Episode 39: Psalm 15

Translation: Common English Bible (CEB)

3 Questions:

What word, phrase or image strikes you in this text?

Toward what is God calling you in this text?

What is causing you to stumble?

Additional texts:

Genesis 18:1-10a

Colossians 1:15-28

Luke 10:38-42

Amos 8:1-12

Psalm 52

Transcript

00:00:02.48
Nathan Pile
You know, Kevin, on those really hot, humid days, there's nothing better than just taking a break, sitting in a cool spot, and engaging scripture.

00:00:17.82
Nathan Pile
I sure am glad I'm here to tend my spirit with you today.

00:00:18.55
Kevin Shock
um

00:00:23.52
Kevin Shock
Yeah, I'm I'm laughing only because of your folksy delivery. That's all. I agree with you 100%. You are. Yeah,

00:00:32.09
Nathan Pile
I am kind of folksy.

00:00:33.65
Kevin Shock
you are yeah you really are.

00:00:37.11
Nathan Pile
ah ah Welcome back everybody to TEND. We are excited to chat today together um and um see where scripture takes us.

00:00:49.74
Nathan Pile
um This week we are reading from Psalm 15, Kevin and I will be reading from the Common English Bible Translation. ah You can follow along with whatever version you have have with you um close at hand, or go to Bible Gateway or the Bible Gateway app and follow along in the Common English Translation if you like.

00:01:19.11
Nathan Pile
ah We'll be addressing three questions, two which are very familiar to us. What word, phrase, or image strikes you in this text? Toward what is God calling you in this text? And the third question, what is causing you to stumble?

00:01:34.05
Nathan Pile
Hmm.

00:01:34.21
Kevin Shock
Hmm.

00:01:35.39
Nathan Pile
Hmm. Yeah, wow.

00:01:37.10
Kevin Shock
um This might be a deep discussion, Nathan.

00:01:39.08
Nathan Pile
and might it might be

00:01:39.31
Kevin Shock
We better prepare ourselves for this.

00:01:40.44
Nathan Pile
it very well might yeah

00:01:44.14
Kevin Shock
Here's some information about your hosts. We are men married to women in financially stable households, white, firmly in middle age, college and seminary educated.

00:01:55.11
Kevin Shock
We work in the Lutheran Church and were born and raised in Western Pennsylvania. All of this affects how we read scripture and discuss it, but none of this makes us better able to read and discuss scripture than anyone else.

00:02:07.93
Kevin Shock
We believe that the wisdom of scripture is the whole community's compiled interpretation for life with God and one another.

00:02:16.34
Kevin Shock
So we want to know what you hear and think from your life experience. And as Nathan said, this is Psalm 15. It's a short psalm, so this is the entire psalm ah from the Common English Bible.

00:02:33.81
Kevin Shock
A Psalm of David. Who can live in your tent, Lord? Who can dwell on your holy mountain? The person who lives free of blame does what is right and speaks the truth sincerely.

00:02:47.59
Kevin Shock
Who does no damage with their talk, does no harm to a friend, doesn't insult a neighbor, someone one who despises those who act wickedly, but those but who honors those who honor the Lord, someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts, someone who doesn't lend money with interest, who won't accept a bribe against any innocent person.

00:03:11.13
Kevin Shock
Whoever does these things will never stumble.

00:03:15.93
Kevin Shock
If you are meeting with a group or with another person, you can pause the podcast now and ask each other the three questions on your own. Nathan, what about you?

00:03:28.47
Kevin Shock
What word, phrase, or image strikes you in this text?

00:03:31.40
Nathan Pile
It was that first question, actually. um I can't say that I read Psalm 15 a lot. And so as you read that first question, it set my head um just kind of spinning and thinking about um all sorts of things. So this summer, we're um our our Bible study theme at camp is um God Comes Near.

00:03:55.23
Nathan Pile
ah And as we talk about God coming near in lots of different ways, we oftentimes end up talking about finding belonging and acceptance.

00:04:07.83
Nathan Pile
Um, and here, this idea of who can live in your tent, Lord, um kind of struck me as, um, a both probably that I'll use this to preach one of our Sundays, uh, on the Sunday that's coming up here.

00:04:22.49
Nathan Pile
Um, as a staff, because this is again, a kind of a topic that we talk about from time to time about, like, who's in and who's out. um

00:04:31.32
Kevin Shock
Mm. Mm.

00:04:32.43
Nathan Pile
And so this is an interesting, that first question got my head kind of thinking about um those questions. And of course, um you you know, there's the quick answer of who can live in your tent, Lord? Like, can anyone, everyone?

00:04:46.66
Nathan Pile
Yeah. um Is it that simple? And then, of course, the rest of the passage um makes it set some guidelines that that makes it little challenging. But that first sentence, I think, is is what kind of caught my attention today as you were reading down through it of of um

00:05:10.64
Nathan Pile
God's people have have for generations, thousands and thousands of years, asked the same question. you know, because we're talking about David here. So this is a Psalm of David. So you're a thousand years before Jesus.

00:05:26.07
Nathan Pile
um So for better part of 3000 years, we humans have been asking kind of who's in God, who's, who's in the, who's in your tent to, who belongs to your, your group or your family. And so it's not like 2025.

00:05:40.48
Nathan Pile
two thousand and twenty five We're the first humans to be asking this question. So, yeah, that's, That's what struck me. How about you? What strikes you?

00:05:53.22
Kevin Shock
um I ah the whole Because it's a short psalm, um I just keep thinking of The law in the back of my head.

00:06:06.78
Kevin Shock
um I don't I don't I don't know that there's like one word. The image that comes to mind, I guess, there you go. The image that comes to mind is that this is all law, which is good and gracious.

00:06:22.74
Nathan Pile
Hmm.

00:06:22.74
Kevin Shock
um But also... Law is something that is given that provokes human action. and i And I'll be honest, Nathan, the reason I picked this psalm is because I wanted to talk about it with you.

00:06:32.12
Nathan Pile
Hmm.

00:06:37.10
Kevin Shock
um You and I so often talk about um the important stuff in Scripture is what God's action is toward the people.

00:06:49.27
Kevin Shock
And there is no God action in this psalm.

00:06:53.87
Nathan Pile
Mmm, yeah.

