Among the Jews, especially in the Old Testament, teachings served not for the communication of religious truth, but rather to bring the one taught into direct confrontation with the Divine Will.

The psalms, like no other literature, lift us to a position where we can commune with God, capturing a sense of the greatness of his kingdom and a sense of what living with him for eternity will be like.

God is not just saving individuals and preparing them for heaven; rather, He is creating a people among whom He can live and who in their life together will reproduce God’s life and character.

It is far easier to be a Christian in isolation than it is to live out one’s faith in the context of all those other imperfect people who make up God’s church.

[P]salms are basically prayers and hymns, by their very nature they are addressed to God or express truth about God in song.

Among the Jews, especially in the Old Testament, teachings served not for the communication of religious truth, but rather to bring the one taught into direct confrontation with the Divine Will.

Christian ethics is not primarily an individualistic, one-on-one-with-God brand of personal holiness; rather it has to do with living the life of the Spirit in Christian community and in the world.