For October 15, 2026
We Must Assent To Ascent by Greg Holmes, D.MIN – Director of Missions serving 17 churches
PSALMS 120-124 ARE PSALMS OF ASCENT , which were written to revere the call to worship that God required during three of the major feasts of the Jewish calendar. “Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles.” (Deut. 16:16) The word ‘ascent’ has at least two specific meanings; one associated with topography, another referencing spiritual life. Both are interwoven in the pilgrimage journey of the faithful, here an observance of both worship and obedience for Jews, but also having deep significance for Christians that is seldom fully taught or practiced, especially in Protestant evangelical Christianity. The first has to do with the fact that Jerusalem and the Temple were situated on a high place. During these holy times to God and man, the journey literally involved ‘going up.’ The second has the obvious connotation of coming closer to God, whose abode is far above.