Brock family Bible study

Go and do likewise

2011-07-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

How do you think this story ends?

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:36-37

Jesus, like with the first question of "what must I do to inherit eternal life," turns the question of "who is my neighbor" back to the expert in the law to answer himself. By doing this, Jesus is leaving the man no room to argue. When Jesus tells him to "Go and do likewise" the implication that if he doesn't do likewise, he doesn't inherit eternal life. It is perhaps Jesus' way of telling him that faith without works is dead.

What does it mean to have mercy on someone? compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence
What are some ways that you can show mercy to others?
Now that we've studied this story for a few days, who are neighbors that you can love better? How?

Along comes the Samaritan

2011-07-06T16:00:00.000-04:00

If you know this story, then you know what's coming next.

³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Luke 10:33-35

Let's review a little bit of this story:

An expert in the law talks to Jesus
What must I do to inherit eternal life
Love God... and love your neighbor...
Who is my neighbor?
Jesus tells a parable

A man gets robbed, beaten, stripped, and left for dead
A priest passes by on the other side of the road
A Levite passes by on the other side of the road

The man who was robbed - we really don't know anything about him except that he was robbed. Was he Jewish? Was he Samaritan? Was he a foreigner? We don't know. He was left for dead by the robbers. Maybe the priest and the Levite thought he was dead and didn't want to make themselves unclean by touching a dead body. Maybe they thought that it was a trap and they would be attacked if they helped. Maybe they thought that the man was an enemy and they didn't want to help him. We don't know. The priest and the Levite were men that the expert in the law would have looked up to and maybe he would have excused their not helping the man. But the Samaritan man - a man that the expert in the law would have looked down on - wasn't concerned about anything but helping the man who had been robbed. If we were to restate this parable in our world, the Samaritan man, would have stopped, pulled out his first aid kit, bandaged the man's wounds, drove him to the hospital, paid his hospital bill, and promised to pay any additional medical bills while the man was hospitalized. He would have paid this all out of his own pocket even though the medical bills alone would probably total thousands of dollars! The Samaritan, like the priest and the Levite, didn't know anything about the man who was robbed. Would he have liked the Samaritan if they had met in other circumstances or would the man have looked down on the Samaritan as inferior and unlikable like most Jewish people of the time did? Was the man who was robbed an enemy of the Samaritans? Was it a trap? The Samaritan didn't care, he just looked out for the mans needs.

What does it mean that the Samaritan had pity on the man who was robbed?
What did the Samaritan personally give up to help the man?
- He used his own bandages, etc.
- He put him on his own donkey - which meant that the Samaritan probably had to walk rather than ride.
- He took care of him at the inn
- He used his own money to pay for the inn
Think again about the expert in the law. Considering that men he would look up to didn't help the man who got robbed and that a man who he probably disliked or hated did help the man, how do you think the expert in the law felt about it?

Who is my neighbor?

2011-07-05T08:11:00.002-04:00

What do you remember about our story from yesterday?

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:29-32

The expert in the law had asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him what the law said and he replied "Love God... and love your neighbor...". Perhaps this expert in the law was thinking loving God is easy and the people next door they're not too bad. But there's some people down the street from me that I don't like too much. I wonder if I need to love them too. Maybe I'd better get some clarification on this.

Jesus started to answer this question of who is my neighbor by seemingly NOT answering his question. Who was the man going from Jerusalem? Jesus doesn't say who he was or why he was in Jerusalem (worshiping at the temple, working in Jerusalem, or was he a merchant?) or why he was going to Jericho (did he live there, was he just visiting, was he trying to sell things there?) - He just says what happened to him: He got mugged. He was robbed, beaten, and left at the side of the road. We read of two men who passed him by: a priest and a Levite. Both of these men likely had been serving in the temple and were perhaps on their way home to Jericho. Yet both of these men passed by on the other side of the road!

What did the man who was robbed need?
Did the priest and the Levite notice the man who had been robbed?
Do you suppose they "rubber-necked" as they walked by?
- What do you suppose was on their minds as they passed by?
- Why might they have chosen not to help this man?
- How do you react when you see people in need?
Does it seem like Jesus is answering the question "who is my neighbor"?

What must I do?

2011-07-04T09:13:00.003-04:00

Have you ever wondered what it is you're supposed to do? What do you need to do to earn dessert after dinner? What do you need to do to pass the swim test? What do you need to do to get your room clean enough that your mother will be happy with it? Often times we're looking for a nice easy answer. Sometimes we find that the answer is not as easy as we hoped it would be.

This week we'll be looking at a Bible story that at first looks like it has an easy answer but when you look at it further, it gets a wee bit more complicated. Let's start looking at the story in Luke 10:25-28.

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
²⁷ He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

The man asking Jesus the question here is an expert in the Law. He knows his Bible well. He asks Jesus a question that we all really want the answer to.

What question does He ask Jesus? How do I inherit eternal life
What does Jesus ask him? What does the Bible say?
The answer is one that all good Jews in Jesus day would have known by heart. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." Does Jesus agree with this? Yes, he told the man to do it.
Do you think it is easy to do this?
- What are some things that might keep you from loving God?
- What are some things that might keep you from loving your neighbor?

Science and God's authority

2010-08-13T16:00:00.001-04:00

²³ The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ²⁴ "Have you not noticed that these people are saying, 'The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose'? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. ²⁵ This is what the LORD says: 'If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, ²⁶ then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.' "
Jeremiah 33:23-26

We come to a close of our study of Jeremiah 33. Here we see God reflecting back on the "covenant breaking" condition we looked at yesterday. Creating day, night, and all of the laws of nature is God's authority for being able to make the covenant with His people. If He doesn't govern all of heaven and earth, what authority does He have and what power does He have to ensure His covenant is kept. When you see the sun rise or when you throw something up and watch it fall - that is evidence that God can keep His covenant. When water freezes at 32° F, that should remind us of God keeping His promises. The next time you put ice in your lemonade, you can thank God that He keeps His covenants!

Breaking Covenant

2010-08-12T16:00:00.000-04:00

¹⁷ For this is what the LORD says: 'David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, ¹⁸ nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.' "
¹⁹ The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ²⁰ "This is what the LORD says: 'If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, ²¹ then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. ²² I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.' "
Jeremiah 33:17-22

Do you know what a covenant is? Dictionary.com's #1 definition is "an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified." God has made covenants with His people. Here in this passage, God restates what we know as the Davidic Covenant. He promises that ultimately Jesus - a descendent of David - will rule forever. God will not break the covenants He has made. Or will He?

