Steven Parker: Psalms of Praise, Pain and Possibility: Praying Together through the Pandemic

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Steven Parker: Psalms of Praise, Pain and Possibility: Praying Together through the Pandemic (Psalm 8, 13 and 30)

Steven Parker, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Weslaco, Texas, turns to the psalms to find strength and comfort during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. They provide words for us when we don’t know what or how to pray, he said.

We most often recite the psalms praising God as though “everything is awesome.” The pain psalms—“about two-thirds” of Psalms—should not be neglected, because they express the hurt and brokenness of the world as it is. Psalms of possibility are the prayers of people who experienced suffering and found themselves on the other side. They “remind us of where we are ultimately headed by the promise of God.”

This sermon was delivered online on Mar. 29, 2020, for the morning worship service of First Baptist Church in Weslaco, during the second week of COVID-19 social distancing measures.

A manuscript of this sermon with discussion questions is available here.