How to Use the Materials

For Individuals: • Watch the service. • Do the five-day devotional - start on Monday following the weekend message. (Use a journal or the space provided and a modern translation of the .) • Share with someone something meaningful you have A Preston Trail Study Guide learned during the week.

With a Group: • Before your group meeting, watch the service. • Do the five-day devotional - start on Monday following the weekend message. (Use a journal, or the space provided on the guide, and a Bible.)

• Be prepared and ready to share thoughts from the weekend message. • Week One: 6:8 • Week Two: Philippians 4:6-8 • Week Three: Matthew 6:33-34 When your group meets, group members will: • Week Four: Proverbs 3:5-6 • Use the weekly Small Group Discussion Guide. • Week Five: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 • Share thoughts from the weekend message; daily • Week Six: Joshua 1:9 devotionals serve as a supplement to the discussion. Justice. Mercy. Humility. These are words that characterize how God deals • Pray: Reserve at least 20-minutes for prayer time. with us and asks us to deal with others. Let’s dive into this passage and • discover why these words of God are a firm foundation on which to build Encourage Group engagement: Watch the next our lives. Let’s find out why these are words to live by. Whether you are weekend service, download and begin that week’s with a group or doing this study as an individual, please follow along with study guide on Monday. Come back prepared to share. the daily devotionals and weekly reflection questions.

1 Day One: Critical Context A contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Hosea, Micah

reminded the people of their promises to God and urged them Read Micah 6:1-8 to return to those promises. Israel’s kings had gone from good

to bad to worse and back again, but still, God remained We all learn how to live from somewhere. faithful to his people. God had rescued them on numerous Maybe we had great life teachers—parents, occasions, but they had somehow forgotten his faithfulness. mentors or friends who poured truth and He had called them to be generous and kind to those in need, inspiration into us. Maybe we were forced to look elsewhere. but instead, they were oppressive and without justice or

mercy. And then, when called out for their choices, rather The people of God have always looked to God himself for the than changing their hearts and returning to God in humility, truths that would serve as the foundation of their life and they decided to double up on empty religious activity instead. relationship with him and others. In fact, in ancient days, God made a covenant—a binding promise—with , and They chose over the top sacrifices, including offering their own through him, to the people of Israel concerning this very thing. children like the pagans did, in an attempt to pacify God. But God wanted to avoid any confusion, so he made it very clear Yahweh has never been satisfied with mere religion. He wants how he wanted his people to live and behave. According to relationship. He wants hearts that are tender toward him and this agreement, if the people of Israel would love their God to toward others. the exclusion of all other gods and take care of their fellow man, there would be blessings for generations to come. But, if It was at this point that Micah shared these words to live by. they succumbed to the temptations of idolatry and treated their neighbors with contempt and injustice, there would be Read Micah 6:1-8 consequences.

S (Scripture) - Write out a phrase or passage that really stuck Israel agreed, but then, like we probably would do in their out to you today. place, they found it difficult to hold up their end of the bargain.

But God, out of the riches of his mercy, continued to attempt to draw them back to their promise through the words and warnings of the prophets. One of those prophets was named Micah.

2 O (Observation) - What do you notice about this phrase/passage? Contrast the offerings of the people and the requirements of God. Day Two: Good Requirements

“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?”

He has shown you… A (Application) - How do you think God is calling you to God doesn’t keep secret from us the things we need to know understand and apply this phrase/passage? Is there a in order to live in right relationship with him and others. In challenge to accept? A warning to observe? A blessing to fact, the world of ancient Israel was full of feasts and festivals receive? How will understanding this passage change your to remind people of the character and saving acts of their daily life? mighty God.

…what is good This word translated “good” is used over 560 times throughout the and describes something of value; something better than something else. It means pleasant and agreeable. In this case, God has revealed without

doubt what he finds to be of value. P (Prayer) - Write a prayer thanking God for the words he has given us to live by. Ask him to fill LORD… you with those qualities— justice, mercy and When in all caps, this refers to the name of God, Yahweh. He humility—that describe his children. is not to be confused with any other god.

