To the Ends of the Earth (Part 1): The Book of Acts

In September, we’ll be starting a new sermon series in one of the most dramatic narratives in all of scripture: the Book of Acts. The author, Luke, picks up right where his Gospel left off and gives us a historical picture of both the explosive outward growth and extraordinary inward transformation of the early church.

Right before leaving the disciples, Jesus tells them that they “… will be (His) witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” You could call that a mission statement (it is), but it’s a lot more than that: It’s a gift to give away and a promise to empower.

A Gift to Give Away

If the guy living next door in my college dorm had not invited me to a Bible study, or if a guy I’d never met named “Max” had not anonymously paid for me to go on his campus ministry’s spring break service trip, I wouldn’t be a Christian today - never mind a pastor! If the disciples had not relied upon that empowering promise and been faithful “witnesses to the end of the earth,” The Table would not exist today. The upstart, carpenter-worshipping minority sect of Judaism that came to be called “Christianity” would have flamed out within weeks of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In every time, place, and culture across human history, the transformative experience of the Gospel has so profoundly impacted people that they’ve felt compelled to tell others about their experience (i.e. “witness”). That compulsion comes not from a sense of stoic duty, but surprised delight in a gift we didn’t know we’ve always longed for. The degree to which we experience the Gospel as a “gift” is the degree to which we will be itching to offer that gift to our neighbors.

A Promise to Empower

But this “witnessing” is not on our own power… or on our own at all. The phrase, “you will be” is a promise to the disciples that the success or failure of that endeavor is dependent on Jesus, not their effort or effectiveness (Matthew 16:18). Time and again, the disciples face impossible circumstances, and the Holy Spirit shows up in both extraordinary and ordinary ways. That doesn’t mean the disciples are spared from pain or difficulty, not by a long shot! But Acts paints a picture of God’s unstoppable, transformative grace as it ripples throughout all of the Roman Empire, and beyond. This was not just for the disciples “way back then,” this promise is the inherited reality of the modern church as we continue to be Jesus’s witnesses “to the end of the earth” on our block, in our jobs, and every other sphere of life.

To Be Continued…

It was Luke’s explicit intent in writing Acts in the first place: the “Acts of the Apostles” are “to be continued” in and through the church, by and for every ensuing generation. This blog post is also “to be continued” (see what I did there?), and Part 2 will explore a lot more of the “how” behind all this, including a timeline and some very specific implications for The Table over the next year… like sending people to plant a new church in Longmont, but you already knew about that.

… to be continued!

Church Planting Resident Update (Justin Chappell)

Can you believe it? I’m already past the halfway mark in my church planting residency at The Table! But what does that mean? And what’s ahead? Here’s a peek into where we’ve been and where we’re going...

As a refresher, why a church planting residency (see also the FAQ we put out at the start of this journey)? The three-year residency was designed to give me the space and support to plant a church in Longmont. We knew it was essential to “try on” specific aspects of leadership unique to church planting, to listen and learn from the community where we’re planting, and to have financial and relational support from a local church. In many ways, our residency has “hit” most of these marks.

But more than simply checking important boxes along the way, this has been a beautifully formative time. I’m not just a church planter at The Table, I’m one of your pastors - and The Table is our church family. That means our stories are beautifully and inextricably tied together! Yes, The Table is sending us to plant; but, really, you are helping us plant. And we couldn’t imagine doing this any other way...

The early, and ongoing, focus

When we first moved to Longmont we were immediately struck by how great we fit in the community. But an enjoyment of something doesn’t equate to an understanding of it. Sure, we enjoyed Longmont and everything we were experiencing, but in order to love this place well we knew we needed to understand it. We needed to become ‘one of’ the community – and that takes time. So, from the moment we first arrived, we’ve been taking the time to listen, learn, and invest in this beautiful little city. And the residency has given us the space to do this in an unhurried and intentional way.

