WINTER PERSONAL STUDY GUIDE RONNIE FLOYD GENERAL EDITOR SPOKEN: THE RHYTHM OF GOD S WORD THRIVE: LIVING IN REAL JOY

Transcription

1 WINTER PERSONAL STUDY GUIDE RONNIE FLOYD GENERAL EDITOR SPOKEN: THE RHYTHM OF GOD S WORD THRIVE: LIVING IN REAL JOY

2 Contents Spoken: The Rhythm of God s Word SUGGESTED FOR THE WEEK OF Introduction December 4 Session 1 God s Word Delights December 11 Session 2 God s Word Fills My Heart December 18 Session 3 God s Word Gives Courage December 25 Session 4 God s Living Word Saves January 1 Session 5 God s Word Is Always Relevant January 8 Session 6 God s Word Is Truth How to Be Still: The Practice of Meditation Created for a Purpose Introduction January 15 Created for a Purpose Walking with Christ Thrive: Living in Real Joy... Introduction January 22 Session 1 Praying with Joy January 29 Session 2 Sharing with Joy February 5 Session 3 Following with Joy February 12 Session 4 Growing with Joy February 19 Session 5 Practicing Joy February 26 Session 6 Giving with Joy Endnotes Coming in Spring BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 3

3 WINTER PERSONAL STUDY GUIDE RONNIE FLOYD GENERAL EDITOR SPOKEN: THE RHYTHM OF GOD S WORD THRIVE: LIVING IN REAL JOY Don t miss this! Social Media The App Connect with a community of Bible Studies for Life users. Post responses to questions, share teaching ideas, and link to great blog content. BibleStudiesForLife Get instant updates about new articles, giveaways, and Bible Studies for Life is also available as an ebook. The ebook is opened and read with the Bible Studies for Life App, a free app from the ios App Store or the Google Play store. Commentary Dig deeper into Scripture with the Bible Studies for Life: Advanced Bible Study. It features indepth Bible exposition on the passages studied in this book. 4 Bible Studies for Life: Young Adult Personal Study Guide Volume 4, Number 2 Winter Eric Geiger Vice President, LifeWay Resources Ronnie Floyd General Editor Lynn Pryor Team Leader Amber Vaden Content Editor Ken Braddy Manager, Adult Ongoing Bible Studies Michael Kelley Director, Groups Ministry Send questions/comments to: Content Editor, Bible Studies for Life: Young Adults, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN ; or make comments on the Web at BibleStudiesforLife.com. Printed in the United States of America Bible Studies for Life: Personal Study Guide (ISSN: Item ) is published quarterly by LifeWay, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President LifeWay For ordering or inquiries, visit or write LifeWay Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN For subscriptions or subscription address changes, subscribe@lifeway. com, fax (615) , or write to the above address. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, orderentry@lifeway.com, fax (615) , or write to the above address. We believe that the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. To review LifeWay s doctrinal guideline, please visit LifeWay.com/DoctrinalGuideline. HCSB All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. NIV Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www. zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.(R) ESV Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The suggestions for pronouncing Bible names are from That s Easy for You to Say: Your Quick Guide to Pronouncing Bible Names by W. Murray Severance, 1997 by Broadman & Holman Publishers. Used by permission. Bible Studies for Life: Young Adults often lists websites that may be helpful to our readers. Our staff verifies each site s usefulness and appropriateness prior to publication. However, website content changes quickly so we encourage you to approach all websites with caution. Make sure sites are still appropriate before sharing them with students, friends, and family.

4 A Word from Ronnie I have read through the entire Bible at least once during each of the past twenty-five years. Each time I am amazed at the depth and power of God s Word. This is why I am so excited about our studies this quarter. You are about to engage in a Bible study about the Bible itself! God s Word is so rich, and in his study Spoken: The Rhythm of God s Word, H. B. Charles Jr. takes us into Psalm 119, the longest psalm and chapter in the Bible. In this study, we will discover the beauty of this book that brings us together as we seek to know God and His Word. God gave us His Word to reveal Himself to us and to show us who we can be when our lives are fully devoted to Christ. God calls us to a life of abundant joy. In our second study, we will learn all about that joy. Tony Merida takes us into the Book of Philippians through his study Thrive: Living in Real Joy. Set a spiritual goal: Read through the Bible in one year. Study God s Word, and in the process you will discover the great joy we can have in and through Him. Talk about it with your Bible study group. Ask questions. Learn together. I am confident you will fall in love with God s Word and walk in the joy of Christ. Ronnie Floyd General Editor, Bible Studies for RonnieFloyd.com BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 5

