Sermon Discussion Guide 4-6-25
Sermon Discussion Guide
PSALM 139 | Part 5 | God Can Hear My Pain | Psalm 139:19-22
Gathering Prayer
Father, by Your Spirit, would you guide us into all truth. Help us to hear and be attentive to Your voice as we work through this study. In the name of Jesus, Your Son, we pray, Amen.
Opening Questions
Psalm 139:19-22
Understanding Lament | Psalm 13:1-4, Psalm 22:1-2, Psalm 88:3-9, Luke 19:41-44
Tish Harrison Warren, Prayer in the Night
“Mysteriously, God does not take away our vulnerability. He enters into it. Jesus left a place where there is no night to enter into our own darkness. He met with blisters and indigestion, with fractured relationships and the death of friends, with an oppressive empire, the indignity of poverty, and the terror of violence. One night he sweated blood, asking the Father to spare him from agony, weeping in the lonely darkness while his friends fell asleep. He said, ‘Not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42), and soon afterward he was tortured to death. God did not keep bad things from happening to God himself. To look to Jesus is to know that our Creator has felt pain, has known trouble, and is well-acquainted with sorrow. But our hope in suffering is not merely to gaze on the biography of an ancient man frozen in the pages of the Bible. The story of the gospel is not a mere mantra or a relic of history. It is alive and ongoing. The work of Jesus continues, even now, in our everyday lives. So, in hardship, we do not look to Jesus solely as one who has been there before, once upon a time in a distant past. We find he is here with us in the present tense. He participates in our suffering, even as -mysteriously - in our suffering, we participate in the fullness of Christ’s life.”
Put it in Practice
Closing Prayer
PSALM 139 | Part 5 | God Can Hear My Pain | Psalm 139:19-22
Gathering Prayer
Father, by Your Spirit, would you guide us into all truth. Help us to hear and be attentive to Your voice as we work through this study. In the name of Jesus, Your Son, we pray, Amen.
Opening Questions
- What stood out to you in the sermon?
- What insights did you gain?
- What questions did it raise?
Psalm 139:19-22
- What stands out to you in these verses?
- How would you rephrase these verses in your own words?
Understanding Lament | Psalm 13:1-4, Psalm 22:1-2, Psalm 88:3-9, Luke 19:41-44
- Lament is a common theme in Scripture. Why do you think God allows space for lament in the Bible? How do you think God hears our prayers of lament?
- How is lamenting different from complaining?
- How do you personally respond to pain, injustice, or suffering? Do you tend to suppress, ignore, or process it with God?
- How can lament deepen your trust in God rather than push you toward self-reliance?
Tish Harrison Warren, Prayer in the Night
“Mysteriously, God does not take away our vulnerability. He enters into it. Jesus left a place where there is no night to enter into our own darkness. He met with blisters and indigestion, with fractured relationships and the death of friends, with an oppressive empire, the indignity of poverty, and the terror of violence. One night he sweated blood, asking the Father to spare him from agony, weeping in the lonely darkness while his friends fell asleep. He said, ‘Not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42), and soon afterward he was tortured to death. God did not keep bad things from happening to God himself. To look to Jesus is to know that our Creator has felt pain, has known trouble, and is well-acquainted with sorrow. But our hope in suffering is not merely to gaze on the biography of an ancient man frozen in the pages of the Bible. The story of the gospel is not a mere mantra or a relic of history. It is alive and ongoing. The work of Jesus continues, even now, in our everyday lives. So, in hardship, we do not look to Jesus solely as one who has been there before, once upon a time in a distant past. We find he is here with us in the present tense. He participates in our suffering, even as -mysteriously - in our suffering, we participate in the fullness of Christ’s life.”
- God does not take away our vulnerability but enters into it. How does this challenge or shape your understanding of God’s presence in suffering? How does reflecting on Jesus’ suffering change the way you face your own struggles?
- The gospel is “alive and ongoing.” What does it mean to you that Jesus is not just a historical figure but actively present in your suffering today?
- In our suffering, we “participate in the fullness of Christ’s life.” How have you seen or experienced this truth in your own spiritual journey?
Put it in Practice
- What is an area of your life that you’ve felt overwhelmed, that God may be inviting you to practice lament?
Closing Prayer
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