00:06:56.14
Kevin Shock
um there ah god is addressed but um and I don't know if I don't know if the psalmist David or otherwise uh if verses two through five after those first two questions if those are things that the psalmist received from the spirit that this is the answer to those first two questions um and if it is the answer to the first two questions, then I I think it another answer to those first two questions can be no one.

00:07:32.61
Nathan Pile
Right, Right.

00:07:34.50
Kevin Shock
No, no one, no one can live in your tent, Lord. No one can dwell on your holy mountain. ah no one is, no one's worthy of that, but, but we know from elsewhere in scripture that that's not true. So that's part of the reason why I wanted to talk about this.

00:07:49.10
Nathan Pile
Yeah. Yeah.

00:07:52.47
Nathan Pile
So do you think there are times in scripture that um that's the scripture writers... use some literary devices.

00:08:08.56
Nathan Pile
um And so an example would be um in the Gospel of John.

00:08:19.42
Nathan Pile
John, as John writes the Gospel, there's the this there's a style that he uses or a literary device that that that kind of sets up the reader every time the reader reads it and and so there's these phrases of like you know what the answer is but I'm going to make the question he puts two negatives in the in in the um In the question so it sort of becomes it's it's an emphatic.

00:08:53.54
Nathan Pile
I think the response is that it's an emphatic no, it's supposed to be like, no, you're not supposed to do that. um But it's that's a device. Do you think this might be a similar style?

00:09:07.72
Kevin Shock
I I think I mean, to answer your very first question, I think that. I think that ah the divinely inspired authors and editors of the Bible use literary devices all the time.

00:09:22.46
Kevin Shock
Not all the time. I think that these are certainly rhetorical questions. You look at Paul. Paul is the master of setting up arguments so that people get themselves all wound up in a tizzy and then realize, oh, he's talking about us, not those other people we hate.

00:09:30.09
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:09:39.12
Kevin Shock
I mean, that's you know that's part of Paul's in and out how he deals with in and out, um who's in and who's out, is that you know he he will say, well, these people are definitely out.

00:09:46.41
Nathan Pile
Right. Sure.

00:09:50.93
Kevin Shock
These people are definitely out. These people are definitely out. Oh, by the way, this is you I'm talking about. ah You think you're in.

00:09:56.85
Nathan Pile
Mmmm Right.

00:09:58.41
Kevin Shock
um Yeah, we won't go down that road because there's there's a lot you can talk about there. But I think these are rhetorical questions. and And I also feel like a need to say, you know, we've talked about in this podcast before, I mentioned it briefly in my in just a minute ago, that the law is a good and gracious gift from God.

00:10:23.43
Kevin Shock
um And that God ah

00:10:29.72
Kevin Shock
God is, well, as we hear all throughout the Psalms in Hebrew scripture, God is slow to anger. ah ah or God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.

00:10:46.03
Kevin Shock
God is forgiving. um Surely reading this Psalm, We recognize that there are going to be people whom God welcomes into the tent, into the holy mountain, who have not been blameless in all of these things.

00:11:01.60
Kevin Shock
ah David is a perfect example.

00:11:01.67
Nathan Pile
Right. Yeah.

00:11:04.16
Kevin Shock
ah David is not blameless, um but he is but his faith is upheld.

00:11:04.39
Nathan Pile
Correct. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

00:11:12.13
Kevin Shock
Partially, I think, because when David realizes he's not blameless, ah he does beg for forgiveness and ah and a new spirit. And so I do think that although um

00:11:27.17
Kevin Shock
although I I don't want to read this as a, these are all the requirements that we have to live up to in order to be welcomed into the holy, the tent of the holy. um This is a guide. I mean, there's nothing in here that I disagree with necessarily in the sense of, I think all of these things that are talked about in the Psalm are good and holy ways to live with one another.

00:11:53.02
Nathan Pile
Yeah, sure.

00:11:53.67
Kevin Shock
um So I definitely think that, um

00:12:01.15
Kevin Shock
well, yeah, I mean, I think that this is, I think that this is a good thing to read. But I think we also need to be aware of that God's action is, God's action shapes this Psalm as well.

00:12:15.10
Kevin Shock
this is not This is not just about human beings behavior toward God and one another.

00:12:24.78
Kevin Shock
Overarching this is about God's interaction with humanity. and God's behavior toward us. So So I think that I think that God is both slow to anger and forgiving and holds the people to account.

00:12:43.93
Nathan Pile
Mmmm

00:12:44.23
Kevin Shock
And I think that holding the people to account, God remembers that God is forgiving as well.

00:12:52.51
Kevin Shock
um And that's a hard balance for me to live into.

00:12:59.61
Kevin Shock
It in the sense that, um,

00:13:04.51
Kevin Shock
I'm I'm not God, so I don't completely understand how I would ride that line or how I do ride that line.

00:13:10.47
Nathan Pile
Sure, sure.

00:13:12.87
Kevin Shock
Like, at what point do I hold someone to a account for what they're doing to me or to someone else? And at one point, am I forgiving with them?

00:13:25.23
Kevin Shock
Those are, those are hard questions to deal with.

00:13:31.16
Nathan Pile
right

00:13:32.27
Kevin Shock
So yeah, that's that's a that's a lot. that's not don't know if that counts as a word phrase or image. but um

00:13:41.04
Nathan Pile
Well, but I think it is, I think it's, um, you're helping to make sense of, of this passage because yeah as you rightly, um, have articulated that we have law here versus two through five, a, um,

00:14:01.37
Nathan Pile
And then, and then that last, well, we're going I'm sure we're going to talk about that last phrase, um, because it's got that word "never" in it.

00:14:07.01
Kevin Shock
ah We probably are.

00:14:10.17
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:14:10.50
Nathan Pile
You know, it's like always those things that, um, when we talk about human beings, there's just no possible way, um, that some of this law isn't that we as the human being,

00:14:10.73
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

00:14:29.50
Nathan Pile
um

00:14:32.13
Nathan Pile
have lived completely free of blame or we've always done what is right. We've always spoken the truth, you know all of those pieces. So, um so I think being able to hear those questions, I think to, to, to have the Psalmist in, in many ways, a remind us of the law, but also the, the, as Lutheran Christians, we talk about the, the other piece of the law helps us to realize that, uh,

00:15:02.88
Nathan Pile
um I'm not I'm not the perfect thing that I think I am.

