Carrying the Light

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). In pairs or groups of three, have participants respond: “Name a person you fear. What makes that person frightening?

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read Psalm 27:1, 4-9.

Why is the psalmist to fear no one? [Notice the possessive “my.” The psalmist has embraced the Lord as his personal light, salvation, and stronghold, so he has no need for fear (Psalm 27:1).]

What does the psalmist ask of the Lord? [To live in the house of the Lord is to continually abide in the presence of God. In God’s presence, the psalmist can experience God’s favor and bring his questions to God his whole life long (Psalm 27:4).]

• Imagine yourself alone with God in your church sanctuary. What question would you ask about carrying the light?

Read Psalm 27:5-6. What connection do you see between worship and living beyond fear?

The Preaching Notes for January 25 advise, “If you fill your life with the search for God, you won’t have time to fear.” What does the psalmist’s prayer in Psalm 27:7-9 teach you about how to fill your life with the search for God?

Think about your answer to the opening question. What insight from Psalm 27 can move you beyond that fear?

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer: God, as we go forth, carrying your light into the darkness, strengthen us with the conviction that you are our light, our salvation, our stronghold. Amen.

Rev. Sherry Bryant-Johnson, a United Methodist deacon, served extension ministries in the Mississippi Annual Conference for nearly three decades. Now retired, she teaches “Abiding in Christ Together: Creating Gospel-Centric Retreats” as well as Lay Servant Ministries courses online at www.BeaDisciple.com. An author and a spiritual director, she is an editor and essayist for the anthology, Embodied Spirits: Stories of Spiritual Directors of Color (Morehouse, 2014).