Why is this important? Because we’re not trying to plant a church that’s simply founded on our good and well-meaning ideas; we’re trying to plant a church with a vision specific to Longmont, unique to the people and stories of this place. In this way, we’re trying to plant with awareness, on a foundation of trust.

Where we’ve been...

While this focus has been running in the background, I’ve also been quite active at The Table. I spent the first 12 months of the residency “trying on leadership unique to planting.” In leading the Neighborhood transition and cohorts relaunch, I had the space to learn how to navigate change - both with vision and through a team. And you’ve probably heard me preach at least a time or two. It’s been a gift to establish good preaching habits and have the space to grow as a preacher before we launch (when I’m doing it every week!). The best part: I’ve been able to do all of this with a community of people that I love deeply. Leading in a vacuum is one thing; leading a community you’re invested in is another. I’m grateful for the ways you’ve not just allowed me to lead, but for your investment in us.

The past 8 months have been much more Longmont-centric. Our first year in Longmont was filled with many new connections, tremendous new friendships, and an abundance of new opportunities to serve the city. Surveying the breadth of this landscape, depth became the necessary next focus. In this way, I’ve mostly become full-time missionary to Longmont over the past 8 months. As such, I’ve been intentional about building trust, learning the stories of this place, and inviting people to taste and see a more true and satisfying story.

Where we’re going...

As you’re aware, church planting demands a level of strategic thinking and planning. As my qualitative (personal/specific) experiences pile up, I’ve begun marrying them with quantitative (objective/big picture) data. This is enabling me to tell a clear and compelling story for why we’re planting a church in Longmont. This also plants the early vision seeds that will eventually grow into more structured vision and values – the unique and specific ways a new church in Longmont will function. I’ll continue to work on these elements through the spring and into the early summer. Then the real fun/crazy begins!

We’re aiming to launch public worship in Longmont in September 2020. Yes, that’s slightly less than 18 months away (!!!), but here’s just a few things that need to happen between now and then: preparing the community for planting; multiple vision meals/parties; gathering and equipping a launch team and staff; and multiple preview services! All that to say: there will be significantly more information to share as we go along!

In more ways than you can imagine, your presence, support, and encouragement have given us a profound amount of confidence and hope. We couldn’t imagine doing any of this without the support and love from The Table - from you. Thank you.

We’re excited about what’s ahead, and we’re eager to share in the joy of it all with you! As always, don’t hesitate with questions!

Much love,

Justin Chappell

P.S. If you’d like to follow along a bit more closely, you can subscribe to my church planting newsletter here, and my prayer newsletter here.

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Sermon Series: God's Story

The Table’s Church Planting Resident, Justin Chappell, will be leading us in our next sermon series, starting November 4th: “God’s Story.” The graphic above (courtesy of Danny Rankin) is an abstract depiction of the 4 “acts” or “chapters” of that historical narrative. Here Justin describes how a deeper understanding of God’s grand, true, and redemptive drama gives life, hope, and meaning to our own stories…

While writing this blog post in a public space, I overheard a nearby conversation. It was two women that seemed like they just met. And as you’d normally do when you first meet someone, you share your story. You give context to who you are today, give examples of your favorite things, share the motivation behind your work, build bridges over shared experiences, and dream about future endeavors. That’s what was happening. And then I heard, “I want this to make a difference – to help make things better!” At the risk of moving from “guy that overheard small conversation bits” to “weird eavesdropping guy that was documenting a stranger’s conversation” I wasn’t able to make out what it was that motivated that comment. But the comment could have easily been inserted into any of the other conversations going on around me. In this comment was both an experience and a belief. An experience that says something isn’t right, that something is not the way it should be; and a belief that it can be different, even better. If we listen closely enough to the stories we often tell, we’d likely recognize this same theme: things aren’t the way they seem they should be, and we’re hopeful there’s a way to improve the broken realities of life.

