Theme:
A song of thanksgiving
Scripture:
Psalm 34
Objectives:
(From the D6 Fusion Sunday School Lesson book)
Know:
David praised and blessed the Lord for His constant presence and
deliverance in his life.
Think:
I can live in the assurance that God is always with me and will
deliver me in His timing.
Do:
Turn from all sin and do what is right, praising God for His
goodness.
B1
Setting: 1 Samuel 21
B2
Outline
C1 Praise Psalm 34:1-3
C2 Answered prayer Psalm
34:4-7
C3 The goodness and fear of
God Psalm 34:8-14
C4 God’s standards Psalm
34:15-16
C5 God’s mercy and
deliverance Psalm 34:17-18
C6 God’s protection Psalm
34:19-20 (verse 20 is a Messianic prophecy—John 19:36)
C7 Righteous and unrighteous
contrasted Psalm 34:21-22
B3
The Sunday School lesson author makes a good point: The
basic concept of “to bless” here means to praise or to speak a
good word. When we ask God to bless someone, He “speaks a good
word” over that person or perhaps speaks good into that life. When
we bless God (as David did in this verse), we are speaking a good
word about God, specifically about His goodness, kindness,
generosity, and faithfulness.
B4
Praise Psalm 34:1-3,
C1 Why is David so thankful?
C2 Why should we be quick to
be thankful, too?
C3 Psalm 34:2, what type of
people is David speaking about?
C4 Psalm 34:3, what does David
want others who have experienced similar things to do?
B5
Psalm 34:4-7,
C1 What was David afraid of?
C2 What was the first thing
David did, when he was afraid?
C3 After God helps us, what
should we do? 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT - He
comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When
they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God
has given us.
C4 In verse 5, it is mentioned
that their faces are
never covered with shame
(NIV). Why? People seek many things. What are some dangers of seeking
the wrong things? Name some wrong things?
D1 Isaiah 44:11 NLT - All
who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these
craftsmen--mere humans--who claim they can make a god. They may all
stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.
D2 Isaiah 49:23 NLT - Kings
and queens will serve you and care for all your needs. They will bow
to the earth before you and lick the dust from your feet. Then you
will know that I am the LORD. Those who trust in me will never be put
to shame."
C5 Matthew Henry writes in his
commentary on Psalm 34:5: It
has wonderfully revived and comforted them; witness Hannah, who, when
she had prayed, went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no
more sad. When we look to the world we are darkened, we are
perplexed, and at a loss; but, when we look to God, from him we have
the light both of direction and joy, and our way is made both plain
and pleasant. These here spoken of, that looked unto God, had their
expectations raised, and the event did not frustrate them: Their
faces were not ashamed of their confidence.
C6 Psalm 34:6,
D1 It is said God delivers
from all our troubles. So shouldn’t Christians have their best life
now?
E1 Suffering and affliction
are part of the Christian life.
E2 It is for
F1 Testing our faith, to see
if it is genuine
F2 Strengthening our faith
F3 Comforting our faith to
share His comfort with others
F4 Witnessing to others of our
faith
F5 What else?
D2 In our suffering, we should
know: Jesus the Messiah has always been Messiah, is Messiah, and will
always be Messiah. There is no other Messiah.
C7 How is King David the
poor man?
(Humility)
C8 God’s protection: 1 Peter
2:25 NRSV For you
were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the
shepherd and guardian of your souls.
The word guardian is also translated overseer.
B6
Psalm 34:8-14,
C1 God, through David, gives
us some commands
D1 Taste and see God's
goodness, which yields God's blessing.
E1 God gives courage
F1 Psalms 27:14 NKJV Wait
on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
F2 In another translation:
Psalm 27:14 NLT - Wait
patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently
for the LORD.
E2 God has love: Psalms 69:16
GW Answer me, O
LORD, because your mercy is good. Out of your unlimited compassion,
turn to me.
E3 God has mercy: Psalms
109:21 NKJV But
You, O GOD the Lord, Deal with me for Your name's sake; Because Your
mercy is good, deliver me.
