Well, hello and welcome to Crowd Church's non-live livestream August series. My
name is Matt Edmundson, and I just wanted to jump on before we get started with
today's talk and tell you what's going on. So this isn't our usual Sunday
service. I know, but it is our usual August Crowd service. If you're a regular
to Crowd, you will have twigged already that we are not live. We're not in our
studio as we would usually be when we livestream. Which means I won't be
fighting the usual technical difficulties, but I may well fluff the odd line.
Just putting that out there. And here's why it's a little bit different, because
in August, half of Crowd Church kind of disappear to somewhere hot, and the
other half of us are trying to kind of figure out, well, why did we not book
somewhere, right? It is the month in the UK that most of the team get to book
their holiday because of family. So we lean in, we lean, see, messing my lines
up, we lean into that every August. And we pre-record the talks. So we don't
have the Conversation Street. We don't have Live Lounge. And the whole team just
gets to stop for the entire month of August. We think of it as our Sabbath rest.
And it's a practice we've done every year. Yeah, so that people who serve you
week in week, they get some proper Sabbath rest and you still get something
worth turning up for. The talks are actually brilliant. Uh, you'll get a lot out
of them, so make sure you keep watching on a Sunday with your cup of tea, or
possibly in August on a Wednesday afternoon when you're avoiding something
important. I don't know, whatever suits you. And of course, if you're new here
to Crowd, let me give you a big fat hello. Crowd is an online church, uh,
actually with, uh, members all over the place. Everything we do here at Crowd,
from the Sunday live stream to our midweek community groups, even the online
course for those exploring Christianity All of it is on the website, which is
www.crowd.church. Now, this August we are in the Book of Psalms for 5 weeks, 5
Psalms. These are sort of Psalms written by people that— it's the book in the
middle of the New, uh, Old Testament, uh, and there's going to be a thread
running through this, uh, series, which is what restoration actually looks like
when your life is all over the place, which Hands up if you need to hear that
right now. One more thing before we get started, make sure you stay with us to
the end of the video because there are some changes coming to Crowd starting in
September, all of them good ones. And I'm going to tell you about a few of them
after the talk. So hopefully that's created enough intrigue. But that's it.
Let's settle in. Grab your notebooks, grab your pens. Let's enjoy the talk. I'll
be back.
After this. Good evening. Today we're going to continue in our series of the
Psalms, um, looking at finding peace and using Psalm 16 for some guidance. Now,
it's fair to say we live in a busy life. In fact, a common answer to 'How are
you doing?'— the word 'busy' generally fits there in the opening statement or
thereabouts. And you know, it's, it's not surprising. 47% of adults report
feeling busier than ever according to the Office for National Statistics. We live
in an always-on culture where the boundaries between home and work life are
blurring. We're under more time pressures as parents. The, uh, the model from
the '70s and '80s, go play outside, has been replaced by a highly scheduled
string of activities and after-school clubs requiring lots of ferrying kids from
A to B to C. And when they do play outside, they need to be supervised because
times just aren't like what they used to be. Cost of living has done nothing but
go up, meaning two-income household is a necessity, which just leaves more
chores for everyone in their spare time, giving less downtime. And then on top
of that, we somehow find the time to on average spend 6 hours and 51 minutes in
front of our phone a day according to the, uh, DataReportal, um, digital report
in 2026, uh, people looking at their phones an average of 96 times a day. Now,
there are various, we'll say, peaceful strategies, things we can do to help
this. Mindfulness has become a big buzzword. The University of Bath in 2024 did
a global mindfulness study where they compared a control group versus a group
doing 30 days of mindfulness exercises, and the group that did the exercises
found, uh, reduced depression by 19% more than the control group. They found
improved well-being by 7% more. They found decreased anxiety by 13% more. And
overall, their attitudes towards health got more positive by 7%, and their
behavioural intentions to look after their health increased by 7%. So definitely
a positive impact here from mindfulness. But, you know, it's still it's, it's
limited to what it can do. Global marketing research group Ipsos and Gallup did
research into the most common lifestyle boundaries people undertake to try and
achieve some balance, and the top 3 were physical escape, prioritising walking,
exercise, or spending time in green nature and spaces to alter mood biology.
Social connection, turning to a small, deeply vetted network of family and close
friends for psychological safety And unsurprisingly, digital connection—
deliberately turning off the news cycles and the social media feeds, or even the
phone, to stop the constant flood of stress hormones. There are also coping
mechanisms. A Chinese multi-university study looked at evaluating specific
mindsets that would yield the best return on investment for life satisfaction,
inner peace. And they found two. One is gratitude disposition, which is the
structured habit of actively acknowledging and reacting to positive elements in
life, which acts as kind of a buffer against some more traumatic elements in
life. And orientation to experience, or in other words, acceptance,
psychological ability to look at a bad situation with curiosity and openness
rather than denial, which prevents long-term mental friction. As believers, we
have a little bit more to— at our disposal to counteract the stresses of a busy
life. I'm going to take a moment to read Psalm 16. Keep me safe, O God, for in
you I take refuge. I said to the Lord, you are my Lord, apart from you I have no
good thing. As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in
whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those will increase who run after other
gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my
lips. Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup. You have made my lot
secure; the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have
a delightful inheritance! I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night
my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is my
right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue
rejoices; My body will also rest secure because you will not abandon me to the
grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the
path of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures
at your right hand. Now Psalm 16 was written by King David, a key figure in the
Old Testament. He was revered as a warrior king and a musician in Jewish
culture. He actually has the longest running narrative in the Bible. His story
starts in 1 Samuel 16, spanning through 4 books all the way to 2 Kings chapter
2. In the gospel, he is closely linked with Jesus, Jesus being repetitively
referred to as the son of David. After all, Jesus's lineage trace back to David.