In this passage, God actually gives a condition where he will break his covenant. What? Look back at verse 20. "If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time," All the Jewish people have to do to get God to break the covenant is to stop day from happening during daytime and night from happening during nighttime. Does anyone want to give that a try?

Waiting

2010-08-11T16:00:00.000-04:00

¹² "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In this place, desolate and without men or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. ¹³ In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,' says the LORD.
¹⁴ " 'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
¹⁵ " 'In those days and at that time
      I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line;
      he will do what is just and right in the land.
¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved
      and Jerusalem will live in safety.
      This is the name by which it will be called:
      The LORD Our Righteousness.'
Jeremiah 33:12-16

As we continue on with our study of Jeremiah 33, I want to look particularly at two things in this passage:

God fulfills His promises
- Notice in verse 14 that God says "I will fulfull the gracious promis I made"
- By saying "I will" God is referring to the future.
- He doesn't say when and He doesn't say how long it will be.
- Have you ever been disappointed by a promise that wasn't fulfilled immediately?
- Do you think God is trustworthy and will fulfill His promises?
He promises a deliverer for His people. This person...
- will be a descendent of David (v 15: from David's line)
- "will do what is just and right" (v 15)
- will save people (v 16)
- will be known as "The LORD Our Righteousness" (v 16)
- Who do you think this prophecy is about?

Giving Thanks

2010-08-10T16:00:00.000-04:00

Today, we continue combing through Jeremiah 33.

⁶ " 'Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. ⁷ I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. ⁸ I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. ⁹ Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.'
¹⁰ "This is what the LORD says: 'You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more ¹¹ the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying,
      "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty,
      for the LORD is good;
      his love endures forever."
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD.
Jeremiah 33:6-11

The prophecy in this chapter of Jeremiah is one of God restoring His people. Currently, they are facing a bleak time living in a desolate wasteland. They are crying out to God and looking for hope. God tells them to have hope because there will come a time when they will be proclaiming verse 11. Let's look at that.

Give thanks to the LORD Almighty
- Do you think at the time of Jeremiah's writing, God's people had a lot to give thanks for?
- If they lived in a desolate waste, do you think they felt God was Almighty?
- Do you have a lot to give thanks for?
- Do you know that God is Almighty?
for the LORD is good
- Consider yesterday's Bible Study. As they cried out, do you think they heard God's response and knew that He was good?
- Do you know that God is good? Why or why not?
His love endures forever
- If God's people were suffering, do you think they could really see how God's love endures forever?
- Do you know His love endures forever?
Three things from this verse you can thank God for:
- He is Almighty
- He is good
- He is loving

Take time to thank God for these things.

Listening

2010-08-09T16:00:00.001-04:00

This week we'll be looking at Jeremiah 33 - a passage chosen by the older of my two sons.

¹ While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: ² "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: ³ 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' ⁴ For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword ⁵ in the fight with the Babylonians : 'They will be filled with the dead bodies of the men I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness.
Jeremiah 33:1-5 (NIV)

I want to focus on verse 3 here today.

call to me - God wants us to call out to Him. He doesn't want us to just silently pray to Him, but to call out aloudand at times even loudly.
I will answer you - We can know that God will respond to us when we call out to Him. He will respond to us. The Hebrew word used here can also be translated "to sing, utter tunefully." Think of of it like a song that's a duet. One person sings and then the other sings back. Our calling out to God and Him responding to us is like a song that God has written. We may not know what the rest of the song is going to sound like, but we can trust that God is a great songwriter!
tell you great and unsearchable things - there are great things that we couldn't otherwise know that God will make obvious to us
you do not know - There are things we don't know. That's OK.

We know that we can call out to God whenever we want. We can know that He will always respond. However, we may not always know what His response is. I find it helpful to think of songs when thinking of this. It may be that the first time we hear a song, we don't like it or we don't even pay attention that well. As we become attuned to the song and we've perhaps heard it again and again, we may recognize the beauty of the song. It may be that we've been listening to a song over and over and now we are just paying attention to a neat little guitar part that we never noticed before. Maybe somebody just told us about how much they like that guitar part that we never noticed. It's the same way with listening for God's responses. We need to be paying attention and we need to be in tune with what to listen for. Have you called out and not heard God's response.... keep listening!

But Have Eternal Life

2010-08-06T08:00:00.002-04:00

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NIrV)

We come to the final phrase in John 3:16 - but have eternal life. Before we expound on that, let's review what we've covered so far:

God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...
God freely gave his only heir, the one who would inherit all He had...
all who put their trust in Christ...
Will not be subject to the ultimate penalty of sin - death

And now on with the final phrase

but is the Greek word ἀλλά (alla) which means "but" indicating an exception to the rule.
- When thinking of exceptions, how would you feel if everyone got a cookie but you?
- How would you feel if you did something wrong and everyone got punished but you?
have is the Greek word ἔχω (echō) which means to have in hand, to hold, to wear (as in clothing), to possess
- To think about having someting, suppose you're at Toys R Us and you find a toy you like
- ... and you have the money to pay for it but it's at home
- ... and you have the money to pay for it with you?
- Which one of these haves do you think is like "have" in John 3:16?
eternal is the Greek word αἰώνιος (aiōnios) which means without end, never to cease, everlasting
life is the Greek word ζωή (zōē) which means "life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever"
Putting this all together, we come up with:
as an exeption (to death - the penalty of sin) will put on and possess without end real and genuine life devoted to God.

Should Not Perish

2010-08-05T08:00:00.002-04:00

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NIrV)

Today we come to the fourth phrase in John 3:16 - should not perish. Let's dig in:

should not comes from the Greek word μή. This is "A primary particle of qualified negation." In other words, only if all of the other conditions are met, will the following thing not happen.
perish is from the Greek word ἀπόλλυμι which comes from a root word meaning destroy.
So, if the preceding conditions of putting your trust in Christ (fully relinquishing your trust in yourself), then you will not be destroyed. Since we know that "the wages of sin is death" we realize that trusting in Jesus removes from us the penalty of sin.
We must remember everything that we've studied thus far this week. God loved us. He freely gave His Son. All who trust in Him. Will not be subject to the ultimate penalty of sin.

Not having to experience the penalty of sin is only one thing we get out of this deal. What's the other. We'll study that tomorrow!

