Selah: Life in a Minor Key - Going Out & Coming In

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

Gathering and Opening (10 minutes). In pairs, discuss a routine that you are not willing to give up.

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read: Psalm 121. Read the passage a second time emphasizing the words “keep, keeps, and keeper.” If possible, also read Psalm 121 from the Message paraphrase.

How many times does the word “keep” or a form of the word “keep” appear in this passage? [In the NRSV it is six times. It is from the Hebrew “Shamar.”]
What does it mean to you that God is our “keeper”?
In verse five, we read, “the Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.” How might shade in a desert culture be a metaphor for protection and relief?
How is God our constant companion? What practices/habits can enable us to be closer to God?
Read or sing the hymn below and then answer the following: “How are stanzas one and two opposite experiences?” [the comforting of a parent and the isolation of darkness] “How do the last two stanzas also present two opposite experiences?” [new birth of a new day and the finality of death] “How can we claim God’s constant presence for guidance?”

If appropriate to your group, end your group’s time by singing the spiritual one last time.

Suggested Spiritual
Give Me Jesus

I heard my mother say
I heard my mother say
I heard my mother say
Give me Jesus

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
But give me Jesus

Dark midnight was my cry
Dark midnight was my cry
Dark midnight was my cry
Give me Jesus

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
But give me Jesus

In the morning when I rise
In the morning when I rise
In the morning when I rise
Give me Jesus

And when I've come to die
When I've come to die
Oh, when I've come to die
Give me Jesus

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

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End by praying the following or a similar prayer:

God, our shelter and refuge. You are faithful, even when we are faithless. When we experience shame, guilt, or regret, our tendency is to hide as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Just as you have done with your people in the past, from the call of Abraham to the empowerment of Mary, your presence, we pray, will continue to prompt us toward holiness. So, guide us in every circumstance and situation, that we might be confident in your loving presence. Amen.