Lamedh

Today, we're finally moving into the second half of Psalm 119. Today's letter is Lamedh. In this section, we read about how God's word is eternal.

⁸⁹ Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

⁹⁰ Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.

⁹¹ Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.

⁹² If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

⁹³ I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.

⁹⁴ Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts.

⁹⁵ The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes.

⁹⁶ To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless.

Psalm 119:89-96

Discussion Questions

• How long is it until Christmas? less than two months
• How long have you been alive? Is that longer than until Christmas?
• How long has Daddy been alive? Is that longer? What about Grandpa?
• How long is eternity?
• God's word is eternal. What does that mean? How long has it been around? How long will it last? (Verse 89)
• What about God's faithfulness? It's eternal too (Verse 90)
• What about God's law? It's eternal, too (Verse 91)
• The psalmist would have perished in his affliction if he had not delighted in God's law. Why? He probably realized God's law would last long after his affliction was over. (Verse 92)
• The psalmist sees a limit (end) to everything but what? God's law (Verse 96)
• Does keeping in mid the eternalness of God's word help you realize how short any of your waiting is?

Kaph

As we continue our journey through Psalm 119, we come to the halfway point: the Hebrew letter Kaph. As with each section, we're looking at this section and looking into a theme in the section. This section talks about how God's word helps us in waiting.

⁸¹ My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word.

⁸² My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, "When will you comfort me?"

⁸³ Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees.

⁸⁴ How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?

⁸⁵ The arrogant dig pitfalls for me, contrary to your law.

⁸⁶ All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for men persecute me without cause.

⁸⁷ They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts.

⁸⁸ Preserve my life according to your love, and I will obey the statutes of your mouth.

Psalm 119:81-88

Discussion Questions

• Do you sometimes find it hard to wait?
• The psalmist is waiting for something. What is he waiting for? salvation (from his affliction) (Verse 81)
• Hope, we defined last week, is "wishing and expecting that wish to be fulfilled." What has the psalmist placed his home in? God's word (Verse 81)
• Does it seem like the psalmist has waited a long time? (verses 82,83,84, 87)
• How does he handle the waiting?
• Remembering God's law (Verse 83)
• Remembering God's word is trustworthy (Verse 86)
• Not forsaking (turning away from) God's law (Verse 87)
• Obeying God's law (Verse 88)
• What can you do to help you wait on God?
• Reciting scripture
• Memorizing scripture
• Meditating on scripture
• Singing scripture

Yodh

We continue our journey through Psalm 119 and now we come to Yodh. Today's section continues some with the them of affliction, but expands on it to show how we can use God's word to benefit other people.

⁷³ Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.

⁷⁴ May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.

⁷⁵ I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

⁷⁶ May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.

⁷⁷ Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.

⁷⁸ May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts.

⁷⁹ May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes.

⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame.

Psalm 119:73-80

Discussion Questions

• We see a little more about affliction in this section. Here, what does the Psalmist say happened? Proud people have treated him badly without any reason (Verse 78)
• What is his response to this? Meditating on God's law (Verse 78)
• Does he blame God for his affliction? No, he know God is being faithful (Verse 75)
• What does he know God's word promises for his comfort and continued life? God's unfailing love and compassion (Verses 76-77)
• Backing up a little bit, why does he want to learn God's commands? Because God created him. (Verse 73)
• When he is around others that love God, what does he want?
• He wants them to be joyful because his hope is in God's word (Vers 74)
• He wants to teach them God's laws (Verse 79)
• How does he expect to remain blameless? By following God's law (Verse 80)
• Do you want to take what you have learned from God's word and share it with others like the Psalmist does?
• How would you like to do so?

Teth

Today we continue on with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet: Teth. The theme I want to look at today is how the word of God helps us grow when we are afflicted. To be afflicted means to be distressed so severely as to cause persistent suffering or anguish. The root word in Hebrew means to be brought low, humbled. In other words, something bad has happened to the Psalmist where, though his life had been good and people looked up to him and respected, he was made to be low where people looked down on him and turned away from him. Pay attention in this passage to what the word of God meant to him.

