Songs of Faith: Part 2 – God's Sovereignty

This Sunday, Rob Lea brings us the talk in the latest of our EBC services. We encourage you to reflect on the bible text and join us in the prayer that follows below.
 
The talk will be available via live stream at 9.30am on Sunday 8th May, on our YouTube channel.
 
Once you have listened, here are some questions to consider:
 
Readings:

Psalm 139 (New Living Translation)

1 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,’
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand –
    when I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.



Prayer & Reflection
 
Father God, you are completely beyond us in every way, yet you involve your holy self with our very human existence and commitments; we give you thanks and praise for your unending love for each one of us.
 
You have nurtured and blessed each of us as we grew in the womb of your love and compassion over many years; for this we give you thanks. With this knowledge we pray that our trust in you will grow as we continue to  develop and reach maturity.

Lord God, we praise you for the way you have communicated to us in wordless ways, so that we can understand, be aware and know that we are your much loved child.

We give thanks and praise to you that you trust us enough to share some of your thoughts with our limited minds and hearts; so that we always have an inner yearning to be near you and to be blessed by you.

Sovereign God, Creator of all creation, in your power, majesty and infinite love, you have ordained that your eternal presence is with each of us at all times, so that in the morning, you are there with us; and during the evening and night you are still with us; you honour us always with your presence, and for this we are truly grateful.
Amen.  



Questions to Consider
1) Can you think of an occasion when you have been guilty of ‘speaking words without knowledge? Perhaps where you ‘got the wrong end of the stick?’
2) Do you agree that if we were fully aware of who God really is, that awareness would have a deep impact on our lives? If yes, in what way would our lives/your life be different?
3) Does the knowledge that God is omnipresent and omniscient have any significance in your life? If yes, in what way? If no, why not?
4) How do you reconcile David’s outburst in verses 19 to 22, with Jesus’ teaching, ‘love your enemies’?
5) Did you know that the psalms were and are important to Jesus? If you didn’t, does that information change your perception of the psalms and their relevance in your life?
6) In what way does a true awareness of who God is help us to understand who and whose we are?