Fundamental to our stories is pain, deferred hope, disappointment, and countless other examples of things that just seem broken. And many of these stories are rooted in a fundamental belief that this is not the way it’s supposed to be – that we can do something about it. We look at political corruption and decry its effects, becoming ambassadors for candidates with greater promise. We experience racial and social injustice and become advocates for greater human dignity. We look back at our imperfect childhoods and promise to not make the same mistakes our parents made. In each of these, the resolve is rooted in the hope for something better. This is good. But how do we make sense of why things are the way they are? And how do we have any confidence in our version of a solution?

Interestingly, the Bible is telling a very similar story to the stories we tell. It’s filled with countless examples of brokenness; narcissism, racism, adultery, murder, just to name a few. But beyond simply highlighting things that aren’t the way they seem they should be, it gives context for why things are this way. And then it gives us hope for something better. This hope is not rooted in a future, self-authored solution - it’s embedded into our original design. It’s a hope that tells the truth about why things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be; it’s a hope authored by God himself. In this way, the Bible doesn’t just tell a similar story to our own, it’s the Story that gives meaning and purpose (and hope!) to all of our stories.

For most of us, we find it hard to make sense of the Bible. The stories seem disconnected, and the ones that aren’t disconnected seem contradictory. We need context. We need perspective. We need to explore the larger narrative (drama!) of the Bible. Join us for the month of November to explore this larger Story that God is telling through all the Bible. And bring your questions!

A Neighborhoods Story

When we launched Neighborhoods on Sunday morning (9/9), we showed this incredible video put together by one of our own - Documentary Filmmaker, Director, and Animator Chad Clendinen. His considerable gifts in storytelling powerfully illustrate how our definitions for “community” and “neighborhood” are inherently flawed and insufficient, as well as unavoidably influenced by our (very suburban) environment…

Coming Soon: Neighborhoods

This will be a "living blog post" that we update with additional information as things continue to develop over the summer!  Photo by Raphaël Biscaldi on Unsplash

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A Quick Introduction... (6/5)

Dear Church,
           
As many of you have experienced, hospitality is a bedrock value at The Table. This is far more than just inviting people into our home for a meal. It is a lifestyle of relational generosity and self-giving love for those who are most different from us. This definition has been the primary “WHY” behind the design of The Table’s Community Groups. And for almost 2 years, they have been a greenhouse for profound hospitality, where common belief isn’t a prerequisite and love for our literal neighbors is both the starting point and the goal. As The Table has grown and matured, we’ve encountered both challenges and opportunities to living out that vision in ways we never could have guessed before actually trying it!  

One challenge we discovered is that Community Groups were not built to handle the exponential growth we experienced over our first year, nor were they equipped to explicitly and intentionally bring new members along with this vision for hospitality (and combined, it's no surprise that this is new to many of you reading this!). To adapt Community Groups to cooperate with what God is doing in/through The Table, this fall Community Groups will be growing into Table Neighborhoods.

In many ways, Neighborhoods (or Table ‘Hoods if you’re as cool as I am) will feel very similar to Community Groups: Hospitality will still be a foundational component of every Neighborhood, but we’re creating space and flexibility to localize community, mission, and mercy efforts. In other words, they will be designed to work with the grain of our natural rhythms of life, instead of against the grain or just on top of everything else. 

“... we’re creating space and flexibility to localize community, mission, and mercy efforts.”

As a church plant grows, there’s a very real and dangerous tendency to uncritically grow busier with it (hence some of the major changes we're also making with Sunday Morning Teams you read about in the June newsletter). This ends up creating more things to do and leaves less time to be further committed to the people and places right in front of us (our neighbors). I’ve felt this, and I’ve heard many of you voice the same. Neighborhoods are designed to reverse that tendency, to give you the space and support to be more present and engaged in "every sphere of life" you're already involved in! 

Throughout this summer we’ll be rolling out more specific details about Table Neighborhoods, what to expect when they launch, what regions each Neighborhood represents, and how they’ll enhance and strengthen cohorts (the latter being another significant reason why we’re doing this). Each of our current Community Group Leaders are helping navigate their respective group’s transition, so if you’re currently in a Community Group, they are a great resource for learning more and asking questions! If you have general questions, thoughts, or concerns, please email me or Justin Chappell.  

