You're Allowed to Be Angry With God

You're Allowed to Be Angry With God Stopped talking to God about the thing because you're the one who broke it? Psalm 80 was written by someone in exactly that spot. About this episode Josh Edmundson takes us through Psalm 80 - a song written by people watching their nation collapse, knowing full well they'd caused it. It's furious, it's grief-stricken, and it's addressed straight to God. Josh walks back through the story that sits underneath the psalm's imagery, then asks the question the psalm forces on all of us. If someone who wrecked things himself could take his anger into the throne room, what does that mean for the rest of us? This is the first of five talks through the Psalms across August, following a thread about what restoration actually looks like when your life is all over the place. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and what August looks like at Crowd 02:52 A psalm of despair 04:15 Reading Psalm 80 06:33 Why the vine and the son matter 07:30 Three scenes that set up the psalm 10:26 The Golden Age and what came after 10:48 The psalmist retells the story back to God 13:36 When the covenant broke 15:40 The lament 16:27 When the future you planned falls apart 17:27 What the psalmist does instead of pretending 18:30 Why you are allowed in the throne room 19:59 We do not lament without a vine 22:35 A challenge for the week 23:38 What is changing at Crowd in September 24:30 Wednesday community groups 24:53 Alpha moves to Wednesday nights 25:25 More in-person meetups 25:51 CrowdFest 27 at Wildfires Key references Psalm 80 - the passage, read in full Psalm 22 - "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" Exodus 4 - God calls Israel His firstborn son Exodus 19–24 - the covenant at Sinai Exodus 40 - the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle 2 Kings 17 - the fall of the northern kingdom Hebrews 4:16 - approaching the throne of grace with confidence John 15 - Jesus as the true vine Matthew 17 - the Transfiguration 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - Paul on grieving, which Josh adapts in his closing point Quotes from the talk "When I read this, I see promises strewn about like corpses, when the presence of God is seemingly nowhere to be found." - Josh Edmundson "He doesn't ignore his circumstances. He doesn't set a stiff upper lip and pretend that nothing is wrong. And he doesn't set about trying to instantly fix the problem." - Josh Edmundson "It is one of the biggest mysteries of grace, I think, that not only are we permitted to enter that throne room of heaven by prayer at all, but that we are told to." - Josh Edmundson What is changing at Crowd in September Matt runs through four things at the end of this one. Live Lounge from the start. Live Lounge has been the after-party, a call with the team once the livestream ends. From September you will be able to watch the livestream itself inside Live Lounge, with other people, rather than on your own. Wednesday community groups. Instead of scattered separate groups, everyone gathers as one community first and then breaks into smaller groups. The small group becomes your regular one, so people learn your name and notice when you are not there. Alpha moves to Wednesday nights , 7:30, running alongside Community. Good if you are new to the Christian faith or just poking at it from the outside. The next course starts on 9 September and you can register at crowd.church . More in-person meetups. Off the back of the baptisms in Dorset last month, there are gatherings being planned across the year, from regional meetups to bigger events. Including CrowdFest 27 , which will be at the Wildfires Festival at the end of July 2027. More detail on all of it in September. Links Watch or listen at crowd.church Midweek community groups and the online course for anyone exploring Christianity are all at crowd.church Crowd Church — a community for those who might not see the point of church.