Objective:
To gain a proper perspective on humility; how it leads to us to praise the Lord; and how it reorients us back to Christ.
Open:
What do we really know about ultimate matters, things like our origins, purpose, and destiny?
In what ways are Christian and evolutionist beliefs on these matters based on faith?
What role might humility play in reorienting us back to God?
Read:
Psalm 147:1-20, Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Extol the LORD, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion. He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow. He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the LORD.
1 Cor. 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”
Phil. 2:1-8, If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Study
Why is it important that we not let emotions drive us? Why do we want emotions to ride along with us? How can we live with a balanced approach to our emotions?
Read Psalm 147:1. What does the Psalmist mean by “pleasant and fitting”?
Why is it pleasant and fitting to praise the LORD?
Why does a less developed understanding of the truth of who God is decrease our capacity for feeling the pleasure of praise?
How can understanding who God is; strengthen and give us a right perspective on who God is?
What does the psalmist mean when he uses the word “humble”? How is he using it here?
Read Psalm 147: 10-11. What does the LORD take delight in? What are we to take away from this?
In Psalm 147:12 the psalmist say to “extol the LORD”; what does “extol” the LORD mean?
- Why does the psalmist do this?
- What was the result?
Read Psalm 147:20. How has the LORD revealed himself?
- What does this mean for you?
- How has He revealed himself to you?
Think back over the Psalm and the questions we’ve just answered; think about God’s strength, His power, and His providence that is revealed in the Psalm. In what ways does it lead to humility in your life?
Apply:
1 Cor. 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you did not?”
Phil. 2: 3-4, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
What are some practical things you can do to live with a right prospective of humility in your life?
What’s one thing that you can change right now to feed humility in your life and orient yourself back to God? What can we as members of your small group, do to help?