Abiding in the PsalmsSample

A short and sweet psalm today. But don’t let the size of this psalm fool you. It is powerful. Verse 1 introduces the theme: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Unity can also be described in terms of ‘brotherly or sisterly love’. How much do we love our Christian brothers and sisters? The words good and pleasant in verse 1 don’t just mean ‘nice’. They are descriptive words that are more likened to words like: Wonderful, unique, beautiful, incredible, special. This is not a nice observation. It is a powerful statement! Unity is Precious Like Oil In the Old Testament, people would use oil to bless other people. Oil was a precious and valuable item, and so was only used in situations of great importance. David describes unity like this. It is both precious and special. Unity is difficult. As we journey alongside other Christians, we see our own flaws and the flaws of others. But this is exactly what makes it so special. It’s not as though we will have unity once we are all fixed. The thing that makes unity so precious is that in the midst of our flaws and failings, we can still share this life together. Do you notice in your own life that you are constantly complaining about Christians or church? Could you be expecting so much of others whilst conveniently looking past your own? Unity is special because we shouldn’t necessarily have it. But because God is with us, we can. God greatly values unity! And we must value it too, for the alternative is far more difficult. Questions 1\. What makes unity so special? 2\. Who are the people you walk alongside in your Christian life who you may not get along with? Do you think it needs to stay like this? 3\. What does it look like to live together in unity? Does it mean we ignore our frustrations and issues? Why not? 4\. You should not feel shame if you are in the midst of conflict with someone else. If this brings up challenges that you are facing in your life, please talk to someone who you can confide in. Pray Dear God, thank you that I am no longer in conflict with you because of Jesus! Thank you that ultimately you have brought unity between yourself and us, your people. Here are my frustrations… I surrender them to you, teach me what unity looks like for me and how I can live that out….