⁶⁵ Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD.

⁶⁶ Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands.

⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.

⁶⁸ You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.

⁶⁹ Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart.

⁷⁰ Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law.

⁷¹ It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.

⁷² The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

Psalm 119:65-72

Discussion Questions

• How do you think the Psalmist was afflicted? People told lies about him. (Verse 69)
• What was his life like before he was afflicted? He didn't obey God's laws. (Verse 67)
• As he wrote this, his affliction was probably over (although not necessarily so). What did the Psalmist think of it? It was good that he was afflicted. (Verse 71)
• What was the benefit of his being afflicted? He learned God's laws. (Verse 71)
• What are some things that he learned from God's law as the result of his affliction?
• God would do good for him. (Verse 65)
• Knowledge and good judgement (Verse 66)
• God is good and does good (Verse 68)
• How does he feel about God's law now?
• He delights in it (Verse 70)
• It is worth more to him than thousands of pieces of silver and gold (Verse 72)

Heth

So we've spent some time so far looking at Psalm 119. We've seen several themes of how God's word relates to our lives. These include:

• the word of God promotes the fear of God
• the word of God helps us to live pure lives
• the word of God helps us when people are doing or saying bad things to us
• the word of God helps us when we're not happy
• the word of God helps us focus on what God wants us to do
• the word of God helps us to live boldly
• the word of God gives us comfort

Heth is the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The theme I want to look at today is how we turn to God's word is response to what He has done for us.

⁵⁷ You are my portion, O LORD; I have promised to obey your words.

⁵⁸ I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.

⁵⁹ I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.

⁶⁰ I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

⁶¹ Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law.

⁶² At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.

⁶³ I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts.

⁶⁴ The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees.

Psalms 119:57-64

Discussion Questions

• In the NIrV, verse 57 begins "Lord, you are everything I need." What do you think that means? Everything he needs is provided by God
• What are some things that you need? How does God provide for them?
• Recognizing the sufficiency of God's provision for Him, how does the Psalmist respond? He promises to obey God's word.
• In verse 59, the Psalmist has thought about the way he lives his life? What does he decide to do? Follow God's laws.
• What else does the Psalmist say about following/obeying God's law?
• he won't waste time and will obey quickly
• regardless of what's happening, he won't forget to obey
• he'll give thanks to God - even in the middle of the night
• he'll be a friend to others who obey
• he wants to keep learning God's law
• What are some of the reasons he wants to do this? We've already seen one
• God provides all he needs (verse 57)
• God's decisions are fair (verse 62)
• The earth is full of God's love (verse 64)

Zayin

Zayin is the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet. One theme I see in this passage is finding comfort in God's word. Comfort means assistance and support or a feeling of relief or encouragement.

⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.

⁵⁰ My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

⁵¹ The arrogant mock me without restraint, but I do not turn from your law.

⁵² I remember your ancient laws, O LORD, and I find comfort in them.

⁵³ Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law.

⁵⁴ Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.

⁵⁵ In the night I remember your name, O LORD, and I will keep your law.

⁵⁶ This has been my practice: I obey your precepts.

Psalm 119:49-56

Discussion Questions

• What does it mean to have hope?
• If the Psalmist has hope, do you think that he might be lacking in something at the moment or be in a situation where he doesn't want to be?
• Verse 50 talks about suffering. What is suffering?
• What is the first thing he says provides him comfort?
• In verse 52, what does he say provides him comfort?
• Since he remembers God's ancient law, do you suppose he's read a lot of scripture and perhaps memorized scripture?
• The last part of verse 54 in the NIrV reads "I sing about your orders" indicating that he actually sings God's word. Do you ever sing God's word?
• Can you name some songs that you've sung where you are singing God's word?