Stay tuned for more exciting updates in the next few weeks!

Peace,
Brad Edwards
Lead Pastor

The Table :: Our Story

As one of 15 church plants supported by Acts 29 West for 2018, they put together a pretty incredible video that tells a bit of our story, who we are, and how God is working in/through our young church plant to be "the flourishing presence of Jesus in every sphere of life!" Enjoy!

The Table // Lafayete, CO

Readings for Advent

Let's face it, the holidays can be anything but restful. To keep yourself (a little more) grounded this year, we've put together a list of daily readings. You can either pick one up at the Welcome Table on Sunday morning, and/or (since we're about a week behind the curve this year) download the PDF here so you can get started on-time (December 1st)!

Also check out a couple of the things Brad wrote up for Advent last year:

• Christmas Customs, Part 1 :: Lights

• Christmas Customs, Part 2 :: Waffles & Strawberries

“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.”

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Made to Flourish: Uncommon Grace for the Common Good

As a church plant, we've come a very long way in our first year. By God's grace, and seemingly overnight, we've gone from a fledgling community of 20 families to a church of over 150 people who consider The Table their home. Through countless conversations and opportunities to live out our vision to "savor and share the Life of Jesus in every person, place, and thing," we've realized that this vision is... well... lacking. Sure, it sounds decent and accurately describes much of what we're about, but it isn't quite connecting to the ethos or heart of the passion we have for our broader community (also, nobody could remember it anyway, so that was a problem too). Thus, you'll notice that our current vision now reads:

“We exist to be the flourishing presence of Jesus in every sphere of life.”

The two expressions are definitely similar, but now there is a comprehensive totality, a God-sized fulness, scope, and focus that has been lacking. This Fall, we'll be spending 8 weeks in a sermon series called "Made to Flourish: Uncommon Grace for the Common Good," where we will unpack all the beauty, glory, and mess of what we are convinced God is calling us to - both individually and communally. We'll spend the vast majority of that time filling out all the concrete, collective, and personal implications of this vision, and this post will lay a foundation for it all.

To start, you'll notice there are two halves of this vision statement - one answers the "what," and the other answers the "where." 

What are we called to?
"... the flourishing presence of Jesus... "

The church does not exist for it's own sake. A "selfish church" is as oxymoronic and nonsensical as a "football bat" (yup, exactly). Yet, much of the American evangelical church has uncritically embraced consumerism (the idea that the "good life" is an ever-increasing consumption of goods & services) as way of doing life and ministry, implying that the church is both the provider of spiritual goods and services, and primarily and ultimately for Christians. This has led to Christians using language like "getting fed" by church's worship service, or "church shopping" when they first move to a new area. But don't hear what I'm not saying!  Being spiritually nourished with the Gospel and prayerfully discerning where God is calling you to serve in a local body are good and important things!

... but can you hear the very different and powerful assumptions embedded within those two ways of describing it?

God blesses (another word for "flourish") His people. The purpose of any and all flourishing is for the good of those around us - especially and primarily our broader community. Period. No qualifier. The Church is not for Christians. The Church is a community of Christians whose fundamental orientation is toward both our God and our neighbor. Those two are so explicitly and intrinsically linked by Jesus' teachings that they are inseparable: you can't "love God" and not love your neighbor. Loving your neighbor is itself an essential and non-negotiable act of Christian worship.

God has already blessed us in full. He has flourished us already (and yes, that's a real word). We are made to flourish - made both to receive His flourishing and to flourish others. If we only do one of those, we're not living into our full humanity, and we're not living in light of Jesus' Gospel love... and we also aren't acting like a church as described in scripture.

Where are we called to be this presence?
"... in every sphere of life."

