Study Guide for
Tunes for the Road
Everywhere I Go, There You Are
Psalm 139
September 6, 2009
Open Up
Share a funny fact about yourself that very few people know. TRANSITION: Though small life details can cause a smile among friends, we all have parts of our life we would rather keep completely private. God sees all. That’s either good news or bad news, depending on where you are in life’s journey. OPTIONAL: Instead of openly sharing funny facts, make it a guessing game by asking each group member to write down a funny, little known fact about himself or herself. Ask someone to read the fact aloud, and try to guess whose funny fact it is.
Dig In
1) Read Psalm 139:1-16. What do you feel as you read that God knows every detail of your life: intimidated that God has you under a microscope, comforted that God loves you no matter what, surprised because you expect God to have other things to do besides notice you, etc.?
2) Read Psalm 103:13-18. This Psalm describes both God’s knowledge and God’s love. Share an example of someone you love even knowing his or her faults, or someone who loves you even knowing your faults. What is different or similar about accepting that God knows and loves us? OPTIONAL 1: If someone in your group has never felt knowing-yet-accepting love, discuss how the church can be a place to experience this kind of love. BACKGROUND: This Psalm is credited to King David. We don’t know much about his relationship with his father Jesse, but David chooses to describe God with father images. How does a person’s relationship affect her or his opinion of God?
3) Read Luke 6:6-11 and John 4:13-24. These stories are only two examples out of many others that show Jesus knew people’s thoughts and motives. Jesus used his knowledge of people to direct them to look honestly at themselves, even though the hard truth meant making tough choices to change. How honest have you been with God about who you are?
Work On
1) If your group has reached the point where you trust each other to be caring and compassionate, tell them about a time when you were in an emotionally or spiritually dark place. Did you feel that God was still there, or were you hiding from Him, or thinking that He was ignoring you? Did you have any close Christian friends to help you during that dark time? If yes, did that help you eventually emerge from the darkness? If not, how might that help the next time you face emotional darkness?
Lift Up
As you prepare to pray, use Psalm 139:23-24 to open yourself to God’s loving knowledge.
Another Step – Advanced Study
Read Psalm 51:3-12. How does unflinching, honest self-knowledge go hand in hand with recognizing and accepting God’s knowledge of us? How do the insights of close Christian friends help our self-knowledge? How is this self-knowledge similar or different from the “me” focus of modern culture?