Waw

Waw (not "wow") is the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Like each of the sections we've read this far, we can kind of find a theme in this section. The theme I see here is how God's word helps us to live boldly. Webster.com (the online dictionary) defines bold as "fearless before danger." Do you sometimes get scared? I know that I do. But, this section of Psalm 119 reminds us that with God's word, we don't have to fear, we can live boldly!

⁴¹ May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise;

⁴² then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word.

⁴³ Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.

⁴⁴ I will always obey your law, for ever and ever.

⁴⁵ I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.

⁴⁶ I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame,

⁴⁷ for I delight in your commands because I love them.

⁴⁸ I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.

Psalm 119:41-48

Discussion Questions

• In verse 41, what does the Psalmist want to come to him?
• What was promised to him by God?
• He writes of being taunted (insulted). Why is he not scared of this?
• He also writes speaking before kings. Kings in his day were pretty powerful, they made the laws and would lead their armies in battle and if they wanted to have somebody punished, they could. Why is he not afraid of doing this?
• What are some things that you're afraid of?
• Do you think that remembering God's word can help you not to be scared of them

He

He is the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Here we can see how God's word helps us keep focused on what God wants us to do.

³³ Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.

³⁴ Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

³⁵ Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.

³⁶ Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.

³⁸ Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.

³⁹ Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.

⁴⁰ How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness.

Psalm 119:33-40

Discussion Questions

• When you're playing Star Wars Lego on the Wii, can you play soccer at the same time?
• If it's good to focus when you're playing Wii, should you also focus on what God wants you to do?
• The Psalmist wants to learn God's laws, how long does he expect to keep them? the rest of his life
• The Psalmist wants to keep God's law, how will he obey it? with all his heart
• What are some things that the Psalmist worries will distract him?
• selfish gain - wanting something for yourself really badly that you don't really need.
• worthless things - things that have no value, especially with regard to what God wants for us
• What are some things that distract you from God?
• What can help you focus on God?

Daleth

As we've been working our way through Psalm 119 and working our way through the Hebrew alphabet, we've also been seeing different aspects of how the Word of God is helpful to us.

• Under aleph, we learned about how the Word of God promotes the fear of God
• Under beth, we learned about how the Word of God can help us to live pure lives
• Under gimel, we see how the Word of God is useful when people are doing bad things to us or saying bad things about us

Today, in the daleth section, we'll read about what the Word of God offers us when we're not happy.

²⁵ I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word.

²⁶ I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees.

²⁷ Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.

²⁸ My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

²⁹ Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law.

³⁰ I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.

³¹ I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame.

³² I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.

Discussion questions

• What are some indications that the Psalmist might be not very happy?
• Verse 25 talks about being "laid low in the dust" which can be taken to mean near death
• Verse 26 says "I recounted my ways..." which some translations of the Bible translate as meaning telling of what they've done wrong and others translate as meaning making complaints.
• Verse 28 says "My soul is weary with sorrow" which in the NIrV is translated "My sadness has worn me out."
• How does the Psalmist respond to these things?
• To being near death, preserve my life according to your word
• To recounting their ways, teach me your decrees
• To being weary, strengthen me according to your word
• Each time, it involves turning to God's Word and trusting in it
• What is one way the Psalmist has chosen to be faithful to God? by putting his trust in God's law (v 30)
• Why does the Psalmist trust God's laws? Because God has set him free (v 32)

Gimel

Gimel is the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And so, it's where we're going today. Here in this section of Psalm 119, we see the focus shift a little bit. We read here about the Psalmist being scorned (being rejected by people) and slandered (people saying bad things about him). The focus is still on God's word and how it can help us. In this section, we see how it can help us when we have to deal with bad people in our life and when people are not saying nice things about us.

¹⁷ Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word.

¹⁸ Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

¹⁹ I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.

²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.

²¹ You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands.

²² Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes.

²³ Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.