…require of you? To require is to make something necessary. What follows will be the essential characteristics of the children of God. In this

case, “you” is singular meaning that he is not just describing his children in general, but each child in particular. Because of

3 the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, this includes you! What was What are some other things God requires of us? necessary for the children of Israel is still necessary for you. What God was asking of them is still relevant for us today.

Read Micah 6:1-8

What are some ways that you can remember the good things God has done in your life? Write a prayer to God recognizing his role as Creator. As maker of heaven and earth, God gets to set the rules. He also makes the rules for us as his children. Thank him that his rules always are a reflection of his heart for our wholeness and satisfying life. Ask him what he might be requiring of you today.

How does God reveal what is good to us today?

What is the difference between a “requirement” and a “suggestion”?

4 Day Three: Justice and Mercy How do these two words go together? In God’s terms, justice

gives us the standard for behavior. We can do nothing less. “To act justly and to love mercy…” We should act with fairness and equity on behalf of all people.

It also means that we should rise up when we perceive Our behaviors stem from our feelings which injustice and act on behalf of the fair treatment of others. stem from our thoughts. If we want to really change our behaviors, we must start by changing our minds. And, when the opportunity arrives to go beyond justice and God knew this truth long before science discovered it which is show mercy, we can delight in that as God does. He could why the Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to write in Romans treat us with justice and give us what we deserve. And yet, 12:1-2 that we were to be transformed in life by the renewing God treats us with rich mercy and love. He even goes so far as of our minds first. to declare us righteous or “just-ified” based on the sacrifice of

Jesus on our behalf. When it is within our power to show What does this have to do with today’s study? Well, it has to mercy, we can do so knowing that we have first been shown do with relationships—God’s with us, ours with others and mercy by God. even ours with nature.

When we believe these are worthy words to live by, we will Let’s first look at the word “just.” It means behavior that is reflect that in our lives. Our thoughts, feelings and actions will based on what is morally right and fair or to be guided by be unified in a desire for all of our relationships to be rich in truth, reason and fairness. It is the root of our word “justice,” both justice and mercy. which reflects a way of treating others with fairness and equity. It usually refers to legal scenarios of judgment and the giving of fair or deserved treatment for a perceived Read Micah 6:1-8 wrongdoing. To act justly is to do the right thing and to work to make wrong things right. Define “justice” in your own words.

“Mercy,” on the other hand, implies compassion and forgiveness. It means showing kind treatment toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. It means that compassionate care is to be our first response.

5 Define “mercy” in your own words.

How do you think justice and mercy work together in our relationship with God?

Day Four: Walking Humbly with God

“…and to walk humbly with your God.”

God had been continually blessing the people of How do you think justice and mercy work together in our Israel, his chosen people, and yet they had relationships with one another? forgotten. They were now misunderstanding what he required of them and trying to appease him the way pagans tried to appease their gods—with bigger and more valuable sacrifices rather than personal responsibility and heart change. They were trying to earn their way back into God’s good graces when, in truth, they had never left. They were still God’s chosen people. They just weren’t acting like it. Write a prayer thanking God for these specific words he has given us to live by. Ask for more of Through Christ, we have been adopted into God’s family. We his Spirit within our lives to know when to act are his beloved sons and daughters who have been bought at with justice and when to extend mercy to others. a great price. Just as the people of Israel had forgotten what Thank him for not treating us as we deserve but God had done on their behalf, we often forget the sacrifice for, instead, extending mercy to each of us every day. that was made on ours. God loved us so much that he sent Jesus to die on our behalf so that we could have this amazing relationship with him! Justice would demand our deaths

6 because of our rebellion and sin against God and each other. And yet, he chose mercy. He was well within his rights to wipe out all of us, but instead, he paid the costly price of his own son in order to restore us to right standing with him.

