First
United Methodist Church 
Study Guide and Daily Devotion
Monday, September 25
Read Psalm 139. What does the Psalmist say about God? About himself? How does this Psalm shape your understanding of who you are? Verses 19-22 demonstrate the Psalmist’s humanity – they seem almost an intrusion into the Psalm. You might imagine the enemies being those who have attacked and killed God’s people, who slandered the name of God. How do Jesus’ words about our enemies stand in contrast to these verses? Pray Psalm 139:1-18, 23-24.Tuesday, September 26
The Bible tells the story of a young man who felt the need to turn away from his father and to try to find himself. His story mirrors what happens to many of us when we turn away from God to discover who we are. Read Luke 15:11-32. What is Jesus intending to teach us about ourselves? About God? What does the older brother teach us? Have you ever been like the Prodigal? Like the older brother?Wednesday, September 27
Review Ten Ways to Be Perfectly Miserable: 1. Think about yourself all the time. 2. Talk about yourself often. 3. Always expect to be recognized and appreciated. 4. Be jealous and envious of those who have more. 5. Be sensitive to slights. 6. Never forgive a criticism of your own faults. 7. Constantly point out the faults of others. 8. Incessantly compare yourself with others. 9. Do as little as possible for everyone else. 10. Believe and act as though the world revolves around you. Now, try develop a list of the opposites of these and see if the converse is true – would doing the opposite of these things lead us toward happiness and fulfillment? Read Philippians 2:1-16.Thursday, September 28
Self-esteem is your own estimate of your value or worth. What are the sources upon which we tend to determine our feelings of worth or value? What is the challenge to basing your self-worth on externals like these? What does your faith teach you about your value or worth to God? Our goal is not an overly high self-esteem, but a healthy and biblical self-esteem – which comes from knowing that you are a child of God. Your gifts are given by him to be used and accepted with humility and gratitude. Your shortcomings are opportunities for him to work. And in his eyes you are his children. Read Romans 8. Which verses speak to you?Friday, September 29
Baptism is a past event that is meant to have ongoing significance in our lives. It is meant to provide the answer to the question, “Who am I?” In your baptism God adopted you as his child and promised to fill you with his Spirit, to forgive your sins, and to give you eternal life. In your baptism you become a part of God’s family, the Church. We are meant to remember the fact of our baptism daily. How would remembering our baptism shape our identity? Our behavior? Our self-esteem? Read Acts 2:38-41, Romans 6:1-14, Galatians 3:26-29. To be heirs of Abraham means you are a part of the family of God through your baptism.
A Brief Exercise for Students and Adults:
What follows are some questions you might answer as you reflect upon who
you are, and who you wish to be:
1. How did your parents shape the person you are today?
2. What of your past was painful? Have you invited God to use this in your
life for good?
3. How should our identity flow out of the fact that we are God’s
children?
4. What do you think God wants you to become?
5. You are still a work in progress. At the end of your life, what do you
hope to have become?
6. What might you do now that will allow God to shape you into this person?
7. What are the forces and influences that will shape who you become?
Daily invite God, in prayer, to help you become the person he longs for
you to be.