Last week, too many days rang up temps in the 90’s. One 90+ day I drove by Welch Pool and saw a line of people stretching back to the parking lot. Everyone was looking for a refreshing dip in the pool. I would like to declare this summer a time of refreshment at Calvary.

For the next 10 weeks of summer, we are going to take a small look at a big book; the Old Testament collection of Psalms. Psalms is a collection of 150 prayers and songs of worship. They are prayers and songs that started in the heart of an individual – a moment where someone like you or me cried out to God, or pondered God, or connected with God – but since that moment these prayers and songs have been prayed and sung by millions of people for thousands of years.

And they are words of refreshment…

They are refreshingly authentic. The psalms give us permission to be honest and real with God in our prayers and with others in our worship, our doubts, our joys and our struggles.

They are refreshingly spiritual. The psalms are the language of prayer. When we don’t know how to pray, we can refresh our prayers with the language of the Psalms. We may find ourselves praying words that connect us to the heart of God.

They are refreshingly uplifting. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone to the psalms when my heart was dry, my spirit was down and the words I read gave me new hope, inspired gratitude, or lifted my faith.

Through the years the psalms have been a treasure to many who are seekers of God. For example listen to these words…

I read the Psalms every day, as I have done for years; I know them and love them more than any other book. Dietrich Bonheoffer in a letter to his parents, while he was in a Nazi prison.

(When I read the psalms) I am reminded that God never dozes off, even when for a time the air is smooth and the way is clear. He doesn’t jolt awake when the earth rumbles beneath your feet. He is in perfect attendance to your every step. Beth Moore

The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.  C.S. Lewis

I am glad that the Psalmist is honest and lets us know there are times he was afraid. That is one reason I find the Psalms so comforting – he experienced life as I do with all its’ up and downs, fears, doubts, joys, heartaches. Ruth Graham

David’s life was a torrent of spiritual desire, and his psalms ring with the cry of the seeker and the glad shout of the finder.  A.W. Tozer

I am looking forward to joining my voice to the cries of the seekers and the glad shouts of the finders.  We start this weekend — June 4/5.