Whoever Believes In Him

2010-08-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NIrV)

We continue our study of John 3:16 with the third phrase whoever believes in Him.

whoever is the Greek word πᾶς. It means all, every, any.
believes is the Greek word πιστεύω which means to have faith in to trust
in is the Greek word εἰς which means into or to
Him is from the Greek word αὐτός which refers back to the subject - God's son
So, putting it all together, we get all who put their trust in Christ...
When considering εἰς for "in" think of standing in front of a vending machine with your money in hand. Unless you put your money into the machine, you will not receive the drink or snack (or whatever) you want out of the machine. You have to totally relinquish your money to the machine in order to get the benefit from it. In the same way, you must totally relinquish your trust in yourself and put it into Christ in order to truly believe in Him and get the benefit from it

What is the benefit we receive? We'll find out as we finish the week.

He Gave His Only Son

2010-08-03T08:00:00.002-04:00

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NIrV)

Today, we continue our study of John 3:16 by looking at the next phrase "that he gave his one and only Son". But first let's reflect back on our summary of the first phrase. God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...

that again emphasizes that what was said before (God so loved the world) is the reason for what is following
He gave is the Greek word δίδωμι which of course means to give. This certainly implies that God gave freely. He wasn't compelled or forced to give, He gave because He wanted to.
His is the Greek word αὑτοῦ which implies possession or ownership. God did not give anything that He didn't have the right to give. He was free to give because He possessed.
one and only is the Greek word μονογενής which means only born. An only child (especially and only son) would be quite valuable. The only born child would be quite precious to the parent.
Son is the Greek word υἱός which does mean son. In the Jewish society of the day, the only son would be the sole heir to all of the belongings of the parents. Without an heir all that a parent owned when they died would be distributed to more distant relatives and the father's family line would end.
So, God freely gave his only heir, the one who would inherit all He had...

So, who was God doing this for? We'll find out tomorrow.

God So Loved The World

2010-08-02T08:00:00.002-04:00

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NIrV)

This week, we'll be doing a phrase-by-phrase study of John 3:16. It's a favorite verse of my younger son's and since older brother is out of town, we're tailoring our family devotion time to younger son.

Today, we're looking at the first phrase "For God so loved the world..."

For is the Greek word γάρ which implies that what immediately follows is giving a reason. Thus, God loving the world is the reason for what we'll be studying the rest of the week.
God is the Greek word θεός which means a deity. Here of course it is referring to the one true God. This is the root word from which we derive the word theology for the study of God.
so is the Greek word houtō which means in this way. This may be referring back to the previous part of chapter 3 where Jesus says He will be lifted up and verse 15 tells us "that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life"
loved is from the Greek word ἀγαπάω which means love. This kind of love is a moral love and denotes longing after rather than just having affection for. We commonly hear this described as unconditional love. Here we can think of it as being an active love wanting the object of the love to be drawn near.
the world comes from the Greek word κόσμος (kosmos) meaning the world. The word implies an orderly arrangement that God is tending and caring for.
Taking this all together, God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...

We'll study what He did because of this love as we work through the week.

Walking through Holy Week: The Crucifixion

2010-04-02T08:29:00.002-04:00

Today, Good Friday, we come to the story of Jesus being crucified. Let's read.

³² Two other men were also led out with Jesus to be killed. Both of them had broken the law. ³³ The soldiers brought them to the place called The Skull. There they nailed Jesus to the cross. He hung between the two criminals. One was on his right and one was on his left.
³⁴ Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing." The soldiers divided up his clothes by casting lots.
³⁵ The people stood there watching. The rulers even made fun of Jesus. They said, "He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
³⁶ The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him. They offered him wine vinegar. ³⁷ They said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
³⁸ A written sign had been placed above him. It read, -this is the king of the jews.-
³⁹ One of the criminals hanging there made fun of Jesus. He said, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself! Save us!"
⁴⁰ But the other criminal scolded him. "Don't you have any respect for God?" he said. "Remember, you are under the same sentence of death. ⁴¹ We are being punished fairly. We are getting just what our actions call for. But this man hasn't done anything wrong."
⁴² Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
⁴³ Jesus answered him, "What I'm about to tell you is true. Today you will be with me in paradise."
Jesus Dies
⁴⁴ It was now about noon. The whole land was covered with darkness until three o'clock. ⁴⁵ The sun had stopped shining. The temple curtain was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my very life." After he said this, he took his last breath.
Luke 23:32-46 (NIrV)

Discussion

When Jesus was crucified, was He crucified alone?

Of those who were crucified that day, who deserved to die?
Who recognized that Jesus did not deserve to die?
What did he receive for believing this?

What reaction did the people who crucified Jesus have?

Do you think they felt like they had finally beaten Jesus?
Do you think they felt better about themselves by making fun of Jesus?
How do you think they would have felt if Jesus had saved Himself?
Would Jesus have been doing God's will if He had saved Himself?

We read that it was dark for three hours - during the daytime!

Does this remind you of what Jesus said to those who arrested Him?
Does this mean that the forces darkness and evil have won?

What was the significance of the temple curtain being torn in two?

The temple curtain was what separated the people from the holy of holies in the temple. This is where the high priest would only be allowed to go one day a year to make a sacrifice for the people. It was the most sacred place in the temple.
The tearing of the curtain when Jesus died signifies how His death gives us access to the holiness of God.

When Jesus died, was it willingly?

He committed His soul to God.
He took His last breath
It sounds like He died exactly when He wanted to die.

Walking through Holy Week: Jesus' Arrest

2010-04-01T16:00:00.001-04:00

It had to happen. Jesus knew it would. He was arrested. He was out praying and His closest disciples were with Him (although they were having trouble staying awake).

⁴⁷ While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd came up. The man named Judas was leading them. He was one of the Twelve. Judas approached Jesus to kiss him.
⁴⁸ But Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you handing over the Son of Man with a kiss?"
⁴⁹ Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen. So they said, "Lord, should we use our swords against them?" ⁵⁰ One of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
⁵¹ But Jesus answered, "Stop this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.
⁵² Then Jesus spoke to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders. They had all come for him. "Am I leading a band of armed men against you?" he asked. "Do you have to come with swords and clubs? ⁵³ Every day I was with you in the temple courtyard. And you didn't lay a hand on me. But this is your hour. This is when darkness rules."

Discussion

Did Jesus let the fact that He was about to be arrested keep Him from what He was doing?
Did the people who wanted to arrest Jesus finally think they had the advantage?
Who led the crowd that was arresting Jesus?
How did Jesus disciples react?
Did Jesus approve of a violent reaction by His disciples?
Did Jesus go with the people who arrested Him willingly? Why or why not?
Why did Jesus say they arrested Him at night? What did He mean by this?

Walking through Holy Week: It's time to eat!

