Praying the Psalms: Emotions at Work #1 - Surprise and Disgust (Chris)

If the Psalms are "Jesus Own Prayers," how do we use them in everyday life?  Truthfully, the language can be old-fashioned and some of the references off-putting.  Yet, the the Psalms speak to universal human experience and are meant to support us and our faith as much today as they did hundreds or thousands of years ago. 

This lesson is the first in a sub-series exploring "8 Primary Emotions" and how the Psalms teach us how to harness them positively in our lives.  We also will connect the message of specific Psalms to Jesus and his teachings.  This week starts with "Surprise" and "Disgust".  We will explore the negative side (disappointment, betrayal) and positive side (excitement) of surprises.  We also look at how to react when we are disgusted or if we disgust someone else.

Listen to Emotions at Work, Surprise and Disgust (Chris)

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Handout

Praying the Psalms: Praying Through Fear, Psalms 3 and 27 (Randy)

More than any other emotion, fear drives our behavior in ways that we don’t even recognize.  We try to manage our fears and the behaviors that manifest from them, but fall short every time. This hurts our relationships and costs us peace.  God wants us to fear him, however, and that begins by turning to him in prayer to work through our natural fears.  Only when we do that can God give us the peace that passes all understanding.

Listen to Praying Through Fear, Psalms 3 and 27
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Praying the Psalms: The Sovereignty of God, Part 2 (Chris)

The Psalms are a guide to prayer to and to effective Christian life.  This lesson continues the exploration of how the Psalms offer a unique perspective on God and human experience.  We also consider how Jesus is at the heart of each Psalm as he inspired them, prayed them himself while he was on earth, and walks beside us as we seek to harness their power.  Using Psalms 8, 13, 18, and 19, we then take an initial look at how God’s sovereignty as Creator and Giver of the Law is reflected in the Psalms.  The word for us in response is “confidence.”  The Psalms should make us confident in the ultimately positive outcome of whatever we face in life.

Listen to The Sovereignty of God, Part 2
Lesson Plan
Handout

Praying the Psalms: Getting Honest with God, Psalm 73 (Randy)

So often our prayers are either rote or laden with a self-serving wish list.  We treat prayer as a perfunctory exercise or a chance to ask a genie in the bottle to grant us our every wish.  At the same time, we are afraid to be really honest with God.  We bottle up our emotions or vent them on others, but we feel guilty taking them to God in prayer.  Yet that is exactly what he wants us to do: to pray honestly and work through our emotions with him.

Listen to Getting Honest with God
Lesson Plan

Praying the Psalms: The Sovereignty of God, Part 1 (Chris)

The Psalms are a guide to prayer to and to effective Christian life.  This lesson begins by exploring how the Psalms offer a unique perspective on God and human experience.  We also consider how Jesus is at the heart of each Psalm as he inspired them, prayed them himself while he was on earth, and walks beside us as we seek to harness their power.  Using Psalms 8, 13, 18, and 19, we then take an initial look at how God’s sovereignty as Creator and Giver of the Law is reflected in the Psalms.  The word for us in response is “confidence.”  The Psalms should make us confident in the ultimately positive outcome of whatever we face in life.

Listen to The Sovereignty of God, Part 1 
Lesson Plan

Praying the Psalms: Psalm 2 (Randy)

While Psalm 1 warns us about the danger of being overly attracted to the world, Psalm 2 reminds us not to be intimidated by the world.  We all have authority figures in our lives who pressure us, from parents to government officials.  Yet we must recognize that Jesus is Lord of all, and by serving him we can both honor and respect authorities without being threatened by them.

Listen to Praying the Psalms: Psalm 2
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Praying the Psalms: Introduction to the Psalms with Psalm 1 (Randy)

The Psalms were Jesus’s prayer book.  He prayed constantly to the Father, and very often quoted the Psalms when doing so.  Today, we tend to be more perfunctory in our prayers, or focus on physical health and well being over spiritual health and well being.  With the Psalms as our guide, we can learn to pray more honestly and meaningfully to God.  In this introductory lesson, we examine Psalm 1 as the “main entrance to the mansion” of the Psalms.

Listen to Praying the Psalms: Introduction to the Psalms
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