Open-ended, Life-centred,
Gospel-Focussed Explorations of Australian Prayer Book Psalms.
Psalm 119:33-40...PENTECOST PLUS 17 (A)
.... (For the
Gospel, please scroll)
INTRODUCTION: 1]The
alternative PSS
set for after
Pentecost are used here. 2]
Psalms
are poetry for singing;
personal, depending not on rhyme, but on developing an idea,
contrasting it, etc. 3] PSS
date from pre-1000 BC (David)
to mid 400s
BC. Being of their day, we may
find attitudes in some PSS abhorrent.
WARMING UP: What's our best /
worst memory of schooldays?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
33-36 How teachable am I? Are there some ways
I learn, whereas I don't learn in other ways at all? Does God have any
more success in 'teaching me' than anyone else? Does God have a
curriculum? Are there God-things I still need to learn? Such as? Is the
Older Testament's concentration on statutes, laws, commands, etc. more
a turn off than a turn on/? Is that because the world has moved on from
having rules? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? What does it mean to
'honour' someone? How well are we honouring God & what He requires of us? Are there still
things we will 'honour to the end' while others have fallen by the
wayside? Is God the loser when this happens? Are we? Or are we both?
Is there a difference between learning & understanding? If there
is, what is it? How much do we think in terms of keeping laws - God's
or any others - 'with our whole heart'? If we were to keep God's
law with our heart rather than our head, might we keep it better? Is
there a difference between being 'guided' & being 'led'? How much delight do we actually take / find
in keeping God's commandments? Do we sometimes start with the wrong end
of the stick - & end up with that too?
Is the real crunch somewhere in the difference between 'delight in
keeping God's law' & 'selfish gains'? Is there any middle ground
between these two approaches to life, or are they both absolutes?
37-40 How much
time do we spend 'looking on vanities'? Will a little bit of vanity
really hurt anyone? What is it / what are they anyhow? Is there some
middle ground here, or again are we dealing with an absolute? What if
our idea of vanity is different from theirs? Different from the PSt's?
Different from God's? Today when it's common to talk about discipleship
as 'walking the walk', has 'walking' as a metaphor for discipleship
become a bit too much of an aimless stroll? If so, how do we move on
from there?
What actually is 'God's promise to His
servant'? Does that mean to us or someone else? Is 'fearing' God - as
distinct from being in awe of God - another turn off? Why should we
fear God after knowing God revealed in Jesus? Is an important question
for our time the kind of God
we believe in?
Does anyone much taunt us for following God these days, or have we
passed more into the category of curiosities, not really worth
taunting? Would we ever describe ourself as 'longing for God's
precepts'? Would it make any particular difference to our life if we
did? Do we have a working definition of 'righteousness' as distinct
from the self-righteousness many confuse (badly) with the real
thing?
PLUS: Doesthis PS point forward to the
Gospel at all (MT 18:10-20) or the Gospel help us appreciate the
PS?
