Week 29: Discovering the Character of God through Paul
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
I Would Die For You...
Week 28: Discovering the Character of God through Stephen
28.1 Recap on the attributes of God that we have discovered so far in the New Testament. What His ultimate question to us? What are His promises for us? Have they had personal experiences of any of these aspects of God's nature yet - or is it still 'book knowledge'?
28.2 There is a point when this knowledge moves form the head to the heart and it shapes who you are as you recognise who Christ is - and who He created you to be. Stephen had a solid knowledge of both - and he was unafraid to stand up for them. Before we get to that, let's read about how he 'started out'.
Read Acts 6:1-8 and establish the setting: the apostles were so busy teaching that practical needs were (understandably) failing to be met, so they appointed these 7 men. Note and discuss the description of Stephen (5) and of this new group's role (2). Note how God used him in that situation (8). Sometimes we need to allow God to use us in the situation and place we are in; waiting on Him to use our giftings the way he chooses, not the way we expect. We must remember that He doesn't 'operate' the way we want him to.
28.3 Unfortunately, when we operating in our giftings for God, being blessed by Him and doing great things for Him, those who are 'religious' will always have things to say about us (cf. John 15:18) - and this was as true for Stephen as it was for Jesus.
Read Acts 6:9-14. Have any of the group ever experienced false accusations because of their faith? How do they usually respond?
28.4 Stephen's response is recorded in Acts 7 - if time, read through. It is more than simply refuting the Jews' accusations; he goes into great detail of everything he believes - he is giving a sermon. He preaches to the Jews on their history and how they miss the point entirely. Stephen is - as Luke pointed out - 'full of the Holy Spirit' yet we see here that he is also full of truth (John 4, anyone?). Neither outweighs the others. If God is to use us, we need to be ready in the same way: we need to be equally full of the Holy Spirit and knowledge of His Word.
28.5 The last we hear of Stephen is the leader's response to his sermon and the consequences. Read Acts 7:54-8:4 and, as a group, discuss reactions, thoughts and revelations of God's character.
Week 28: Summary
This week's study has taught us a lot about Stephen and what it means to truly follow Jesus yet, amidst this, we see God's character unveiled:
28.1 Recap on the attributes of God that we have discovered so far in the New Testament. What His ultimate question to us? What are His promises for us? Have they had personal experiences of any of these aspects of God's nature yet - or is it still 'book knowledge'?
28.2 There is a point when this knowledge moves form the head to the heart and it shapes who you are as you recognise who Christ is - and who He created you to be. Stephen had a solid knowledge of both - and he was unafraid to stand up for them. Before we get to that, let's read about how he 'started out'.
Read Acts 6:1-8 and establish the setting: the apostles were so busy teaching that practical needs were (understandably) failing to be met, so they appointed these 7 men. Note and discuss the description of Stephen (5) and of this new group's role (2). Note how God used him in that situation (8). Sometimes we need to allow God to use us in the situation and place we are in; waiting on Him to use our giftings the way he chooses, not the way we expect. We must remember that He doesn't 'operate' the way we want him to.
28.3 Unfortunately, when we operating in our giftings for God, being blessed by Him and doing great things for Him, those who are 'religious' will always have things to say about us (cf. John 15:18) - and this was as true for Stephen as it was for Jesus.
Read Acts 6:9-14. Have any of the group ever experienced false accusations because of their faith? How do they usually respond?
28.4 Stephen's response is recorded in Acts 7 - if time, read through. It is more than simply refuting the Jews' accusations; he goes into great detail of everything he believes - he is giving a sermon. He preaches to the Jews on their history and how they miss the point entirely. Stephen is - as Luke pointed out - 'full of the Holy Spirit' yet we see here that he is also full of truth (John 4, anyone?). Neither outweighs the others. If God is to use us, we need to be ready in the same way: we need to be equally full of the Holy Spirit and knowledge of His Word.
28.5 The last we hear of Stephen is the leader's response to his sermon and the consequences. Read Acts 7:54-8:4 and, as a group, discuss reactions, thoughts and revelations of God's character.
Week 28: Summary
This week's study has taught us a lot about Stephen and what it means to truly follow Jesus yet, amidst this, we see God's character unveiled:
- God does not work as we expect
- He can use our giftings regardless of our situations/circumstances
- He gives us the strength and wisdom to respond in difficult circumstances
Have A Drink On Me
Week 27: Discovering the Character of God through The Woman at The Well
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Where You Are
Week 26: Discovering the Character of God through Mary Magdalene
26.1 As a group, read Luke 8:1-3; Mark 15:40; John 20:1-2 and 10-18. Invite the group to discuss these scriptures; do they see anything holding them together? Reflect on the previous two weeks' teachings and the core message of them; does this help them to see the connection?
