The Context: Facing Real Fear I Samuel 21 What are you afraid of? ___________________

The Starting Place: Facing Fear on Bended Knee Psalm 34: 1-3

A Way to Face Fear: A Three-Step Process of Deliverance Psalm 34:4-7 _____________ your Fear Psalm 34:5

_____________God’s power toward that fear Psalm 34:6

_____________ in confidence of being fortified Psalm 34:7

Encouraging Others to Seize the Truth Psalm 34:8-10

Freedom from Fear Psalm 34:11-22

Here is my:

q Comment q Prayer request for prayer teamq Prayer request for pastoral staff only

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Info Card October 19Vision Message

Please include name and contact information for follow-up by ministry staff.

MessagePsalm 341I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.2I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.3Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.4I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.5Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.6This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.8Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.9Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.10The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.11Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.12Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,13keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.14Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.15The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;16but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.17The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.18The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.19The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;20he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.21Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.22The LORD will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Facing Fear Discussion Starter: Who has a story of escape from a fearful situation? How did you feel during the incident and how did you feel following the incident. What does fear do to us on the inside? Pastor Joel talked about global fears that leave us feeling the undercurrent of fear, but he elevated the personal fears that go beyond undercurrent and impact are day to day lives. What personal fears seem most common today for children, teens and adults? David felt real fear. It impacted his emotional well-being, his ability to function day to day, and it ultimately left him feeling alone. Can the group summarize the real fear David experienced (as found in 1 Samuel 21)? Psalm 34 is a rich and encouraging Psalm. In it David shares about how God delivered Him from real fear in his life. He even gives us a simple three-step process of deliverance to apply to our own fear places.

1. Read Ps. 34: 1-3. The word “extol” or “bless” means “to bend the knee.” The Starting Place for facing fear is to bend your knee before God. Why is the posture of bended knee so important? What are we doing when we bend our knee before God? What do these verses reveal about God’s presence in the face of our need? Do you ever literally bend your knee in prayer? How does such posture influence you?

2. Read Ps. 34:4-7. Here David gives us a way to face fear with a simple three-step process. This

does not mean that it’s the only way the scriptures help us to face fear. But this particular path was of great help to David and is applicable to us today. As you rehearse the way to deliverance answer the questions that flow from the principles identified. #1 Expose your Fear Ps. 34:5 a. Pastor Joel explained this verse indicated David was saying, “The faces of my fears shall

never be ashamed”, or literally, I will never put a veil over the face of my fears, meaning I will never try to hide them. Why do we hide our fear?

b. Read 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. How is Paul doing what David did and why? c. David was confessing his fear and saying, “I took my fears and exposed them to God, and He

shed light on them. I’ll never again try to cover them up. I’ll never again try to appear to be something I’m not in the face of others or in the face of God, I’m going to admit that I’m fearful.” With that said, could each of you in your group share one place of fear in your life today?

#2 Appropriate God’s power toward that fear Ps. 34:6 a. What does the word appropriate mean? b. What keeps us from appropriating God’s power in the face of our fears? c. How do you specifically appropriate God’s power in your life, or how do you lay hold of the

risen power of Christ in the face of fear?

#3 Live in confidence of being fortified Ps. 34.7 a. What does the metaphor here “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him”

mean? What does it mean to fear the Lord? What does this image do for you when you think about your greatest fears?

b. David does not promise that the emotional symptoms of fear completely disappear. But what is the promise of this Psalm?

When we 1) expose our fear, 2) appropriate God’s power for that fear by taking hold of the powerful resources of the risen Christ, then 3) he fortifies us. Read Ps. 34:8-10. Why does David tell us to encourage others to seize the truth to lay hold of the power of God in the face of fear? What happens to us when we point others to God when they are afraid? Before you leave your group everyone stand and have a volunteer read all of Psalm 34.