FOCUS OF TODAY God is at work in our lives

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SCRIPTURE FOUNDATION PSALM 40 Thanksgiving for Deliverance and Prayer for Help I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted. Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, “Here I am;

in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever. For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.

confusion who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt. Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!” As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Family Faith Talks Wednesday 6:00—7:00 PM

Advent Festival, November 27

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me. Let all those be put to shame and

BRING TOGETHER: (Led by a HS Student) Announcements, Attendance

GAME TO BEGIN: GAME TO BEGIN: TOP TEN: Today we will look at the top 10 hits this week, the top ten hits this week in 2006, and the top ten hits in 1986. Have those 30 songs in a hat and have a boys and girls team. The first team draws a song and hands it to you without looking. Play it off your phone and see how long it takes for them to name it. Repeat 5 times – the team with the most points wins! (Songs are at the end of the lesson) FOCUS OF TODAY God is at work in our lives everyday– making us new and calling us to new beginnings. Psalm 40 is a song about the pits. It falls into two sections. In the first half (40:1-10), David tells how God got him out of one pit and he sings God’s praise for doing so. But he did not then live happily ever after. Rather, it is evident from the second half of the psalm (40:11-17) that he is in another pit, crying out to the Lord to deliver him from this one. Because David waited intently on the Lord to rescue him from the first pit, he knew how to wait on the Lord to get him out of the second pit. So it’s a psalm about what to do when you’re in the pit.

Explain that there are few things about Psalms and Proverbs that the group needs to have filed away.

Ask the following intro questions. 1. What is a “psalm”? (a song) 2. What is a “proverb”? (a wise saying) 3. One of these books teaches believers how to worship. (Psalms) 4. One of these books teaches believers how to live… or how to become wise. (Proverbs) 5. There are 31 Proverbs. (making it a nice book to read in a month, a chapter a day) 6. There are 150 Psalms. (making it a nice book to read in a month, at 5 chapters a day) 7. According to tradition, who wrote most of the Psalms? (David) 8. According to tradition, who wrote most of the book of Proverbs? (Solomon) INVITE: Play the recording of the song “40” (Psalm 40) from the rock band, U-2. Process Questions 1. What is the song saying? 2. When the average Joe hears this song on a U-2 album, what do you think he or she might assume it is about? 3. The name of the song is “40.” Does anyone know where that title came from? 4. Why would a group like U-2 include a song like this one on one of its albums? 5. Who do you think is the most important person in this song? 6. Can you remember a time in your life when you were in a “slimy pit,” either literally or figuratively, and couldn't seem to get out? (You [the teacher] may want to tell a story from your own life in response to this question) 7. What do you think the songwriter means when he talks about a “new song”? 8. Which would you rather listen to—an old song or a new song? 9. Whom do you think is more willing to listen to the songs from the other generation—older people or younger people?

Reflection Questions At what times or places did you have thoughts of God this past week? When did you come the closest to experiencing God's presence and why? When did you feel the farthest from God? Why do you think God felt so far away at that time? SAY AGAIN Psalm 40 is a song about the pits. It falls

into two sections. In the first half (40:1-10), David tells how God got him out of one pit and he sings God’s praise for doing so. But he did not then live happily ever after. Rather, it is evident from the second half of the psalm (40:11-17) that he is in another pit, crying out to the Lord to deliver him from this one. Because David waited intently on the Lord to rescue him from the first pit, he knew how to wait on the Lord to get him out of the second pit. So it’s a psalm about what to do when you’re in the pit.

EXPLORE Is anyone you know in a pit right now? Is anyone in the news in a pit right now that you have heard about? As we wrap up service week, did you get to experience the power of becoming involved in something where you were able to comfort someone in a pit or be comforted yourself? Pits can be in all places and in all walks of life— We can have pits in our friendships, in our school lives, in sports, in our families, in our church— The psalmist tells us its not about the pits that we are in—because there will always be more pits — it is how we trust and remember that God is always redeeming us, is always protecting us, is always caring for us. How do you wait patiently for the Lord? How can we, as a community, be reminded that God is with us in the pits and present with us when we feel most alone? As thanksgiving approaches, what is one way that you can intentionally reach out to someone in a pit and be a comfort to them?

1986 1 AMANDA –•– BOSTON 2 I DIDN’T MEAN TO TURN YOU ON –•– ROBERT PALMER 3 TRUE COLORS –•– CYNDI LAUPER 4 HUMAN –•– HUMAN LEAGUE 5 TRUE BLUE –•– MADONNA – 6 TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT –•– EDDIE MONEY 7 YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME –•– BON JOVI 8 TYPICAL MALE –•– TINA TURNER 9 WORD UP –•– CAMEO 10 THE RAIN –•– ORAN “JUICE” JONES 2006

1. LIPS OF AN ANGEL -HINDER 2. SMACK THAT AKON FEATURING EMINEM 3. TOO LITTLE TOO LATE—JOJO 4. CHASING CARS — SNOW PATROL 5. LONDON BRIDGE FERGIE 6. WHITE & NERDY — WEIRD AL YANKOVIC 7. FERGALICIOUS — FERGIE FEATURING WILL.I.AM 8. SEXYBACK — JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE 9. HOW TO SAVE A LIFE — THE FRAY 10. MY LOVE — JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE FEATURING T.I. 2016

1. CLOSER THE CHAINSMOKERS FEATURING HALSEY 2. DON'T WANNA KNOW MAROON 5 FEATURING KENDRICK LAMAR 3. LET ME LOVE YOU DJ SNAKE FEATURING JUSTIN BIEBER 4. HEATHENS TWENTY ONE PILOTS 5. STARBOY THE WEEKND FEATURING DAFT PUNK 6. GOLD KIIARA 7. 24K MAGIC - BRUNO MARS 8. I HATE U I LOVE U GNASH FEATURING OLIVIA O'BRIEN 9. COLD WATER MAJOR LAZER FEATURING JUSTIN BIEBER & MO 10. TREAT YOU BETTER SHAWN MENDES