Week 14: The Gospel One Psalm at a Time

Welcome to the Gospel One Psalm At a Time, our small group study for the Winter and Spring. Throughout the week prior to your group's meeting, take some time to:

1) Prayerfully read and study the week's Psalms;

2) Watch the short videos that will be posted here on our website - they are also available on PDT's Youtube channel; and

3) Answer the questions in preparation for a conversation in your small group.

It's a simply ryhthm...

First Psalm: Pray - Read - Watch - Answer - Pray.

Second Psalm: Pray - Read - Watch - Answer - Pray.

Third Psalm: Pray - Read - Watch - Answer - Pray.

My prayer this is a great season of spiritual growth for you and our church as we invest in this together!

All for Jesus!

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Psalm 93: The Reign of the King

1. In what ways have you witnessed the world in its instability? What kinds of hard things are you currently facing? Where might life be confusing to you right now? When you read, however, that the LORD reigns, how does it make you feel knowing that he is stable despite what you might witness and experience in this world?

2. Why is there comfort in knowing that your life is not in human hands, but in the hands of the King of kings? What are some of the fears and anxieties you have because you’ve forgotten who God is? What kind of troubles have you loaded onto your own shoulders because of living “God-forgetfully”?

3. Why do you think God created you to live dependently on him instead of independently on your own? How is a so-called life of “independence” from God really just a life of bondage instead of freedom? Why is a life of dependence on God the best way to live?

Psalm 101: True Worship

1. Pause and take an honest look at your life—your day-to-day schedule, what your calendar is structured around, what you spend your time and money on, who you choose to spend time with on a regular basis, etc. After this close examination, who or what would you say you worship? What do the details of your life reveal about your worship habits? Would you say that this “life audit” has revealed areas that you need to change, modify, or even radically alter? How can you be more intentional about aiming your worship at God instead of the other things in your life?

2. What does your personal worship of God look like? What would you say your family’s worship of God looks like? How is your church’s Sunday morning worship structured in a way that magnifies who God is and how can your heart personally respond to that each week? What personal changes can you make in order to more routinely and sincerely worship God?

3. What horizontal variables in your life act as opportunities for you to worship the Lord? What parts of your life are you proactively surrendering to him? How are you seeking to live and please him with your daily schedule? What areas of your life are you routinely coming up short when it comes to worshiping God? What intentional changes can you make right now that would begin the process of worshiping God as an intentional act of surrender?

4. Take a moment now and admit that there are areas of your life where you don’t measure up and need to turn over to God? Admit your need for him to help you change. God is worshiped in your admission of need for him to help you, so begin your act of worship by going to him and asking for him to work powerfully in your life. Then thank him for all that he has done for you and thank him for all that he will do in your life.

Psalm 103: The Danger of Forgetfulness

1. What parts of your life would you say have suffered from “identity amnesia” and how has that forgetfulness about who you are affected the way you look at the people in your life, your circumstances, and your relationship with God? What are the present riches you could be missing as a result of your identity amnesia?

2. Why do you think it’s so easy to remember our complaints? In what areas is it extremely easy for you to complain about things? How are grumbling, complaining, and discontent a part of your everyday life?

3. Why do you think it’s so difficult to remember all the things we should be thankful for? Even if you’ve done it before, take some time to write down a list of all the things you are thankful for in your life. Remember that this list is a list of God’s blessings to you. After you’ve completed your list, write out a prayer of thanksgiving to God for all the ways that he has blessed you, and share that prayer with someone close to you as a way to verbally rejoice in how God has extended kindness and grace to you.

4. Are you aware of the spiritual warfare that’s going on in your life right now? How are simple things such as forgetfulness, apathy, and going through the motions of Sunday worship a part of spiritual battle in your life? How can you more proactively engage with the spiritual battle in your life? What kinds of spiritual disciplines can you engage with to help fight well in the battle?