Open-ended, Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of Australian Prayer Book Psalms.
Psalm 66:7-19...6th S of Easter (A)
.... (For the
Gospel, please scroll)
INTRODUCTION: 1] Psalms
are poetry for singing;
intensely
personal. They depend not on rhyme, but repeating an idea in
a different way, developing it, contrasting, etc..A colon
marks the change. PSs date from pre-1000 BC (David)
to the mid 400s
BC. Being from their own
times, now we find views
expressed in some PSs abhorrent. 2]
Read, pray, & use the Psalms in 1st & 2nd
person language, i.e I & You. 3] The
APB text differs from the text of Bible versions. 4] The PS may refer to the
Exodus, crossing the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land, or
both.
WARMING UP: Do we think of God as getting us into or out
of trouble?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
7 When
we say to someone, "Bless you" are we consciously blessing them
ourselves, or asking God to bless them? Have we ever sorted that one
out? Is blessing God for this, that, or the other a permanent
priority on our agenda, or is that just for religious cranks?
8-11 How
concious are we of God's companionship & protection as we journey
through life? Are we more conscious of that as an individual than as a
nation? How might we respond to someone who says, "That's just a
figment of your imagination"? How confident are we that God will not
'suffer our feet to slip' by
defending our faith in Him & His
care of us? Do we ever feel God is 'proving' us by 'trying'
us? Would that apply to Jesus' testing in the wilderness too? In the
light of the Gospel, can we really believe God would drop us
into anyone's 'net'; put us to torment of any kind: let enemies 'ride
over our heads'; put us through 'fire & water'? If the God revealed
in Jesus wouldn't / doesn't do this kind of thing, why does it
sometimes feel like He does?
Why does He allow it to
happen? How do we resolve this question? Or does God have to do any
resolving
necessary?
12-14 When we
come into God's House, the church where we worship, how genuine are the
kinds of
offerings we make there today? Do we still make vows of any kind there?
What
kinds of sacrifices do we offer today? Do today's offerings tend to be
more from the head than from the heart?
15-16 How
good are we at telling people what God has done for us, & why we
praise God? Are we often rather shy about this? Or is it more than
shyness?
17-19 Does
God not still hear us even when we 'cherish wickedness in our heart'?
Have we become lulled into a false sense that God does still hear us
when we don't deserve to be by human standards? Or is that what
the Gospel's all about? How confidently do we praise God that He
doesn't 'turn back' our prayer or His steadfast love from us? If we
aren't consistently praising God as confidently as we might for His
love
& care of us in all circumstances, do we need to do something about
this? Or is God just 'an old softie' & it doesn't matter?
