Psalm 191NIV New International Version Translations
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. 11 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

img180Background2http://www.easyenglish.info/psalms/psalm019-taw.htm

We do not know when David wrote Psalm 19. Perhaps it was one morning when he had been out all night with his sheep. He saw the sunrise over Moab. What David saw spoke to him about God. David remembered the stars that he saw at night. God made the stars. In the morning David saw the sun. God made the sun. All that David saw told him about God. He heard no words, there was no language. But David knew that everything was telling him about God.
Then David remembered something else. He remembered the Word of God. David did not have the whole Bible. He only had the start of the Old Testament. But it told him about God. And it made David very happy. But it also made David think. It made him say to himself, “Am I a good or bad man?” He prayed that God would forgive him. David was, perhaps, sitting on the top of a great rock. That spoke to him about God as well! God was like a rock to David. So David called God “My Rock”. He also called God his Redeemer, someone that pays the price to make a slave free.

Biblical Truths3http://www.easyenglish.info/psalms/psalm019-taw.htm

Psalm 19 is about words. In verses 1 – 6 nobody speaks the words. We see the moon and the stars and the sun. We see the earth and the animals and the plants. They all make us feel inside ourselves, “Somebody made all this”. The psalm tells us in verses 1 and 4 who that is. His name is God. We have a special name for all these things that God made. We call them all “nature”. Nature is like a very big book. It tells us, “God made everything”.

Now look at verses 7 – 11. Can you find the name “God” in it? No, because here God has a different name. Here he is the LORD. This is the name that people use when they decide to follow God. He becomes their LORD. This part of the psalm is not about the book of nature. This is about the book that we call the Bible.

So, here are 2 important books about God. In the book of nature we learn how great God is. We learn that he is wonderful. We may feel afraid of him. Christians call this “awe”. It makes us want to tell God that he is wonderful. We call this “worship”. The other book is the Bible. It tells us how to follow God, and make him our LORD.

Verses 12 – 14 tells us how to start following God.

Items for Discussion

  • How do you or where do you see God in nature?
  • Man creates wonderful things too but is it possible to miss God totally if man does not spend time with nature? Why?
  • Why do you believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God?
  • Is it possible to miss God if mankind does not spend time with God’s Word?
  • David, seeing God in nature and seeing God in the Bible, responds in verses 12 through 14 – What else is David saying we need to do?
  • Why are these things necessary for a relationship with God?

 

2 Timothy 1:1-7
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Background4http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=55&c=0

The first design of this letter seems to have been, to apprize Timothy of what had occurred during the imprisonment of the apostle, and to request him to come to Rome. But being uncertain whether he should be suffered to live to see him, Paul gives a variety of advices and encouragements, for the faithful discharge of his ministerial duties. As this was a private letter written to St. Paul’s most intimate friend, under the miseries of imprisonment, and in the near prospect of death, it shows the temper and character of the apostle, and contains convincing proofs that he sincerely believed the doctrines he preached.

Bible Truths5http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=55&c=1

The promise of eternal life to believers in Christ Jesus, is the leading subject of ministers who are employed according to the will of God. The blessings here named, are the best we can ask for our beloved friends, that they may have peace with God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Whatever good we do, God must have the glory. True believers have in every age the same religion as to substance. Their faith is unfeigned; it will stand the trial, and it dwells in them as a living principle. Thus pious women may take encouragement from the success of Lois and Eunice with Timothy, who proved so excellent and useful a minister. Some of the most worthy and valuable ministers the church of Christ has been favored with, have had to bless God for early religious impressions made upon their minds by the teaching of their mothers or other female relatives.

God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers; the spirit of love to him, which will carry us through opposition. And the spirit of a sound mind, quietness of mind. The Holy Spirit is not the author of a timid or cowardly disposition, or of slavish fears. We are likely to bear afflictions well, when we have strength and power from God to enable us to bear them. As is usual with Paul, when he mentions Christ and his redemption, he enlarges upon them; so full was he of that which is all our salvation, and ought to be all our desire.

Items for Discussion

  • What are some of the things you would tell someone you cared for if you were about to die?
  • What is Paul saying about fear and power?
  • What kind of faith does Paul want for a believer?
  • Could Christianity be as successful as it has in changing lives if everyone was timid?
  • What consolation do you take in knowing that for over 2,000 years, Christianity has been spreading through bold testimony? Or another way to ask this question is, “Could Christ’s message of love and salvation been successful without the power of the Holy Spirit?
  • What attributes do we receive from the Holy Spirit and why are these so important to the spreading of the Good News?

Discussion Challenge

  • How do you help people remove their timid nature and be bold for Christ?