Summary of the Book of Psalms
The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 ancient songs. King David wrote many Psalms (that is, songs). The instructions at the start form part of the Psalm, often giving direction to the musician on how to treat the Psalm.
There are many different subjects. Many Psalms are glad songs which praise God (for example, Psalms 103 and 150). Other Psalms are sad prayers (Psalm 74). Some Psalms explain that God will rescue us from our troubles (Psalms 40 and 41). And some Psalms are about the history of Israel (Psalms 74 and 78). Psalm 119 is about the Bible. The Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) teach how to approach God. In Psalm 51, David confesses an evil deed. Psalm 22 describes how Jesus would suffer. In Psalm 2 tells us that God will rule the world. Psalm 1 teaches that we must love God.
The Psalms are a very special part of the Bible. We can learn many things about God from their beautiful words. They are in the Bible’s Old Testament.
Summary of the Book of Colossians
The Book of Colossians is Paul’s letter to the Christians at Colosse. Paul had not visited Colosse, but he often prayed for the Christians there (Colossians 1:3-14).
Paul reminded the Christians about the importance of Jesus. Jesus, being the visible representation of God, is the vessel through which all things were created. Then, Jesus became a man so that he could die for us. Through Jesus’s sacrifice, we have access to God’s forgiveness. If we invite Jesus into our lives, we will become friends of God (Colossians 1:15-23).
Paul warned the Christians about Judaizers (Colossians 2). These people, likely gentile converts to Judaism, wanted the Christians to obey Jewish rabbinic instructions. They deceitfully used philosophy to convince Christians to obey all such rules (Colossians 2:8). Paul taught that Christ was enough for gentile Christians, and through Him alone the separation of Jew and Gentile was removed. Therefore no one should be judged by which traditions one chose to keep, warning that such things produce ‘false humility’ and lead people away from Christ who is the head.
Paul reminded the Christians how they should live. They should think about the spiritual consequences of their lives (Colossians 3:2) because they belong with Christ (Colossians 3:3-4). They should not do evil (Colossians 3:5-11). Instead, they should love other people (Colossians 3:12-14) and serve God (Colossians 3:15-17).