00:15:09.34
Nathan Pile
I'm not... I'm not

00:15:13.75
Nathan Pile
My own selfishness gets in my way of living into God's ways.

00:15:18.85
Nathan Pile
And so this list kind of reminds us of that as well. if we've made the If we've made the assumption or the air of thinking, oh, I'm in.

00:15:29.33
Nathan Pile
I'm in the tent. I read that first question and say, well, I don't know who else is in, but I know I'm in.

00:15:33.97
Nathan Pile
um If that's where I start, the rest of this psalm grounds me a little bit.

00:15:37.08
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:15:42.11
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I guess I guess it should, shouldn't it?

00:15:47.34
Nathan Pile
Oh, absolutely. Sure, sure, sure.

00:15:48.84
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:15:51.85
Nathan Pile
All right. Want to do it a second time?

00:15:54.24
Kevin Shock
Sure.

00:15:59.45
Nathan Pile
Who can live in your tent, Lord? Who can dwell on your holy mountain?

00:16:04.21
Nathan Pile
the person who lives free of blame does what is right and speak the truth sincerely who does no damage with their talk does no harm to a friend doesn't insult a neighbor someone who despises those who act wickedly but who honors those who honor the lord someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts Someone who doesn't lend money with interest, who won't accept a bribe against any innocent person.

00:16:35.80
Nathan Pile
Whoever does these things will never stumble.

00:16:43.87
Nathan Pile
So, Kevin, toward what is God calling you in this text?

00:16:49.46
Kevin Shock
um I don't know how best to say it, but I definitely, um ah I think part of it is to pay attention to my stumbling. um

00:17:05.26
Kevin Shock
I think it is so easy for people to recognize

00:17:14.73
Kevin Shock
the fault in others, but not the fault in ourselves. And, uh, and to make the mistake of thinking that we, we are in fact blameless or, or I think, I think that the,

00:17:33.40
Kevin Shock
I'm trying to think of how to articulate it. The, the, the spirit I've seen in people in my lifetime, um, not wholesale, but in some people is that, um, I'm not blameless.

00:17:51.41
Kevin Shock
That's why I need Jesus and Jesus forgives me of my sins. Um, but then they hold other people to a different level of account.

00:18:05.42
Kevin Shock
Um, To the point of, you know, well, these are these specific sins that you're doing that in order for Jesus to love you and forgive you, you have to stop doing these things.

00:18:17.85
Kevin Shock
But there's no, you know, no mention of them necessarily. I'm going to stop doing these things. ah No, because Jesus forgives me.

00:18:31.29
Kevin Shock
That might be, I might be, um, pulling it out a little bit more than what they would actually say. But, um, I think it's good for the people of God to recognize that each of us and all of us collectively, uh, stumble and also put stumbling blocks in front of others.

00:18:51.93
Kevin Shock
And, um, we need to recognize that. Hmm. not order, not only in order to live more justly with one another, but also to be completely honest about our relationship with God and our need for God.

00:19:17.74
Kevin Shock
Yeah. I, I don't think that that necessarily means we're like give ourselves over to self-flagellation. um either literally or psychologically.

00:19:31.08
Kevin Shock
um but But I do think it it I think it begs a humble heart.

00:19:42.08
Nathan Pile
And...

00:19:42.40
Kevin Shock
Stumble, Stumble leads to humble.

00:19:45.86
Nathan Pile
Wow. There it is, everybody.

00:19:46.90
Kevin Shock
ah Or stumbling leads to humbling.

00:19:48.67
Nathan Pile
make your Make your new um bumper sticker for your car.

00:19:51.86
Kevin Shock
ah

00:19:53.58
Nathan Pile
um Stumbling leads to humbling. um

00:20:00.96
Kevin Shock
What about you, Nathan? What are your thoughts?

00:20:02.21
Nathan Pile
and Well, I think you're...

00:20:03.83
Kevin Shock
but so What is God calling you?

00:20:04.13
Nathan Pile
like even though I'm making fun of your bumper sticker. Um, I'm, I'm, I'm with you here. that There's a piece of this that I think we have to, when we talk about grace and mercy as God's people, um, and those are often phrased that we can throw around, or at least I, as a pastor at times can throw around. And, and I try to be intentional about defining grace and mercy when I talk, um,

00:20:35.03
Nathan Pile
like in a sermon so that there's some definition behind it. um You know, for me, grace is is that piece of love and forgiveness. It's a free gift God gives to us.

00:20:47.52
Nathan Pile
um and And mercy is the same thing, but I think we have to learn grace and mercy.

00:20:53.20
Kevin Shock
Mm.

00:20:54.03
Nathan Pile
um And this passage strikes me a little bit is trying to help us do that.

00:20:59.68
Kevin Shock
Mm. Mm.

00:21:00.43
Nathan Pile
um that that like we want grace and mercy from others, but but a part of being God's people is that we're people of grace and mercy, that which means we're we live in that way.

00:21:17.81
Nathan Pile
And so sometimes we have to see our own our own stumbling so that we can say,

00:21:29.19
Nathan Pile
that can help us to kind of say, oh, but I'm calling this other person out for their own stumble when I myself stumble.

00:21:37.67
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:21:40.20
Nathan Pile
And like, and and And this is pro- it's probably true of every generation. It just feels more true for us because we're just kind of, obviously, because we're alive, right? right So like I just feel like we're more selfish in this generation than any other generation, but it's probably not true.

00:22:00.85
Nathan Pile
um Probably every generation. is selfish. and And so that idea of of making judgment about the other or casting judgment on the other um because of their stumbling seems very, very much a part of society today.

00:22:23.05
Nathan Pile
and so um and and and And it's a part of the Christian church. we're, we're really, it feels to me as if we we really like to just point out each other's junk.

00:22:35.35
Nathan Pile
And maybe when I was a kid, it didn't happen ah as much, or I wasn't paying attention enough to see it happening as much.

00:22:41.71
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:22:44.12
Nathan Pile
Um, because I had other things that where I was, you know, I was more focused on my GI Joes and my matchbox cars or whatever, but, uh, uh,

00:22:53.22
Kevin Shock
Then, then the, uh, then the like sociology and psychology of human beings. Is that what you're saying?

