Life through God’s Word , livre ebook

Langham Creative Projects - Christopher J. H. Wright

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

90 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

If you have ever been tempted to disregard Psalm 119 under an assumption that it is some dry and dusty psalm about Old Testament law, you are certainly not alone. However, in this in-depth study of the longest chapter in Scripture, Chris Wright reminds us that it is first and foremost a prayer overflowing from a deeply intimate relationship with God. It is an unfolding conversation between the psalmist’s rawest emotions and God’s word, his source of comfort, delight, guidance, grace and life-giving encouragement. As a travelling companion for our own journeys, Psalm 119 serves as a powerful reminder of how Scripture speaks to our deepest desires and our greatest needs, and how, if it is to do its work in us, we must know and love the Scripture for ourselves.
Rather than approaching the text linearly, Wright explores five recurring themes within the psalm, drawing forth deeply personal and powerful applications. This thematic approach is ideal for pastors wrestling with how to preach Psalm 119 in its entirety, as well as for personal and small group study. Discussion and reflection questions are included. This is an excellent resource for anyone desiring to foster a closer relationship with God through Scripture.

Informations

Publié par	Langham Creative Projects
Date de parution	02 novembre 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781839730498
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0025€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Life Through God’s Word

PSALM 119
Christopher J. H. Wright

© 2020 Christopher J. H. Wright
Published 2020 by Langham Preaching Resources
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-890-6 Print
978-1-83973-049-8 ePub
978-1-83973-050-4 Mobi
978-1-83973-051-1 PDF
First published by Authentic Media (2006) ISBN: 978-1-85078-6-948
Christopher J. H. Wright has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Requests to reuse content from Langham Publishing are processed through PLSclear. Please visit www.plsclear.com to complete your request.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-890-6
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB

To
the Chad branch
of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL)
Contents

Cover

Preface

Using This Book

Using This Book for Personal Study

Using This Book in Small Groups: A Note to Group Leaders

Preaching from Psalm 119

Introduction to Psalm 119

Section 1 Personal Commitment and the Word of Truth

Psalm 119:57–64 Personal Commitment and the Word of Truth

Introduction to Section 1

1 God’s Word as the Focus of Faith and Commitment

1. God’s Word Is Eternal and Universal (vv. 89–91, 96)

2. God’s Word Is Righteous and Moral (vv. 128, 137–138, 172)

3. God’s Word Is True and Real (vv. 142, 151, 160)

Conclusion

2 God’s Word as the Focus of Love and Obedience

1. God’s Law Is a Joy and Delight (vv. 14–16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 92, 142, 162, 174)

2. God’s Law Is Loved (vv. 48, 54–55, 61–62, 93, 97, 109, 113, 131, 140, 163–167, 176)

3. God’s Law Is Precious (vv. 32, 45, 72, 103, 127)

4. God’s Law Requires Obedience (vv. 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 34–36, 44, 58, 112, 145)

Conclusion to Section 1

Section 2 Personal Guidance and the Word of Light

Psalm 119:97–105 Personal Guidance and the Word of Light

Introduction to Section 2

3 Light for the Path

1. Walking in the Way of the Lord (vv. 1, 29–30, 32, 59)

2. Watching Your Way with the Word of God (vv. 9, 105)

4 Learning for the Pupil

1. God the Teacher (vv. 98–100, 102)

2. “Teach Me” (vv. 12, 26, 33, 64, 68, 124, 135, 171)

3. “Give Me Understanding” (vv. 27, 34, 73, 104)