The American evangelical church is often (and rightly, for the most part) criticized for being all about spiritual brokenness (hyper focused on evangelism & the Great Commission), while severely neglecting or outright ignoring the physical & social brokenness of the world (e.g. poverty or racism). While we of course agree that the Great Commission is vital to what it means to be a Christian, it is not even close to the full picture. Let me explain...

A woman at The Table recently described to me how, when she was growing up, it was always the international missionaries who were really doing God's work. This view sees our careers, our families, and every other “ordinary” aspect of life as merely the necessary means to the end of "real" spiritual work (evangelism). This is as tragic as it is ineffective because it is driven by an urgency and fear of “not doing enough for God” that our non-Christian friends, family, and neighbors can absolutely sense and feel (and are thus alienated from Jesus). Even more importantly, it ignores the original and holistic definition of what it means to be human in the first place.

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...’ And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

— Genesis 1:26, 28

God is as concerned with (and burdened for) the physical as much as He is the spiritual. Thus, He does not ONLY call us to leverage our spiritual flourishing for the good of others, but all of our flourishing - vocational, social, financial, circumstantial, political, educational, or otherwise. It is not just the good news of the Gospel we are called to invite our neighbors into, but the goodness of friendship, economic opportunity, hospitality, emotional health, etc. Christians serving as pastors, plumbers, teachers, stock brokers, mothers & fathers, PhD's and high school dropouts all have an equally-valuable contribution to flourishing in ways unique to how God has called them.

This is the difference between a church functioning like a weed (which kills and crowds out other growth and exists only to multiply itself) and a church that flourishes as a fruit tree (whose fruit both sows new life and nourishes surrounding life).

Putting it all together: Uncommon Grace for the Common Good

And if after all this you're still not convinced, God, in His genius, has designed us in such a way that our greatest good, our holistic flourishing, our spiritual health, is all found in living toward the common good:

“But seek the welfare (flourishing) of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare (flourishing) you will find your welfare (flourishing).”

— Jeremiah 29:7

Above, I stated rather bluntly that" the church is not for Christians." This is true insofar as it is not our primary activity or purpose, but serving others is the most self-serving thing we can do! You see, in God's upside-down creation the only way to be fully satisfied is not through unrestrained selfishness, but in giving ourselves away (which is what Jesus Himself did and modeled for us).

In other words, God has made human beings in such a way (in His Image) that we will really, truly, and fully flourish only when we flourish others. When we are (even imperfectly) "the flourishing presence of Jesus in every sphere of life," things change. Both we and our neighbors flourish. The Church grows and our neighbors are grateful for our presence - whether they believe or not! 

God's church has unique and incredible contributions to make in this world that ONLY we can offer. Not because we are particularly gifted, but because we are especially gifted - and that gift is Jesus Himself. That gift of grace transcends and is magnified by our every blemish, it is the impetus of our every love.  In Jesus, we risk nothing, want nothing, and lack nothing. What do you have to lose? Nothing. It is He that the church offers in/underneath/through/above all that we do.

“We know it is good to receive... Yet Jesus taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive... If we fail to learn this art, we will live unfulfilled lives, and in the end, chains of bondage will replace the bonds that keep our communities together. If we just keep taking or even trading, we will squander ourselves. If we give, we will regain ourselves as fulfilled individuals and flourishing communities.”

— Miroslav Volf

Resources for Deeper Engagement

Much of this Fall's sermon series (as well as the "flourishing" language embedded in our new vision statement) was inspired by several pastors, leaders, and authors. Many of those are listed below, but one we want to especially recommend to you is a short DVD curriculum called For the Life of the World.  I could write another blog post just to sing the praises of this work and it's contribution to the local church, but I won't. Instead, just know that it is easily the most beautiful, full, and accessible expression (watch this with your kids!) of our vision that we have found. Here's the trailer:

You can either purchase it via their website here (with the optional but fantastic "Field Guide" here), or if you have Amazon Prime, they are FREE to watch online. If you have any questions, let us know!