David is very much associated with the Psalms, and we know he wrote at least
some of them. With the Psalms, sometimes we know exactly who wrote them,
sometimes we don't. We do know that David wrote Psalm 16. We also know that
Psalm 16 is not just any old Psalm. It is referred to as a miktam
psalm. Now there are 6 of these in total. They were all written by David, and
they were all associated with life-threatening circumstances or intense trials.
Now we don't know specifically which circumstance David is referring to in this,
but it is widely believed it was when he was on the run from King Saul after
David's rise in popularity and Saul's jealousy. The precise origin and meaning of
the miktam Psalms is not fully understood, but there are quite a few theories.
So, the word is associated with the Hebrew root word ketem, meaning fine gold,
implying these Psalms are of exceptional value. If we look to early Greek
translations, the word is linked to the meaning inscription, suggesting worthy
of being carved into stone for preservation throughout time. Finally, the
Akkadian translation means to cover or hide, suggesting a hushed intimate
prayer, which, you know, if you're living in caves and you're on the run, that
hushed prayer would be consistent with trying not to get caught. Now, all of
these psalms carry the same distinct structure. They have three parts: the cry,
the surrender, and the victory. The cry is an urgent plea for deliverance, The
surrender is an acknowledgement of God as the only refuge, and the victory is a
conclusion of complete assurance in God's sovereignty. Interestingly, Psalm 16
is very much prophetic, and it is even referred to in the New Testament. So
after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came in Acts 2, as Peter addresses the
crowd, he literally quotes Psalm 16. Verse 10, you will not abandon my soul to
Sheol or let the Holy One see corruption, proving that David was speaking
prophetically about the death of Christ. Again, Paul uses the same argument in
Acts 13, stating that because Jesus rose from the dead without decaying, as
mentioned in Psalm 16, he uniquely fulfills David's song. So Psalm 16 here is,
is one to take special note of. You know, for the author, for the— its
implication as a miktam psalm, and for its prophetic meaning as well. So in this
psalm, David makes a choice to choose God. He takes refuge in God. And the
Hebrew word for refuge, chasah, in verse 1 implies an active, deliberate flight
to a stronghold for absolute safety. We're not talking about a little hiding
spot, you know, we're heading to Fort Knox, or if you're a Lord of the Rings
fan, we're heading to Helm's Deep, the fortress built into the mountain. This is
absolute stronghold. He acknowledges all blessings come from God in verse 2, and
verse 3 goes on to find joy in God's people, finding community in God's people.
And he warns that those who chase after other gods have their sorrows
multiplied. So David makes a clear choice to choose God, and in God he finds
ultimate safety and the source of all good. He accepts his present reality. In
verse 5, he declares, the Lord is my portion and my cup. Portion, the Hebrew
word manah, refers to measured share of assigned land or duties or wealth. Cup
refers to God's provision and blessing. We say, "My cup is overflowing." It is
overflowing with blessings from God. The boundary lines he refers to, the Hebrew
word "chebel," refers to measuring cords used to divide up inherited property.
He views his circumstances as being perfectly measured by God, as if inheritance
were being divided up. So the terrible situation he is in right now, he views as
being perfectly measured by God. He takes counsel from God even in the stillness
of the night. So rather than tossing and turning with anxiety in his bed, he's
up meditating on God. He's making a deliberate choice to put God at the centre
of attention and focusing solely on him and finding contentment by focusing
solely on God and not what is happening around us. Through God, he finds
contentment and security in his present reality. And finally, David looks to a
future hope. In verse 10, he says he's confident that God will not abandon his
soul to the grave. He looks to God to reveal the ultimate victory over death. He
cultivates joy over happiness. Now, happiness is dependent on good happenings,
but joy in the biblical sense is an unshakable confidence from knowing a secure
eternal future with God. He looks joyfully to a certain future, and ultimately
and prophetically pointing to Jesus's death and resurrection on the cross
without spelling it out. So we take a moment to think about this, how we can use
this to deal with a busy life. Well, it's important to identify and remove idols
now, and other gods. Now, for us, modern idols are rarely statues. They are
things that we rely upon instead of God for security, comfort, or identity. So
When we get really stressed, where does our time, our money, and our thought go?
