1) Listen to Podcast here
2) GG Questions 09/02/2018
Getting Real: Good Shepherding Psalm 23
1. Close Reading: After praying for God to enlighten your mind, read through Psalm 23 a couple times, slowly. Look for these three things: LIGHTBULB – something that shines from the passage, draws your attention; QUESTION MARK – something difficult to understand; ARROW – a personal application. Share the results of your study with your group.
2. The Good Shepherd (Psa. 23:1-3): How were Jesus’ words, “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:14) both a claim to deity (Psa. 95:7) and the throne in Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:2)? Look at the action words in Psa. 23:2-3. How has Jesus restored your soul in past months? In what parts of your life might you pray for your Shepherd to led you to green pastures and beside still waters?
3. The Valley (Psa. 23:4): While the Shepherd’s ultimate purpose is to lead to you to green pastures and beside still waters (Psa. 23:2), it is sometimes necessary to take you through the valley of the shadow of death. Why is this? Has He taken you through these valleys? Were you able to say, like David, “I will fear no evil”? What is your only comfort in these dark places (v. 4)?
4. God’s Preparation (Psa. 23:5-6): Just as Jesus is “preparing
a place for us” in “my Father’s house” (John 14:2) where we will “dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psa. 23:6), so also our Good Shepherd is “preparing
a table in the presence of our enemies” (v. 5). How does this FUTURE hope, of dwelling with God forever (Rev. 21:3) and being vindicated before our enemies, assure us of God’s PRESENT care for us, His “goodness and mercy” (Psa. 23:6), even when we don’t see them?