E4 God forgives our sins: 1
John 1:9 NKJV If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
E5 God gives fellowship with
us: 1 John 1:7 NKJV But
if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship
with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us
from all sin.
E6 God frees us and heals our
broken hearts: Luke 4:18 MKJV The
Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this He has anointed Me to
proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight
to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed.
E7 What else can you think of?
D2 Fearing God yields no want
E1 Name some needs people
have.
E2 Why should God want to help
anyone?
D3 Seeking the Lord yields
contentment and satisfaction
D4 Coming to a believer (David
in this case) yields a teaching moment
D5 Watching what we say yields
a longer life
E1 We have to know truth,
think the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth.
E2 How can we know what love
is unless we know truth?
F1 True love. This is a
choice. Its characteristics are noted in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
F2 False love. This is of 2
types.
G1 The narcissist love bombs.
H1 The narcissist knows what
he/she is doing, but the victim does not.
-
I can’t believe I’ve finally found you.
-
I’ve never felt so comfortable in someone’s company before.
-
No one understands me like you do.
-
You’re the most beautiful woman/man I’ve ever seen.
-
You have the most attractive __________ (eyes, hair, body shape, smile, dimples).
-
My Ex was a psycho, drug addict, alcoholic, schizoid, cheater, etc.
-
You’re the best partner I’ve ever had.
-
I think I love you. I think I want to marry you.
-
I never got married before because I haven’t found the right person yet.
-
We have so much in common.
-
He/she pressures you into becoming intimate in a short amount of time.
H3 A quote from the same
source: Black Hole
of False Love: Love Bombing includes not only the above phrases, but
also over-the-top gestures of attention. This plays out in the form
of constant calls and text messages, gifts, flowers, invites to meet
his family, requests to move in together, and splashing your social
media sites with cutesy, flirty messages. Of course, these are all
behaviors of people who are courting one another…but not after one
date.
G2 The cult
H1 The leader may know, but
his/her followers do not. They (the followers) believe they are
showing true love when recruiting, which if successful will result in
spiritual death and bondage.
H2 Some examples
H3 Some pastors and
denominations advocate love, love, and more love—love bombing. For
a discussion on this see here
(Take note: I know nothing of this website except this article). The
following link discribes how cults recruit:
https://www.watchman.org/articles/cults-alternative-religions/cult_recruiting-methods/
F3 Hate
F4 Freedom from the false is
to know the truth. Truth must be foremost for the Christian. We must
read and study the only source of 100% truth—the Bible.
D6 Stop doing evil and start
doing good
D7 Seek peace, yes, chase it.
B7
Psalm 34:15-22,
C1 Two groups of people of
mentioned here. Identify them.
C2 How does God help the
righteous?
C3 What does God do for evil
doers?
C4 Why does God care for the
brokenhearted?
D1 How would you encourage
this person? Psalms 69:19-20 GW You
know that I have been insulted, put to shame, and humiliated. All my
opponents are in front of you. 20 Insults have broken my heart, and
I am sick. I looked for sympathy, but there was none. I looked for
people to comfort me, but I found no one.
D2 Are we believers ever left
alone? John 16:32-33 GW The
time is coming, and is already here, when all of you will be
scattered. Each of you will go your own way and leave me all alone.
Yet, I'm not all alone, because the Father is with me. 33 I've told
you this so that my peace will be with you. In the world you'll have
trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world."
D3 Will God’s love leave us?
Romans 8:38-39 GW I
am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love which
Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can't be separated by death or
life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in
the future, by forces 39 or powers in the world above or in the
world below, or by anything else in creation.
D4 This is why Christians can
survive: 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 GW Praise
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who is
compassionate and the God who gives comfort. 4 He comforts us
whenever we suffer. That is why whenever other people suffer, we are
able to comfort them by using the same comfort we have received from
God. 5 Because Christ suffered so much for us, we can receive so
much comfort from him.
B9
Next week:
C1 When we can’t find God
C2 Theme: A song of Distress
C3 Scripture: Psalm 44
