This Sunday, Ryan preached a sermon from Psalm 3, titled, “When Your Whole World is On The Brink.” Psalm 3 is one of many psalms that express lament for lamentable circumstances and, ultimately, hope in God’s saving power and goodness.

In his sermon, Ryan showed us how Psalm 3 gives us an example of how our own thoughts and prayers and feelings can progress: Lament (1-2), Remembrance (3-5), Resolve (6), Request (7-8). This psalm, along with others like it, provides a helpful prayer template for our own laments, sadnesses, discouragements, and depression.

Below are a number of helpful resources for thinking through and wrestling with depression:

• Saturday Seminar: Depression, DSC audio lectures by Ryan Kelly
• Depression, A Stubborn Darkness: Light for the Path, Book by Ed Welsch
• Depression: The Way Up When You are Down, Booklet by Ed Welsch
• “The Heart of Depression,” Article by Ed Welsch
• “The Dark Night of The Soul,” Article by R.C. Sproul
• Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures, Book by Martyn Lloyd Jones
• When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God – and Joy, Book by John Piper
• “Darkness of Depression,” Radio Interview with David Powlison
• “Is Depression Purely Biological?,” Video with David Powlison
• “Charles Spurgeon: Preaching Through Adversity,” Message/Biography by John Piper

Ed Welsch discussing depression:

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

Unfortunately, due to audio equipment issues, the audio for Ryan’s sermon is not available.

When we hear the word, “reverberation,” we usually think of sound. But while a reverberation is a sound on its own, it is also the effect of a sound. It’s the presence of a sound once that sound is gone, but in the form of echos. There are more technical ways of putting it, I’m sure, but that’s the gist. The church, we could say, is a kind of architecture designed and build by the Word of God for the reverberation of God’s Word in the world. We are a reverberation of the very voice of God.

Earlier this year, Jonathan Leeman published a helpful book, titled, Reverberation: How God’s Word Brings Light, Freedom, and Action to His People. This book explores the nature and function of God’s Word in and through God’s people in every aspect of our life and mission together.

This past week, Fred Zaspel published a review of Leeman’s book. Here are a few paragraphs from his review to whet your appetite this helpful word about God’s Word:

Leeman, editorial director for 9Marks ministries, begins with a discussion of the power of God’s Word. This is nothing new, of course. But his presentation is unusually compelling. Indeed, one of the leading values of this book is that it not only informs the reader in regard to this so very important article of our faith; it also leaves the reader utterly persuaded of it and moved by it. Reading as he unpacks this wonderful theme of the transforming effectiveness of Scripture you sense your own perspective being sharpened, your appreciation of God’s Word deepened, and your eagerness to see it put to further use increased many times over. Certainly every believer has experienced the soul- and life-transforming power of God’s Word, and as Leeman articulates this theme for us we find him articulating our own experience with God—which is, of course, what makes this to us such a joyful theme.

Leeman wins his case in this first section so well that you will find yourself eager to see how this theme affects church and Christian worship, which is what the subject he takes up in the rest of the book. First, of course, is the matter of preaching. Here Leeman describes preaching in terms of the “exposing” of God’s written Word, apart from which preaching has no value whatever. Then he explains—again, so compellingly—how God’s Word then “reverberates” in our singing, praying, disciple-making, and evangelism.

What distinguishes Christianity, at bottom, is the message. We Christians have the audacity to claim that God has spoken, and that the message we proclaim is from him. We are a “people of the book,” and we believe with all our hearts that this message is the means through which God works mightily to claim and transform those who are his. What Leeman provides for us is both a very clear and persuasive exposition of this truth and a discerning application of it to church life. After reading this you will want more than ever to see your church become increasingly Word/gospel-centered—in its preaching, its singing, its praying, its ordinances, and in every other aspect of its life.

Reverberation is available at the Resource Center for a suggested donation of a measly $3.00. Get one to read, and several to give away.

How can we read the Bible so that the Bible transforms us? In short, we are transformed when the Spirit grants us to see and to know Christ better in the Word. This is because seeing and knowing Christ is the way we are transformed into Christ’s image (2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:18; 1 John 3:2). Our goal is to be like Christ, and the means is our vision of Christ.

Ok. Got it.

But how does that work? What is the relationship between our spiritual apprehension of Christ and our becoming like Christ? How does reading the Word work on us?