2010-03-31T14:23:00.003-04:00

Today, as we continue walking through Holy Week, we come upon the Last Supper. Jesus is sharing a Passover meal with His disciples and as part of it they share the bread and the cup - a tradition that we remember when we have Communion in church.

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles took their places at the table. ¹⁵ He said to them, "I have really looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you. I wanted to do this before I suffer. 16 I tell you, I will not eat the Passover meal again until it is celebrated in God's kingdom."
¹⁷ After Jesus took the cup, he gave thanks. He said, "Take this cup and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸ I tell you, I will not drink wine with you again until God's kingdom comes."
¹⁹ Then Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to them and said, "This is my body. It is given for you. Every time you eat it, do it in memory of me."
²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup. He said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. It is poured out for you. ²¹ But someone here is going to hand me over to my enemies. His hand is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go to his death, just as God has already decided. But how terrible it will be for the one who hands him over!"
Luke 22:14-22 (NIrV)

Discussion

One of the first things that I notice in the passage is that Jesus was looking forward to sharing this meal with His disciples. Why do you suppose He was looking forward to it?
Do you remember what the Passover was?
What three things did Jesus say were going to happen that His disciples may not have been very happy about?

He would suffer (v 15)
One of them would betray Him (v 21)
He would die (v 22)

Did those bad things dampen Jesus' enthusiasm for the Passover meal?
Despite the bad things coming, did Jesus still do what God wanted Him to do?
If you were looking forward to doing something and you knew that something bad was going to happen afterwards, would you find it hard to enjoy it or even do it?
Does knowing that Jesus was obedient to God even though He knew bad things were coming soon help you to look forward to being obedient to God?
Does knowing that Jesus was looking forward to this communion with His disciples help you to look forward to the next time you celebrate communion?

Walking through Holy Week: Hiding in plain sight

2010-03-30T11:57:00.002-04:00

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he knew that He was going to die on the cross. We saw yesterday how the Pharisees felt threatened by Jesus and how they wanted Jesus' followers to shut up. Let's see what Jesus did after He got to Jerusalem.

⁴⁵ Then Jesus entered the temple area. He began chasing out those who were selling there. ⁴⁶ He told them, "It is written that the Lord said, 'My house will be a house where people can pray.'—(Isaiah 56:7) But you have made it a 'den for robbers.' "—(Jeremiah 7:11)
⁴⁷ Every day Jesus was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests and the teachers of the law were trying to kill him. So were the leaders among the people. ⁴⁸ But they couldn't find any way to do it. All the people were paying close attention to his words.

Discussion

Where did Jesus go first?
When Jesus was 12 and went to Jerusalem for Passover and didn't leave with Mary and Joseph, where did they find Him then?
What did
Jesus do in the temple in vv 45-46? Why?
What did Jesus do in the temple in vv 47-48?
Did Jesus hide from those who wanted to arrest Him?
Did Jesus stop preaching and teaching because people wanted to arrest Him?
Why didn't the people who wanted to arrest Jesus arrest Him in the temple?

Where could they easily have found Jesus to arrest Him?
Do you think they still feared that they couldn't control the people who were following Jesus?

Do you think Jesus' actions in this passage show how the people in the temple had lost sight of what should be done in the temple? Do you think these people were disobedient to God?
Do you think Jesus' actions in the temple showed how He remained obedient to God even when He knew He was going to be arrested?
Are there times when you are not doing what God wants you to do or doing something God doesn't want you to?
Is it hard sometimes for you to be obedient when others around you are making it hard to do so?
Can you trust Jesus to help you be more obedient?

Walking through Holy Week: Making a little noise

2010-03-29T13:02:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was Palm Sunday a day that we remember and celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

³⁷ Jesus came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives. There the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God with joy. In loud voices they praised him for all the miracles they had seen. They shouted,
³⁸ "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! May there be peace and glory in the highest heaven!"
³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd spoke to Jesus. "Teacher," they said, "tell your disciples to stop!"
⁴⁰ "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
Luke 19:37-40 (NIrV)

Discussion

A crowd was gathered along the road where Jesus was coming in to Jerusalem. What does this remind you of?
Is there anyone that, if they were coming to town, you'd want to see? Who? Why?
The people were praising Jesus "in loud voices." Why were they excited?

Have you ever been told you were too loud?
How did this make you feel?
If you're excited, don't you like to express that excitement loudly?

Why did the Pharisees think that the people were too loud?

Were the Pharisees threatened by Jesus?
Did the Pharisees think they were losing control over the people?
Do you think the Pharisees thought that if the people would quiet down they would be "in control"?

Why did the Pharisees ask Jesus to tell his followers to "shut up"?
What did Jesus say would happen if the people were quiet?

Have you ever heard a stone crying out?
If the people were quiet and the stones cried out, do you think the stones would have been louder than the people?
How do you think the Pharisees would have felt if the stones started crying out?

Were the people right in praising Jesus?
Was it appropriate to do so loudly?
What are some times you can think of that it is good to praise God in a loud voice?
Do you enjoy times like those?

Walking through Holy Week

2010-03-29T12:59:00.003-04:00

We're back - for a week at least. For those that might have been concerned that I had given up on discipling my children, have no fear. We've just been spending a lot of time working our way through a couple of books. But not this week, we'll be looking at some of the events during the week up to Easter.

Proverbs: Closing the Book

2009-10-30T13:29:00.002-04:00

We've been studying Proverbs for a while now and I want to draw our study to a close. I think that while studying Proverbs, we've learned a lot and gained a lot of wisdom. I want to look a little bit more at one of the topics that we started our study with.

If you really want to gain knowledge, you must begin by having respect for the Lord. But foolish people hate wisdom and training.
Proverbs 1:7 (NIrV)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)

We studied this at the beginning of our study. Proverbs has other things to say about the fear of the Lord or about respect for the Lord.

Anyone who shows respect for the Lord has a strong tower. It will be a safe place for his children. Respect for the Lord is like a fountain that gives life. It turns you away from the jaws of death.
Proverbs 14:26-27 (NIrV)

Discussion

We can see a couple more things about the fear of the Lord in this passage.
The fear of the Lord gives us protection.
- It is a strong tower. Towers were defensive structures that allowed you to see an enemy approaching from far off and also give you an advantage in battling the enemy
- It is a safe place. Knowing that we have a strong tower watching over us, we can be safe.
- Proverbs has taught us a lot about how to recognize the wickedness around us and how to avoid it. Proverbs has provided us with warnings against the enemy as well as guidance to keep us on the right, safe path.
The fear of the Lord gives us life
- It is a fountain of life. The fear of the Lord is something that sustains us day by day.
- It saves us from death. It guides us in the ways of life.
- As we've studied, we've learned a lot of things that are valuable for our daily life including
  - learning how to control our tongue
  - Learning about being kind to the poor
  - Learning about what we should find happiness in
  - Learning about goals and priorities
  - Learning about being truthful
  All of these are things that are valuable for our daily life
What are some of the things you have learned from our study of Proverbs?
How have you benefitted from our study of Proverbs?

