Summer 2015 Online Bible Study – Week 1

Summer Women Online Study

 

Good afternoon and welcome to our Summer Online Bible Study! We will be taking a leisurely, yet captivating walk through the Psalms using Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ devotional book, A 30-Day Walk With God In the PsalmsIf you haven’t purchased your copy, you may follow the link above or make arrangements with our Women’s Ministry office to come by and purchase a copy. Feel free to email or call us to let us know when you’ll be stopping by: women@warrenbaptist.org or 706.922.7026.

Before we dive into our study, I want to first take some time to introduce the format that Nancy uses in her devotional book to you and give you our schedule for the next six weeks.

For each Psalm, we will follow the same format. We will …

  • Prepare and ask the Lord to cleanse our hearts and open our minds so we can understand His Word. (A sample of this prayer is on page 9 of our book.) At the start of each Psalm, Nancy has included a section called, “Prepare Your Heart.” I want to encourage you to cleanse and prepare your heart each and every time you open up God’s Word to study it.

Recently, I was on vacation and went to a very nice restaurant. I ordered lobster and could hardly wait to savor it! Before bringing my food, I was first given sorbet to cleanse my palette. Praying before savoring God’s Word is much like cleansing the palette. We want to rid our hearts and minds of debris and sin so that we can fully experience the goodness of the Lord as we look at His precious Word. Nancy suggests that we personalize the passage of Scripture listed below. I have attached a bookmark that you can download here and print with the verses as well.

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Teach me what I connote see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again. – Psalm 119:18, 34; 25:4-5; Job 34:32

Next we will …

  • Savor the Word. We will not be studying through a different Psalm every day as Nancy suggests. For our purposes, we will look at two Psalms per week. This will help us slow down and really take in all the rich, wonderful Truths in these songs. Think about it, if you really want to enjoy something you’re eating, you take time with it. You don’t simply toss it in your mouth, chew it up quickly, and swallow it. You take your time! That is what we will do. Using the OIA method, we will study the Psalms inductively. We will begin by Observing the text. Next we will Interpret the text, and lastly we will Apply the text to our life.

Finally we will …

  • Pray! At the end of each Psalm you will find a section called, “Responding to God.” There you will find a prayer and a song to meditate on. Use this time to really listen and reflect on what the Lord is showing you. Spend quality time being still before the Lord in response to His revelation of Himself to you.

Attached you will find a schedule for the next six weeks. I am asking you to complete two Psalms a week on your own, and online we will focus on one Psalm and delve deeper into it right here every week. I have noted on the course schedule which Psalm I will expand on so you can be sure and complete that one if your summer to-do lists get a bit over-whelming for you. Click here to download the course schedule.

For homework this week, you are responsible for Psalm 37 (Pg. 21) and Psalm 90 (Pg. 33).

Today, though, I’d like to walk through a Psalm with you so we can experience the format Nancy has us using together. Let’s take a look at Psalm 19 found on pages 15-20 of  A 30-Day Walk With God In the Psalms

Read Psalm 19 in your Bible slowly and mark any words that pop out to you as you absorb and observe the text. 

Here are a few words that popped out to me …

  • Heavens
  • Declare
  • Glory
  • Speech
  • Words
  • Knowledge
  • Law
  • Perfect
  • Sure
  • Right
  • Pure
  • Clean
  • True
  • Reviving the Soul
  • Making wise
  • Rejoicing the heart
  • Enlightening the eyes

Read through the Psalm again and note a key verse.

I chose verse 14 which says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Can you summarize the chapter in a few sentences before we observe the text more fully? Think about that for minute. After reading and observing a bit, what is the gist of this Psalm?

I said … “God’s glory is revealed to us in His creation, and He reveals Himself to us through His perfect Word. As we look at His creation and His Word, we can know God and His ways, find refreshment and wisdom,  and receive joy in our hearts!”

Now take a few minutes and answer questions on pages 16-19 on your own.

I love the contrast in verses 1-6 and 7-11. First we see that God reveals Himself to us through His glorious creation. We see Him as we look at the sky, the stars, the moon, and the sun. He has set His glory all around us. Recently, I was in Swaziland on a mission trip with Warren Missions. On the Sunday we were there, we worshiped in a church at a care point in Nsoko. During the service I noticed a piece of poster paper on the wall. The church is used as a school room for young children during the week. They must have recently had a Bible lesson based on Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The words on the poster intrigued me, drew me in, and made me see God in ways I had never thought of before.

The poster said … “The heavens declare God is …

Sky     Sun    Stars     Sunrise    Sunset     Thunder    Clouds    Rain    Rainbow     Mountains

The Heavens declare

If you’ll notice under each of the words there was another word used to describe God. Now keep in mind that these were the words of children, rather simplistic, but still full of truth.

Sky = Beautiful                                Sun = Light, Caring (Helps vegetation grow)    

Stars = Shiny (Radiant)                 Sunrise = Omnipresent  

Sunset = Humble                            Thunder = Awesome (Power)  

Clouds = Protection                       Rain = Provider  

Mountains = Strong                       Rainbow = He cares for everyone (black or white)  

Now I’ll be honest, I would have chosen some different words to describe God in some instances, but I love the simplistic and down-to-earth way in which these children describe the Lord as He reveals Himself through His creation.

Do we pause to look at these everyday occurrences and really see God or do we often look at them as mundane happenings or even inconveniences at times? Have we become so accustom to God’s creation that we take it for granted?

Let it not be so! The Heavens declare who God is! We should ponder this daily and take great joy and delight in this knowledge. Just as surely as I breathe and awake each morning, the sun rises. It is constant, always there waiting for me, beckoning me to look upon its radiance and let the brilliance of its light warm my face. It is a kiss from the King of Kings each morning to see the sky and look at not only its beauty, but also its vastness. The sky is so BIG! It, like my God, is never-ending!

Just today, the clouds were a protection for me as I stood on a golf course in the heat of the day, sun blaring, until the clouds covered the sun and gave me a respite from the burning heat. And last night as I was walking to my car, I looked up and saw the most amazing sunset. Again, a reminder of God’s handiwork. How amazing our Creator God is!

Psalm 19_1

 

Verses 7-11 tell us of the glory of God’s specific revelation to us through His Word. Notice the words used to describe the Word …

Perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, righteous

And what does the Word of God do?

It revives the soul, makes us wise, brings joy, enlightens the eyes, endures forever.

Why study the Word? Why cherish it? Because it keeps us on the perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous path.

Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”

Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

Psalm 1 

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

How do you look at God’s Word? Does it delight you or does it burden you?

It is refreshing, my sister! It satisfies like nothing this world can. It has the power to heal hearts, mend relationships, bestow unending joy, and make the faintest heart endure! Why? Because it reveals to us our wonderful Creator God and everlasting Savior, Jesus. Come, drink in the Word and be satisfied, my friend!

Isaiah 55:1-3

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.

I look forward to studying with you next week right here! Please feel free to leave a comment below about what we are learning. I’d love to hear from you!!

Reminder:  For homework this week, you are responsible for Psalm 37 (Pg. 21) and Psalm 90 (Pg. 33).

Until next week …

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