By Pastor Stephen Hess –
Over the past five years at Highview, we have spent some good chunks of time together in the Book of Psalms. During the summers of 2023 and 2025 our Sunday sermons focused on the Psalms, and we sampled the richness of these Scriptures. But starting this January, we are going to take our deepest dive yet into the Psalms. Our 2026 devotional series will be a year-long journey through the Book of Psalms.
You might ask: Why spend an entire year going through one book of the Bible? There are several qualities about this book that make it worthy of an extended study. First, it is the longest book of the Bible—covering 150 chapters. Second, the Book of Psalms is quoted in the New Testament more than any other book of the Bible. This tells us that it was extremely important to the New Testament authors. Third, the Book of Psalms has been used in Christian worship and liturgy more than any other book of the Bible. In fact, since the Psalms are songs, they have sometimes been referred to as “The hymnbook of the Bible.”
Beyond these practical reasons, there are also many personal reasons to study the Psalms. Throughout the centuries, believers have turned continually to the Psalms for comfort and encouragement. One of the things that makes the Psalms so rich is that they reflect the full range of human circumstances and emotions. The great church father Athanasius of Alexandria wrote, “Under all the circumstances of life, we shall find that these divine songs suit ourselves and meet our own souls’ need at every turn.” Jesus knew all 150 psalms intimately, and relied on them to face every situation, including his death.
In order to help you journey through the Psalms in 2026, the church has purchased copies of a book called The Songs of Jesus. In this devotional, Tim and Kathy Keller take readers on a year-long journey through the Psalms. Each day provides readers with fresh lessons on one of the Psalms as well as prayer prompts to guide you in your personal devotions. The reflections are short enough to fit easily into your day, but rich enough to help you grow.
As in the past, we are also going to incorporate this devotional journey into other aspects of our life together in 2026. Each Sunday in worship, one of our Scripture readings will be from a Psalm we are studying that week. We will also continue our practice of singing some of the Psalms as we study them—a practice that many have enjoyed at Highview in recent years. Additionally, throughout the year we will provide other opportunities to engage with and study the Psalms. So be sure to stay tuned for more to come!
I hope that you will pick up a free copy of this devotional and join us on this journey. I am confident that if you do, you will not only grow in your knowledge of the Psalms, but you will grow in your faith. The Psalms teach us how to know God, how to worship God, and how to love God. As we immerse ourselves in the Psalms this year, I pray that God will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his truth, and that he will unite our hearts to fear his name (Ps. 86:11).