”For God Alone”, Class 4

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.” (Psalms 62:1–2 NRSV)

Class Four: “Considering what God has shown us”

24 August 2018

How to process this class series:

1. Consider what God has shown you. What have you learned, or been reminded of?

1. Confirm your biggest convictions. What is your resolve going forward?

1. Clarify what questions still remain. Is anything important unclear?

Question: “What one change in your ‘quiet times’ would bring you the most joy?”

Two bonus ‘quiet time’ ideas

1. Contrast Psalm 1 and Psalm 150

• • Read the two Psalms and consider that life often makes this level of trust and praise hard
  • Read and think about these quotes from Walter Brueggemann
  • “..praise as glad, exuberant yielding and self-abandonment (as expressed in Psalm 150) takes place only when one comes to terms emotionally, psychologically, dramatically, and theologically with the demanding, sovereign reality of God.” Brueggemann, “Psalms”, p194
  • “In the end, Israel goes to the sanctuary [temple] in doxology [praise]. Israel comes there with old, unresolved complaints that still sob and ache. Israel comes there with hymns of hope and gratitude still to be fulfilled. Israel carries to God’s throne all its old, powerful memories of brutishness and envy. Israel brings with it to the sanctuary the whole Psalter, its awesome account of hurts and hopes that are voiced in God’s presence.” Brueggemann, “Psalms” p212
  • In what way can a ‘quiet time’ help you to reconcile what you know, by faith, about God with what you actually experience in life?
  • What does the example of Jesus have to say to you about this?

1. Elijah’s extended ‘quiet time’, 1 King 19

• • Challenging circumstances! Read chapter 18 for context.
  • Honest prayer, v4
  • God refreshes him, vv5-8
  • Taken to right place, v8
  • Rest, vv5, 9
  • Expresses his viewpoint, vv10, 14
  • Encounter with the presence of God, vv11-13
  • Renewed mission, faith and courage, vv15ff
  • What do you learn about the nature of God?
  • What do you learn from the way Elijah related to God that could help you in your ‘quiet times’?

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God bless,

 

Malcolm