The People Preach on Psalm-Day
Occasionally both the pastor and the people enjoy a break from a steady diet of sermons. At the Church of the Nazarene in Wyoming, Illinois, Pastor Ronald Compton provides the change of pace by having the entire congregation write a psalm during the normal sermon slot.
After reading Psalm 34 and explaining its acrostic pattern (verse 1 begins with the first Hebrew letter, aleph; verse 2 with the second letter, beth; and so on), Compton had his congregation write a psalm following the same pattern in English.
"I prepared overhead transparencies with the alphabet written vertically along the left margin," says Compton. "To give some direction, I suggested the first nine verses be statements of praise, the second eight verses be requests, and the last nine verses statements of trust or praise."
Then opening up the service to anyone who thought of a line, Compton proceeded through the alphabet, writing the psalm on the transparencies.
"I was surprised how quickly the children got into the act," says Compton. "They gave as many lines as the adults did. In fact, for the tough letters—Q, X, and Z—it was the children who came up with:
"Quite a Savior you are."
"Xylophones ring with your praise."
"Zeal fills my heart because you are God."
Upon completion, Compton read the psalm aloud as the "sermon" for the day.
"They were amazed at how real it sounded," says Compton. "The climax was when they saw their psalm printed in the following Sunday's bulletin."
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