00:22:57.71
Nathan Pile
Right, yeah, I'm probably, I might not have been fully I might not have been fully engaged in in the psyche of human beings.

00:22:58.38
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Okay. Well,

00:23:02.02
Kevin Shock
okay.

00:23:03.99
Nathan Pile
I Not that I'm fully engaged now in the psyche of human beings, but I do ah do see it. that will excuse me um And so there's this piece for me that I have to learn grace and mercy.

00:23:18.56
Nathan Pile
And maybe maybe I had to become 49 years old to realize that, but I probably realized it a couple of years ago, more so. But this idea of like, if I'm going to be a person that needs God's grace and mercy to live, I also need to find ways to share that with others and live into it with others. And so those personal judgments that I make about somebody else's behavior or their stumblings, well, I need to be willing to look in the mirror more.

00:23:53.98
Nathan Pile
and And I have to learn that. I have to be, ah I have to look more. look in the mirror as I catch myself making that judgment, um, or casting judgment on somebody else, I have to say, Oh, wait a minute, Nathan.

00:24:07.82
Nathan Pile
Um, how's this any different than your stumbling yesterday?

00:24:12.88
Kevin Shock
oo

00:24:12.99
Nathan Pile
Um, and some days I'm better at it than others. Absolutely. Um, but how, how do I how do I practice grace and mercy? Um,

00:24:25.43
Nathan Pile
Yes, for myself, but also grace and mercy for others. And so this passage strikes me a little bit as um as a way to kind of teach myself that gift of grace and mercy that God gives to me.

00:24:45.42
Nathan Pile
to then be able to apply it to my life so that I can, as I'm living with with God's people, that i also apply it in my words and actions so that they might also experience grace and mercy.

00:24:56.89
Nathan Pile
A, because it's a gift from God for all of us, and but that I might be a vessel of which they might experience God's grace and mercy.

00:25:07.12
Nathan Pile
But I do think that this kind of, this passage, as I hear it, kind of calls me towards

00:25:17.23
Nathan Pile
Soften your own lens, Nathan. Soften your judgment glasses.

00:25:21.51
Kevin Shock
uh-huh.

00:25:21.82
Nathan Pile
um That kind of piece. So so that's what I got.

00:25:30.73
Kevin Shock
Hmm.

00:25:31.69
Nathan Pile
That's what I feel called toward in this, which is similar, very similar to kind of what you're sharing.

00:25:36.58
Kevin Shock
Yeah, yeah. um

00:25:40.90
Kevin Shock
Well, I don't really have anything more to add because I think that you articulated it well.

00:25:46.96
Nathan Pile
Thank you. I think we can do it a third time.

00:25:47.85
Kevin Shock
I I mean, this is honestly just something that I feel like I need to sit with a lot, not just in response to this psalm, but probably on a daily basis.

00:26:00.21
Kevin Shock
um And um yeah, I guess I... Well, the the other thing that I that just came to mind for me is that

00:26:11.44
Kevin Shock
if if we read this text in the understanding that God is full of grace and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, then I think this text urges us to be more God-like in those exact ways.

00:26:35.52
Kevin Shock
to be full of grace and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

00:26:47.86
Kevin Shock
That's hard. It's hard for us to do.

00:26:50.34
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:26:51.08
Kevin Shock
Not doesn't excuse us, but it's hard. It's hard.

00:26:54.56
Nathan Pile
Well, and and as you said, how do we do this daily?

00:26:54.78
Kevin Shock
All right.

00:26:58.57
Nathan Pile
That's even harder. Like if I did it once a week, this kind of self-reflection that I'd count that as a win.

00:27:07.11
Nathan Pile
yeah but we are called, I agree with you that we're called to do this daily. How do we make time to think about this, these practices daily?

00:27:17.89
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Yeah.

00:27:19.52
Nathan Pile
Because we have so many encounters with, with others that we should, it should, we should be that attentive to it.

00:27:27.59
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:27:28.09
Nathan Pile
But if I'm being absolutely um authentic and transparent, like,

00:27:28.49
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:27:35.10
Nathan Pile
I I'd count it as a win if I did it once a week, just to kind of take the time to self self-analysize myself and and um and recognize where am I where have I made um judgments of other stumblings and excuse my own but not theirs.

00:27:39.68
Kevin Shock
Yeah. yeah

00:27:54.90
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:27:55.52
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:27:55.64
Kevin Shock
yeah

00:27:58.68
Kevin Shock
Yeah. I um I had something else in my head and then it went away. Oh, I was thinking about, you know, we have in our in our tradition, in our liturgy, in the order of service for our worship, a lot of times we do a um brief order for confession and forgiveness at the beginning of the of the worship service.

00:28:07.43
Nathan Pile
Sure.

00:28:25.69
Nathan Pile
sure

00:28:26.19
Kevin Shock
And there's there's a there's a general ah there's general text there for the congregation to say together that, of us confessing our sins but before that the one of the guides in our hymnal says um silence for um reflection and self-examination and you know rarely am I in a church service where the silence for reflection and self-examination lasts more than 30 seconds and that would be long I think

00:28:51.26
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:29:00.00
Nathan Pile
Yeah. That would be very long. Yeah, that would be very long.

00:29:02.20
Kevin Shock
Yeah. And, uh, and I wonder if, if we took that really seriously and took like a 15 minute break for silence right at the beginning of worship, I don't, I don't know.

00:29:12.38
Nathan Pile
Everybody's leaving. and

00:29:13.32
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:29:14.10
Nathan Pile
Pastor's really mailed it in this week.

00:29:15.97
Kevin Shock
yeah yeah Yeah.

00:29:16.28
Nathan Pile
He just, he just sitting up there.

00:29:17.01
Kevin Shock
Right. Right. That's right.

00:29:18.59
Nathan Pile
He hasn't moved in 15 minutes.

00:29:19.17
Kevin Shock
that's That's right. But, but I also think that those, um, you know, five to 30 seconds are perhaps the only time that a lot of people take throughout the week, maybe myself included to have reflection and self-examination.

00:29:34.58
Nathan Pile
Mm hmm.

