4/21 Life Group

Psalm 23 - Surely Goodness, Surely Mercy
Shane & Shane
 
[Verse 1]
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want
In green pastures, He makes me lie down
He restores my soul and leads me on for His Name
For His great Name
 
Surely goodness, surely mercy
Right beside me all my days
And I will dwell in Your house forever
And bless Your Holy Name
 
[Verse 2]
You prepare a table right before me
In the presence of my enemies
Though the arrow flies and the terror of night
Is at my door, I'll trust you Lord
 
[Bridge]
And even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
And even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death
You are on my side
…
 
 

​His Mercy Is More
Keith & Kristyn Getty
 
[Verse 1]
What love could remember no wrongs we have done
Omniscient, all knowing, He counts not their sum
Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
 
Praise the Lord, His mercy is more
Stronger than darkness, new every morn
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
 
[Verse 2]
What patience would wait as we constantly roam
What Father, so tender, is calling us home
He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
 
[Verse 3]
What riches of kindness He lavished on us
His blood was the payment, His life was the cost
We stood 'neath a debt we could never afford
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
 
 
 

Life-Sharing

1. What has God been teaching you through last week’s Easter message – “For the LORD has a Day of Vengeance” – from ISAIAH 34:1-17? Read the texts once more and discern what the holy Spirit is desiring to say through it.

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1 Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. 2 For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. 3 Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. 4 All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.
 

1. [v.1-4] What is the LORD asking the nations to give attention to?
2. What is the LORD asking you to give attention to?
3. What happens when we give attention to the rage (anger) and fury (wrath) of the LORD?

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5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction. 6 The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall drink its fill of blood, and their soil shall be gorged with fat.
 

1. [v.5-7] What does the LORD do with His sword?
2. Is there a middle ground with the LORD?
3. Are you under the LORD’s sword or the LORD’s Son? When have we tried to play middle ground?
4. “Hate the sin but love the sinner.” Is that what God does?

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8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur; her land shall become burning pitch. 10 Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. 11 But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness. 12 Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom, and all its princes shall be nothing. 13 Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches. 14 And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place. 15 There the owl nests and lays and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow; indeed, there the hawks are gathered, each one with her mate.
 

1. [v.8-15] To whom does vengeance belong? Why?
2. Can our vengeance ever be the full recompense of justice?
3. When have we taken the place of the LORD’s vengeance?
4. When has the offense of others become greater than our own offense towards God?

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16 Seek and read from the book of the Lord: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the Lord has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them. 17 He has cast the lot for them; his hand has portioned it out to them with the line; they shall possess it forever; from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.
 

1. [v.16-17] To leave vengeance to the LORD, we need to seek and read from the book. Yet, have you let the book seek and read you? How can we let the Scriptures “read” us?
2. The central truth of this word was – God’s vengeance is just and good. Our vengeance is corrupt and evil. Hand over your vengeance by giving attention to the LORD’s fury over your own fury. We fall under His Son’s grace – not His sword. Only God can bring full recompense of vengeance, so keep seeking and reading His book to be assured that He turns our deserts into His fruitful garden. Bless over curse, for we possess every blessing in Christ for it! – *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?

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Life-Praying
Pray for one another. Give credit and glory to God for answered requests. Wait on the LORD for unanswered requests. Turn away from closed doors and where the Spirit prompts to go another way. Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray for one another.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)