Prayer
As always, we open with prayer. Can we pray for you this evening?
Passage
Psalm 3
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1 Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Praise
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There's light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O'er us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu'rors we are
His word shall not fail you he promised
Believe him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell
Ponder
1. Is there anything from the song or the Biblical passage that you just read that jumps out at you in a new way that you haven’t noticed before? What is it?
2. In her story from detox to treatment, ‘Christine’ needed to get a new handle on her life and to explore the idea of [constantly] renewing her mind. But how does that mirror the Christian journey for us all when it comes to transformation and renewal? (Romans 12)
3. [King?] David is in a moment of transitional chaos himself as he hightails it out of Jerusalem with problems nipping at his backside—but his response reflects his deep trust in God. Why on earth would he still have that kind of trust given the circumstances he was currently in?
4. External voices are telling David that 'is no salvation [help] for him in God' in his current circumstance. And so quickly external voices can become internal voices. Have you ever experienced that? And how did you deal with it? And would you deal with them in the same way again? Why/not?
5. Can you name a time in your life when you felt like God was being a shield around you? What was happening and how did the realization come that God was protecting you?
6. According to this passage, how does God change our perspective during difficult times? And has he ever changed yours? How?