And what is our response to this incredible sacrifice? Well, we have a choice—accept his gift with humility or refuse it out of How are humility and pride opposites? pride. We can choose to submit our will to the will of God, or we can choose our own way.

“To walk” in biblical terms implies a way of life. Therefore, “to walk humbly” means to do life with a heart of humility—to have a lower estimation of your importance. But don’t be confused, it doesn’t mean having low self-esteem. That can be How can humility and pride look the same? harmful and is never God’s intention. In the words of C.S. Lewis, “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” It means to recognize that we were saved from death by God’s mercy and choose therefore to treat God and others with justice, mercy and intentional care.

Read Micah 6:1-8 Write a prayer asking God for a right view of yourself. Ask his Spirit to remind you that you Define “humility” in your own words. are his beloved child, what the Bible refers to as a “saint” even when your actions don’t always reflect it. As we are growing more and more into the likeness of Christ through the Spirit, ask him for the courage to choose humility and express it the way Jesus did.

What would it look like for you to “walk humbly with God” today?

7 Living by Micah 6:8 isn’t about getting permission to play on God’s team—doing all sorts of religious things in order to be blessed. Instead, through Christ, we are already invited! We simply have to show up and play according to God’s rules— showing justice, loving mercy and acting with humility. By doing so, we join God’s saving mission to restore and redeem this world for his glory and our good.

Might this be the day you explore some potentially new words to live by?

Day Five: Words to Live By Read Micah 6:1-8

What words do you live by when it comes to your We all have words we live by. For some of us, we relationship with God? were taught that we could have anything we wanted, just not everything we wanted—at least not at the same time. But others were taught they weren’t going to amount to much, so why dream. Some were taught that the world was their oyster and others that they would never be smart enough or talented enough or pretty/handsome enough to make a difference in the world. Some were taught to share and share alike, and others were What words do you live by when it comes to your taught that this life is all there is, so you better get “yours.” relationships with others?

Stop and really think about it for a moment—what words do you live by? What words serve as the foundation for your life? Do you remember where you got those words? If so, who gave them to you and what was their motivation? And then, if you’re brave enough, ask yourself how those words are working for you? Are you living the life you want—the full and abundant life Christ came to give you?

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What might your life look like if you lived according to Micah 6:8?

Write a prayer of gratitude to God. Thank him for these words to live by that are the best plan for living the rich and satisfying life Christ came to provide. Thank him that the ancient words spoken to Israel still apply to us today. Ask him to help us make these our words to live by.

9 SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

Welcome Are you responding with compassionate care to the needs of Opening Prayer - Invite God’s presence into your group others? If so, how? If not, why not? time. Thank him for the gift of fellowship and ask him for insights, creativity and reminders of his love for you. Why do you think God calls us to both justice and mercy?

Group Sharing - Share something that has Walking Humbly with God been meaningful to you from your daily devotionals. How do you submit your will to God’s will on a daily basis? What are some tools that help you in this attempt? Discussion Guide:

What makes it difficult to submit to God’s will for justice, Critical Context mercy and humility in our relationships?

If a prophet’s job was primarily to remind people of God’s character and his desires for them as his people, who might be Words to Live By some prophetic voices in your own life today? Spend some time in concentrated prayer using the acronym P.R.A.Y. Good Requirements Praise - Praise God for who he is and what he has What do you think God is requiring of you based on this done. week’s message/homework? Repent - Recognize where you need to turn from unhealthy What can life look like if you choose to do those or destructive thinking and patterns and turn back to God’s requirements? way of life. Ask - Ask for God’s intervention on your behalf and on behalf What can life look like if you choose your own way? of others. Yield - Entrust your requests to God’s good and perfect Justice and Mercy response and timing. Are you doing the right things and helping to make wrong things right? If so, how? If not, why not?

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