²⁴ Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

Psalm 119:17-24

Discussion questions

• We read in this passage about good and bad being done to the Psalmist. Who is doing the good? God is.
• What does the Psalmist expect out of God's word? Wonderful things
• Where does the Psalmist feel his home is? heaven
• What does the Psalmist long for? God's commands
• What is the difference between the people who are being bad to the Psalmist and the Psalmist? they stray from God's commands, he keeps them
• How does the Psalmist respond to the bad things being said about him? He meditates on God's word
• In the end, why does the Psalmist delight in God's word? it is his counselor teaching him the right thing to do

Beth

Beth is the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is also the next section of Psalm 119. It also, as does most of what we've been looking at this week, speaks of ways that God's Word is useful for us to grow closer to God.

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.

¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

¹² Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.

¹³ With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.

¹⁴ I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

¹⁵ I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

¹⁶ I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Psalm 119:9-16

Discussion Questions

• How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to God's word.
• What are some of the things this passage tells us we can do to help us live by God's word?
• Memorizing scripture - I have hidden your word in my heart
• Learning scripture - teach me your decrees
• Reciting scripture - With my lips I recount all the laws...
• Gladly obeying God's law - I rejoice in following your statutes
• Meditating/thinking about scripture - I meditate on your precepts
• Delighting in scripture - I delight in your decrees
• Which of these things are you doing?
• Which of these things would you like to try more of?
• The very last thing this section says is I will not neglect your word. Neglect means "to pay no attention or too little attention to." Do you think you pay enough attention to God's Word?
• Would you like to pay more attention to God's word? How do you think we could do that?

Aleph

Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Hebrew is the language that most of the Old Testament was written in. What does this have to do with Bible study? Well, the longest Psalm in the Bible is an acrostic poem. That means that in each section of the Psalm, all of the lines in the original Hebrew start with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. We don't see that in the English translation. But, if we read the first part of Psalm 119 (we don't want to read the whole thing it's 176 verses long). But the aleph section (and all of the letters for that matter) is only 8 verses long.

¹ Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.

² Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.

³ They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways.

⁴ You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.

⁵ Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!

⁶ Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.

⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.

⁸ I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

Psalm 119:1-8

We see some themes here that we've seen in other places that we've studied. There's similarities to Psalm 1, Psalm 19, the Beatitudes which we read from Matthew 5, and other places. There's also (like Psalm 19) several different ways of referring to God's law.

• the law of the Lord
• his statutes
• precepts
• decrees
• commands
• righteous laws

Discussion Questions

• Who are the blessed in this Psalm?
• what do they do
• their ways are blameless
• walk according to the law of the Lord
• keep his statutes
• seek him with all their heart
• do nothing wrong
• walk in his ways
• based on what we studied yesterday, would you say they fear the lord?
• does the Psalmist (whoever wrote this Psalm, it's not labeled like some of the other Psalms) want to be like those "whose ways are blameless"?
• do you think the Psalmist thought he was like that?
• how does the Psalmist think he will get that way?
• Do you want to learn God's righteous laws like the Psalmist did?

The fear of the Lord

Yesterday in Psalm 19, we read about God's law. We read a phrase there that I want to look at again today: "the fear of the Lord." Let's learn a little about the fear of the Lord from Proverbs.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

Does this mean we're supposed to be scared of God? It means that we properly reverance and respect God. If we remember all that God has done and what He is doing for us, how can we not respect Him? What does the fear of the Lord involve?

Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

Deutoronomy 5:29

Remember how we first heard this phrase yesterday while reading about God's law?

If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God-good!

1 Samuel 12:14

Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him.

Deutoronomy 8:6

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

Job 1:1

Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.

Deutoronomy 6:13

Fear of the Lord involves

• keeping His commandments - explicit obedience to His commandments
• obeying His voice - doing the right thing when His word does not explicitly guide. One example that I can think of is when Daddy asked Mommy to marry him. Nowhere in the Bible does it say "Thus says the Lord, Kevin shalt marry Jennifer." Yet, from all that God was telling me, I knew it was the right thing to do.
• walking in His ways - showing Godly character
• turning away from evil
• serving Him

Discussion Questions:

• Do you find it hard sometimes to keep God's commandments?
• Can you think of a time when you obeyed God's voice?
• What are some ways that you are walking in God's ways?
• Can you think of a time that you turned away from evil?
• What are some ways you have served God?
  

