Small Group Guide“Sing Your Joy”

Psalm 48

Message Summary

Through this series on Psalms, we have traced the thread of learning to sing our trust in God, to sing our pain, to sing our story of salvation, and to sing our hope. In this concluding message, Psalm 48 teaches us to sing our joy.

True joy is foundationally rooted in God’s glory and unchanging love and is not an add-on, a condition, an emotional state, or a response to happy circumstances. As we learn to trust God, His joy becomes ours, and His joy gives us strength, perseverance, and an anchor for our souls. The human heart problematically tries to achieve joy apart from God, but joy always fades when it is not rooted in God. Today’s message teaches us how our true joy is rooted in God’s glory, and He has revealed Himself to us through His Word and His Spirit.

Because He is sovereign, He is always powerful in salvation, but even though His rescue doesn’t always look the same way in our lives, He will never leave us. His plan for our joy involves us gathering as a Church as well as going out, taking the gospel to the world.

As we worship Him in truth, His joy propels us to share Him with those who do not know Him. As we look back at history, through the Word and in our own lives, we are called to remember the expressions of His grace and presence and to share those experiences and the truth of the Word with the next generation.

Discussion & Application Questions

After briefly reviewing the message summary, use these questions to further examine the sermon and to discuss how these truths apply to daily life, so we can “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (Jas. 1:22). Based on your knowledge of the people in your small group, select the questions that will best help you frame the group’s discussion of this sermon and sermon text.

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GOD’S GLORY IN THE CHURCH (VV. 1-2)

1. How does God directly reveal His greatness to His people? Where do you see His greatness? How does that revelation affect your joy?

2. How does being captivated by the truth of Who God is and what He has done help you overcome sin?

3. Why is the setting of corporate worship so important? In what ways are people tempted to neglect gathering as a body of Christ, particularly in an age with online access to sermons and worship music?

4. How have you experienced the revelation of God’s glory specifically in corporate gatherings?

5. Read Matthew 5:14; Hebrews 12:22; John 4:21-24. How do these verses explain the metaphor in Psalm 48:1-2? How does this affect the way we value our belonging to the church?

6. Application: Pastor Matt emphasized that when we gather, we focus on glory of God. We are not aiming at any particular kind of experience but are aiming to see God as He reveals Himself through His Word by His Spirit. Then, joy sneaks up on us, giving us strength and perseverance rooted in the conviction that God is our portion. In light of this, what practical steps should you take before we gather corporately on Sundays and during our Small Group time to keep your focus on God?

GOD’S POWER IN SALVATION (VV. 3-8)

7. Read 2 Chronicles 20:12, which is a prayer written in a situation similar to the one described in Psalm 48:3-8. How convinced are you that your help comes from the Lord?

8. How have you responded when deep, challenging circumstances have come your way? In what ways do the truths in Psalm 48 prod you toward prayer and declarations of trust?

9. Describe a time when you heard truth that resonated deeply in your soul in the midst of suffering. Did you realize that resonation was your joy in God reminding you of truth about Him? What specific truths have sustained you in difficult times? (Examples might include, “You are my portion; those who sow in tears reap in joy; God is good, faithful, wise, for us; Jesus suffered in my place, so every hard and sad thing will be redeemed; suffering is not purposeless, but God is working this together for my good and His glory.)

10. Does God ever leave us alone? Why not? Why is the truth of the Word our only sure anchor?

11. In Psalm 48:7, the east winds are an example of the ways the Lord sets ambushes on the enemy to protect His people. How does the reality that God loves to protect His people encourage you?

12. What are some examples of His dramatic rescues of His people? How do you know that this truth is not a promise for trouble-free life?

13. Application: How do you respond when His rescue doesn’t look the way you hoped it would? How should you respond?

GOD’S GRACE IN OUR GATHERING (VV. 9-14)

14. Why is corporate worship important according to Psalm 48:9-11? What did the people think about in the Old Testament era when they worshiped at the Temple?

