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The Power of Knowing God Knows

July 22, 2018 Speaker: Eric Naus Series: For Every Season

Passage: Psalm 139

Community Group Questions: For Every Season - Psalm 139 - "The Power of Knowing God Knows"

Printing Instructions: To print these discussion questions for use in your Community Group or other study, first highlight the text, then right click and select "print" from the dropdown menu that appears.

Read Psalm 139 aloud as a group and then work through the following questions:

  1. Through the centuries, Christians have cherished Psalm 139 because of its comforting reflections on God’s intimate knowledge of his people. However, verses 19-22 suggest that David wrote this Psalm in a time of great peril and threat to his life.  What threats do you face right now in your life (Emotional?  Spiritual?  Relational?).  How does Psalm 139 uniquely strengthen you in your situation?
  2. In verses 1-6, David remembers that God is omniscient (he knows everything). When we consider God’s ability to search our lives completely, should that fact terrify us or comfort us?  How so? 
  3. Verses 7-12 reflect on God’s omnipresence (he is everywhere). In what ways do people try to run from God in our modern world?  What patterns of running have you struggled with in your life?  How do these verses convict or encourage you in your thinking about God?
  4. In verses 13-16, David remembers God’s omnificience (his unlimited creative power). How do these verses challenge our culture’s message that people are merely “cosmic accidents”?  Is there such a thing as a biblical “self-esteem”?  If so, how does God’s creative power inform our sense of self-worth? 
  5. In 17-18, David erupts in praise, as he marvels at the wisdom of God. How is right thinking about God related to the worship of God?  Based on the example of Psalm 139, what disciplines can we practice in our personal lives, and as a church, that will enliven our worship of God and fuel our heart-felt praise?   
  6. In verse 19-22, David urges God to punish his blood-thirsty enemies. David gives us an example of an “imprecatory prayer” – he pleads for the destruction of evil men and their schemes.  However, Jesus instructed us also to love our enemies and pray for their good (see Matt. 5:43-45).  What would it look like to pray for both judgment upon, and grace toward, our enemies?  Is it possible to pray for justice and forgiveness simultaneously?  What does that look like and how do the Psalms help us pray rightly and wisely? 
  7. Verses 23-24 invite the searching gaze of God. David completely surrenders to God’s comprehensive knowledge of his life.  What does it look like practically for us to invite God to search us each day?  Have you made this kind of surrender a daily habit in your life?  What does it look like for you?

Prayer suggestion: Spend time sharing about the various threats that you’ve faced this week, and pray that God’s omniscience, his omnipresence, and his omnificience would empower you to face every challenge with deep confidence in Him.

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