Lending to the Lord

2009-10-29T07:26:00.002-04:00

Did you know that you can lend to the Lord? Even though God created everything and it all really belongs to Him, we can still do something where we are lending to the Lord. Let's read.

Anyone who is kind to poor people lends to the Lord. God will reward him for what he has done.
Proverbs 19:17 (NIrV)

Discussion

The word translated kind here is chanan which means "to be gracious, show favour, pity"
The poor mentioned here dal are "low, poor, weak, thin, one who is low." This may include
- People who are looked down on by most people
- People who don't have enough money
- People who don't have enough to eat
- People who don't have homes to live in
- Can you think of anyone else who might fit this category?
What are some ways that you can be kind to the poor?
The Hebrew word translated lend is lavah which in addition to meaning to lend can also mean "to join, be joined."
Thus, if you are kind to the poor, you are lending to God and joining with God in being kind to the poor.
Looking other translations of the second half, many say "repay" rather than "reward." Either way, it is clear that you won't be left lacking because you have been kind to the poor, but you will be at peace and be well taken care of.
What are some ways that you are already blessed with more than you need? Toys, books?
Can you think of ways that you can be kind to the poor in areas where you are rich?
It looks like there will be many opportunities to do this through our church this holiday season. Do you think we should do one or more of these?

Don't get your eyes pecked out!

2009-10-28T08:22:00.002-04:00

Don't get your eyes pecked out! How's that for a title for tonight's Bible study? The Proverb we look at today gives us an idea of how much God wants children to respect and obey their parents.

Some make fun of their fathers. Others laugh about obeying their mothers. The ravens of the valley will peck their eyes out. Then the vultures will eat them.
Proverbs 30:17

Discussion

Let's kind of work this proverb backwards. Vultures are known for eating the bodies of dead animals. Not a pretty thought is it?
Ravens pecking your eyes out... that's not a pretty thought either. I would certainly hate for that to happen to me.
Is this really going to happen to the people described in this proverb? Maybe so, maybe not.
If I were to tell you "the chili that I ate for dinner was so spicy that it felt like my tongue was on fire" would you know what I meant?
- Do you think my tongue might have really been on fire?
- Do you think my tongue has ever really been on fire?
- Do you think that I meant that the chili was really, really, really spicy?
- By saying "it felt like my tongue was on fire" it vividly describes how spicy I thought the chili was
In the same way, I think the last part of this proverb describes how much God hates the actions of those described in the first part of this proverb.
So what was it they are guilty of in the first part of the proverb?
- making fun of their fathers
- not obeying their mothers
In other words, they were not honoring, respecting, and obeying their parents!
Does God think it is important that you honor, respect, and obey your parents?
Didn't God make honoring your parents one of the Ten Commandments?
Do you think God likes it when you don't obey or complain or don't listen to your parents?
Do you want to do better at honoring, respecting, and obeying your parents?
As we pray, maybe you can ask God to help you in that.

A Gentle Answer

2009-10-27T16:45:00.003-04:00

Today, we look at a proverb about giving a gentle answer.

A gentle answer turns anger away. But mean words stir up anger.
Proverbs 15:1 (NIrV)

Discussion

The Hebrew word translated answer here is ma`aneh which can also be translated as response. This proverb is equally true no matter which way you translate the word.
- What might you give an answer to? a question, being asked something or asked to do something
- What might you give a response to? Someone (a parent, boss, commander) telling you to do something, or even someone saying something to you
The word translated gentle here rak means tender, soft, delicate, weak or gentle.
If I were wearing a hat and asked you "Do you like my hat?" what would be a gentle answer to my question?
The Hebrew word translated mean here is `etseb which implies that the mean words cause pain.
If I were wearing a hat and asked you "Do you like my hat?" what would be a mean answer?
Which answer do you think I would like better? Why?
If you were being told to do something you didn't want to do, what would a gentle answer be?
If you were being told to do something you didn't want to do, what would a mean answer be?
If you were being asked to get ready for dinner and said "yes" and asked what else you could do, what kind of answer would that be?
If you were asked to clean up your room and complained, what kind of answer would that be?
If you don't want your parents to be upset with you when asked or told to do something, what kind of answer should you use?

You talk too much

2009-10-26T16:49:00.002-04:00

Today, we're going to look at a Proverb about speech. Let's read.

Those who talk a lot are likely to sin. But those who control their tongues are wise.
Proverbs 10:19 (NIrV)

Discussion

Have you ever been told you talk too much?
Did it stop you from talking?
This proverb says that if you talk alot you are likely to sin. Why do you think that is?
When looking at other translations, the first part of this can read a little differently
- Too much talk leads to sin. (New Living Translation>
- When words are many, transgression is not lacking (ESV)
- You will say the wrong thing if you talk too much (Contemporary English Version)
What are some ways you can sin with your speech? Lying, saying mean things about people, provoking people to do bad things
What do you think it means to control your tongue?
The Hebrew word here chasak means to withhold or to restrain. Based on this, maybe we can say that controlling your tongue is withholding words (not saying something) or restraining (holding back) words.
If say something without thinking about what you're saying, are you controlling your tongue?
If you think before you speak, is that controlling your tongue?
Would you agree that if you're not thinking before you speak, you are more likely to say something mean or to lie?
Do you want to be wise and think before you speak?

A proverb about goals

2009-10-22T08:24:00.002-04:00

Today's proverb is about goals - not soccer goals, but what you wish to accomplish.

He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.
Proverbs 11:27

Discussion

There are two things in this proverb we could be looking for "good" and "evil."
Two different Hebrew words are represented here.
- shachar which is translated seek in the first part of the proverb implies seeking diligently or to seek early. From reading more about the word, I would almost describe this kind of seeking as getting up early and opening things up and looking in them rather than just a casual glace around to try and find something.
- darash the word that is translated searches means "to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require"
- My sense of the difference between the two is darash "Have you seen where I put my iPod?" and shachar is looking under the couch, under the table, in the bedroom, in the playroom, all over the house until you find the iPod.
The good that is diligently sought is towb which is one of the words we considered when we studied proverbs about happiness. It implies things that are good, pleasant, and agreeable.
Diligently seeking good leads to ratsown which was the same word used to describe God's delight in those that are truthful.
The word for evil here is ra` is sometimes translated mischief but it is best defined as bad or evil.
We see that evil will come to you if you ask, but you have to diligently seek good.
Which do you think it's easier to find, good or evil?
Which do you think it's better to find?
Do you think you should set a goal of seeking out good?
Do you think it is a one-time search or a continuous search?

