Psalms
Psalms: Singing with Jesus: 7-Session Bible Study
By: Christopher Ash with Alison Mitchell
The Good Book Company has a whole series of little devotionals like this one that go through entire books of the Bible in 6-8 sessions. They have companion books with more commentary if you want deeper study as you go along.
I previously did their study on 2 Corinthians that I reviewed HERE. Obviously psalms are usually impactful to go through so it could just be that I like that book of the Bible better, but I liked this study a little better than the 2 Corinthians one. I think the reason for that is that in this study there was more cross-referencing other Scriptures and comparing the psalm with another Bible passage.
I liked that it helped me connect the psalm with the Old Testament context it was written in. I think the way they go through the psalms would also be helpful if you wanted to continue studying other psalms in a similar way.
As the study is only seven sessions, they do not go through all 150 Psalms. They actually looked at 9 different psalms (two weeks had two companion psalms). If you are interested in which ones they cover: 1 & 2, 22, 23, 42 & 43, 84, 90, and 145.
David wrote at least 73 of the psalms, so several of the ones covered in this study are his. It was neat to study how so many of King David’s writings were prophecies pointing to the great King to come.
It was also interesting to think about Jesus singing these songs. For some reason that’s not something I’ve really thought about before. But many of these psalms were sung corporately as a body of believers. So Jesus would have been singing these songs knowing they were about him.
Each session covers 1-2 chapters with ten questions. There’s always an icebreaker type of question first about personal experience (related to the content). Then there are some ‘investigate’ questions that seek to understand what is happening in the passage, and ‘apply’ questions that take what we learn from the passage and see how that affects the way we are living and thinking.
There are some ‘getting personal’ optional sections that are self-reflection questions and opportunities to be more vulnerable about what we may struggle with or be susceptible to.
Each session ends with prayer.
Now that I’ve done two of these I can confirm that they would be great small group options. Its often challenging to find something to study in a small group because you have varying preferences on homework or reading or worrying about how to lead a discussion, etc.
They include a leader’s guide in the back of the book that provides answers and suggestions for every question with a few other group exercises thrown in that would definitely help someone facilitate a group discussion.
I don’t think everyone in the group would even need their own copy of the book, but if they wanted their own they’re only like $8. You could have them read the Scripture ahead of time but there really wouldn’t be much prep and the questions are conducive for discussion.
Depending on the leader and the type of group, I think it might be beneficial for the leader to have the corresponding commentary and read it on their own in case there are certain things that stick out to them they want to bring to the group. But even without that, there is plenty to reflect on in these psalms. You could even go through this study as a group and then just pick other psalms and continue studying more of the psalms as a group and following a similar framework. It would take a little more work from the leader to find other passages ahead of time, or you could do that part together as well.
I’m a bit notorious for doing solo devotionals and really kind of skimming the questions. I think I answer them in my head but in reality I think my answers trail off and I move on without forcing myself to really think through them. While using these studies, I’ve forced myself to write down my answers to the questions and that has been a good exercise for me even if I didn’t have a group to talk about it with.
As with the study in 2 Corinthians, the book begins by explaining- Why read this particular book of the Bible?
Why Psalms?
I love what they say here so I’ll quote it at length:
“The Psalms are God’s chosen way to engage our thinking and our feelings in a way that is passionate, thoughtful, true and authentic. They show us how to express our varied feelings; but, more than that, they reorder our disordered affections so that we feel deeper desires for what we ought to desire, more urgent aversion to that from which we need to flee, and a greater longing for the honor of God in the health of Christ’s church. The Psalms form within us a richer palette of rightly directed emotions. It is not so much that the Psalms resonate with us as that they shape us so that we most deeply resonate with the God-given yearnings they so movingly express.”
A couple of the main takeaways for me this time around were how good it was to go through Psalm 23 more carefully. Having memorized it, you stop thinking about the meaning of what you’re saying. It inspired me to have my kids memorize it now and to show them how to use it as a framework for prayer. The Lord is our Shepherd and that has so many great implications for us.
I also really enjoyed studying Psalm 90, written by Moses, where he prayed that God would “establish the work of my hands.” To focus on the eternal impact of what we are doing with our time, our words, our money. It was good to study how first we need a right understanding of who God is and who we are in relation to him. And then we can see that what we can do here on Earth is not futile but in the hands of the powerful and almighty God, can have big kingdom impact. I need to be seeking to do the Lord’s work with an eternal perspective.
Recommendation
I definitely recommend this devotional— for personal or group use— and also recommend checking out their entire collection to see if there is a different book of the Bible you or your group are interested in studying.
I’ve read lots of Good Book Company books and so far I have not taken issue with any of their theology— they have been very gospel-centered and uphold the Bible as our ultimate authority. (Their statement of faith can be found HERE if you want more specifics.)
Now that I’ve done two of their studies, I can pretty confidently recommend them and I plan to do more of them in the future.
**Received a copy via The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review**
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