Other Resources

• (For parents) Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids, by Kara Powell and Chap Clark. Note: We're encouraging all parents to read this book early this Fall, and then we'll host an open discussion about it in NOV/DEC (date still TBD) to explain how it informs The Table's approach to children's ministry. 

• What's So Great About "The Common Good" (Article)  and Culture Making (Book) by Andy Crouch

• The Six Practices of the Church (6-Episode Podcast - Short trailer here) and  The Burning Church (Talk) by Greg Thompson

• Common Grace: From the Ivory Tower to the Tractor Company (Article) by Richard Mouw

• Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good (Book) by Steven Garber (who also stars in the For the Life of the World)

New Church Planting Resident: FAQ

If you received our most recent newsletter, you know that we are ecstatic to be bringing on our new Church Planting Resident: Justin Chappell, along with his wife Caitlyn! They will be moving out here late summer (2017), and Justin will be officially starting a 3-year residency at The Table in either September or October, with the goal of subsequently planting in Longmont. We've communicated VERY little about this so far because this has been an on-and-off conversation for a few months now, and we didn't want to get our collective hopes up before we knew it was going to happen. Because of that relative silence, and because you may or may not be familiar with what a "church planting residency" is, here is a quick FAQ and overview of what all this means for us...

Q1 :: What is church planting residency? What will be Justin's role at The Table?

The purpose of a residency is to develop an already-experienced pastor with the opportunity to 1) develop in those leadership skills and abilities unique to church planting, 2) familiarize with a local cultural context and community, and 3) discern the specifics of location, vision and strategy ahead of actually planting. This gives a potential planter a community support system and the opportunity to learn (and fail!) before everything is on the line (much like an incubator for startups and entrepreneurs in Boulder). The specifics of his role are largely TBD, but will be built around his leadership development needs (primarily) and The Table's ministry needs (secondarily).

Q2 :: We aren't even a year old yet! Why are we doing this so early?

You're right, it is VERY early! I have literally never even heard of a plant as young as The Table bringing on their first resident, so you are not wrong about that (then again, a LOT of what we do has never been tried before)! The opportunity for a resident to jump in on a church plant at this very early stage is INVALUABLE as it is RARE. The biggest reason is this: we didn't go out looking for this opportunity, it just kind of... happened. God quite miraculously opened several doors at the same time. Within the span of just a few months, 1) we've had an unexpected number of families from Longmont connect to The Table, 2) Justin and Caitlyn fell in love with Longmont, 3) our presbytery approved us to host a residency, and 4) we were given a significant grant to help fund it (the last two of which happened only 24 hours apart!). Yes, we are still a little in shock over how quickly and powerfully God has moved in all this.

Q3 :: Why will the residency take 3 years? That seems really slow...

This timeline gives Justin and Caitlyn the chance to be fully immersed and part of the City of Longmont, and it gives us the chance to be more fully established to send them with people and resources. Also, during the last year of his residency (pending approval) he will be functionally planting the new church as a ramp up into launch, so it's really more like a 2 year residency and a very well-supported onramp into launch. 

Q4 :: Wait... you said "pending approval," does that mean there's a chance he may not plant?

Correct. The residency is also an evaluation process to make sure the potential planter is called and equipped to plant. This is not intended to be an additional hoop to jump through, but to be a discerning process for the host church (us) and the prospective planter's family - after all, it's a huge stress and one of the hardest things you can do in ministry even when you ARE clearly called! All that said, if we didn't think Justin and Caitlyn were a good fit or had that potential, we wouldn't have invited them here! (Have I mentioned how excited we are?)

Q5 :: What has The Table financially committed to Justin? 

As an Acts 29 Member Church, we have committed to giving a portion of our internal giving to church planting (to a few different sources, more than half of which can be designated in support as we choose). Between that and the aforementioned grant we were given for the purpose of hosting a resident, we're able to give Justin a significant head start on his fundraising. Very very little of what we've committed is above or beyond those two factors (hence, "miraculous"). The rest of his financial need is up to him to raise from outside The Table. This is both necessary because we are not even remotely self-sustaining yet, and the ability to fundraise is a vital skill every planter needs to learn and practice (i.e. it's part of his leadership training and development). If you're at The Table and want to support their work, start/increase/continue your giving to The Table as your home church! 