5 My group's prayer requests 6

6 My group's prayer requests 7

7 My group's prayer requests 8

8 My group's prayer requests 9

9 Spoken: The Rhythm of God s Word 10 Spoken: the rhythm of god s word

10 God has spoken through His Word and it is powerful. Our lives are filled with words: Direct conversations, overheard conversations, the non-stop drone of the TV. Words spill at us through s, blogs, and social media. Everybody seems to have something to say. This ceaseless flow of words, though, often brings mixed messages. It s like the cacophony of an orchestra warming up for a concert. Each musician plays what he or she wants, and the combined sounds can be downright unpleasant. The noise has no rhyme or reason. The word God has spoken to us, the Bible, is far different. Even though more than 40 different people were used by God to write over a period of 1,500 years, we hear the steady beat of God s heart throughout the pages of His Word. Regardless of the time period, the style, and the purpose of each book in God s Word, He has spoken clearly and consistently and His words still speak. Psalm 119 has a single focus: to make known the beauty of God s Word and its power to speak into our lives. In this study, we will discover the way God has spoken through Scripture. When we listen to what God has spoken through Scripture, the rhythm of God s Word becomes the rhythm of our own lives. H.B. Charles, Jr. H. B. Charles, Jr. is the pastor-teacher at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla. He and his wife, Crystal, have three children. He is the author of several books, including It Happens After Prayer (Moody, 2013). He blogs about life at hbcharlesjr.com. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 11

11 Spoken: The Rhythm of God s Word Session 1 God s Word Delights Psalm 119:1-8 Session 2 God s Word Fills My Heart Psalm 119:9-16 Session 3 God s Word Gives Courage Psalm 119:17-24 Session 4 God s Living Word Saves Psalm 119:41; Luke 1:30-35 Session 5 God s Word Is Always Relevant Psalm 119:89-96 Session 6 God s Word Is Truth Psalm 119: Spoken: the rhythm of god s word

12 1 God s Word Delights When have you felt truly delighted? QUESTION 1 #BSFLspoken BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 13

13 THE POINT We experience joy as we follow God s Word. THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE Ever tried to decide as a group where to eat? When it comes to the things we enjoy, we all have our preferences. Some in the group want to go for sushi, but others would rather starve than eat raw fish. It seems, however, that everybody enjoys certain things, such as: a good conversation spent catching up with an old friend, a Christmas movie in front of a roaring fire, and recognition for a job well done. Where does God s Word fall in your list of preferences? The Bible is a delightful book and Psalm 119 shows us just how delightful it is. With 176 verses, the whole psalm is the longest of the psalms. In fact, Psalm 119 is longer than 30 other entire books of the Bible. Each of its stanzas begins with one of the 22 Hebrew letters to form an acrostic; every stanza extols the value and expresses delight in God s Word. Psalm 119 celebrates the total sufficiency of the Word of God to meet every need in your life. And that is a cause for joy and delight. 14 SESSION 1

14 WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Psalm 119:1-3 (HCSB) 1 How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the Lord s instruction! 2 Happy are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart. 3 They do nothing wrong; they follow His ways. Psalm 119 begins with a beatitude, a statement of blessing and happiness. The word happy speaks of true happiness surpassing joy full contentment, perfect peace, and complete satisfaction found only in God. It was the perfect way for the psalmist to start because all 176 verses of the psalm affirm that God blesses those who live in devotion to His Word. Do you want true joy? Then give yourself to God and His Word. Steadfast devotion to God s Word leads to joy. How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the Lord s instruction! (v. 1). The psalmist is not telling us we must achieve sinless perfection to be blessed. If that is the benchmark, none of us could ever be blessed since Jesus Christ is the only person who ever lived with sinless perfection. However, when He said, Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48), He was calling us to maturity and completeness, not sinless perfection. Jesus wants us to strive for ever-increasing obedience to God s Word, and that is how we should view Psalm 119:1. If your life is blameless if you are growing in maturity as you follow God s Word it will be obvious by how you live your life. You will live according to the Lord s instruction (v. 1). The Lord s instruction in His Word is not negative, restrictive, or oppressive. God s Word is not a weapon wielded by a cruel taskmaster. It is a tool in the hand of our loving Father to help us grow spiritually. Sincere devotion to God s Word leads to joy. In verse 1, the psalmist focused more on our actions the external while in verse 2, he turned the focus to our heart the internal. Happy people are devoted to God s Word because they seek Him with all their heart (v. 2). And when we seek God through His Word, we will find How would you describe your relationship with the Bible over the years? QUESTION 2 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 15