Inspired by Engaging With God by David Peterson, page 71

Psalm 19

¹The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

²Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

³There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

⁴Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

⁵which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

⁶It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

⁸The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

⁹The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.

¹⁰They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

¹¹By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

¹²Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

¹³Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19

In Psalm 19, there seem to be four sections with separate but intertwining themes. Let's look at vv1-4a.

• What is the theme of this section?
• What is praising God?
• Who can hear this praise?
• Can we agree that the theme here is "All of Creation praised God?"

Now let's look at vv4b-5.

• What is the theme of this section?
• What does this say about the sun?
• Is it safe to say that "God is God over the sun (and all Creation)?"

Now let's look at vv7-11.

• What does this say about God's law?
• There are many different words used here to refer to God's Word and His law. How many do you remember?
• What does this section tell us about God's law?
• Is there benefit to keeping God's law?

And now let's finish with vv12-14.

• Now that King David has focused on Creation and God's law, what does he turn his attention to now?
• Does he admit to being a sinner?
• Does he want to continue to sin?
• Does he want to please God?

One reason we do this

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

This verse pretty much captures why we're having this Bible study. It's not so that we learn about the Bible - even though that's good. It's not so that we learn about God - even though that's very good. It is about training you up to become Godly young men so that as you grow older you grow into Godly men.

For one thing it's something father's are commanded to do...

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

So, as a father, I need to teach you the ways of the Lord.

• How can we learn about the Lord?
• What are some things we've learned about the Lord?

The book of 2 Timothy in the Bible is written like a letter from a father to a son. Although Paul was not Timothy's real father, they served together closely in ministry and Paul considered Timothy like a son. Here are some of the words Paul wrote to Timothy about what he had learned and about the Word of God.

¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

Discussion Questions

• Did Paul trust those that had taught Timothy?
• How long had Timothy known the holy Scriptures?
• Who are the Scriptures? And what Scriptures did Timothy know?
• What are the Scriptures useful for?
• What is the ultimate goal of knowing the Scriptures?
• How does that relate to what we learned in Proverbs 22:6?
• Do you want to keep learning the Scriptures and learning from the Scriptures?

Psalm 8

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:

all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8

Discussion questions

• According to this Psalm, who has the best name of all?
• What is better than God?
• According to this Psalm, who praises God?
• What is something God has done that makes Him great?
• Does God care for us?
• Has God placed us in authority over His creation?

Creation (Days 6 and 7)

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 1:24-31

• The sixth day is the climax of creation. What did God create on the sixth day?
• Why is man special?
• Did God bless anything else before He created man?
• Did God give instruction to any other thing that He created?
• What's different about what God saw about what He created on the sixth day? It was VERY good.

Further evidence of man being special can be found in the verses we read from Ephesians a few days ago:

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Ephesians 1:4-5

• God chose us to be adopted into His family
• God created
• God saw that it was very good
• What did God do next?

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that
he had done.

Genesis 2:1-3

Creation (Days 4 and 5)

And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

Genesis 1:14-19

• What did God create on the fourth day?
• Do you remember what God created on the first day?
• So, if there was no sun or stars until the fourth day, where was the light that God created on the first day come from?

The true light [Jesus] that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

John 1:9

While I [Jesus] am in the world, I am the light of the world.

John 9:5

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb [Jesus] is its lamp.

Revelation 21:23

Now, I'm not trying to say that God created Jesus, but that God didn't need to create the sun or the stars or the moon for there to be light.

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

Genesis 1:20-23

• What did God create on the fith day?
• If there were things living in the waters and things flying in the sky, what lived on land?

Creation (Days 2 and 3)

And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day.

