GateWay Church of Visalia
Faith
May 31, 2020 Pastor Ed Kemp
Locations & Times
GateWay Church
1100 S Sowell St, Visalia, CA 93277, USA
Sunday 8:00 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
Introduction
Psalm 131
O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
So What?!
What do you do when faith and fact clash?
#1. Focus your heart for humility.
Palah – weighty
Palah – weighty
#2. Compose your soul for connection.
#3. Keep your eyes on eternity.
Authentic: Real Living Bible Study Questions
Pastor Ed Kemp, May 31, 2020
Prayer Requests:
Group Discussion: Who was the greatest help to you growing up when there was a project to do or a class assignment?
Read: Psalm 131
In verse 1 David writes about humility. He writes of a circumstance of life that is so weighty it can’t be carried alone. He says he’s had to realize that at one point his heart was proud. And God used his 10 years of exile from Saul to humble him. God put David through some really difficult years to teach him how to rely on and connect with God. What circumstances has God used in your life to push you toward Him? What events has God used to teach you humility? Not something embarrassing or humiliating but something that caused you to back up and say, “God, I need your help!”
David in verse 2 writes of the first step of maturity for an infant. To go from nursing to eating solid food and therefore going to the mother for connection, comfort and relationship rather than a banquet! David says, “My soul crawls up in God’s lap and finds love and security.” American men have a tendency to laugh at this idea. Remember that David is a man of war, he doesn’t get to build the temple because he’s a man of great bloodshed. Yet, David has a relational side and a soft side that connects with God spiritually. Do you think American men find David’s idea of a child in the lap of the mother a picture of weakness, softness, silliness, or immaturity? Why do you think David used this picture? What picture of connective relationship would you have used?
One reason David uses this picture of a weaned child is because it’s the beginning of changing relationship between mother and child. David didn’t use a late in life illustration but an early in life illustration…why?
Finally in vs. 3 David tells believers to hope in the Lord in a constant, consistent way. Do you find yourself up and down in following the Lord? Do you find yourself at times with a cold heart toward God? What does that look like in your life? What causes you to drift away from God? What pulls you back into relationship with God? Who is your greatest influence of connecting with God. What is it that they do or say that helps you grow?
Family Time: Get out your family pictures on your computer or in the family album and go back and talk through the pictures of how each of your children grew and developed. Tell them about how you love to see them grow and mature. Tell them of the encouraging stories of their successes.
Pastor Ed Kemp, May 31, 2020
Prayer Requests:
Group Discussion: Who was the greatest help to you growing up when there was a project to do or a class assignment?
Read: Psalm 131
In verse 1 David writes about humility. He writes of a circumstance of life that is so weighty it can’t be carried alone. He says he’s had to realize that at one point his heart was proud. And God used his 10 years of exile from Saul to humble him. God put David through some really difficult years to teach him how to rely on and connect with God. What circumstances has God used in your life to push you toward Him? What events has God used to teach you humility? Not something embarrassing or humiliating but something that caused you to back up and say, “God, I need your help!”
David in verse 2 writes of the first step of maturity for an infant. To go from nursing to eating solid food and therefore going to the mother for connection, comfort and relationship rather than a banquet! David says, “My soul crawls up in God’s lap and finds love and security.” American men have a tendency to laugh at this idea. Remember that David is a man of war, he doesn’t get to build the temple because he’s a man of great bloodshed. Yet, David has a relational side and a soft side that connects with God spiritually. Do you think American men find David’s idea of a child in the lap of the mother a picture of weakness, softness, silliness, or immaturity? Why do you think David used this picture? What picture of connective relationship would you have used?
One reason David uses this picture of a weaned child is because it’s the beginning of changing relationship between mother and child. David didn’t use a late in life illustration but an early in life illustration…why?
Finally in vs. 3 David tells believers to hope in the Lord in a constant, consistent way. Do you find yourself up and down in following the Lord? Do you find yourself at times with a cold heart toward God? What does that look like in your life? What causes you to drift away from God? What pulls you back into relationship with God? Who is your greatest influence of connecting with God. What is it that they do or say that helps you grow?
Family Time: Get out your family pictures on your computer or in the family album and go back and talk through the pictures of how each of your children grew and developed. Tell them about how you love to see them grow and mature. Tell them of the encouraging stories of their successes.