Salvogesis

   We had a good time at the  Rally Day: Picnic in the Park  the other day. It was a really great mix of the parts of our Salvation Army group in the Valley. Many of you here today, of course, were there on Friday. There were a number of volunteers and their families; there were a number of staff and their families; there were a number of children we know from kids’ club and other places; there were customers from the store; there were some of our friends who use or have used our services over the years. It was even an outreach as some people just dropped by and I even saw one or two people I know from the community as well: it was great. It was really great to have people from these different parts of The Salvation Army family here have an opportunity to do something together and maybe get to know each other a little better. For the second year in a row this  Picnic in the Park  doubled as our Rally Day. Rally Day is a word we use in The Salvation Army to celebrate the end of Summer a

Psalm 3 is the first psalm ascribed to King David in the book of Psalms. [1]   This psalm is a poem, a song which David wrote when he was in great distress. It may even have been sung to a tune at the time. [2] David had some serious problems and they were exasperated by his relationships with his own family. At this point in his life, when this psalm was written, David has already lost some of his children. Some of their deaths and other tragedies are at least partially his fault. David owes a lot to his family – both good and bad, like all of us. God used his nephews to help put him in power and certainly to keep him there. More than one of David’s sons rebelled against him – not only as dad – but also as King. David wrote this poem, this song, this psalm, as he was fleeing his son who desires to replace his dad as king (cf. 2 Samuel 16-19). Absalom probably feels quite justified attacking his father given their family dynamics and the way that his dad has dealt with him and his brot