15. The goal of Psalm 48 is for people everywhere to praise God’s name (v. 10). What fuels us as we continue to pursue the spread of the gospel? Why is joy contagious?

16. Consider what every-day, ordinary, yet awesome graces we might be overlooking. (Examples include baptism, stories in the worship guide, students who aren’t buying the

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lies of the world, or Christian parents teaching their children about God.) How can we as a group determine to look for these graces so we can celebrate His faithfulness?

17. Application: In the sermon, Pastor Matt highlighted three tasks of the church: worship, nurture, and mission. How is this small group doing in each of these three areas? Over the next month, how can this group take one step of growth in one of these areas?

18. Application: What God-given gifts are you using to serve this faith family as well as outside of the church? How can you use your gifts to do these things?

19. What is the purpose of telling the next generation about God? What happens if we do not make this our goal? What happens when this is our goal?

20.Application: In what ways are you showing the next generation a loving, passionate fire for the gospel in your eyes? How are you showing them that the gospel is still amazing to you and that it grows more amazing with each passing year?

Things to Consider

If you have people in your group who did not hear the sermon, read the sermon text (Psalm 48) together and briefly summarize the main points of the sermon. Recapping the sermon text and sermon outline can also be a helpful way to start the group, even if everyone did hear the sermon.

Encourage your small group and express your gratitude for their commitment to gather together to worship God. Emphasize that we were made to see and savor the glory of God as He reveals Himself through His Word and His Spirit. Share that when we are most satisfied in Him, He is most glorified, and our joy in Him is full.

Today’s sermon includes the truth that God is able to rescue His people who are going through seemingly impossible circumstances. Be sensitive to people in your group who are in the midst of these times and encourage them that God sometimes does indeed work dramatic rescues and beautiful works of redemption, but He has many ways to rescue us. Sometimes this is through a powerful east wind, with a clear moving of His right hand, through a specific healing grace, or through sustaining grace. He is always forgiving, always transforming, and always keeping us by His grace, and He uses each circumstance differently according to the wise counsel of His will for our good and His glory. Come around each other to pray if there is someone who is going through a difficult season, and as the leader, write an encouraging note to them that you can mail this week.

Ultimately, God’s protecting grace points us forward in time from Psalm 48 to the gospel and how Christ rescues us from death. When our minds are rightly set on the gospel, everything else in our lives might fall apart, but a billion years from now, we’ll still be praising Him.

Take time to discuss questions from the Small Group Guide as you feel led. Depending on the size and meeting place of your group, you might want to discuss them as a large group, break into smaller groups, or break into partners for each question.

Conclude your time together by issuing a challenge for each group member to consider what practical steps he or she is taking toward sharing the truth of the Word and the truth of their own testimonies of Christ with the next generation. Consider sharing ways you as a leader are

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currently doing so, making sure to include how God has used this commitment to strengthen your faith and joy in Him. Encourage everyone to remember that joy in God is contagious.

The new series beginning next week is on 1 Timothy, which was written by Paul to a young church leader who was his son in faith, Timothy. Spend some time in prayer as a group, asking God to show you how to share the gospel with the next generation if you aren’t already doing so, how to deepen your current relationships with the next generation, and how to prepare your hearts for the truth in 1 Timothy that you’ll hear in the weeks to come.

Weekly Prayer Focus

Pray for Our Church: Praise God for His blessing of Christian community. Ask the Spirit to empower Small Group Leaders as they lead groups to grow in

knowledge and obedience to Christ.

Pray for Our City: Pray for Restoration Academy, a Christian school in Fairfield with a mission to provide

an excellent, Christ-centered education to students predominantly from lower-income families.

Pray for Our World: Pray for Taylor and Julia who serve as Long-Termers on our East Asia Church Planting

Team and for our Short-Term Teams serving in Europe.

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