Thursday Bible Study

  PSALMS [Praying our creation]   Psalm 8_     Prayer is an orienting act. We begin to discover who we are when we realise where we are. Disorientation is a terrible experience. If we can’t locate our place, we are in confusion and anxiety. We are also in danger, prone to act inappropriately.   If we’re among enemies and don’t know it... we could miss the danger.   If we’re among friends and don’t know it... we could miss the re lationship.     [Group discussion starter] Have you ever not known where you were?   What does it feel like to be disoriented?     [Read Psalm 8]     Look at both the first and last sentences of the Psalm.   What is the significance of these bracketing sentences for the Psalm even before we know its contents?         [Activity] Look over the Psalm as a whole and note down every word that refers to what God has created. How do these things reveal God’s glory?   ...

  PSALMS [Praying our trouble]   Psalm 3_     Prayer often begins when we come to the end of ourselves... in the realisation that we can’t help ourselves, so we have to reach out to God.   “Help!” is one of the most basic (and honest) prayers we can pray.   When we find ourselves in trouble will prayer be the first port of call or the last resort?     [Group discussion starter] What is the worst trouble you were in this last week? Where did you go for help? Did you get help?     Psalm 3 was written when David fled from his own son, Absalom, who was leading a rebellion against David. A huge battle ended with the death of twenty thousand. Then Absalom died: “He was riding his mule, and as the mule went out from under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.” (2 Samuel 18:9)     [Read Psalm 3]     [Activity...