Does it go to online shopping, social media, and career achievement? Or do we
practice pausing to redirect our dependence and our focus to God, as in Psalm
16:8, I will always keep my eyes on the Lord. Another thing we can do is find
contentment within our boundary lines. Are we thankful for what we have rather
than envying others? Do we compare career, relationships, or other lifestyle
factors to other on social media? No matter what circumstance we're going
through right now and how bad, we have an opportunity to grow in this. As in
James 1:2-4, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, because you know that testing of your faith produces
perseverance. By finding contentment within our boundary lines, we find a chance
to grow in him. Are we seeking nighttime counsel? So when we're lying awake with
anxiety, do we toss and turn? Do we doom scroll? Are we praying or meditating on
scripture? You know, Psalm 16:7: I will praise the Lord who counsels me, even at
night my heart instructs me. Where is our heart at night when the anxiety is
creeping in. We can anchor our focus. Stability doesn't happen by accident. It
requires a deliberate choice to keep God at the centre of our attention. In
order to do so, we need to be focused on God daily. We need that daily habit of
coming to his word, coming to him in prayer. Are we doing that to make God
centre of our lives, or are we just saying we're making him centre of our lives?
Finally, we can cultivate joy over happiness. As I mentioned before, happiness
depends on good happenings. Joy comes from knowing our eternal future is secure.
When things are not going well, where do we focus our thoughts? Is our joy in
the strength of the Lord? Because whatever the situation, we can find peace in
God. Where we have ultimate safety, our needs met, and a secure future. Now, as
this is a pre-recorded talk and not the usual livestream, you can still ask
questions. You just have to send them into the— to us at crowd.church via the
website, and we will get back to you. We are an online church. If you would like
to learn more, we have a Sunday night livestream, apart from in August when it's
pre-recorded. We have a live room hangout afterwards, and we have midweek Bible
study groups which are all Zoom-based, so it doesn't matter where you are. If
you would like to reach out, if you would like to come and study the word of God
with us, please get in touch. Details on how to join, again, head to
crowd.church. Have a wonderful evening. God bless.
So that's the talk, and you're going to be able to find all of the notes, a sort
of a detailed blog post about it, all on the website, which is www.crowd.church.
And of course, if you'd rather listen than watch, you know, maybe you're on the
school run, on a dog walk, washing up, whatever it is, every talk goes out as a
podcast. Just search Crowd Church not Crowd.Church, that's our website. Search
Crowd Church wherever you get your podcasts from. I reference back my previous
point about fluffing lines. Now I did say at the start that there were some
changes coming to Crowd, so do let me tell you about them. Number 1, Live
Lounge. Now normally Live Lounge is a chance to jump and chat to the team, to
jump on a call and chat with members of the team after the live stream
has ended. But from September, you're gonna be able to do that from the start of
the live stream, you'll be able to watch the live stream in Live Lounge and
watch it with actual people, for your community, your friends, maybe even make
some new friends. And like I say, gonna do that right from the start, which I'm
really excited about, because it is going to help us build community. We have a
phenomenal community here at Crowd. And building on that, I think is going to
just be exciting and phenomenal. So that's going to be one change. The second
change, the Wednesday night community groups are changing a little bit. So
instead of having scattered and disparate groups, we're going to gather together
as one big community and then break into smaller groups. And each small group
will be your regular sort of community group where people get to know your name,
when they notice if you're not there, and you get to build your friendships.
Alpha will run alongside Community from September, it's going to move to a
Wednesday night, same time, 7:30. Um, and Alpha is great if you're new to the
Christian faith or if you're just exploring the Christian faith. The next Alpha
course starts on the 9th of September, and you can register for that on the
website at www.crowd.church. We have lots of people coming to Alpha. They are
phenomenal things. Um, so yeah, go check out the website for more information
about that at crowd.church. The third change is more in-person meetups. Yay, go
in-person meetups! Now, we baptised some folks in Dorset last month, which was
really phenomenal. We thought, actually, we need to do more of these in-person
meetups. So that's what we're going to do. We are planning gatherings throughout
the year, from regional meetups to bigger events. Again, more information will
be coming, more information on the website. One thing to tell you about,
CrowdFest '27 will be held— with CrowdFest is going to be a big get-together
where we all get together, and we're going to do that at the Wildfires Festival
at the end of July in 2027. You can find out more information about Wildfires
Festival and buy your tickets at wildfiresfestival.com, um, or just follow the
links from the website because there's going to be more information on the
website about CrowdFest '27, crowd.church. So yeah, if that's not it, there's
more stuff coming. Yes, there are, so— but I don't want to bombard you. We're
going to go through that in more detail in September. Yes, we are. So in the
meantime, like I said, everything you want to know about Crowd from past talks
to all the stuff we've talked about today is on the website, www.crowd.church.
Make sure you subscribe to the channel, uh, whilst you're here, because like I
said, this is a 5-parter all the way through the Book of Psalms, and it's built
to be taken as a whole. Each one's going to build onto the next one, so don't
miss any of them. But that's it from me. Thank you so much for joining us. Have
a phenomenal week wherever you are in the world. I will see you next time. Bye
for now.