Welcome

As you gather, discuss this question together: With nothing to do, what do you tend to meditate on or mull over in your mind?

Worship

As you go into prayer, read Micah 6:8 together. Pray for justice in our city and world. Pray for mercy in each other’s lives and grace upon each other. Pray for each other that they would walk humbly with God.

Word: Psalm 119:103-108

What pops out or stands out in this passage for you?
What attests to the Psalmists love of God’s word?
What is sweet (verse 7) about God’s word? Currently does God’s word taste sweet, bitter, or other to you?
What are the functions and images in the word ‘lamp’ in the passage? What does it illuminate and how does it direct us? With what oil does the Psalmist keep it burning?
The Psalmist had faith in God and his illuminating word though he experienced much suffering. How did the Psalmist focus on being faithful? What are ways you can focus on being faithful when experiencing darkness (spiritually, emotionally, somatically, intellectually, etc.) in your life?
What needs did you bring to this study that you need God’s lamp to light your feet?

Witness

Take time to reflect further on Micah 6:8.

Micah 6:8 connects our faith with our actions, our care for those in need with our walk with God: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

To “walk humbly with God” is the basis for loving mercy and doing justice. Because of what God has done, we fully invest in healing the world around us through mercy and justice. Cultivating our walk with God provides the power and passion for us to fully engage – it grounds everything else we do.

Secondly, God desires for us to “love mercy,” or, in the NRSV, kindness. God wants us to be drawn to mercy – having compassion for those in need. This isn’t always easy, as we see so much human need; it is on our street corners, and we are bombarded daily by it on social media. It is easy for our hearts to harden and our minds to judge forgetting that mercy is what God extends to us.

Finally, God tells us to do justice. This can be broadly applied to the many political or economic challenges in our world, but it can also be applied to more basic activities, like a program that provides tutors, or supporting an overwhelmed single parent who is struggling to find the time and resources to give adequate time to their children. Justice is taking in a foster child or a host of other activities that level the playing field and provide equal opportunity for all. Justice can also be doing things that help others help themselves.

Questions to ponder:

What does the Lord desire for you?
What gifts and abilities has He given you for that?
How can you step outside your comfort zone to other areas the Lord may be desiring for you?
What are ways you can make Micah 6:8 an action in your life?

Daily Readings

Sunday, January 7, 2024: Isaiah 1:17 // Matthew 22:39
Monday, January 8, 2024: Proverbs 31:9 // James 1:27
Tuesday, January 9, 2024: Zechariah 7:9-10 // Matthew 25:40
Wednesday, January 10, 2024: Jeremiah 22:3 // Romans 12:15-18
Thursday, January 11, 2024: Deuteronomy 10:18 // Matthew 7:12
Friday, January 12, 2024: Proverbs 29:7 // Luke 10:30-37
Saturday, January 13, 2024: Psalm 82:3-4 // Galatians 6:9-10