00:29:38.83
Kevin Shock
And it seems like this is something that we should be doing for longer than five to 30 seconds and, and, and more than just once a week. Yeah.

00:29:47.77
Nathan Pile
Yeah. Yeah. Well, cause like, again, when you, when you talk about those, you know, five to 30 seconds, most of the time closer to 12 than anything.

00:29:58.76
Kevin Shock
Okay, 12 seconds.

00:29:59.72
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:29:59.85
Kevin Shock
Yeah, right.

00:30:00.08
Nathan Pile
About 12 seconds or whatever it is. Um, But like even when when I think about myself standing in a worship service, even ah if I'm not leading it, um but if I'm just standing in the worship service and being a part of the gathered community, the gather community the like my self-reflection is like, yeah, sorry for whatever the crap I did this week.

00:30:26.84
Nathan Pile
um

00:30:27.52
Kevin Shock
yeah right

00:30:28.07
Nathan Pile
But I'm not I'm not going to any depth in it.

00:30:32.39
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:30:32.46
Nathan Pile
And so so I love your idea of how might we,

00:30:40.34
Nathan Pile
as leaders in worship, help our our congregations recognize that that this five to 30 seconds is to be an active time of of some of that and and to dig a little deeper.

00:30:51.57
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:30:54.95
Nathan Pile
you know Even if you only think about one instance, for instance, and for instance um in your past seven days of an interaction with somebody and you're like, yeah, boy, I blew that.

00:31:11.50
Nathan Pile
Maybe it causes us then to go back and have a conversation with that person and maybe repair some of that relationship, um seek reconciliation together to or provide our own. Maybe we need to be the one providing grace and mercy um to the other person because we were the one doing the work casting judgment upon them.

00:31:33.64
Nathan Pile
So like, how do we take that? Like it's in our liturgy. and has been a part of liturgy for a long period of time, but it gets glossed over. So how, how might we highlight it together as a community and really kind of say, let's engage with this a little bit more fully.

00:31:56.23
Kevin Shock
yeah

00:31:56.91
Nathan Pile
And how does it change our life together as a community, but also as individuals in the, as we go out into ah the larger community neighborhood um and live our life?

00:32:10.47
Nathan Pile
So I like, I just like that idea.

00:32:10.96
Kevin Shock
Yeah. yeah

00:32:12.07
Nathan Pile
I like using this text in that way.

00:32:13.27
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's a, um,

00:32:19.83
Kevin Shock
Right. I mean, this would, this is a, actually, this is a great, uh, text that could be used as a model for confession, for corporate confession. Um, and, uh, I, yeah, I think, I think that part of, um, maybe we're getting into question three here.

00:32:29.24
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:32:38.80
Kevin Shock
I think part of, part of the problem with, um, organized worship services is that at least in in our cult, in the culture that you and I understand Nathan best, um there there's kind of a sense of we wanna get the bang for our buck.

00:33:00.35
Kevin Shock
um the pastor better have a good word. ah We want to sing good hymns, but we don't want to sing them too slowly or too many of them. um You know, the the prayers, if the readings are really long, the we can shorten up the prayers or, you know, take out the psalm if ah if there's an added another added part of the worship service, because we've got to keep it to an hour or, you know,

00:33:23.63
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:33:24.32
Kevin Shock
or And we we want to get as much Jesus as we can packed into that hour, but but not too much Jesus that we actually struggle with it.

00:33:33.82
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:33:36.44
Kevin Shock
And um yeah, why don't we look at it a third time?

00:33:42.52
Nathan Pile
ah

00:33:44.35
Kevin Shock
ah Psalm 15, a Psalm of David. Who can live in your tent, Lord? Who can dwell on your holy mountain? The person who lives free of blame does what is right and speaks the truth sincerely.

00:33:57.67
Kevin Shock
Who does no damage with their talk, does no harm to a friend, doesn't insult a neighbor. Someone who despises those who act wickedly, but honors those who honor the Lord.

00:34:08.49
Kevin Shock
Someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts. Someone who doesn't lend money with interest, who won't accept a bribe against any innocent person. Whoever does these things will never stumble.

00:34:23.48
Kevin Shock
Nathan, what is causing you to stumble?

00:34:29.98
Nathan Pile
I'd love to blame it on somebody else.

00:34:31.97
Kevin Shock
Well, and I was just going to say, this is a question. I think this is a question that is, ah this is a question that has to be shared amongst friends for us to be completely honest about it. I think, I don't know.

00:34:44.66
Nathan Pile
Sure.

00:34:45.65
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:34:45.71
Nathan Pile
um i'd ah you know,

00:34:45.78
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:34:48.22
Nathan Pile
um

00:34:52.10
Nathan Pile
I think, you know, as I hear that question, um

00:35:04.65
Nathan Pile
ah you know there's there's ah the desire to want to pass it off on somebody else it's somebody else's fault it's somebody else's reason for my um my stumbling of any of that that you've just read um you know so I know at the at the

00:35:13.73
Kevin Shock
Hmm.

00:35:28.11
Nathan Pile
at the source of this that I'm the cause of my stumbling um but to like when when I first heard this question

00:35:44.24
Nathan Pile
um yeah again the source is still in is still in me but my reasons for stumbling

00:35:56.71
Nathan Pile
on some of these, you know, so so in in in life and in trying to live into the law um and or trying to live in to a disciple of grace and mercy.

00:36:14.96
Nathan Pile
The things that get in in my way are

00:36:23.67
Nathan Pile
like I'm tired.

00:36:26.27
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:36:26.88
Nathan Pile
um I don't want to. um But there's also big problems like, you know, what's going on with our young people today, social media, phones, climate change, the terribleness of our politics.

00:36:46.46
Nathan Pile
Like, I feel helpless. So there's also that feeling. But I'm also not doing anything actively about some of those things, some of the things I'm trying to do, some active things, at least around the community that I um where I feel like I have some control.

00:36:59.27
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:37:05.30
Nathan Pile
um The bigger world, I don't feel like at times I have any, any control. And so i I've, I've kind of said, well, I'm going to make change in the space where I feel like I can make change.

00:37:20.86
Nathan Pile
Um,

00:37:25.84
Nathan Pile
But my, I guess, as I thought about the question, that like most of my stumbling is about lame excuses. Like being tired isn't really a great excuse not to, to care for somebody else's spirit or to be mean to them or to blame them for something, you know?

