Lesson 7 - October 16, 2016
Focus Text: Psalms 42:1-11; 43:1-5
Central Truth: Hope in God gives us victory over discouragement.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to list at least three ways to express hope in God.
Lesson Outline:
Heavenly Father, help our classes today as they discuss the ever-present problem of worry to learn how cope with such fear and stress by trusting in You. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
In "Biblical Perspective" Gordon Snider writes:
We must not forget that what God has done for us is just a small part of the big picture of God's activity. The history of Israel abounded with the redemptive works of God, and from then until now the list continues to grow. The very fact that God considers man at all is amazing. God not only thinks about us, but makes plans for our good. The thought of the psalmist turned to considering a proper response to what God had done. The magnitude of mercies is so great as to be impossible to arrange them in order of greatness or even to count them.
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 35.
In "God's Word for Today" David Woods writes:
Psalm 40 has two quite distinct parts. Verses 1-10 are a thanksgiving Psalm; verses 11-17 are an individual lament. The NIV Study Bible draws this conclusion: “The message is that even when God answers prayer and provides relief, there will usually come a new crisis that forces a return to God as one's refuge and deliverer.”
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 34.
In "Word Focus" Danny McCain writes concerning Psalm 40:1:
The expression waited patiently is literally “waited, waited.” The repetition of the verb is a Hebrew idiom used to stress the action of the verb. The phrase could be translated, “I simply waited; I did nothing but wait” (Joseph Alexander, The Psalms). The point that the psalmist was making was that he remembered spending a lot of time waiting. As one reads through the Psalms, he is impressed that other psalmists did a lot of waiting, too. They mentioned this because they were probably impatient.
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 34.
Read Psalm 27:1-7
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (v. 1).
The Psalmist speaks of darkness and weakness – the inability to see or comprehend and the inability to cope. Both paralyze our lives with fear. In the clutches of each, we are separated from our resources as children of God and rendered useless in our service to Him. It is no wonder that our God says “fear not” so many times in Scripture. He repeats that encouragement and command today.
Without minimizing or altering our circumstances, God offers himself as the antidote to our apprehension. For darkness, he is light – my light! W.T.Purkiser says so beautifully that our God is “shining in a dark place, dispelling the shadows, showing all things in their true colors; . . . driving away the fears that lurk in the dark.” For weakness, he is strength – my strength. I will face the threatening circumstances in the power of His might. Karolina Sandellberg wrote, “Day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.” (Public Domain) Light for darkness and strength for weakness. The Psalmist said, “Of whom shall I be afraid . . . the Lord is.” (William Snider)
Though a host of men were laid against me, yet shall my heart not be afraid
And tho’ there rose up war against me, yet will I put my trust in Him.
Frances Allitsen (Public Domain)
This devotional is the Friday, October 14, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.
There is an amusing story of a little girl who stood to testify and said, "I'm saved, sanctified, and backslid!"
The serious reality is that many people, even long-time Christians, do not have a good understanding of many religious terms we use. Without proper definition and explanation of the religious terms we use, our students may be confused or even mistaken in what we are teaching. This is especially true if we have unbelievers in our class. Even the basic term "saved" may be a mystery to the uninitiated.
It is tempting to argue that the new person will learn the terminology if they continue to attend. This, however, assumes that the new person will be willing to continue attending a class in which they may understand little of what is being said. If this is your argument, you should be commended in leading such a compelling class!
Otherwise, it is prudent to ask yourself weekly: am I using terminology that is confusing, especially to our guests?
Lesson 6 - October 9, 2016
Focus Text: Psalm 40:1-17
Central Truth: Faith rests assured that God always knows our needs.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to identify one area in their lives in which they will exercise greater trust in God.
Lesson Outline:
Heavenly Father, reveal Your power and glory to us once again. May we worship You in astonishment of Your love, holiness, power, and greatness. Amen.
In "God's Word for Today" David Woods writes:
We have all witnessed the power of the spoken word, power to encourage and strengthen a person who is dis-couraged or cowed by intimidating life challenges as well as the power to destroy the confidence and self-image of someone desperately needing affirmation. We have also seen the impotency of speech to stop the rebellious child from pursuing a wrong path or inability of a sincere entreaty to soothe a vengeful spirit. But none of us have witnessed the creation of galaxies by mere words.
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 30.