Table of Contents
PRAYER
Our main goal in this time together is to build relationships and learn to walk alongside one another in all that God has called us to be and do. Let’s start by praying for each other.
Does anyone have prayer requests or personal stories of how God has been moving in your life that we can celebrate together?
A PRAYER FOR THE PSALMS AND HOPE
Self :: Family :: Community of Faith :: Neighborhood
THIS WEEK
Today, we’re kicking off a new series called A Prayer For The Psalms and Hope, where we’ll dive into the book of Psalms to learn not just what to pray, but how to pray. The Psalms reveal a raw, authentic, and passionate love for God’s presence while expressing His heart for the brokenness in the world around us.
Over the next six weeks, we’ll journey together, growing in a life of prayer and seeking God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
A Prayer for the Neighborhood explores Psalm 101, showing that being a neighbor is about heart posture, not just geography. Scripture calls us to pray for our neighborhoods to reflect God’s heart—loving good and rejecting evil. Let’s discuss truths and practices that can transform our neighborhoods, neighbors and our hearts, too.
To start our time together, let’s begin with the following questions:
When you hear the word “neighbor,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SCRIPTURE
Have someone read Psalm 101 aloud. As you listen, notice any words or phrases that stand out, and ask the Holy Spirit to highlight something for you.
Psalm 101
1 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the Lord.
“One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self.”
―Fred Rogers
Decide to Live
King David, in Psalm 101, declares his commitment to living with integrity, seeking God’s mercy and justice as the foundation of a righteous life. He recognizes that true justice comes from the Lord, and that mercy and justice must work together to bring transformation—not just in his own heart, but in his household and community.
To love good and reject evil begins with an intentional decision to live according to God’s will. It requires us to examine our hearts, our motives, and our influence as neighbors.
Are we agents of mercy and justice where we live, work, and play? Do our lives reflect a love for God and others, or have we unknowingly aligned with the world’s standards?
If your neighborhood reflected your character, what would it look like?
How would you describe the values that guide your daily life? Where do they come from?
What does it mean to live with integrity in your daily life?
In what ways do mercy and justice shape your decisions and actions?
How does your faith in Jesus (or lack of it) influence the way you interact with neighbors?
Decide to Work
“We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of mercy can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others. … I believe it’s necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need justice, and-perhaps-we all need some measure of unmerited grace.”
―Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy
In Psalm 101:3-5, King David sets a standard for how we engage with our neighbors and neighborhoods—by rejecting evil, pursuing integrity, and refusing to turn a blind eye to injustice. He recognizes that what we set before our eyes shapes our hearts, actions, and life’s work and mission.
What influences—media, relationships, habits—shape what you “set before your eyes” daily? How do they affect your choices?
What does it look like to “love good and reject evil” in your daily life, especially in your workplace?
How do you respond when you see injustice in neighbors and neighborhoods of all arenas of life?
Do you hold yourself to the same standard you expect from others? If so, how and to what or who’s standard?
How are you actively and consistently building relationally with neighbors, or are you passively isolating from knowing your neighbors and them knowing you?
What are some tangible ways we can directly build neighborhoods that reflect mercy and justice instead of exploitation and division?
Decide to Play
Deciding to play in the work of loving good and rejecting evil is more than just a passive hope—it’s an intentional way of life. King David’s words remind us that being faithful neighbors requires daily commitment. We must decide to do our part in seeing the image of God in those around us, to serve good rather than exploit evil, and to peruse communities rooted in mercy and justice.
What societal systems today contribute to deceit and injustice, and how can you, as a neighbor, actively work toward loving good and rejecting evil?
Who are the “faithful in the land” (Psalm 101:6) in your life—those who model integrity and righteousness? How have they played a part in influencing you to love good and reject evil?
In what ways do song, prayer, and Bible reading shape you to love neighbors and neighborhoods similar to the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10?
In what ways have you seen neighbors serve their communities in ways that truly reflect Jesus’ mercy and justice?
How does Jesus’s life, teachings, death, burial and resurrection challenge or affirm your understanding of what it means to be and play your part as a neighbor?
CLOSING THOUGHT
Mister Rogers and King David invited and encouraged us to be good neighbors, and Jesus, the ultimate King and Neighbor, entered our broken world to redeem and restore mercy and justice. As in Psalm 101 and the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are commanded to live, work, and play in ways that reflect God’s heart—loving good and rejecting evil. Through the Holy Spirit, we can be the neighbors Jesus was and is, shaping our neighborhoods and neighbors with His grace, truth, and love.
Let’s pray. Father, stir our hearts to live with integrity, reject evil, and pursue good. Help us love and serve our neighbors as You do, building relationships that reflect Your kingdom. Holy Spirit, guide us to shape our communities with Your grace and truth so that our lives shine with Christ’s light. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Alvin Brown, the Lead Pastor of Mosaic Church Fort Worth, brings over a decade of pastoral ministry experience and more than 20 years of operational and technical leadership expertise. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunications Management from DeVry University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. He enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Mallary, and their three children and contributing as a writer to various media outlets.