00:37:47.59
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:37:48.95
Nathan Pile
um

00:37:51.52
Nathan Pile
And so that part of, um,

00:38:00.07
Nathan Pile
that part of things is, is

00:38:06.44
Nathan Pile
I think, the hard piece of it. Because it's,

00:38:11.71
Nathan Pile
it means I have you know I have to admit that I'm hurting somebody else by my own selfishness in

00:38:26.11
Nathan Pile
in whatever way I'm stumbling in that moment, because I'm going to stumble multiple times a day. Um, I think in reality, um, and then being able to kind of, do I go back and repair how I've hurt other people, um, in that day?

00:38:46.01
Nathan Pile
Um, or do I just hope that they get over it then and, and and we move on.

00:38:55.26
Nathan Pile
Um,

00:38:58.95
Nathan Pile
So

00:39:02.79
Nathan Pile
so there that that that piece of of, you know, it's wrapped up, my stumbling is wrapped up in my selfishness. um And and so how do I, like

00:39:22.89
Nathan Pile
like figuring out how I do do that, is is humbling to me. um So your bumper sticker actually, I guess, pans out.

00:39:37.18
Nathan Pile
Stumbling to humbling. um Because like I have to put myself, like I have to go back and say, okay, I really hurt this person. Or um or I was devious to get my own way. and I set up a situation so I got my own way.

00:40:01.96
Nathan Pile
Kind of a thing. Or I didn't give all of the options because I only wanted you to pick what I wanted you to pick. Kind of a thing. So there's that piece of of me um being not my being not the best part of myself that I, you know, I want to be the best part of myself.

00:40:25.24
Nathan Pile
But there are times that I'm not the best part of myself.

00:40:25.32
Kevin Shock
Sure.

00:40:28.50
Nathan Pile
Myself. And then and then, you know, do these kinds of things. And so doing that self-reflection that we're talking about at the beginning of confession, the beginning of a worship service means that I have to dig into places where I might be ugly.

00:40:47.56
Kevin Shock
Mmmm, mmmm

00:40:48.56
Nathan Pile
And that's, boy, that's really vulnerable.

00:40:53.41
Kevin Shock
yeah yeah

00:40:54.12
Nathan Pile
That's tough.

00:40:54.89
Kevin Shock
yeah

00:40:56.28
Nathan Pile
That's tough. Um, to be able to look at yourself and say, eat you handled this not well.

00:41:09.54
Nathan Pile
And, and again, to be able to say that this was really, really ugly.

00:41:18.71
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:41:18.97
Nathan Pile
So

00:41:20.22
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Hmm.

00:41:27.62
Kevin Shock
Yeah. I, um, I like your image because it makes me think of, uh, slowing down.

00:41:39.65
Kevin Shock
ah um

00:41:43.37
Kevin Shock
I don't know, actually pausing after a stumble and thinking about what what caused the stumble and what how am I called to repair it. I think um think the thing that I've been working through myself lately is how I utilize momentum to recover quickly after a stumble and just keep going.

00:42:11.12
Kevin Shock
And, and I, so your, your, your words that bring to mind slowing down are helpful to me who thinks I'm rushing through everything.

00:42:25.53
Kevin Shock
And like, that's going to make the stumbling not quite as bad. Um, and, and I guess I, where I was thinking initially is, is just momentum.

00:42:36.35
Kevin Shock
Uh, I, I wonder. I've been wondering lately how much of what we do as the church um is not of God.

00:42:54.18
Kevin Shock
It's just for our own purposes, our own devices, and our own desires. and And then, you know, in addition to that, I've been thinking, how am I complicit in it?

00:43:09.42
Kevin Shock
How do I give into it? Um, yeah, I made a comment, uh, on been spending less time on social media, but I was looking around yesterday and I made a comment on someone's post about, um, can't remember exactly what the post was, but the comment was something about, you know, when, sometimes when I look at congregations, um,

00:43:36.85
Kevin Shock
And what is most important to them, I think that Jesus comes at like maybe fourth or fifth on the list.

00:43:45.53
Kevin Shock
And usually above, and I wasn't thinking of any specific congregation. I was just thinking, you know church life in general. and And usually above the the the real Jesus on the list is congregation.

00:44:06.42
Kevin Shock
um, version of Jesus that we have idealized in our own image.

00:44:14.06
Kevin Shock
You know, Jesus as we want him to be not, not Jesus as he actually is. And, uh, yeah, so I, ah I mean, that's, you know, I'm, I'm at fault there too. I, there, are there are things that I feel like Jesus is clearly leading me to do that. I say, Ooh, that's too hard.

00:44:37.77
Kevin Shock
that's going to take a, that's going to take a big life change.

00:44:41.01
Nathan Pile
right

00:44:41.74
Kevin Shock
I might have to give up my career or at least my paycheck in order to make that change. And yeah, I mean, so I don't do it.

00:44:48.97
Nathan Pile
Yeah. Right.

00:44:53.55
Nathan Pile
right

00:44:54.84
Kevin Shock
Um, Yeah, so I I think, ah well well, yeah. So I don't know that that's causing, I um momentum causes me to stumble, I think. Momentum,

00:45:06.19
Kevin Shock
ah what inertia, whatever you want to call it. Just I'm already heading that direction. I'm going to head there as fast as I can. And when and when I fall, I can just do a somersault and get right back up again and keep going.

00:45:19.37
Nathan Pile
Hmm.

00:45:19.76
Kevin Shock
I don't have to actually acknowledge what what was the stumbling block or or or the wrong that I committed.

00:45:22.67
Nathan Pile
The stumble, the trip.

00:45:27.04
Kevin Shock
um I can just keep going and it'll it'll all come out in the wash. and And that's not a very not a very holy way to live.

00:45:37.15
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:45:42.73
Kevin Shock
Because it does it allows to do, it allows us to do some of those things that Psalm 15 says not to do um and still make us think that, well, we'll we'll still get to the tent first.

00:45:58.70
Kevin Shock
We'll get there ahead of other people.

