Looking Back Share as a whole group or in twos or threes Where have you seen or experienced a promise of God unfolding in your life or someone else's recently? As a group, take time to share any other good news or concerns Mediation and Prayer: Take time to sit quietly and listen to “Poor Bishop Hooper - Psalm 23” from Spotify or YouTube. Then flow straight into prayer, where you can give thanks for God's promises and pray for things shared. Looking Up People have counted the promises of God in the Bible and come up with various totals, but there are probably at least 3,000, depending on how you want to quantify them. We also find in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that Paul writes: "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God." God's promises are simultaneously statements of truth and the intrinsic heart of a person, who is Jesus. They stand eternal as a reality, but are realised in our lives through a relationship with Jesus. Broadly, there are two categories of God's promises. His universal promises which apply equally to all people. While universal, they unfold in uniquely tailored ways in each of our lives. His personal promises to us. These are always in line with his universal promises and the whole counsel of God in the Bible. However, these are his words to us, for a particular season in our life, or the call and purpose God has ordained for us. Question: Is there a promise of God you are holding onto at the moment, is there a particular reason that this promise is important to you at the moment? Open God's Word Take time to reflect, one at a time, on the promises found in these four Scriptures. As you do ask yourself these two questions: What does this say about God's heart? If this promise is true, how can I live my daily life differently? Philippians 4:19 Matthew 28:20 (second half of the verse) Psalm 23:4 1 John 1:9 Looking Ahead Take a moment in silence to ponder with God - “What is one thing you will focus on doing this week, based on one of the promises from the verses above?” This could be a focus of prayer, a change of mindset or an action step. Be open to the whisper of the Holy Spirit as your answer may come from a nudge from the Holy Spirit or a logical outcome of your own thoughts or a bit of both. Share your commitment with your group. Prayer in Pairs or Threes Prayer for each other's commitment. Pray for one person whom you know that is far from God.