Before the Session
Facilitator: In advance of the session
- Have the Bible Background Video ready to view.
- Review today’s scripture text and the session activities to help better facilitate the discussion.
- Encourage your group to listen to the Faithelement podcast ahead of the next session (Share the link via email or social media)
Context (From the Current Session Page)
Review together this blog post by John Pavlovtz and ask:
- How do you feel about this blog post and why?
- What are the essential points that John is trying to make here?
- At what points have you witnessed some of the thing he’s arguing against?
- To what degree does the Bible function better or worse as a definitive book of rules, as opposed to shared and culturally bound testimonies of faith, and why is that important?
Content (From the Mind Session Page)
Read Psalm 119:105-112, then watch the Bible Background Video and tell the group:
- Referring to the familiar images in verse 105 – what kind of path do you think we’re on and why?
- What role does the Psalmist give to God’s law – and what is the path like without it?
- If we think of the path in darkness, what does and doesn’t the lamp show us?
- Compare this image with some of the ones we talked about in the opening discussion. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this image?
- According to verses 107-112, what roles does God’s Law play in the Psalmist’s life?
- What role does commitment play in our faith (v.106, 112), even when – especially when – we can’t understand where the path is leading?
- What obstacles to faithfulness does the Psalmist describe, and how does he overcome them?
Closure (from the Youth Session page)
Show the “The Bible is not a Weapon” clip (you may need to increase the volume) and ask:
- What are the three worst things about people you see all the time?
- What are the three worst things about yourself?
- Why is it usually harder to see our own faults than to see the faults of others?
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Does this passage teach us that the Bible is more useful to show you the faults of others, or to show you your own faults and why?
- In what ways do some use the Bible as a weapon to point out the faults of others?
- In what ways does scripture help to guide and instruct you?
- How does living within the boundaries of scripture help to bring joy to your life?
Close this session in prayer.