Sometimes an illustration helps. In his article on how to read the Bible, “Christ-Centered Bible Study,” Keith Johnson begins by illustrating the relationship between hearing the Bible’s message and living its demands:

Imagine yourself in a large house in which those who are deaf and those who can hear are living together. In one of the rooms, you see a guy sitting in a chair, listening to music on his iPod. Rhythmically, he’s tapping his foot, drumming his thighs, jutting out his chin, and swaying to the beat. His entire body moves in response to what his ears are hearing. It’s obvious that he’s enjoying himself and listening to a pretty good song.

A few minutes later, one of the deaf persons enters the room. Seeing the guy listening to the music and rocking out, he thinks, that looks like fun! I think I’ll try that. So he sits down next to him and begins to imitate him. Awkwardly at first, he tries drumming his thighs, jutting his chin out, and swaying to the music just like the guy with the iPod. With a little practice, he begins to catch onto it. By watching and trying, he begins to mirror the others guys actions pretty closely. But although he eventually gets better at keeping time, he concludes that it’s not as much fun or as easy as it initially seemed (especially the chin jut–very difficult to do when you’re not actually hearing the music).

After a while, a third person enters the room and watches this scene. What does he see? Two people apparently doing the same thing, apparently listening to the same thing. Is there a difference? Absolutely, the first guy hears the music and his actions are a natural response to the music’s rhythm and melody. The second guy is merely imitating the outward actions. Being deaf, he’s not listening to anything.

There’s an important spiritual parallel here. The dance (outward actions) represents the Christian life, while the music represents the grace of the gospel.

That’s a helpful image. After all, Jesus used the senses of both seeing and hearing to communicate what it means for us to apprehend his identity and his message (Matthew 13:13).

The whole article is worth reading.

HT: Dane Ortlund

On Friday, October 21 at 7:00 PM, DSC will host the second annual Cause for Praise, a night of praising God with our city. Last year, Cause for Praise was recorded live and released as DSC’s first album of songs for worship, Cause for Praise. This year’s Cause for Praise will be a live recording, as well, which will be released as a series of digital downloads available in the months following this year’s concert.

In addition to being a live recording, this year’s Cause for Praise concert will also serve as the release concert for an album of psalms adapted, set to music, and performed by members of DSC. The album’s title, Psalterium, is Latin for “Psalter,” which refers to a collection of psalms. So, it’s a new word, but this is what happens when artists name things. We get something new, creative, and refreshing. In the years ahead, we expect to release additional collections of psalms set to music, so this album is officially titled, Psalterium, Volume 1.

Here’s the artwork for Psalterium, Volume 1:

Admission is free and open to anyone. So, take advantage of this great opportunity to invite family and friends from work or the neighborhood to DSC.

There’s an empty lot across the street from DSC. Actually, there are a few of them. But the one we all think of is the lot across from us at the corner of Vista Del Norte and Osuna.

Surely, most of us have imagined what could be with that space. We love our community and that looks like a great space for community things. Over the years, a number of proposals have been possible, including a local department store and even a strip mall. Of course, it’s not hard to imagine soccer fields and a community park.

On Tuesday of this week the future of that land was decided. As it turns out, that last idea wasn’t hard for the decision makers to imagine either.

Here’s the text of an announcement and invitation that went out to the E-Newsletter mailing list earlier today:

We have good news! The city of Albuquerque has finalized the decision to make the lot to the East of the church an official Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta landing site and recreational field (soccer fields / city park). This decision was finalized on Wednesday, and the dedication of the field is this Sunday, September 25 at 9:00 AM.

The Mayor’s office contacted the Vista del Norte Neighborhood Association President and asked that she do what she can to get the Vista del Norte Community to the dedication. The Neighborhood Association recognizes that DSC has been a great support to the neighborhood and has invited us to participate in the dedication.

Sunday’s dedication provides a great opportunity for us to connect with our neighbors, and this park will do the same for years to come. The mission “field” has truly come to us! So, if it works for your family to attend the dedication at 9:00 AM, we would encourage you to do so. Of course, for those that attend, please don’t neglect your commitment to attend service at 10:45 AM, and we certainly encourage you to meet and invite any new friends you make at the dedication to join us for service.

The transformation of dry ground into a beautiful park is good news for our community, and a picture of the best news of all. Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke about the work He would accomplish in a people through Jesus Christ: “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground” (Isaiah 44:3). May we faithfully display and tell of this truly good news with the neighborhood we love!

In years to come, the corner of Vista Del Norte and Osuna will see much trafic from our immediate and wider Albuquerque community.

Let’s kick off a new and exciting relationship with the city and represent the love of Christ for our neighborhood together this Sunday.