1As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.

² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

³ My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

⁴ These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng.

⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and ⁶ my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

⁷ Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

⁸ By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”

¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

¹¹ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Questions From Text:

1. What does Davids soul pant and thirst for?

2. What has been Davids food day and night?  What do you think this means?

3. How does David’s soul feel?

4. What does David tell own soul to do?

5. What is going on with David’s bones?

Personal Questions:

6. Do you long for God in the manner that David does? If so, give examples. If not, how are you trying to change that?

7. What do you tell yourself when your soul is downcast (sad)?

8. Do you put your hope in God, even when you are physically suffering and being mocked? How?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the questions.  Express to God how much you want Him in your life.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to remind you to put your trust in God when you are sad.  Ask God to help you overcome your feelings when you feel that God has forgotten you.  Pray for anyone else that you know who has a downcast soul right now.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in who to pray for.  God Bless.

¹ Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways.

² You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your sons will be like olive shoots
around your table.

⁴ Thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.

⁵ May the LORD bless you from Zion
all the days of your life;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

⁶ and may you live to see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel.

Questions From Text:

1. Who is blessed?

2. What will the blessed man eat and have?

3. How will the blessed man’s wife and sons be?

4. Where does the LORD bless you from?

5. Who will you live to see if you are blessed?

Personal Questions:

6. Do you fear the LORD and walk in His ways? Why?

7. Do you see prosperity in your life? In what areas?

8. Do you consider it a blessing to be able to see your grandchildren? How?

9. Do you have peace? In what areas?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the questions.  Ask God to help you fear Him and walk in His ways.  Ask God to bless you and your family.  Thank God for all the things He has blessed you with already.  Ask God to show you His peace.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you as you continue to pray.  God Bless.

⁹But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. ¹⁰Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. ¹¹You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

¹²As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. ¹³Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. ¹⁴Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

¹⁵Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all.

Questions From Text:

1. What should we avoid?

2. How many times should we warn a divisive man?

3. Who are the two people Paul is sending?

4. Who are the two people Titus is supposed to help?

5. What must our people learn to devote themselves to? And why?

Personal Questions:

6. Do you avoid foolish controversies or do you always go looking for an argument?

7. Do you know anyone who is divisive (maybe even yourself)?

8. Have you confronted people who you know to be divisive?

9. Have you devoted yourself to doing good?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the questions.  Ask God to help you be wise enough to avoid foolish conversations in general.  Ask God to reveal to you if there are divisive people amongst you.  Ask God to help you confront people who are divisive, even yourself.  Pray for any of your friends that might need help with something.  Ask God to help you devote you life to doing what He sees as good.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in who else to pray for.  God Bless.

¹Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, ²to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

³At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Questions From Text:

1. How should the people be towards rulers and authority?

2. What should we show to all men?

3. What were we before?

4. What are we NOT saved because of?

5. What are we saved because of?

6. What have we become now that we are justified by his grace?

Personal Questions:

7. Do you try to be obedient to all rulers and authorities in this current age? (cops, parents, teachers, pastors, etc.) How?

8. Do you have the Holy Spirit inside of you?

9. Do you trust God? Why and how?

10. Have you devoted yourself to doing good? How?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray. Think about the passage and the questions.  Ask God for forgiveness for specific times you were not obedient to people of authority.  Ask God to help you be obedient to them from now on.  Thank God for saving us through His grace.  Thank God that we don’t have to do anything to be saved, because if we did, none of us would be saved.  Ask God to help you trust in Him so that you may devote your life to doing good.  God Bless.

⁹Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them,¹⁰and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

¹⁵These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Questions From Text:

1. What does Paul ask Titus to teach the slaves?

2. Why does Paul ask Titus to teach the slaves this?

3. Who has the grace of God appeared to?

4. What does the grace of God teach us to do?

5. What  is the blessed hope that we are waiting for?

Personal Question:

6. Do you take advantage of the grace of God or do you take it for granted?  (Do you say “no” to ungodliness) Why?

7. Do you understand that Jesus sacrificed himself to make us pure?

8. Are you eager to do good as if you are His very own?

9. Do you encourage AND rebuke with authority? How?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the questions.  Ask God to continue to teach you to say “no” to ungodliness.  Ask God to show you areas in which you are not saying “no” to ungodliness.  Repent of those specific times.  Thank Jesus for giving Himself up for you, so that you could be pure.  Ask God to help you speak with authority and not be timid.  Ask God to help you to be able to both encourage and rebuke.  Ask God to reveal to you which side you are weaker in so that you can work more on that one.  Allow the Holy Spirit to work inside of you and guide you through the rest of your prayers.  God Bless.

