Week 16: 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!

pg

Psalm 119: Celebrating God's Word

1. In the past, what has typically been your approach to reading, absorbing, and meditating on God’s Word? Has it felt more like a duty or item to check off your list each day? Has it been approached by you as a chore or spiritual obligation that you complete without sincerity of heart or a posture of building a relationship? If so, why not pause and ask God to give you a fresh perspective on his Word that it might change from an obligation to a celebration each day? Ask him to give you a heart that longs for his Word the way you long to spend time with your favorite person. Ask him for a renewed zeal for the Bible in a way that can only be credited to his transforming grace in your life.

2. How has it been difficult for you to view God’s Word as anything other than informational or knowledge to be gathered? Has the informational aspect of Scripture ever pierced your heart in a way that has transformed your everyday behaviors and attitudes? If not, why do you think that is? If so, in what ways have you seen specific changes in your day-to-day actions and thoughts? How has Scripture specifically been a lamp to your feet and a light to your path?

3. Take some time to evaluate the areas of your life that you know are not pleasing to God (actions, thoughts, motivations, words, etc.) and if you’re feeling bold, write them down and share them with someone close to you like your spouse or an accountability partner. Then, instead of moving toward shame and guilt, preach the gospel to yourself and ask God to use his Word to transform you. Go through your list and ask the Lord to specifically weed out the areas you know are dishonoring to him and ask him to replace those areas with Holy Spirit-enabled change. Pray specific Scripture passages over your list and ask your spouse or friend you shared your list with to pray for you too.

salm 121: Do You Need Help?

1. What kinds of overwhelming personal struggles are you going through right now? Where have you typically gone to for help in the past when struggles come? What has prevented you from going to God in the midst of your struggle? Does it spur you on to go to God knowing that he is an able and faithful helper?

2. What leads you to doubt God’s ability to meet you in your difficulties? Why might the reminder that God made heaven and earth be helpful for you when problems arise and trials weigh you down? If you are struggling right now, take a moment and cry out to God with honesty. Call on him to help you face your difficulties, because while it might be a big struggle for you, it is a small thing for him.

3. How might the biblical perspective that God is watching over you 24/7 help you to face your fears? Why is the fact that God is eternally on guard over you a comforting thing? If your help truly comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, you are kept by his wisdom, his strength, his power, and his control. How does knowing that make you feel? If this theological truth is simply knowledge for you and not something that has taken root in your heart, stop and pray right now for him to transform your heart so that when difficulties arise in your life, you respond in peace, faith, and comfort.

Psalm 127: The Foolishness of Self-Sufficient Living

1. Why is the Christian life about more and more dependence instead of the opposite? How does this biblical mindset specifically get opposed in our culture today? How have you personally lived in opposition to this biblical mindset? Why is it important to remind yourself that each day requires more and more of your dependence to be placed on God and not on your own experience, knowledge, or expertise?

2. How has the problem of anxiety intersected with your life? What are the specific things, issues, or people that keep you up at night and cause you concern or worry? What kinds of burdens do you regularly try to shoulder yourself each day? Are you trusting God on Sunday during worship and then living independently the rest of the week? If so, how has trying to make it on your own been an ever-increasing source of stress and anxiety in your life? Take a moment and ask God to carry those burdens and anxieties for you, and then thank him that he is the ultimate builder of your life.

3. If you’re a parent, how have your children specifically been concerning for you? How have you carried burdens for them, about them, and around them in ways that have caused anxiety in your life and a lack of trust in God? Do you believe at times that you care more about your children than God does? Why are your children ultimately not your responsibility but God’s? How can you be intentional to remind yourself each morning that the load of concerns you’re tempted to carry about your children belongs with God and not you?