Getting to Know God
Q: Introduction: Go around and ask two questions
1. Name and concentration in school
2. If you could ask God one question what would you ask him?
- Does anyone here like mystery stories … mystery movies ?
- Why ? What do you enjoy most about mysteries ?
- How does a mystery hold our attention ?
[Giving us clues to the answer, keeping us searching and thinking, holding back
the whole truth until the end]
- Let’s play detectives. Usually we’re searching for clues to get to know the bad guy, but that’s a discussion we can save for another time.
This time we’ll be searching for clues to help us to get to know better the only really Good Guy … God, the creator of the universe; God, our Father in Heaven.
Psalm 118 [Read the whole psalm]
To begin with, what does this scripture tell us about our God ?
What clues does it give us about his nature, his characteristics ?
Later on, we can talk about how we should respond to these characteristics of God.
- God is good, unchanging, he always loves us … vs. 1-4 and 29.
- He answers our prayers … vs. 5 and 21.
- He frees us from fear … vs. 6.
- He is with us all the time … vs. 7
- He supports us, he helps us succeed … vs. 11, 12.
- He protects us from harm … vs. 11, 12.
- He strengthens us … vs. 14.
- He frees us from death, he is our salvation … vs. 14 and 21.
- He is all-powerful, in control, amazing … vs. 15, 16 and 23.
- He tests us, disciplines us … vs. 18.
- He blesses us, he gives us a great life … vs. 26.
- He shows us the way to live our lives … vs. 27.
- Our God is certainly an amazing God. How should we respond to him ?
- What does Psalm 118 say about what God expects of us ?
- What should we do ?
- We should give thanks … vs. 1 and 21.
- We should fear God, fear displeasing him, disappointing him … vs. 4.
- We should call on him, pray for his support … vs. 5, 12, and 25.
- But we should take action, not just wait for God to do it for us … vs. 10 -12
- We should trust him, rely on him, not on ourselves or on promises … vs. 8.
- We should be joyful always, however tough it may seem … vs. 15 and 24.
- We should speak out about him, share our faith with others … vs. 17.
- We should choose the narrow road, gate … vs. 19, 20. (See Matt. 7: 13, 14)
- We should praise him, honour him … vs. 27, 28.
- What have you learned from this discussion ?
- What must you do to get to know God better ?
- What will you do differently this week ?
[ e.g. Try to set a good example to others, love and support one another, help those who are struggling, invite anyone who might be interested to join our Bible Talk ! ]
Let’s finish up with a thought in Isaiah 55:6-9
God’s word says seek the Lord while he may be found – why does he say that?
What does God say about our thoughts compared to his thoughts?
Conclusion: Get deeper in the Bible with each other and individually to bring about a deeper knowledge of God!