¹You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. ²Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

³Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

⁶Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Questions From Text:

1. What must we teach according to?

2. What are the three groups of people that Paul addresses?

3. Who is to teach the younger women?

4. What is the reason that Paul gives for WHY the older women should teach the younger women?

5. . What is the reason that Paul gives for WHY the younger men should do what he says?

Personal Questions:

6. Based on if you are a young/old man/woman, do you live up to the standards that Paul teaches in this passage? How?

7. Do you try to teach everything based off of sound doctrine? How?

8. Do you try to live a life that makes it possible for no one to malign (speak evil about) the word of God? Do you think you are succeeding? Why?

9. Do you try to live the kind of life that makes others ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about you?  Do you think you are succeeding? Why?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the questions.  Ask God to help you distinguish good and bad doctrines.  Ask God to help you be the type of woman/man that you should be.  Ask God to show you areas that you need to work on.  Ask God to help you represent Him and His word properly.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in the rest of your prayers.  God Bless.

¹⁰For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. ¹¹They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹²Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” ¹³This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith ¹⁴and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. ¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Questions From Text:

1. What are two things that Paul expresses about rebellious people? They are..

2. Why should the rebellious people be silenced?

3. Why should they be rebuked sharply?

4. Whats the difference between the pure and the corrupted according to this passage?

5. What do the rebellious people claim, and what do their actions show?

Personal Questions:

6. Do you ever behave rebelliously (do things you know are wrong)? Why?

7. Do you think people would be right in calling you a “Cretan”? (a liar, evil brute, and lazy glutton) Why?

8. Do you try to keep your mind and your conscience from being corrupted? How?

9. Do your claims AND actions prove you to know God? How?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the questions.  Ask God for forgiveness for specific times that you have been rebellious.  Ask God to help you reject your rebellious nature.  Thank God for those who rebuke you so that you too will be sound in your faith.  Ask God to bring people into your life to do that if there is no one who ever rebukes you.  Ask God to help you live in a manner that proves you know God.  Ask God to reveal to you any specific time you were disobedient to Him.  Try to hear His voice and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in the rest of you prayers.  God Bless.

¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— ²a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, ³and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

⁴To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

⁵The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appointelders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Questions From Text:

1. Who is the author of the book?

2. Who is the book written to?

3. What did God promise before the beginning of time and who is bringing it to light?

4. Why did Paul leave Titus at Crete?

5. What are the two church positions that Paul gives instructions about?

Personal Questions:

6. Do you always stay true to your word like God (who does not lie)? Why?

7. Considering the qualifications given by Paul, do you think you could be an elder? Which qualifications do/don’t you meet?

8. Considering the qualifications given by Paul, do you think you could be an overseer? Which qualification do/don’t you meet?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the question.  Ask God to help you be a man/woman of your word.  Ask God to help you be a better person so that you would easily be able to qualify for an elder or an overseer.  Ask God to show you areas in your life in which you do not qualify and need to change.  Listen to His voice and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in the rest of your prayers.  God Bless.

¹ How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³ Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

⁴ my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

⁶ I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

Questions From Text:

1. How does David feel?

2. Whats going on in his thoughts and his heart?

3. What will David’s enemies say and do if he falls?

4. What does David end up putting his trust in?

5. Why does David sing to the Lord?

Personal Questions:

6. Have you ever felt like God forgot about you and your problems? Why?

7. Have you ever felt like God was letting you struggle with your thoughts and hurt in your heart?

8. Do you trust God in times when He is silent, like with David? How?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the questions.  Ask God to help you in any tough situations that you may be in.  Ask God to help you trust Him when you feel like God has forgotten you.  Thank God for all the times He has been good to you.  Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in your prayers and maybe even into some songs of worship.  God Bless.

¹ O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!

² Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
Selah

³ But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

⁴ To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
Selah

⁵ I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

⁶ I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

⁷ Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Selah

***The word “Selah” is a musical mark.  It means something along the lines of “stop and listen” or “let those with eyes see and with ears hear.”  Since many Psalms were sung and accompanied by musical instruments, “selah” indicates a musical interludes in the Psalm.***

Questions From Text:

1. What are people saying about David?

2. What does David say that God does?

3. How come David can sleep in such peace?

4. How many people are after David?

5. What comes from the Lord?

Personal Questions:

6. Have you ever had people mock you about a situation you were in? How?

7. Do you ever feel like God will not deliver (save) you from a situation? Why?

8. When times of trouble come your way, can you trust God and sleep with peace like David?

Pray:

Take some time to go to a quiet place to pray.  Think about the passage and the questions.  If you are currently in a really serious situation, ask God to deliver you.  Ask for forgiveness of God for the times that you should have trusted Him but chose not to.  Thank God for shielding, answering, sustaining, and delivering us.  Ask God to help you always put your full trust in Him alone.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in the rest of your prayers.  God Bless.