Jesus walking with sheep

The Lord Is My Shepherd, by Yongsung Kim, havenlight.com

August 8–14

Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46

“The Lord Is My Shepherd”

Plan ways to let class members share the spiritual experiences they are having as they read the Psalms.

Record Your Impressions

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Invite Sharing

Inviting class members to share what they discovered in the Psalms can be as simple as asking questions like these: What did the Spirit teach you as you read the Psalms this week? Which psalms helped you feel especially close to the Lord?

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Teach the Doctrine

Psalms 1; 23; 26–28; 46

The Psalms teach us to trust the Lord.

• This week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families suggests reading Psalms 1; 23; 26–28; 46 and looking for the following:

  • Invitations to trust the Lord

  • Words that describe the Lord

  • Words that describe the peace, strength, and other blessings He provides

  • Words that describe those who trust Him

  You might write these phrases on the board and invite class members to write, next to each phrase, something they found in Psalms 1; 23; 26–28; or 46. If they need help, you might point them to these verses: Psalms 1:1–4; 23:1–6; 26:1, 6–8, 12; 27:1, 3, 8, 14; 28:1, 7; 46:1–3, 10. Class members could share the feelings they had about the Savior as they read these psalms.

• Because the Psalms were like hymns for the Israelites, you might invite class members to suggest hymns that remind them of psalms they read this week. They could refer to the “Scriptures” index at the end of the hymnbook for ideas (see also the list in “Additional Resources”). Class members could sing a few of these hymns and identify common themes in the hymns and the psalms. What messages of peace and faith in Jesus Christ do we find?

Psalms 2; 22; 31:5

The Psalms point our minds to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

• Reading the Psalms—especially those that point to the Savior’s life—can be a great way to strengthen faith in Jesus Christ. You might divide the class into groups of two or more and give each group one of the following pairs of references: Psalm 2:1–3 and Acts 4:24–28; Psalm 2:7 and Acts 13:30–33; Psalm 22:1 and Matthew 27:45–46; Psalm 22:7–8 and Matthew 27:39–43; Psalm 22:16 and Luke 23:32–33; Psalm 22:18 and Matthew 27:35; Psalm 31:5 and Luke 23:46. Ask each group to find how a prophecy in the Psalms was fulfilled in the Savior’s life and discuss how these scriptures strengthen their testimony of the Savior.

  Or you could write the scripture references on the board and invite class members to match a passage from Psalms with the corresponding event in the New Testament.

  You might also invite class members to share other references to the Savior that they found in their study of the Psalms (such as Psalms 34:20; 41:9; see also Luke 24:44).

  After class members discuss these scriptures, they could talk about why these psalms would have been meaningful to Jews who knew the Savior. Why are they meaningful to us?

Psalm 23

“The Lord is my shepherd.”

• To help class members discuss the imagery and symbolism in Psalm 23, consider showing pictures that relate to the ideas in the psalm, such as those in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families. You could then ask class members to identify meaningful words or phrases in the psalm and discuss what they might represent. For example, what do phrases like “lie down in green pastures” or “still waters” bring to mind? What could the comforting “rod” and “staff” symbolize? What might it mean for our “cup” to run over? What do these symbols teach us about Jesus Christ? You might suggest that class members restate the psalm, replacing some of the symbols with possible meanings the class discussed.

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Additional Resources

Hymns related to the Psalms.

• Psalms 8:3–9; 9:1–2. “How Great Thou Art” (Hymns, no. 86)

• Psalm 23. “The Lord Is My Shepherd,” “The Lord My Pasture Will Prepare” (Hymns, nos. 108, 109)

• Psalms 23:6; 150. “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (Hymns, no. 72)

• Psalm 26:8. “We Love Thy House, O God” (Hymns, no. 247)

• Psalm 27:1. “The Lord Is My Light” (Hymns, no. 89)

• Psalms 33:1–6; 95:1–6. “For the Beauty of the Earth” (Hymns, no. 92)

• Psalm 37:3–9. “Be Still, My Soul” (Hymns, no. 124)

• Psalm 148. “All Creatures of Our God and King” (Hymns, no. 62)

Improving Our Teaching

Use music. “Hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord. … Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end” (Hymns, ix).