Chris Powers lives in rural Ohio with his wife and their collie where he creates exegetical art during the week and preaches at a small country church on the weekends. His desire in both his art and his preaching (and hopefully the two are not entirely separate) is to see, savor, and sing the beauty of who God has disclosed Himself to be in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, and to help others do the same. Visit his ministry, Full of Eyes, to learn more.

 

 

The Book of Psalms has been the prayer and song book of God’s people for nearly 3,000 years. In it we journey with the saints from the depths of lament to the heights of praise as they are carried along by the Spirit who gives eloquent form to the groanings of His people’s heart. And with each cry and prayer, the Spirit Himself paints for us an anticipatory portrait of the One for whom the psalmists long and who will make their songs His own; David’s Son and David’s Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

The goal of this series is to learn to pray from the Psalms. By “learn to pray” I’m not thinking about specific words or ways to pray, rather, my hope is that as we soak in this Spirit-inspired prayer book, our own passions, priorities, and purposes might be shaped in accordance with the heart revealed therein—the heart of Christ.

 

In addition to the formation of our hearts, I also want to grow with you in actually employing the Psalms in personal and corporate times of prayer and worship. Sitting at the center of our Bibles is line upon line of inspired poetry, specific patterns and shapes of expression that God Himself has given us for the best of times and the worst of times. Just as the earth was formless and void in the beginning, so too we often find our hearts and minds formless and without fitting expression. Part of my prayer for this series is that the Psalms would be like the original creative word of God, so that just as “Let There Be” pulled the chaos of creation into order, so too the words of the Psalms might give form and expression to the chaos of our souls.

 

I look forward to seeing and savoring Christ as beautiful with you as our hearts are shaped by the book of Psalms this June.

 

 

 

It is always a treat to have Matt Hoffland lead worship. Matt is a ministry partner with Forest Springs Camp and Conference Center as well as one of our own supported missionaries. Click here to learn more about Matt.