00:46:01.37
Nathan Pile
yeah

00:46:02.07
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:46:05.44
Nathan Pile
One of the pieces, as you were talking, that

00:46:10.18
Nathan Pile
you know I like I like the idea of momentum, of of pace being one of the things that trips trips trips us up. I would agree that at times um we just bear down and try to get the to-do list done.

00:46:27.16
Nathan Pile
and And it'll be okay because we'll have accomplished whatever was on the to-do list. You know, that was the end goal, right? And we had to get these things done. And so I hurt some people along the way, but we got this thing done.

00:46:39.75
Nathan Pile
um I think there's also a piece of, I'm not sure if it's doubt, but maybe it's a little bit doubt, a little bit of hopelessness.

00:46:53.33
Nathan Pile
I was trying to think about what the things that caused me to stumble about um some of these big things that are out there that that are cultural.

00:47:06.23
Nathan Pile
you know what What keeps my tongue silent at times when I should be advocating for justice for others that might not be And so that idea of doubt and hopelessness probably together.

00:47:22.34
Nathan Pile
um and And again, that's me saying, well, I can't do anything. or I don't have enough power. I don't have enough control. um Those things creep into to me.

00:47:32.91
Nathan Pile
And so then my my my action becomes inaction, really. it's so there's I'm not doing anything.

00:47:38.67
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:47:40.52
Nathan Pile
um That would be another... one of those things that that's happening within me that's that I've justified to myself oh there's just nothing i can do about this thing so i'm not going to not gonna rock the ship I'm not gonna push this um um topic because it's just not

00:48:14.34
Nathan Pile
It's not going to provide the result um that I think that I could get to. And so instead of advocating for change that needs to happen, I just remain silent in in situations or in places.

00:48:29.21
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:48:30.30
Nathan Pile
And so that doubt combined with a feeling of hopelessness or powerlessness

00:48:38.90
Nathan Pile
um kind of kind of is another piece of what causes me to stumble because my inaction becomes the thing that that is the stumbling action. My being a leader and, and not being willing to step up and either protect or advocate for some kind of a change because I'm like, uh, it's going to take a lot of energy.

00:49:05.97
Nathan Pile
is anyone really going to listen? Do I really have any clout to make this change happen? um

00:49:16.14
Nathan Pile
And that it becomes one of those things as as you had the kind of as you were talking that kind of made me say, well, I just won't do it.

00:49:27.86
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:49:27.96
Nathan Pile
And I and mean I justify to myself that that that it's okay to just not do it.

00:49:28.54
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:49:34.08
Nathan Pile
so

00:49:37.31
Nathan Pile
But in in it, if we go back to that reading, I might have insulted a neighbor or it does some harm to a friend or um I wasn't actually speaking the truth or I was, you know, wasn't living in in right relation. yess all It could be any of those things. It could be all of them.

00:49:56.16
Nathan Pile
um But I've I've I've justified it in my own head that, oh, I just can't do it. But that stumbling has caused other problems.

00:50:10.13
Nathan Pile
you know, it the the situation does doesn't change because I've I've come up with a way that I don't really have to do it.

00:50:20.90
Nathan Pile
I can't do it, you know, kind of a thing.

00:50:21.20
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

00:50:24.23
Nathan Pile
So...

00:50:25.02
Kevin Shock
Yeah. I I think um as i'm as I'm listening to what you're saying and paying attention to what I'm saying, I think it's important to recognize that this um stumbling as you and I are talking about it is not...

00:50:39.62
Kevin Shock
um

00:50:44.50
Kevin Shock
what What do I want to say? the stumbling does not just have an effect on us, the person who's stumbling, but it has an effect on the, on the people around us too.

00:50:54.43
Nathan Pile
It does.

00:50:55.76
Kevin Shock
And I think that that's really important to lift up.

00:50:55.86
Nathan Pile
It does.

00:50:58.96
Kevin Shock
Uh, this isn't, this isn't a stumbling block about, well, if I do this, I'm not going to make it to the tent. I'm not going to be allowed in. it,

00:51:11.14
Kevin Shock
This, yeah, that that is so such a small, small part of it that it's almost insignificant.

00:51:18.32
Nathan Pile
yeah

00:51:18.65
Kevin Shock
um that Because when even when we look at this psalm, it's all about, everything that comes in verses two through five is about our relationship with other people.

00:51:28.60
Nathan Pile
Other people. Yeah.

00:51:29.88
Kevin Shock
Yeah, yeah, it's not even, um it doesn't even say, you know, honor the Lord.

00:51:31.03
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:51:37.33
Kevin Shock
It says, honor those who honor the Lord.

00:51:39.85
Nathan Pile
Yeah. Honor the Lord. Yeah.

00:51:41.63
Kevin Shock
that I mean that right That right there shows us that you know the way, um at least if we're looking at this psalm, the way to God is through our kindred, through our neighbors.

00:51:55.10
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:51:57.81
Kevin Shock
we can't We can't find God apart from the people that we interact with. Yeah.

00:52:04.93
Nathan Pile
yeah

00:52:09.95
Kevin Shock
Well,

00:52:11.05
Nathan Pile
yeah

00:52:12.64
Kevin Shock
I think I need to take five to 30 seconds more and do some reflection and self-examination probably five to 30 more times today.

00:52:22.47
Nathan Pile
today yeah yeah

00:52:22.89
Kevin Shock
ah

00:52:25.72
Kevin Shock
Anything else you have to add, Nathan?

00:52:26.09
Nathan Pile
and no but I think that's that the this piece of um um

00:52:34.43
Nathan Pile
Faith is about engaging it, us practicing it. um and And this passage strikes up for me that that our own justification of going to church once a week or or like like it's just not enough. Like there has to be self-reflection. There has to be...

00:53:02.86
Nathan Pile
um wrestling with what is, what are, you know, the questions that we ask, what is God calling us towards here in this passage? And how do we not just then talk about what is God tell calling us towards, but then how do we wrestle with making it a part of, of who we are? um You know, the the scripture wasn't written just so that we read it once a week.

00:53:27.62
Nathan Pile
It was written to guide us to live life um as God's people. And so,

00:53:31.43
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:53:32.88
Nathan Pile
A big part of that is to engage what we hear God saying to us. Engage it and make it a part of of us. And and that's that's an outside force.

00:53:48.88
Nathan Pile
God's spirit working on us when we have our own inward force that's saying, whatever you do do what you want to do. do Make life...