A proverb about priorities

2009-10-21T07:38:00.004-04:00

Today, we look at a proverb about priorities. A priority is something that is highest or higher in importance, rank, privilege, etc.

Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.
Proverbs 15:16

Discussion

Before we fully consider this proverb, what are some priorities in your life?
In this proverb, we have here another contrast, although this time the "good" part is first.
This proverb also contrasts the priorities of wealth and fearing God.
When we think of wealth we should consider both having lots of money and lots of possessions
It is important to consider what this verse says as well as not what it doesn't say
- it does say that it's good to fear God even if you're poor
- it does not say that if you fear God you will be poor
- it does say that it's not so good to be rich and not be at peace
- it does not say that if you are rich you won't be at peace
- it also does not say that if you fear God you can't be rich
- it also does not say that if you fear God that there won't be turmoil in your life
From all of this, we can deduce that fearing God is more important than wealth
We can also deduce that fearing God is more important that having turmoil or trouble in your life
Thus, the wise mas (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom) knows that proper respect for God should be a top priority

A Proverb about being truthful

2009-10-20T08:45:00.003-04:00

Today we look at a proverb about being truthful.

The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.
Proverbs 12:22

Discussion

This is another proverb with a contrast built in.
In this proverb, what does the Lord detest?
In this proverb, what does the Lord love?
When we read that the Lord detests lying lips, from the Hebrew we see that they are tow`ebah to Him. This means they are "a disgusting thing" to Him.
Have you ever tasted anything that was disgusting to you? Why didn't you like it?
Why do you think the lying is disgusting to God?
In the "good" part of this proverb, we find what God delights in. The Hebrew word for delight is ratsown which means something that's pleasing, acceptable, and satisfying to God
Have you ever tasted anything that was pleasing to you? Why did you like it? How did it differ from something that was disgusting to you?
The proverb says God delights in men who are truthful. The Hebrew word is 'emuwnah which means faithful in their promises.
Why do you think God delights in men who are faithful?
Which would you rather be: disgusting to God or pleasing to God?

A proverb about pride

2009-10-19T07:39:00.002-04:00

Today, we are going to look at one verse. So let's read...

Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 18:12

Discussion

Like many proverbs, we see a contrast built into this verse. Many proverbs basically read this is bad, while that is good.
Let's first look the "bad" part of this proverb.
- The word translated downfall here is sheber which means "breaking, fracture, crushing, breach, crash, ruin, shattering." That sounds painful doesn't it?
- The word translated heart here is leb (which we've seem before) which means "inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding"
- The word translated proud here is gabahh which means "to be high, be exalted"
- Can you restate this in your own words?
- How does "When a man thinks he's really great by himself, he gets crushed" work for you?
- Think of the story of David and Bathsheba. David thought he deserved a pretty wife like Bathsheba because he was a great king. So David took her as his wife even though it was wrong for him to do so. God sent the prophet Nathan to tell David of his sin and the first son born to David and Bathsheba died. Though David and Bathsheba committed the sin of adultery, it was David's pride that led him into adultery.
- Sometimes, the result of the bad part of this proverb isn't immediate. We know that anyone who thinks so highly of themself that they don't need Jesus will get their punishment for all eternity.
Now, let's look at the "good" part of this proverb.
- The word translated humility is `anavah which means "humility, meekness."
- Dictionary.com defines "humility" as "the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc."
- Dictionary.com defines "meekness" as the state of being "humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others"
- The word translated honor here is kabowd which means "glory, honour, glorious, abundance"
- Can you put this part of the proverb in your own words?
- How about "Being humble leads to honor"?
So to summarize
- If you're proud and don't think you need Jesus, you get crushed
- If you're humble and recognize you need Jesus, you get honored
Which you you rather be?

Proverbs: The Ant and the Sluggard

2009-10-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today, we're going to look at passage in Proverbs dealing with the ant and the sluggard. An ant - as you know - is known as a hard working insect. A sluggard is "a person who is habitually inactive or lazy." Let's read.

⁶ Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! ⁷ It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸ yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. ⁹ How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? ¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- ¹¹ and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs 6:6-11

Discussion

Why do you think the sluggard is told to consider the ant?
What are some of the good traits of the ant?
- It is wise
- It is independent - it has no leader
- it prepares for the future
What is the result of the hard work for the ant? It has food for the future
What does the sluggard like to do? sleep, do nothing
What is the ultimate result for the sluggard? poverty, not having food for the future
Who would you rather be like?
What can you do to be more like the ant?

Proverbs about Integrity

2009-10-14T07:00:00.002-04:00

Today we will be studying proverbs about integrity. Integrity is defined as "adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty."

Those who do what is right are guided by their honest lives. But those who aren't faithful are destroyed by their trickery.
Proverbs 11:3 (NIrV)

Based on this verse, what is integrity? doing what is right, living an honest life

Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Proverbs 19:1 (NIV)

Based on this verse, what is integrity? being blameless

Anyone who does what is right lives without blame. Blessed are his children after him.
Proverbs 20:7 (NIrV)

A person of integrity does right and lives a blameless life. Who else is blessed by a man of integrity?
Do you want me to live a life of integrity?

Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right.
Proverbs 20:11 (NIV)

Who does this verse say is judged by their integrity?
Do you think you should live a pure and right life?

Proverbs about Happiness

2009-10-13T04:28:00.003-04:00

Today, we transition to a more topical study of Proverbs. One of the beauties of Proverbs is that there is such a diverse variety of subject matter contained in it. You can find proverbs about many different topics scattered through the pages of this book.

Today, we will be reading some proverbs about happiness. One of the Hebrew words that gets translated happy is 'esher which means "happiness, blessedness." Another of the Hebrew words translated happy is sameach which means "joyful, merry, glad." One other word that gets translated happy is towb which means "good, pleasant, agreeable." Lets look at some of the verses where Proverbs tells us about happiness.

