The Lonely Darkness of Betrayal

Sermon Notes June 2 , 2019 Psalm 55 Short Review Review the main points of the morning message. Focus on: What comfort does the Christian have when he or she is betrayed? Some Questions: 1. Begin by asking: a. Any ideas or topics you want to talk about, questions you have? b. Is there something which the Lord applied to your life this morning which you’d be willing to share? 2. Can you name some famous instances of betrayal in history or in the bible? What happened, what did the betrayed ones experience? 3. How did David experience both sides? Discuss David’s sensitivity/awareness of what was happening in each case. a. How did he betray Uriah? b. How was he betrayed by Absalom and Ahithophel? (II Samuel 15-17) 4. Why is being betrayed so painful? [How would you paraphrase verses 3-5?] 5. Does betrayal ever happen among Christians? a. Why or why not? b. Do you know of church and ministry leaders who have been ‘betrayed’ – brothers and sisters have undermined or criticized their work instead of encouraging and helping? c. Maybe some of you have been in that position. What does it feel like? Paraphrase verses 6-8 in terms of your own experience. d. How can we encourage someone who is criticizing others who are working for the Lord while we still honor Romans 16:17 (Titus 3:10)? 6. How can we tell if we are the ones betraying someone else? a. What did it take for David? [Remember Nathan’s sharp words from the Lord?] b. How can we examine ourselves and tell if we are tempted to betray someone because we are harboring any of the following (all of which we tend to deny having!): bitterness (Heb. 12:15), jealousy and selfish ambition (James 3:14-16)? 7. Have you ever felt like writing a letter/email or text with words like verses 13,14? [ How about like verse 15?] What’s behind these anguished words? 8. How have you or would you respond to betrayal? a. Discuss verses 16-18 b. Reflect on II Timothy 4:14. What was Paul’s response to someone undermining his ministry? 9. How do we put verses 22-23 into practice when we are betrayed? 10. How can we pray for one another in response to the word today?