15 THE POINT We experience joy as we follow God s Word. Him. Scripture will bring you to God; this truth is specifically stated in Jeremiah 29:13: You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Verse 3 is not so much about the blessed person as much as it is about the Word of God. God s Word will always lead us into righteousness and His ways; it will never lead us into wrongdoing or sin. Because Scripture is perfect, it leads us in righteousness, away from sin, and through any storms. Psalm 119:4-6 (HCSB) 4 You have commanded that Your precepts be diligently kept. 5 If only my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes! 6 Then I would not be ashamed when I think about all Your commands. Joy comes from keeping God s Word and that requires obedience on our part. Our obedience includes acknowledging God s authority. In Verse 4, the psalmist acknowledged God s sovereign authority: You have commanded that Your precepts be diligently kept. It also makes a powerful statement about the authority of Scripture. The word precepts is a synonym for Scripture the psalmist used in Psalm 119. It refers to the covenant regulations God laid down for His people, and that which a master may rightly demand of his servants. What do young adults stand to gain by regularly engaging God s Word? QUESTION 3 16 SESSION 1

16 Why is it so important to obey Scripture? QUESTION 4 Our obedience includes confessing our own shortcomings. If only my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes! (v. 5). In verses 1-3, the psalmist acknowledged that joy comes from obeying God, but in verse 5 he acknowledged he had failed to do that as he should. We see three things in the psalmist s confession: honesty, repentance, and petition. The psalmist knew he should fully obey God s Word, but he admitted he had not yet become steadfast in keeping God s statutes. The psalmist desired to change and that desire was explicit: If only my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes! (v. 5). Implicit in the psalmist s statement is a recognition he could not get from where he was to where he ought to be in his own power. On our own, we cannot change our sinful attitudes, subdue our sinful thoughts, or overcome our sinful habits. We can only keep God s statutes by depending on Christ to help us resist temptation, live obediently, and endure hardship. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 17

17 THE POINT We experience joy as we follow God s Word. Psalm 119:7-8 (HCSB) 7 I will praise You with a sincere heart when I learn Your righteous judgments. 8 I will keep Your statutes; never abandon me. How can you identify a person who is devoted to God s Word? That person depends on God. Verses 7-8 teach us two ways to lean on God s presence to obey His Word. 1. Lean on God s presence through praise. Verse 7 makes it clear that you can only praise God properly if you know His Word. We see this truth revealed throughout Psalm 119. In the following passages, the psalmist stressed the connection between learning God s precepts and offering praise: Lord, please accept my willing offerings of praise, and teach me Your judgments (v. 108). I praise You seven times a day for Your righteous judgments (v. 164). My lips pour out praise, for You teach me Your statutes (v. 171). What specific steps can you take to increase the influence of God s Word on your life? QUESTION 5 2. Lean on God s presence through prayer. The first part of verse 8 is a vow: I will keep Your statutes. The psalmist had determined to live in obedience to God s Word. Admitting his own strength as insufficient, he prayed that God s dynamic presence would faithfully support him and strengthen him in the process. The psalmist did not think God would truly abandon him (see Hebrews 13:5), but he expressed his dependence on God s presence to live obediently. 18 SESSION 1

18 "God's Word leads us in righteousness, away from sin, and through any storms." H.B. CHARLES, JR. GOD S WORD FOR US The Bible teaches us about God and how we re to follow Him. What do you currently need from God s Word? Identify the image that depicts this need and write out a brief prayer in the space below. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 19

19 THE POINT We experience joy as we follow God s Word. LIVE IT OUT How can you dig deep into God s Word this week? Memorize a portion of Psalm 119:1-8. Choose a verse (or two) that remind you of the benefits we re offered in God s Word. Post this verse in a highly visible spot you ll see often and commit it to memory. Commit to spend time daily in God s Word. Identify a book of the Bible, daily devotional, or reading plan, then set aside at least 15 minutes a day to spend in God s Word and prayer. Do all you can to be consistent and this will soon become a daily practice. Identify a situation you re currently dealing with in which you need biblical wisdom. Each day this week, seek God s guidance from Scripture regarding this matter. Be patient and attentive to how God provides what you need through His Word. Scripture is God s holy Word, so we shouldn t be surprised at what awaits the person who seeks God and His wisdom within its pages. God s instruction leads to joy. Following His commands isn t always easy, but obedience unfailingly leads us to a deeper relationship with Him which is our greatest delight. My thoughts 20 SESSION 1 Share with others how you will live out this study: #BSFLspoken