church; Oakcrest Church of Christ; Oaktree Assembly of God; and Oasis Church; we pray: guide her leaders, heal her divisions, reclaim her waywardness, right her wrongheaded...

Our Refuge and Strength—Psalm 46 Over the past several weeks we have been hit hard with bad news, gloomy prognostications, and disconsolate prognosis. We’ve been faced with shocking deaths, and calamitous events all over the world. On top of these are the dark stories of potential national fiscal failures, racial tensions, governmental corruptions. As you and I stare down the near future – say the rest of 2015 thru 2016, we have no clue what’s coming from the other end of the dark tunnel, but we have a creeping suspicion it might be a freight train. So this Psalm ought to be one of the first places you go whenever the dark clouds of doom begin to brood over your soul. Verse 1 is the main point of the Psalm, and all the rest flesh it out. The sentiment is echoed in 7 and 11. So, here is the declaration – no matter what else may follow, no matter what else may befall you, no matter how you feel: God is our refuge and strength, a very present (very accessible) help! 1....