Tag / The Psalms

by In Light Of The Cross

8: Wisdom for Righteous Living-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, February 24, 2024.

Main Theme: Wisdom for righteous living is gained through the dynamics of life with God amid temptations and challenges.

Read in Class: Psalm 119:1-16. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How should we keep God’s commandments, and what are the blessings that come from doing that?

Apply: How did Christ demonstrate the power of God’s Word in His life (Matthew 4:1-11)? What should this tell us about the power that comes from a heart set on obeying God’s law?

Share: Your friend says David focused on the law because Jesus had not come yet. Today we just focus on Jesus and don’t pay any attention to the law. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 90:1-17. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is the human predicament?

Apply: No matter how quickly our life passes, what promise do we have in Jesus? (See John 3:16.) What hope would we have without Him?

Share: A very young married couple asks your advice for having a long and happy life. What practical as well as philisophical advice do you share with them?

Read in Class: Psalm 26 and Psalm 141. Describe how these passages coincide or differ?

Study: What does divine testing involve and how does the Psamist pray regarding these tests?

Apply: How has God tested your heart and what lessons have you learned? David tells God not to count him among those who murder but he did commit murder with Uriah. What should that tell us about how careful we should be when examining our own hearts?

Share: Your friend tells you they do not want to be rebuked by anyone in the church. She says she does not need anyone telling her what is right or wrong. Everyone should just mind their own business. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 1:1-3 and Psalm 112. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What blessings are promised for those who love and obey the Lord?

Apply: Why is the Cross, and what happened there, the guarantee of the promises found in the New Testament of what God has in store for us? How can we get comfort from those promises even now?

Share: Your friend asks you what practical or tangible blessings you have received from loving and obeying the Lord? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

5: Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, Sabbath, February 3, 2024.

Main Theme: The psalmists respond to God’s perceived absence, as well as to God’s presence.

Read in Class: Psalm 102:3-5, 11, 23-24. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What experiences do these texts describe? In what can you relate to what is said here?

Apply: Think about Jesus on the cross and what He suffered because of sin. How should that reality, that God in Christ suffered even worse than any of us, help us keep faith even amid times of suffering and trial?

Share: Your friend says it is wrong to express grief or doubt in our prayers, as it shows a lack of faith in God and His love. What do you tell your friend? See The Difference Between Cynicism and Lamentations.

Read in Class: Psalm 42:1-3. Psalm 63:1, and Psalm 69:1-3. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What causes great pain to the psalmist?

Apply: Read Psalm 10:12, Psalm 22:1 and Psalm 27:9. What can we learn from the psalmists’ responses to God’s apparent absence? How do you respond to times when God does seem silent? What sustains your faith?

Share: Your friend asks you how you know God is with you when you can’t see, hear or feel His presence? What do you tell your friend? See How I Know God is With me.

Read in Class: Psalm 77:1-20. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What experience is the author going through?

Apply: Think about past times when the Lord worked in your life. How can that truth help you deal with whatever you are facing now?

Share: Your friend tells you that while her teenage son was expressing how terribly depressed he was he used some foul language. She ignored the foul language and just tuned into his feelings. Her husband on the other hand scolded him for using foul language. Your friend asks you which one of them handled the situation properly? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 73:12-20. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What brings the psalmist through the crisis? What is the end of those who trust in futile things? See also 1 Peter 1:17.

Apply: How does the promise of God’s judgment upon the world, and upon all its evil, give you comfort when so much evil now goes unpunished?

Share: Do you know someone who feels like life has been unfair to them? How can you encourage them this week from the Word of God and your own experiences?