Prepare your heart for our Sunday Morning Gathering by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together.

You will find tangible suggestions for putting scripture to action in your personal life and in our corporate body, links to the songs we will sing, and lyrics for you to prepare for our corporate singing.

Critically Think

• Read Psalm 42.
• What comparison is used in verse 1 to describe the psalmist's longing, and what specific images are mentioned?
• In verse 2, what does the psalmist say his soul thirsts for, and what question does he ask?
• According to verse 3, what has been the psalmist's continual food, and what repeated question do others ask him?
• In verse 4, what past events does the psalmist remember, and with what group of people were these activities done?
• What specific emotions or conditions of the psalmist are described in verse 5, and what command does he give to his own soul?
• In verses 6-7, what geographical locations are mentioned, and what natural imagery is used to describe the psalmist's experience?
• According to verse 8, what two actions of the LORD are mentioned, and how are they connected to the day and night?
• In verse 9, what title does the psalmist assign to God, and what two questions does he ask to God?
• What does the psalmist say his adversaries say and do in verse 10, and how does he describe their effect on him?
• How does verse 11 repeat or echo earlier wording in the psalm, and what phrase is used to describe God at the end of the verse?

Prayerfully Meditate

• What does the imagery of the deer panting for water in verse 1 reveal about the intensity and nature of the psalmists' desire for God?
• How does the repeated description of the psalmist's soul "thirsting" for God in verse 2 clarify the relationship between his emotional longing and his deeper spiritual need for God?
• In verses 3-4, how does the psalmist's present distress and past memories function together to shape the emotional tension within the passage?
• How does the natural images of "waves," "breakers," and "waterfalls" in verses 6-7 contribute to understanding the depth and source of the psalmist's emotional experience?
• What does the psalmist's simultaneous expression of sorrow and hope in verses 5,8, and 11 suggest about the complexity of a faithful emotional life in relationship to God?

Intentionally Act

• Read Psalm 42 again.
• When you experience spiritual dryness or emotional discouragement, what specific steps can you take to intentionally seek God as your "living water?" 
• How can you practice speaking truth to your own soul as the psalmist does in verse 5 and 11 when your emotions feel overwhelming or misleading? What specific promises from God's Word can you cling to in these times?
• In seasons where sorrow feels constant, what intentional habits can help you remember and rehearse past experiences of God's faithfulness?
• When facing internal discouragement and external pressures, what deliberate actions can you take to anchor your hope in God rather than in changing emotions? 
• Click the links below to find the lyrics and recordings of the songs planned for our gathering this Sunday; learn the songs, study the lyrics and sing them with others.
• Pray for those leading our corporate gathering this week and for the Holy Spirit’s work as the Word of God is further explained and applied: Dawson Bryant: music; Mark Krystyniak: elder prayer & scripture reading; Ben Gardner: teaching.

Songs for Sunday

Morning Gathering

• Great One in Three (sheetmusic)
• Psalm 62 (sheetmusic)
• Alas and Did My Savior Bleed (sheetmusic)
• Our Only Hope is You (sheetmusic)
• He Will Hold Me Fast (sheetmusic)

Lyrics

Lyrics Morning Gathering - June 21, 2026 by Summit Woods Baptist Church