Worship – HOPE Singapore

Title: When We Trust God Together
Series: Songs for All Seasons
Text: Psalm 115

The community of God is called to remember God’s greatness and to choose to trust Him, instead of idols. When we do so, God will bless us and renew us in Him.

General Questions:

Read through Psalm 115. What does the text reveal about the psalmist’s understanding of and relationship with God? Considering this, in what ways does our understanding of and relationship with God need to change?
The text of Psalm 115 suggests it was sung corporately in the nation of Israel. What did Israel, as a community, sing about? What truths did they proclaim about God? What is the role of the community in proclaiming these truths with and to one another?
Put yourself in the shoes of an Israelite, during a festival celebration when Psalm 115 was sung. What impact would hearing the words of Psalm 115, sung by your fellow Israelites, have on you, especially if you were feeling discouraged? How does this experience enrich our understanding of gathering as a spiritual community? Why is it important for us to gather?

Perspective Questions:

Psalm 115 tells us to praise God together. What is the difference between singing songs of praise in private or recording our testimonies in our diaries, as compared to singing together and sharing our testimonies with one another? How does this affect our attitude towards gathering for LG and for weekly services?
Manmade idols can never replace the place of God in our community. What are some manmade idols (e.g. busyness, success, people’s approval, performance, self-dependence) that we are susceptible to worshiping? Verses 4-8 describes such manmade idols: what do these verses show about the manmade idols we seek? How has worshiping these idols affected us as well as our understanding of God and His power?
In what ways might we have become over-familiar with God’s grace and works? How has this over-familiarity affected the way we respond to and relate with God? What can we do to avoid being over-familiar with God’s grace and works?
If God gives you a blank cheque to ask for anything that is godly for the LG, what would you ask for? Why do we not regularly ask God for these things in our LG? What does our lack of asking reveal about our understanding of and relationship with God?

Application Questions:

What are some areas in which we can change how we conduct our LG meetings?
- How can we help one another to remember that God is active in our lives?
- How can we, when we gather, be more proactive in involving God in the seemingly mundane things (e.g. work, bringing our children to/from school) in our lives?
- As a community, how can we develop the habit to seek God for breakthroughs?

Series: Song For All Seasons
Title: When There Is Injustice
Text: Psalm 12

In a world where truth is twisted and injustice seems to prevail, Psalm 12 teaches us how to respond with faith instead of despair.

General Question:

The sermon showed how David’s cry of “Help, Lord” turns despair into hope, as God promises to arise for the needy. Which part of this truth spoke to you most, bringing injustice before God, guarding your own heart, or being God’s instrument of justice and why?

Perspective Question:

Psalm 12 warns that injustice begins with deceit and self-deception. Are there areas in your life where you find it hard to bring to light?

Application Question:

The sermon challenged us to respond to injustice by calling on God first, refusing vengeance, and partnering with Him to reach the forgotten. Which of these steps will you take this week, and what is one practical action you can do to begin?

Title: When I Feel Overwhelmed
Text: Psalm 42

Psalm 42 is a type of lament psalm, which generally expresses a deep trust in God, and helps a person to express struggles, suffering or disappointment to God. As the first lament psalm in a new subsection of this book, it sets the tone for a deep longing for God in difficult and distressing situations.

General Question:

What stood out to you from this message about what it means to be honest and hopeful before God when you feel overwhelmed?

Perspective Question:

In your own walk, do you tend to lean more towards being brutally honest or overly ‘performative’ before God? What might that reveal about how you see Him?

Application Question:

When your soul feels downcast, what is one practical way you can ‘speak to your soul’ and realign your thoughts with God’s truth? How can you make this a habit in your daily life?

Title: When I Overcome
Text: Psalms 40:1-3

The Psalms are a collection of songs that address the full range of human experience. What can we learn from Psalm 40 on overcoming challenges?

General Questions:

When you encounter challenges, difficulties or roadblocks in your life, how do you usually respond? Is God the first person that you go to, to pray and to petition your needs to? Why?
What does “waiting patiently for the Lord” mean to you? Have you ever experienced a time when you were desperate and could only rely on God to deliver and help you? What helped you to hold on in faith while waiting? What did you learn about God and about yourself through that season of waiting?

Perspective Questions:

Everyone (believers and pre-believers alike) will go through challenging and difficult times. How do you think having a relationship with God changes the way we respond to those challenges? How does knowing God’s character (e.g., faithful, loving, present) shape your response?
Have you ever felt like God was silent during a difficult time? Looking back, what were the precious lessons you learned in this season and how did you come to realise that He was still working?
How does remembering God’s faithfulness in the past help us to overcome present challenges? Take time to recall God’s faithfulness in your life and give thanks to Him.

Application Questions:

Are you personally going through a challenging or uncertain season in your life? In what ways does this sermon speak to you? How do you think you can apply the truths from Psalms 40 to help you to overcome this season?
Are there people in your life, be it in your life group, family or colleagues who come to mind that might be struggling or searching for hope? How can you share your testimony to encourage them?

Series: Songs For All Seasons
Title: When I Feel Small
Text: Psalm 8

In a world that constantly tells us to look inward and elevate ourselves, Psalm 8 invites us to look upward, to see the majesty of God and our smallness in His greatness. Through the psalm’s poetic structure, we discover that the God who rules over the heavens is also mindful of us, entrusting us with His creation despite our insignificance. When we truly grasp how majestic God is and how small we are, our hearts are moved to worship, not for what we gain, but for who He is.

Discussion Questions

How great and majestic do I perceive God to be?
Practically, how can I keep my worship more God-focused and less me-focused?

From the mountaintops of praise to the valleys of lament, from personal struggles to corporate celebrations, the Psalms teach us how to bring our hearts honestly before God. Whether you are rejoicing, weeping, seeking, or wrestling, you will find that God’s Word has a song for every season of your soul.

Encounter God’s Presence in our worship service. Learn how we can wield praise as a weapon; to declare God’s power and nature in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances.

Title: Endless Worship
Series: Essential Worship
Text: Rev 7:9-17

Since worshipping is what believers are going to be doing for all eternity, it’s important to learn what worship’s truly about! What does worship involve and what is its significance for us today?

1) We will be from every people (Rev 7:9a)

What do you think it means to worship? When you think of worship, do you see it as an individual activity or a communal experience? What does it mean to you that at the end of history, we will worship God together with believers from every tribe and tongue? John Piper once said, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” How does this quote change or reinforce your perception of worship?

2) We will give all glory to God (Rev 7:9b-12)

Why can we give glory to God no matter what we are going through? Are most people you know escapists (“There are no enemies”), defeatists (“There are enemies and they have won”) or victors (“There are enemies but God has won”)? Why do you say so? The opposite of giving glory to God is seeking glory for ourselves. How can the LG remind one another that only God deserves the glory?

3) We will receive our greatest joy (Rev 7:15-17)

God is our shelter, provider and shepherd – how have you experienced God in these areas? The reality for many of us is that we still have to go through the storm, we still have unfulfilled desires and we still face dangers. How does the truth about God’s character give us joy still? How does the truth affect our worship?

Worship is an essential part of Christian living. We were made to worship! But what does it mean to worship God in these uncertain times? What changes and what remains constant?