WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: ‘May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you’ (Psalm 67:3). In your mind, join with those around the world who are praising God this Sunday. Thank God that you know and love him. The psalmist has a God-given picture of what the unrighteous are really like. It is a grim vision, and even 3,000 years later his picture is unhappily accurate: _ They have no respect for God; today they dismiss the Christian faith as fairy stories or superstition (v 1b). _ They cannot see that anything they do is sinful. Petty theft, casual sex or violence – so what (v 2)? _ What they say cannot be trusted. They are devious and deceitful (v 3). _ They cannot tell the difference between right and wrong. Their only moral guidance is what they want. After this very accurate depiction of those without God, the psalmist continues with a beautiful poetic description of God’s love (vs 5–9). If these words sound familiar it is because hymn- and song-writers have always found them inspirational. He ends with a prayer (vs 10–12) for the continuance of God’s love to all who know him and who ‘walk in the light’ (1 John 1:7). Respond: We know that God loves all humans, whether or not they know him. Pray for those you know who do not know God, especially those who ridicule the Christian faith and laugh at the idea of God. http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-09-30