As we reassess the passages, we can see one main thing connecting them: where Jesus was, Mary was (ministry, cross, tomb, resurrection).
Again we see Jesus asking us, 'Do you love me?' and in Mary we see the response He seeks in a sincere heart: If we should say 'Yes,' then that should bear fruit: us wanting - longing - to be always near Him. (compare Psalm 84:1-2,10)
26.2 Re-read Luke 8:1-3 and hone in on the description of Mary. Usually when we read of people with demons they have one or two at most, and whenever a relation took the possessed person to Jesus, the demon would resist and drive the person to fit. Now, imagine that x7.
We know nothing of Mary; whether she was brought to Jesus or ran to Him of her own accord, but we do know it would have been painful.
Coming to Jesus is never easy; there will always be resistance between the flesh and the Spirit. There will always be things we need to lay down and be delivered from... and even after we have met with Jesus, we need to continually surrender. Perhaps this is another reason why Mary was always found with Jesus; she knew that left to her own devices, she would struggle to stand. And perhaps Jesus knew this, too.
26.3 One final, but perhaps the most remarkable, thing about Mary is not just her faithfulness, but rather Christ's faithfulness to her. He could have healed her and sent her on her way but, instead, her stuck with her. He invited her 'into His world'; into His kingdom and never sent her away. In fact, He so wanted her to know He included her that He appeared to her first after He rose.
Week 26: Summary
At New Year, it's surprising to find that Mary Magdalene is the ideal person to study in reflecting upon God's character. At this time of year, when so many are busy making resolutions and dreaming for the future Jesus asks us significant questions that challenge the way we view the days ahead:
What great promises and challenges to start the year with!
26.1 As a group, read Luke 8:1-3; Mark 15:40; John 20:1-2 and 10-18. Invite the group to discuss these scriptures; do they see anything holding them together? Reflect on the previous two weeks' teachings and the core message of them; does this help them to see the connection?
As we reassess the passages, we can see one main thing connecting them: where Jesus was, Mary was (ministry, cross, tomb, resurrection).
Again we see Jesus asking us, 'Do you love me?' and in Mary we see the response He seeks in a sincere heart: If we should say 'Yes,' then that should bear fruit: us wanting - longing - to be always near Him. (compare Psalm 84:1-2,10)
26.2 Re-read Luke 8:1-3 and hone in on the description of Mary. Usually when we read of people with demons they have one or two at most, and whenever a relation took the possessed person to Jesus, the demon would resist and drive the person to fit. Now, imagine that x7.
We know nothing of Mary; whether she was brought to Jesus or ran to Him of her own accord, but we do know it would have been painful.
Coming to Jesus is never easy; there will always be resistance between the flesh and the Spirit. There will always be things we need to lay down and be delivered from... and even after we have met with Jesus, we need to continually surrender. Perhaps this is another reason why Mary was always found with Jesus; she knew that left to her own devices, she would struggle to stand. And perhaps Jesus knew this, too.
26.3 One final, but perhaps the most remarkable, thing about Mary is not just her faithfulness, but rather Christ's faithfulness to her. He could have healed her and sent her on her way but, instead, her stuck with her. He invited her 'into His world'; into His kingdom and never sent her away. In fact, He so wanted her to know He included her that He appeared to her first after He rose.
Week 26: Summary
At New Year, it's surprising to find that Mary Magdalene is the ideal person to study in reflecting upon God's character. At this time of year, when so many are busy making resolutions and dreaming for the future Jesus asks us significant questions that challenge the way we view the days ahead:
- Do we love Him? If we dare say 'yes', then be prepared to get where He is and stay there. as Mark Hall puts it, 'Is your walk with Jesus Christ characterized by personal faith, personal prayer, personal study, and personal disciplines? Or do you get by with the overflow from mature Christians?'
- If we choose to follow Him, we ought not to be so naive that we think it will be easy. It will mean daily surrender and a willingness to be delivered from our own demons. It will be a fight and it could get messy and painful... but, the good news is that
- We don't go it alone. Christ is with us, He is in us and He will stick with us.
What great promises and challenges to start the year with!
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