Genesis 1:6-8

• Who remembers what God created on the first day?
• Who remembers what God did before that?
• What did God create on the second day?
• What did the sky separate?
• Can you think of a story in the Bible where a lot of water comes from above?

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

Genesis 1:9-13

• What did God create on the third day?
• How did God create this?
• What did God think of all that He created so far?
• When you see the sky or the sea or land with trees and plants on it, do you remember that God created it?
• If God thought it was good, what should you think about it?

Creation (Day 1)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis 1:1-5

• What existed before the heavens and earth?
• What did create first?
• How did God create light?
• What did God think of what He created?
• What did God do before He created the heavens and the earth?

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Ephesians 1:4-5

• Before He created the world, God chose us to be His children. How do you like that?
• God wants us to be holy and blameless in His sight. Do you think we should do good things or bad things?
• How many times when you are told to do something, do you say "First let me..."? Is this because what you want to do is important to you?
• So, before God said "Let there be light," He said "first let me choose the Brocks to be my children and to be holy and blameless..." Do you think we are important to God?
• Do you think it is important for us to live lives that are pleasing to God?

Welcome

As the dad of a homeschooling family and the teacher of our family Bible study, I thought I'd set up a blog for our Bible study. If you're interested in anything you see here, feel free to drop me a note.

There's four of us in the Brock family: Daddy, Mommy, our 8 1/2 year old son and our 5 1/2 year old son. These Bible studies are for the boys as we train them up to be good Christian young men.

Psalm 15

LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?

He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart

and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,

who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,

who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

Psalm 15

Discussion Questions

• Why would someone want to live with God?
• Do you remember who lived and walked and talked directly with God?
• What separated Adam and Eve from God?
• What are things we should do if we want to live with God?
• walk blameless
• speak the truth
• despise (hate) vile (bad) men
• honor those who love God
• keeps his word
• What are some things we shouldn't do?
• say bad things about people (slander)
• do bad things to our neighbors

Bad fruit

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not
inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21

This passage talks about the acts of sinful nature. These are things we don't want to see in our lives if we want to live Godly lives. Let's look at some of them:

• idolatry - this is one of the Ten Commandments
• hatred - hating, opposing someone or becoming someone's adversary
• discord - causing a group of people to become divided
• jealousy - being mad that someone has something you don't
• fits of rage - being really angry
• selfish ambition - desire to achieve something good at the expense of others
• dissensions - causing people to stand apart from each other rather than being together

With alot of these things, they cause people who may have been friends to not be friends anymore. While the fruit of the Spirit we studied before help bring people together, these things drive people apart.

Discussion questions

• Have you ever seen any of these things in the way you act?
• If you want to live a good life that honors God, should you want to see these things in your life?
• Can you think of any of these that you might have done today or yesterday?

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

We can confess our sins to God when we pray. It doesn't have to be fancy and it doesn't even have to be out loud. But, it does have to sincere and we have to want to change and not do that sin again (repentence).

Even more about contentment

As you may remember, we defined contentment as satisfaction with one's possessions, status, or situation. Let's look at some of what Jesus had to say about contentment in the famous "Sermon on the Mount."

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3-10

Jesus talks about different types of people and how they are blessed.

• "The poor in spirit" may not have a lot of possessions, but they are blessed.
• "Those who mourn" may have lost something or had someone they loved die, but they are blessed.
• "The meek" may be people of low status, but they are blessed.
• "Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" want to improve their situation by being better people, they are blessed.
• "The merciful" do good things for those of lower status or in bad situations, they will be blessed.
• "The pure in heart" are content, they are blessed.
• "The peacemakers" try to help improve relationships and situations, they are blessed.
• The "persecuted because of righteousness" are good people in bad situations, they are blessed.

Jesus recognized good people might not have lots of possessions or might be of low status or might be in bad situations and he called them blessed. If Jesus blessed people regardless of their possessions, status, or situations, why should we not be satisfied with ours?