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In some cultures, before the advent of print ... long before television ... people gathered together in their communities and told stories. These stories were the entertainment of the day. More than that, they were education for the people. The stories we told shaped the way we thought. They shaped our communities. The Israelites were such a community. They were an oral culture. For centuries, the highest ideal of all Jewish men was the study of Oral Torah, a study that led to an eagerness and thirst for knowledge, a desire to hear the story again, see the story, and to know the story. To help the people remember, to help them learn, to help them know the Word of the Lord ... the Levites led the people in song.  In response, the people rejoiced in Yahweh.  Our text for tonight from Psalm 118 is a great example. A small snippet of this psalm was used as our Introit on Sunday. It led us through the gates of righteousness, into the Lord’s sanctuary, into the presence of Yahweh. S...