Author: Brent Skelley

Summer in the Psalms: Gospel Fluency

LESSON ONE

In our MC Discussions, we rely on four key questions: (1) Who is God? (2) What has God done, revealing His character? (3) How does God’s work shape my identity? and (4) How should I live in light of who I am? These questions are intended to guide our exploration of scripture in a logical sequence, starting with understanding God’s nature and allowing it to influence our understanding of ourselves and our actions. Additionally, they have the potential to deeply shape us.

We are going to kick off our summer discussion (before we get into the Psalms) with some practice working through these four questions together as a group.

Give out the handouts

PROMPT #1: WHO IS GOD?

1. Read Description & Instructions: First, have someone read prompt 1, including the instructions.
2. Group Discussion: What did you find from these passages? Facilitate good discussion.

PROMPT # 2: WHAT HAS HE DONE?

1. Read Description & Instructions: Next, have someone read prompt 1, including the instructions.
2. Group Discussion: What did you find from these passages? Facilitate good discussion.

PROMPT #3: WHO ARE WE IN LIGHT OF THAT?

1. Read Description & Instructions: Next, have someone read prompt 1, including the instructions.
2. Group Discussion: What did you find from these passages? Facilitate good discussion.

PROMPT #4:HOW DO WE LIVE?

1. Read Description & Instructions: Finally, have someone read prompt 1, including the instructions.
2. Group Discussion: What did you find from these passages? Facilitate good discussion.

PROMPT #5: TABLE DISCUSSION (phrase these so they land well with your group)

1. How did employing the four questions enhance your understanding and engagement with the scripture

   passages? In what ways did this practice help you see the value of these questions and how they can be used more effectively in future discussions?

2. As we look ahead to the summer and our journey through the Psalms, how do you envision using the experience gained today to deepen your exploration and understanding of the Psalms? What strategies or approaches can we implement to ensure that these questions continue to guide and enrich our discussions throughout the summer?

EXERCISE ONE

PROMPT #1: WHO IS GOD?

What does the text say about the character and nature of God? The Bible is God’s story – Father, Son, Spirit- so we begin by asking about how his character and nature are revealed in what we’re reading. The story is about Him! Look for specific references to his attributes: holy, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever- present, unchanging, compassionate, gracious, patient, loving, kind, good, gentle, etc. In narrative portions, look for implied references to his attributes. What does the story reveal about his character and nature as Father, Son, and Spirit?

Instructions: Read the passages of scripture on the next page. As you read through each, underline what the text says about who God is and His nature. Where His nature or character is implied, underline and then make an arrow ˄ and make a quick note about what’s being implied about His character or nature.

PROMPT #2: WHAT HAS HE DONE?

What does the text say about the work of God? God’s work throughout all of human history is diverse and magnificent. All of it is worth proclaiming! However, the person and work of Jesus is revealed on every page of the Bible (Luke 24:27). He is the hero and the main character. The Spirit does not want us to miss Jesus! Look for references to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, either through foreshadowing (saving Noah in the flood, redeeming Israel from slavery in Egypt, King David as a man after God’s own heart), through prophecy (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53), or through the New Testament story of Jesus’ earthly life and the establishment of his church. This ensures a uniquely Christian, gospel-centered answer to this question.

Instructions: Read through the passages of scripture again on the next page. As you re-read:

Box areas you see Jesus’s past work
Circle areas you see Jesus’s ongoing work in peoples’ lives

Star areas you see Jesus’s future work

PROMPT #3: WHO ARE WE IN LIGHT OF THAT?

What does the text say about our identity? God has always been working to save “a people for his own possession.” (1 Peter 2:9) Throughout the Bible, note the things that are true of God’s people. This adds depth and richness to our understanding of who we are as New Covenant believers. For example, the Levitical priests were anointed and set apart for special service to God. Now, we are all anointed with God’s Spirit (2 Cor.1:21-22), and, because of Jesus, are all a part of God’s “royal priesthood,” set apart for special service to God.

Instructions: Read the passages of scripture. As you read through them again, keep an eye out for any instances where the text speaks directly to our identity. When you find such instances, mark them with an exclamation mark (!)

PROMPT #4:HOW DO WE LIVE?

In light of all of this, how does it change the way we live? When reading the Bible, we almost always start with the question, “How does this apply to my life?” But rightly motivated, gospel-centered action flows out of an understanding of who God is, what he’s done, and who we are in light of God’s character and work. Rather than starting with this question, end with it. And then, take action! Jesus warns against being merely a hearer of his word but not a doer (Mt.7:24-27). The gospel motivates and empowers us to live in an entirely new way.

Instructions: Read the passages of scripture. As you read through them again, pay attention to any parts where the text speaks about how it should shape the way we live. When you find such instances, mark them with a checkmark (✓)

COLOSSIANS 1:16-20

Summer in the Psalms: Gospel Fluency

LESSON ONE

GROUP A

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

EPHESIANS 4:11-16

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

1 PETER 1:3-5

Summer in the Psalms: Gospel Fluency

LESSON ONE

GROUP B

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

ROMANS 6:5-11, 23

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus… For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.