Breaking Ground
What song gets you most consistently fired or pumped up?
The Dig
This Sunday, we continued exploring the major themes in the Book of Psalms by looking at the Psalms of Praise. These Psalms depict a psalmist joyfully praising God for who He is or what He’s done. In particular, they focus on celebrating God’s character, faithfulness, love, presence, or justice.
How do you define the concepts of joy & praise? What circumstances or feelings do you associate with them the most?
Read Psalm 23. This psalm famously centers around the metaphor of God as a Shepherd & His people as sheep in His flock.
What imagery stands out to you the most in this psalm?
What attributes & actions define the shepherd in this poem?
As Pastor Mike explored on Sunday, in verse 4, the poem shifts to describe a dramatic, challenging journey that would have been understandable to an Israelite shepherd. After food & water dries up seasonally, the shepherd must lead his flock through a wadis (steep, treacherous, dry, barren valleys that cut throughout Israel’s landscape) to a new grazing area.
Based on this context, what attributes define the life of a sheep? What role does trust play in their lives?
How are the sheep able to have trust & remain unafraid even as they pass through the wadis? Why does this allow for the psalmist to praise God in all circumstances (in green pastures & dark valleys)? NOTE: consider the shepherd’s presence & guidance within both.
Close by reflecting on your own life’s journey.
Where have you experienced a journey from a green pasture (season of abundance, security, & comfort) into a dark valley (season of uncertainty, scarcity, & danger)? How did that feel in the moment? How did you make it through?
As you reflect on this experience, where do you now see that God was acting as a provider, guide, & present source of comfort for you in that journey?
How might your remembering of this past journey help you navigate or find hope in a circumstance of fear or uncertainty in your life right now?
Getting Out of the Hole
This week, reflect on the teaching from Sunday morning.
- Read Psalm 23.
- Write down the key metaphors & themes from the Psalm.
- Meditate on how these metaphors or themes appear in your life right now. Be creative & try to enter into the Psalm personally.
- Re-read Psalm 23 & pray over what came to mind during this time. Ask God for wisdom & meditate on the theme that resonated with you the most over the course of the week.
Journal, reflect, & pray on how God might be speaking to you through each week’s teaching. Share your experience with your growth group next week!
Additional Resources*
The Book of Psalms by Robert Alter
Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis
TheBibleProject.com
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday, October 30rd: Join us next Sunday for week four of our series Breathe, where we are exploring the major themes of the Book of Psalms! * Please see mye3.org for details.