Post by Admin on Apr 19, 2018 5:52:00 GMT
Our conversation tonight opened with a discussion on the praise we give others in our everyday lives – and to what extent we tend to be critical rather than full of praise. In relation to our praise of God, we also talked about our thankfulness for the good things in our lives versus our honoring God for all that He is and does, including the wonderful world around us, whether our immediate circumstances are good or bad.
After reading Psalm 147, we noted that all the actions and powers attributed to God were described in the present tense, not the past tense. God is doing these marvelous things today, for us. Various members of the group offered the verses which they most wanted to see God doing in their lives: verse 3, healing the broken-hearted; verse 4, counting the countless stars; verse 6, supporting the humble; verse 11, taking delight in those who fear God.
The final topic we discussed was whether we feel that God understands us, as this Psalm states and as we believe. Often the distractions of life get in the way of a deep underlying peace that can come if we internalize that He is with us and understands us. Lonnie shared a story from his confirmation class teaching days, in which he asked the young teens if they really thought their parents understood the issues they faced every day (peer pressure, sex pressure, homework pressure, etc.). Most kids felt that their parents understood about 90% - more that we would have guessed – and probably an indicator that they were confident in the love of their parents, too. An excellent example of how we should feel toward our God!
We closed with reading a few verses of the song, “All Creatures of our God and King”
All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam, thou silver moon with softer gleam,
O praise Him, O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let all things their Creator bless and worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, Three in One:
O praise Him, O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
After reading Psalm 147, we noted that all the actions and powers attributed to God were described in the present tense, not the past tense. God is doing these marvelous things today, for us. Various members of the group offered the verses which they most wanted to see God doing in their lives: verse 3, healing the broken-hearted; verse 4, counting the countless stars; verse 6, supporting the humble; verse 11, taking delight in those who fear God.
The final topic we discussed was whether we feel that God understands us, as this Psalm states and as we believe. Often the distractions of life get in the way of a deep underlying peace that can come if we internalize that He is with us and understands us. Lonnie shared a story from his confirmation class teaching days, in which he asked the young teens if they really thought their parents understood the issues they faced every day (peer pressure, sex pressure, homework pressure, etc.). Most kids felt that their parents understood about 90% - more that we would have guessed – and probably an indicator that they were confident in the love of their parents, too. An excellent example of how we should feel toward our God!
We closed with reading a few verses of the song, “All Creatures of our God and King”
All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam, thou silver moon with softer gleam,
O praise Him, O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let all things their Creator bless and worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, Three in One:
O praise Him, O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!