29 Jun
2025

The Most Excellent One

Passage: Psalm 45

“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more…But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”  —Philippians 3:4,7-8

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Describe the difference between being transformed by will power vs affection. How do our affections or our will power work differently to motivate or change us?

Read Psalm 45. What does this psalm show you about God’s character and about being his follower? What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage?

There is a king and a queen mentioned in this psalm without any name or historical reference. How is this king described and how is this queen encouraged to respond?
Read Hebrews 1:8-9. Here we are introduced in name to the king of Psalm 45, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. In what ways does Jesus show us the qualities of the king in Psalm 45? (Consider his gracious speech, blessing, majesty, victory, nobility, power, and eternal nature divine and human)
The church as the bride/queen in Psalm 45 is encouraged to meditate on the beauty of Christ. What challenges your attention to do this? What helps you to be intentional with meditating on Christ and his excellencies?

What from this passage and this discussion is something you want to put into practice or be more aware of this week?

PRAYER

Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?

Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”