Church Of Christ - Youth Group

Let’s read Psalm 121 today and see where our help comes from when we are going through difficult times.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

Have you ever felt that everything is going wrong and no one could ever understand or help? Maybe it is a problem with friends or even with something as little as homework. In these times, when things seem too unbearable, perhaps the only one we can turn to is God.

In Psalm 121:1, the writer says, “…where does my help come from?” The writer sees that people can often be discouraged and not know who to turn to if they can’t talk to family or friends. But in verse 2 he answers the question for us, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.” We should remember these words whenever we need help and know that God is always there for us. He will protect us from every danger that comes our way. When times of hurt or pain come to us, we should pray for God to help lead us through it. God wants us to call on Him in our trouble, because He wants to help us.

God loves us and if we need help, He is there. “Our help comes from the Lord,” and He will protect us from all pain that life has to offer.

Points To Ponder: What are some problems you face? How do you handle these problems? How could you handle them better with God?

Prayer Possibilities: Pray for God’s help with your problems. Ask God to help strengthen your faith against all problems that may come your way throughout your life. Thank God for helping you with all of your problems.

Ever notice that when you try and do something really nice for someone else, it often turns out that you feel blessed because of something that someone in turn does for you. The more we try and make other people feel better, the better we feel. With that in mind read Psalm 67 this morning.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.”

When you get really good news, like a raise at work or a promotion, you feel so great that you just can’t keep it to yourself. You tell your friends and family about it.

Well, it is the same way when we tell others about Jesus. God will bless us and them also. As it says in Psalm 67:5-6, “May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest and God our God will bless us.” So, by spreading the Gospel to others, we receive His blessings and they get benefits also. So, it works both ways. Is that a neat concept or what? Telling others pays off for both parties. Praising God means we get His gifts. We reach out to others and they respond back by praising God.

We should tell others about Jesus at every opportunity.

Points To Ponder: How does God bless us? How often should we tell others? How can other people benefit?

Prayer Possibilities: Pray that we can spread God’s Word more often. Pray for courage to do the work He wants. Pray that people will respond back.

When things are not going well, we often complain and grumble and at times ask “Why are you letting this happen to me God?” On the other side of the coin, how often do we praise and thank God when things are going well? Read Psalm 8 and we’ll see how the Psalmist acted.

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

When you have accomplished something that has made you proud, did you praise God for the success, or did you give all of the glory to yourself, and forget to praise Him? At times like this, you need to praise God and not get caught up in ourselves. Without our Majestic God, nothing would be possible; not even your success in the things you do.

All too often we pass through life and accomplish great things, but don’t praise God for it. We read in Psalm 8, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” This means we should praise God’s majestic name, and all glory and honor is to be given to Him. Even if we pass or fail at something in life, we should praise God out of love for Him. We should praise God for everything, not just our successful accomplishments.

So, the next time you are successful, praise God. Even when you aren’t successful, praise Him. Don’t look past all of your blessings, because they come from our Majestic Lord. When you praise God, you will grow closer and closer to Him. This is what the Lord and you both want. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” Praise Him, for He is the reason for your success!

Points To Ponder: Why do we want to praise God? When should we praise our Majestic Lord? When we praise God, what happens to our relationship with Him?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank God for your successes and even for your failures. Ask for help from Him to be successful in whatever you do. Ask for forgiveness, for the times when you don’t praise Him.

People are very fickle. We change our mind and opinions of people very quickly. Take a look at Zechariah 9:9-10 and the we’ll gain more insight below.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Picture yourself a moment as a star basketball player. In the final game of the season you make the winning shot and you are on top of the world. Now, during the provincial championship game, you have the chance to win the game, but your shot misses its mark. Now you are the lowest thing on earth. That is the way Jesus felt on Palm Sunday when everyone praised Him; then a few days later some of the same people were yelling, “Crucify Him.”

In Zechariah 9:9-10 is a prophecy that Jesus will enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey. However, Jesus comes with more than only a game winning shot. “See your king comes to you righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey,” the prophet foretold. We should realize that Jesus’ state of humility was necessary so that we could receive full forgiveness of sins, and by His death and resurrection we should be confident that we will be in heaven one day after Jesus comes.

Remember the game winning shot. Jesus made the ultimate “game winning shot” by dying on the cross for us. After His resurrection, Jesus is now in heaven waiting to come again in all His glory, and not riding on a donkey.

Points To Ponder: How do you know if you are ready for Jesus’ second coming? How do you prepare for His second coming? How close do you think Jesus’ second coming really is?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank God for sending Jesus to die in our place. Ask Jesus to quickly come back to earth to take us up to heaven to be with Him in all His glory. Ask God to help us get ready for Jesus’ second coming.

At times in our life, we can’t take care of ourselves. Maybe we’re really sick, or just grow old and feeble. God is the ultimate caretaker and today we’re going to see why. Read Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23, 24 today as we begin. Read the entire passage as I’ve only quoted verses 14-16 below.

“I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”

Today people have many complaints about our government. They think our governors, senators, and even our president are nothing but dishonest crooks. However, God is personally looking out for His people and will deal with the others in His own time. The text tells us that some of the men in David’s time were taking advantage of their positions that God had given them over His people. God dealt with those men and put David in charge as king to care for His people. God did not stop there; He also takes care of each and everyone of us personally. God tells us in the text, “I myself will tend my sheep.”

So even though God has placed government over us, He is our ultimate caretaker. He knows all our needs and provides for us. God put government over us because we asked for it. The problem with the government is that they do not know our personal needs. God does, and He will provide for us. The next time you think to yourself about how terrible our government is, and that they do not see the needs of the people, remember that God knows our needs and will provide for us.

Points To Ponder: How do you feel our current administration is providing for the needs of the people, if at all? Describe how our government is meeting God’s commandments? When you go to God in prayer, how do you acknowledge the fact that He is your caretaker?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank God for taking care of us. Ask God that He over see our government. Ask God that He continue to care for all of His sheep.