00:54:02.95
Nathan Pile
whatever makes you happy.

00:54:04.47
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:54:04.51
Nathan Pile
um um You know, whatever our personal mantra becomes um of how we're living life, just do it. just But like faith is this other thing that is is calling to us to say, there's another way than the way that you're that you're constantly looking.

00:54:27.51
Nathan Pile
You're constantly saying, your lens of me first. There's another, there's another lens. Um, and then, and so looking through that lens, we're kind of like, Oh, this is hard to, how do we, um, make it right.

00:54:51.40
Nathan Pile
Um, not make it right. How do we, how do we live into it in such a way? Because it's, because it is something different than our lens on the world. And so we have to practice using it.

00:55:03.45
Nathan Pile
We have to remember to put it on, um, in the morning.

00:55:06.33
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:55:07.14
Nathan Pile
We have to remember to kind of say, okay, I'm going to, I'm going to do some self-reflection of myself, um, over the course of this day.

00:55:07.70
Kevin Shock
yeah

00:55:15.36
Nathan Pile
And, um, And then humble, be humble enough to kind of, and vulnerable enough to kind of go and say back to the person, hey, you know, two hours ago I came in here and just kind of lambasted you and I'm sorry about that.

00:55:31.61
Nathan Pile
You know, here here is what I'm frustrated about, but I didn't need to do it the way that I did it.

00:55:40.09
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Yeah.

00:55:41.94
Nathan Pile
You know, and and because it's about, as you said, you pointed out, all of these pieces are about living together.

00:55:42.23
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:55:48.14
Kevin Shock
yeah

00:55:49.90
Nathan Pile
Person to person.

00:55:51.80
Kevin Shock
yeah And there's a, there's a sense there of what you say that, um, it's easy to find justification for not doing that because there's, I, you know, I don't have time.

00:56:02.71
Kevin Shock
I don't have time today to to take the time and sit down and have this conversation with this person.

00:56:04.04
Nathan Pile
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

00:56:07.94
Nathan Pile
Yeah.

00:56:08.04
Kevin Shock
And, and they'll keep doing their thing and I'll keep doing my thing and we'll both get the stuff done that we need to get done. And then we can address it at some later date whenever we have time.

00:56:15.57
Nathan Pile
Right.

00:56:16.33
Kevin Shock
Well, you're never going to have time.

00:56:19.49
Kevin Shock
And, and, and yeah, it's, it's much more vital. It's much more vital to the, to our relationship with God, to the life of the people of God and the life of the whole world.

00:56:31.90
Kevin Shock
If we take the time necessary to sit down and have healing, conversations with one another.

00:56:44.17
Kevin Shock
We might have to move our to-do list to another day, but it's going to be worth it.

00:56:49.94
Nathan Pile
Yes. Yeah. And it's, and it's, we have bought into a society and culture that says most important things are the goals.

00:57:01.14
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:57:01.19
Nathan Pile
And God's way is saying the people are the most important things.

00:57:01.97
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:57:04.88
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:57:05.25
Nathan Pile
Your relationships are the most important things.

00:57:05.48
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Well, well, there, there you go. That's a great way to sum up my, but my momentum metaphor and yeah, always striving for the goals. Yeah.

00:57:17.46
Kevin Shock
Yeah. But Jesus says, strive first for the kingdom of God. And then all of these other things will be added to you.

00:57:29.17
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:57:31.60
Kevin Shock
Okay.

00:57:33.33
Nathan Pile
Oh, well, a couple of additional texts, folks. um Genesis chapter 18, verses 1 through 10. um Here, this is the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah to the three visitors um of the Lord who come to their tent.

00:57:53.04
Nathan Pile
Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 to 28. This is the hymn to Christ, ah the firstborn of all creation. So, yeah. and Every now and then we we we're extrapolating or guessing that there's some some of the, in Paul's stuff, we catch a hymn here and there, earth something that we think might have been an early hymn of the church, um kind of like these Psalms were hymns of the older church, the older tradition of faith.

00:58:22.15
Kevin Shock
Mm-hmm.

00:58:23.79
Nathan Pile
And Luke 10, 38 to 42, Jesus says, Martha, your sister Mary has chosen the better part. And so that for some might be a very familiar passage because I know at times I hear people talk about, I'm a Martha, I'm a Mary.

00:58:42.66
Nathan Pile
And so picking whose side of that argument they're on. Yeah. um

00:58:49.22
Kevin Shock
Yeah. That could be a whole other hour of conversation.

00:58:50.03
Nathan Pile
But again, it's it's ah about person to person, right? It's about person to person.

00:58:53.54
Kevin Shock
Yeah. Right.

00:58:54.63
Nathan Pile
um and and And Martha's got her goals and Mary's not living into those living into those goals.

00:59:04.64
Kevin Shock
Right. And, and even so what Martha is doing is important. It's just her focus is a little bit off.

00:59:11.00
Nathan Pile
Right.

00:59:11.70
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

00:59:13.29
Nathan Pile
Yep. And some continuous readings, semi-continuous readings of the summer. Amos chapter 8 verses 1 through 12, a famine of hearing the words of of the Lord. So it's been a while since that we've heard the words of the Lord. And Psalm 52, I am like a green olive tree in the house of the Lord.

00:59:31.00
Nathan Pile
So... As always, Kevin, I appreciate our time to reflect and share together. And, uh, you picked another, um, another passage that I think brought us some, uh, challenging, um,

00:59:45.89
Nathan Pile
inspiration to kind of think about how do we, how do we live as God's people? Uh, and, and though it, as you say, it's not about God's action as much in this passage.

00:59:56.48
Nathan Pile
I think the passage points us to God's action and recognizing that God's action, um,

00:59:59.97
Kevin Shock
Yeah.

01:00:03.35
Nathan Pile
is is calling us to action. So um so I thank you for that um those reflections today.

01:00:06.24
Kevin Shock
Hmm. There you go.

01:00:09.66
Nathan Pile
And we hope that you too have an opportunity to um share and reflect either within a small group of yourself or with us on um our digital medias, email, social media, et cetera.

01:00:22.90
Nathan Pile
We hope to tend our faith with you again soon. Grace to you.

01:00:26.63
Kevin Shock
And peace.