Section 3 Personal Sin and the Word of Grace

Psalm 119:9–16 Personal Sin and the Word of Grace

Introduction to Section 3

5 Awareness of Sin

1. Sin Leads to Shame and Disgrace (vv. 6, 31, 39)

2. Sin Leads You Astray (vv. 67, 101, 104, 128)

3. Sin Eventually Rules and Dominates Your Life (v. 133)

Realistic and Radical

6 Avoiding Sin: Strengthening Our Minds and Wills

1. Exercising Our Minds (vv. 9, 11, 13, 15)

2. Exercising Our Wills (vv. 30, 101, 106, 112)

7 Avoiding Sin: Strengthening Our Emotions and Faith

1. Exercising Our Emotions (vv. 53, 104, 128, 136, 158, 163)

2. Exercising Our Faith (vv. 11, 29, 41, 76, 77, 132)

Section 4 Personal Struggle and the Word of Lament

Psalm 119:81–88 Personal Struggle and the Word of Lament

Introduction to Section 4

8 When Life Gets Tough

1. The Pain of Scorn and Contempt (vv. 22, 42, 141)

2. The Pain of Slander and Conspiracy (vv. 23, 69, 78, 84–86, 95, 110, 121, 134, 157, 161)

3. Living with Pain

9 How Does It Feel?

1. The Evil Outside (vv. 21, 53, 113, 115, 118–119, 126, 136, 139, 158)

2. The Pain Inside (vv. 25, 28, 50, 81–83, 92, 107, 139)

10 Pressing On

1. Crying Out to God (vv. 81–88, 114, 145–146, 150–151, 153–156)

2 . Being Determined to Press On (vv. 28, 32, 67, 71, 75, 81, 83)

3. Conclusion

Section 5 Personal Renewal and the Word of Life

Psalm 119:153–160 Personal Renewal and the Word of Life

Introduction to Section 5

11 Threats to Life

1. The Threat of Depression and Exhaustion (vv. 25, 28)

2. The Threat of Selfish Obsession with Worthless Things (vv. 36–37)

3. The Threat of Suffering and Hostility (vv. 50, 107, 154)

12 Sources of Life

1. The Character of God (vv. 40, 77, 159)

2. The Words of God (vv. 25, 37, 50, 107, 116, 149, 154, 156)

3. Renewal and Its Effects (vv. 17, 175)

C onclusion

About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Preface
It was a surprise and a privilege when Jonathan Lamb, then chairman of the Keswick Council, invited me to give morning Bible readings at Keswick in July 1998. I accepted gladly. My enthu siasm dimmed somewhat when Jonathan later wrote to say that the Council wondered if I would like to consider a series of five expositions of Psalm 119. That was more of a challenge, and it was some time before I agreed that it was a challenge well worth tackling.
But how to go about it? I have heard from a good friend who led a study of Psalm 119 with a group of about twenty men. Each week, he asked them to memorize one of the twenty-two eight-verse sections of the psalm and then to produce their own poem that expressed their own faith and struggles. When they met, each of them would recite their poem and the relevant verses of the psalm before the group began to discuss and pray around that section of the psalm. But I was only going to speak five times at Keswick, not twenty-two times, and several thousand personal poems from all those attending would have been difficult to handle. So a different approach was needed.
I also knew that I could not simply teach the longest psalm in the Bible verse by verse over five days. So I read it and reread it, at home, on train journeys, all over the place, until eventually several key themes began to crystallize in my mind. These then took shape as five Bible studies, which have now become the five main sections of this book.
I am glad to have the opportunity to put the material into this format for personal or group Bible study and for use by preachers. I am thankful to Jonathan Lamb for the original invitation and to Keswick Ministries and Authentic for seeing it through to publication, and to Lucy Atherton for her editing of the first edition. Likewise, I am grateful to Isobel Stevenson and Morag Venter for the work involved in editing it for this second edition.
The final section, “Personal Renewal and the Word of Life,” was written in Africa in the company of a fine group of people – the fifty or so members of the Chad branch of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). It was a time of great encouragement and blessing as I listened to them talk about their work of translating the Bible into some of the many languages spoken in Chad that do not yet have the Bible in written form. Their commitment to the truth, relevance and life-giving power of God’s word reminded me again and again of Psalm 119. They were enduring some of the same struggles, stresses and suffering that the writer of this psalm endured. So this book is dedicated to them, with admiration for their labours, praise to God for what he is accomplishing through them, and gratitude for a week of blessing spent in their company.
Chris Wright
May 2020
Using This Book
The aim of this study guide is to help bridge the gap between the Bible world and our own. Chris Wright’s exposition of Psalm 119 has vibrant meaning for us as believers in the 21st century. The questions that follow will help you to relate the principles he draws out to your