Q6 :: What does this mean for me if I live in Longmont? 

For now, absolutely nothing... well, except that you'll be getting a couple amazing new neighbors! For all the reasons mentioned above, don't start making plans or worrying about who is going with them or who is staying at The Table (either way, 100% voluntary). Three years is a long time (we're not even one year old!), and when the time comes, we'll talk more specifically and help you both discern and follow God's calling on your life - whether that's staying here or being sent! 

Q7 :: How can I help or be a part of all this? 

The same way you can be a part of what God is doing at The Table - continue to Know God, Love People, and Cultivate Beauty (our Mission). The more established and mature we are as a church, the more we will be able to bless Justin and Caitlyn when we send them with people and resources to plant in Longmont. In other words.. Pray! If you're not in a Community Group, join one! If you are, but haven't invited your neighbors, what are you waiting for! If you're not serving on Sunday morning, step up and help out with Table Kids, run slides, and/or contribute your musical skills! If you're not giving sacrificially, prayerfully do so!

In other words, generously give of your time, treasure, and talents for the good of your church family.

Q8 :: (Insert Question Here)

If you have any other questions not covered here, let us know! For a church as young as The Table, everything is new, so we know there will be many more questions along the way. 

Resources on the Psalms (UPDATED)

UPDATED 6/4/18: We had a series on the psalms last summer too, but with a very different theme! We've updated the items below with a few additional resources, and took out the ones that were specific to summer 2017.

Someone recently asked for resources in studying the psalms (the focus of our current sermon series), and rather than sending them to one person, we wanted to make it accessible for everyone! I (Brad) am using most of the resources below for sermon prep, but there are a couple others sprinkled in for more general helpfulness too. "Devotionals & Big Picture" are extremely accessible, topical and very application-oriented. The "Commentaries" section include more academically or theologically oriented resources  - but still accessible! - if you're looking for a deeper theological engagement (this section is also organized from most accessible to least).

Devotionals & Big Picture

• The Songs of Jesus by Tim Keller- An excellent daily devotional that divides all 150 psalms into daily chunks, with a short explanation and a short prayer of response for each one. If you have struggled to keep a discipline of daily reading and/or prayer, this is by far the easiest and most accessible one I've seen (only 1 page of reading per day!). 

• Praying the Psalms by Redeemer Presbyterian Church (FREE PDF DOWNLOAD) - Intended for small groups of people to work through together, this is an excellent resource that practically walks you through, step by step, on how to pray through the psalms. You will learn a lot along the way, but it's primary purpose is the same as the psalms: to direct our hearts toward God, and have them shaped by Him.

• Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis - Lewis breaks down the major themes of the psalms from the starting point of our every day experience. A few of his conclusions are a little "iffy" (e.g. some of his comments on justice are a bit dated and culturally-confined to 1940's England), but it's classic C.S. Lewis and very reminiscent of Mere Christianity.

• Prayer by Tim Keller- One of the best books on prayer ever written. It's based largely (implicitly and explicitly) on the psalms, and describes a practice of prayer that is deeply rooted in the posture modeled in the psalms.

Commentaries

• The Flow of the Psalms by O. Palmer Robertson - A "big picture" commentary that is both deeply exploratory and imminently accessible, his observations and thematic connections are gold printed on paper. While not a verse-by-verse commentary like the other one, Palmer uniquely engages theological and existential implications of the psalter.
• Psalms 1-72 and Psalms 73-150 by Derek Kidner - This is one of the standards for pastors and preachers working through the psalms. It's neither a technical (getting into the finer points of hebrew grammar) nor an expository (easy-to-read preaching summary) commentary, but something in between. If you want robust theology and great historical/cultural context, you can't go wrong here.