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Summer 2025 Series
Psalms for the Long Days:
​Prayers of Persistence, Praise, and Promise
Beginning Sunday, May 25, 2025 (Memorial Day Weekend)

This summer, New Life invites you to walk a daily journey of prayer by praying the Psalms together.
Each week, we’ll focus on one Psalm, one theme, and a connection to the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whose book Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible calls us into deeper honesty, trust, and hope before God.

How to Participate:
Pray the week's Psalm daily (read it, speak it, sing it — however you connect).
Reflect on the weekly theme in your prayers and conversations.

Optional:
Dive deeper by reading Bonhoeffer’s Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible alongside the series.

Week 1 — May 25, 2025
When God Is Silent Psalm: 13 (Book 1)
Theme: Crying out honestly to a God who seems hidden. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“A psalm that cries out to God in the darkest night of faith… laments can only be spoken before the One who still hears.”
(Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, Chapter 3: The Psalms of Lament)
Invitation: Begin the summer with honesty. Even when God feels distant, prayer remains the faithful act of reaching out.

Week 2 — June 1, 2025
Light in the Shadows Psalm: 27 (Book 1)
Theme: Trusting in God’s presence even when we are afraid. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“In the psalms of trust we have an answer to the night of lament: God’s light shines even when not seen.”
(Psalms, Chapter 4: The Psalms of Trust)
 Invitation: Where do you need light today? Pray Psalm 27 as a candle in the darkness.

Week 3 — June 8, 2025
Sheltered by God Psalm: 46 (Book 2)
Theme: God is our refuge in a chaotic world. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“God is a fortress not outside the storm, but within it — and we are invited to take shelter.”
(Psalms, Chapter 4: The Psalms of Trust)
Invitation: The world’s chaos is real — but so is God's protection. Where do you need shelter this week?

Week 4 — June 15, 2025
Thirsting for God Psalm: 63 (Book 2)
Theme: Longing for connection with the Divine in dry places. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“Thirst for God belongs to the deepest reality of human existence before God.”
(Psalms, Chapter 5: The Psalms of Life)
Invitation: Let your spiritual thirst surface. Speak your longing. God meets us in our hunger and thirst.

Week 5 — June 22, 2025
Learning to Lament Psalm: 77 (Book 3)
Theme: Remembering God’s faithfulness while naming sorrow. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“The psalmist remembers God’s mighty deeds so that hope may still be born out of despair.”
(Psalms, Chapter 3: The Psalms of Lament)
Invitation: What sorrow are you carrying? God’s past faithfulness anchors us even when today feels heavy.

Week 6 — June 29, 2025
Justice Will Come Psalm: 82 (Book 3)
Theme: God stands with the oppressed and calls us to do the same. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“The cry for justice in the psalms is the cry of the oppressed, among whom Christ is present.”
(Psalms, Chapter 8: The Psalms and Christ)
 Invitation: How might you stand alongside the vulnerable this week? Let justice shape your prayers and actions.

Week 7 — July 6, 2025
The Long Road of Faith Psalm: 121 (Book 4)
Theme: God journeys with us when the way is uncertain. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“The psalms of pilgrimage teach us that faith is a journey sustained by God’s promise, not sight.”
(Psalms, Chapter 4: The Psalms of Trust)
Invitation: Whatever road you are walking, you are not alone. Lift your eyes to the hills — and pray.

Week 8 — July 13, 2025
The World in God’s Hands Psalm: 104 (Book 4)
Theme: Praising God for creation and our place in it. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“All creatures are called into praise, and we join them in the psalm.”
(Psalms, Chapter 7: The Psalms of Creation)
 Invitation: Go outside. Look up. Notice. Praise. Creation sings — will you add your voice?

Week 9 — July 20, 2025
A New Song in Our Mouths Psalm: 137 (Book 5)
Theme: Singing even in exile; hope from grief. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“Even in captivity, the people of God sing — their song belongs to God’s future reign.”
(Psalms, Chapter 8: The Psalms and Christ)
Invitation: What new song is God teaching you? Even in grief, we are being tuned for hope.

Week 10 — July 27, 2025
The Great Hallelujah Psalm: 150 (Book 5)
Theme: Praise in every season, every breath. Bonhoeffer Quote:
“The final word of the Psalter is unending praise — because God’s glory endures beyond our lives.”
(Psalms, Conclusion)
Invitation: Let your life be a "hallelujah" this week. Praise in breath, in work, in love, in quiet.

Closing Vision
As we move through the summer, the Psalms will shape our prayers, Bonhoeffer will deepen our faith, and the Spirit will form us into a people more awake to God’s presence — in lament, in longing, in justice, and in praise.