
Living a Blessable Life
Enjoying the Specific and General Blessings of God
Introduction: Priming the pump for tonight’s discussion.
This week we summarized Psalms 2-5. We learned about the vanity of casting off the authority of God and its negative effect on a nation. We also learned about trusting in God when people are out to destroy us. We also learned about how to respond when people say untrue and unkind things about us that attack our character. Finally, we learned about the importance of a daily walk with God…rising early to meet with the Lord and coming into worship. Did any of these summary passages speak to you in a special way this week? Can you share your thoughts with the group?
Exploration: Questions to guide our group discussion.
We learned from Psalm 1 that blessings often come as direct actions from a benevolent God, but they also come as an indirect result of living a Godly life. Have there been times in your life when you have seen God’s direct hand…an answer to prayer, a breakthrough, or a miracle? Are there also general blessings that you have received just by walking with God? Let’s share with one another!
The Psalmist warned us against taking council or advice from the ungodly. He also warned us about hanging around with the wrong crowd, and the eventual danger that can follow from actually taking our place among them. This starts out so innocently, but if we walk with the ungodly, after that we’ll stand around with them, and eventually we may sit among them. What does this tell us about the importance of guarding our minds and being careful about the company that we keep? Has anyone had experience with this first hand?
Finally, the Psalmist encouraged us to take counsel from God’s Word…to meditate on God’s Word. When we fill our minds with God’s Words, we’ll be like a tree by the water drawing nourishment from God and bearing the kingdom fruit of a spiritually vital life. It’s far better to walk with God, stand among God’s people, and take our place among the righteous. How has meditating on God’s Word, hanging around with God’s people, and taking your place among the righteous influenced you differently now than before you knew the Lord?
Additional Scriptures for Deeper Study:
- Joshua 1:8
- Job 23:12
- Matthew 4:4
- James 4:8
Application: How can I apply this to my life this week?
How are you doing in your personal walk with Jesus? Are you meeting daily with the Lord to pray, read God’s Word, to worship, and to enjoy fellowship with Him? Being spiritually healthy demands that we set apart time to walk with the Lord. What changes do you need to make in your personal walk with God to get back on track?
Are there any areas in your life where the principles that we’ve discussed this week can be applied? Is the Holy Spirit leading you to respond to any of these principles from Psalms? For the sake of accountability, is there anything that you should share with the group?