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom. Blessed is the one who gains understanding.
Proverbs 3:13 (NIrV)

What leads to blessedness or happiness in this verse? wisdom

"My children, listen to me. Blessed are those who keep my ways.
Proverbs 8:32 (NIrV)

What leads to happiness in this verse? Obedience

Anyone who hates his neighbor commits sin. But blessed is the person who is kind to those in need.
Proverbs 14:21 (NIrV)

What leads to happiness is this verse? Being kind to others

If anyone pays attention to what he is taught, he will succeed. Blessed is the person who puts his trust in the Lord.
Proverbs 16:20 (NIrV)

What leads to happiness in this verse? Trusting God

Blessed is the one who always has respect for the Lord. But anyone who is stubborn will get into trouble.
Proverbs 28:14 (NIrV)

What leads to happiness in this verse? respecting the Lord

Where there is no message from God, the people don't control themselves. But blessed are those who obey the law.
Proverbs 29:18

What leads to happiness in this verse? Obeying God's law
So to review, what are the things we've just looked at that lead to happiness?
Which of these things are you already doing?
Which of these things do you need to work on more?
Do you think that these things will make you happy?

Wisdom as an investment.

2009-10-12T08:03:00.003-04:00

As we continue our study of Proverbs, we find that wisdom is an investment. Dictionary.com defines investment as "the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value." In other words, an investment is something you spend money (or something else) for that you hope will be worth even more later. Let's read from Proverbs 3.

¹³ Blessed is the one who finds wisdom. Blessed is the one who gains understanding. ¹⁴ Wisdom pays better than silver does. She earns more than gold does. ¹⁵ She is worth more than rubies. Nothing you want can compare with her.
Proverbs 3:13-15 (NIrV)

Discussion

What are some things that you have spent your own money (or gift cards) on?
What are some things that you want to save your money for?
People sometimes invest in precious metals such as gold and silver. Over time, they become more valuable. Which is more valuable: Wisdom or silver?
What about wisdom or gold?
Another valuable thing people invest in are precious gemstones like diamonds and rubies. Which is more valuable: Wisdom or rubies?
Can you think of one thing that you really, really want?
Which is better: Wisdom or the thing you really, really want?
Do you think you've been learning wisdom from our study of Proverbs?
Do you think it is a good investment?

More benefits of wisdom

2009-10-08T07:14:00.002-04:00

As we continue our study of Proverbs, we are still learning of the benefits of wisdom.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. ⁸ This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. ⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; ¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. ¹¹ My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, ¹² because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
Proverbs 3:7-12

Discussion

In verse 7, "Do not be wise in your own eyes" is almost a restatement of "Lean not on your own understanding." We are reminded to "fear the Lord" which we know is the "beginning of wisdom" and to "shun evil" or not to walk in the paths of sinners.
In verse 8, we read how wisdom brings health and nourishment. This helps emphasize that we need wisdom in all areas of life including eating and excercising.
Verses 9 and 10 show us another area of life where wisdom comes in handy - wealth and possessions.
- When we write our tithe check, we are doing so to honor God with our wealth.
- The "firstfruits of all your crops" were how the Israelites provided for the priests (God's servants) before providing for themselves.
- We don't give produce to our pastors, but our giving to the church is done faithfully regardless of any other bills we have to pay.
- Though we don't have an overflowing barn or big vats of wine, most of the material blessing I have in life (house, cars, guitars) have come after I got serious about honoring God with my money.
What are some other ways that you can think of that we could honor God with our wealth?
Verses 11 and 12 speak of the Lord's discipline.
- We've seen the Hebrew word for discipline - muwcar - before. It means discipline, chastening, correction.
- The word for rebuke is towkechah which means rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment, chastisement.
- Correction for when we do wrong is a good thing.
- From the two words here translated discipline and rebuke, it seems to me that discipline is the more gentle of the two and rebuke is the more intense of the two.
- Either way, we know that God does this because He loves us and that's a good thing!

Trust in the Lord

2009-10-07T07:24:00.002-04:00

Today, in our study of Proverbs, we come to what is to me a very memorable passage. Let's read it and look at it in depth.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Discussion

The Hebrew word translated trust is batach which means to trust or to have confidence in or to be secure in. We can trust in the Lord being confident that He will do what He says He will do. We can trust in the Lord knowing that we are secure as His children and that nothing can separate us from His love.
The Hebrew word translated all is kol which all of, everything, the totality of. We are not to trust God just a little, but completely. After all, if we can be confident of and secure in Him, why shouldn't we trust Him completely?
The Hebrew word translated heart is leb which means inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding. We are to trust God with all of our feelings (heart), our thoughts (mind), soul (inner man), decisions and desires (will) and our knowledge (understanding).
The Hebrew word translated lean is sha`an which means to lean on for support or to trust.
The Hebrew word translated understanding is biynah which means understanding, discernment, and intelligence. This Hebrew word has already popped up a number of times so far in Proverbs. We are not to lean on or trust in our own understanding but to trust in the Lord. That may seem a little strange since everything we've been reading so far is about passing wisdom and knowledge on from a father to s son. But we need to remember that wisdom comes from God and if our knowledge and understanding don't come from God, it can't be trusted.
"In all of your ways," the Hebrew word kol pops up hear again and the Hebrew word translated ways is derek which we've seen before in Proverbs (even if I haven't pointed it out before). Derek can be translated way, road, distance, journey, manner. In other words, in every way we go, every road we travel, every distance we move, every journey we take, every manner we act in...
The Hebrew word translated acknowledge is yada which means to know, to perceive and see, to distinguish
"In all of your ways acknowledge Him" means that in every thing we do, every move we make, recognize that the God we can trust completely is there and act like it.
- Do you sometimes do things when nobody is watching that you wouldn't do otherwise? Like play with something you've been told not to play with or eat a piece of candy you were told to save for later or take something that wasn't yours just because you wanted to play with it
- If we acknowledge God in all of our ways, then we recognize that there is never a time when someone isn't watching us. Does that make you want to think different in times like what we've just discussed?
The result of this is that He will make our paths straight
- In Proverbs 1:15 we were told to not set foot on sinner's paths
- In Proverbs 2:13 we saw how the wicked left the straight paths
- In Proverbs 2:15 we saw how the wicked's paths are crooked
- In Proverbs 2:9 we saw how wisdom leads us to what is right and just and fair - every good path
Thus, if in all of our ways we acknowledge God, He will lead us away from sinful, wicked paths and lead us to what is right and just and fair. This sounds like a good way to go doesn't it?

Further benefits of wisdom

2009-10-06T12:23:00.002-04:00

During our study of Proverbs, we are not going study every verse. As we continue on with the theme of a father passing on wisdom to his son, we skip to the beginning of Proverbs 3.

¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, ² for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. ³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:1-4

Discussion

Again in the passage, we see Solomon adressing his son and reminding him to pay attention to wisdom.
When we read in verse 1 "do not forget" the Hebrew word shakach can also be translated as to ignore. Thus, this admonition to not forget does double duty. Do not ignore wisdom now and don't forget it later. It's not just a one time thing, it's a continuing thing.
When he says "keep my commands" that implies guarding them, watching over them, preserving them. You don't just keep a command and then be done with it, you keep it with you.
When he says in verse 2 wisdom will bring you prosperity, the Hebrew word here is shalowm which means completeness (in number), soundness (in body), welfare (including health and prosperity), peace (including contentment and friendship).
In verse 3 "love and faithfulness" refers to God's love and faithfulness. They will beautify your life (bind them around your neck) and you are to commit them to memory (write them on your heart).
In verse 4, we see the ultimate result of being wise, favor with God and with man.
Tomorrow, we are going to look at a passage that we would do well to write on our hearts.

Wicked men and wisdom

2009-10-05T07:57:00.004-04:00

¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, ¹³ who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, ¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, ¹⁵ whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.
Proverbs 2:12-15

We continue our study of Proverbs and we come to a passage which is a warning about wicked men. Though not worded as a warning against associating with wicked, we are told that wisdom will save us from such men. Let's look at what the passage says about them.

Discussion

When it says "Wisdom will save you" it implies snatching you away from or rescuing you from these wicked men. It seems to me to be an active verb. Picture, if you will, someone pulling you out of the way of a car that would otherwise have hit you. This is what it means here in saying wisdom will save you from the ways wicked or evil men. It's not just that these men are evil, but the way they live their life is evil.
We also see in verse 12 that what they say and promise to people is perverse or foolish or deceitful.
they leave the straight paths or the upright paths. In other words they if there's a right thing to do and a wrong thing to do, they don't do the right thing.
They also walk in dark ways - they like to keep what they are doing hidden from others. This makes me think of the number of times we've read about the Hardy Boys being attacked by men who were hiding in dark places.
In verse 14, we see that these men delight in doing wrong - doing evil things make them happy!
They rejoice in the foolishness of bad things.
Their paths are crooked - twisted, distorted - not the right way to go.
They are devious is their ways. Devious implies that their ways are bent or turned away from the way they should go.
Even at your age, I'm sure you can see evidence of other people making choices like the men describe here. Can you think of any examples?
Do you think it's good to spend time around people like this?
If wisdom saves you from the ways of these people, do you think you should spend time around people like this?
In light of what we've read earlier about how wisdom calls out and they have rejected, what should we do for people like this?
How can we pray for people like this and how can we pray for wisdom to save us?

The Lord gives wisdom

2009-10-02T08:20:00.002-04:00

We continue with our study of Proverbs and today read how the Lord gives wisdom.

⁶ The Lord gives wisdom. Knowledge and understanding come from his mouth. ⁷ He stores up success for honest people. He is like a shield to those who live without blame. He keeps them safe. ⁸ He guards the path of those who are honest. He watches over the way of his faithful ones. ⁹ You will understand what is right and honest and fair. You will understand the right way to live. ¹⁰ Your heart will become wise. Your mind will delight in knowledge. ¹¹ Good sense will keep you safe. Understanding will guard you.
Proverbs 2:6-11 (NIrV)

Discussion

It starts out with the obvious "The Lord gives wisdom."
Where do knowledge and understanding come from? His mouth
Where can we find record of what has come out of God's mouth?
We also read of other things the Lord does for us:
- He provides for us
- He protects us
- He guards us
- He watches over us
What does verse 9 tell we will understand?
- what is right and honest and fair
- the right way to live
Are these things important to know?
What will happen to our heart? it will become wise
what will we delight in? knowledge
What will keep us safe? Good sense
What is that?
What will guard us? understanding
What is that? What we have learned/what we have come to understand

Wisdom: Hidden Treasure

2009-10-01T07:24:00.003-04:00

We continue our series on Proverbs and come to a passage on asking and receiving wisdom. Let's read.

¹ My son, accept my words. Store up my commands inside you. ² Let your ears listen to wisdom. Apply your heart to understanding. ³ Call out for the ability to be wise. Cry out for understanding. ⁴ Look for it as you would look for silver. Search for it as you would search for hidden treasure. ⁵ Then you will understand how to have respect for the Lord. You will find out how to know God.
Proverbs 2:1-5 (NIRV)

Discussion

This passage is structured like a big if - then argument. If you do this, then you this will happen.
These are the if things mentioned here
- accept my words - the Hebrew word translated accept means "to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away." With such a broad range of meanings, there's a variety of ways you might accept wisdom. What matters is that you make it yours!
- Store up my commands inside you - this implies not just storing up, but hiding and treasuring God's commandments
- Let your ears listen to wisdom - don't just listen to wisdom, but pay attention to wisdom
- Apply your heart to understanding - means to stretch out, extend, or bend your heart. Perhaps even make changes to your heart for wisdom's sake
- Call out for the ability to be wise - implies asking out loud for wisdom.
- Cry out for understanding - again implies using your voice to ask for wisdom
- Look for it as you would look for silver - silver was valuable as is wisdom. You are to look for wisdom as if it's something you require.
- for it as you would search for hidden treasure - How would you go looking for a hidden treasure? You might use a treasure map. When you get to the spot marked "X," you might pull out your shovel and start to dig. You would dig until you found the treasure.
If you do these things, "Then you will understand how to have respect for the Lord."
- The fear (or proper respect) of God is the beginning of wisdom - it brings you wisdom
- If you do all these things to seek after wisdom, you will respect God
- which will bring you wisdom
- which will cause you to seek more wisdom
- which will...
All of this goes in a circle which brings you more wisdom and more fear of God
Which ultimately leads to knowing God better and better.
How do you want to seek wisdom?

The results of rejecting wisdom

2009-09-30T05:00:00.002-04:00

Today, as we continue our study of Proverbs, we see the results of rejecting wisdom. It's not good. Though we may not see all of the results in this world, we know what awaits the foolish in eternity.

²⁹ You hated knowledge. You didn't choose to have respect for the Lord. ³⁰ You wouldn't accept my advice. You turned your backs on my warnings. ³¹ So you will eat the fruit of the way you have lived. You will choke on the fruit of what you have planned. ³² "Childish people go down the wrong path. They will die. Foolish people are satisfied with the way they live. They will be destroyed. ³³ But those who listen to me will live in safety. They will not worry. They won't be afraid of getting hurt."
Proverbs 1:29-33

Discussion

In this continuation of what we read yesterday, wisdom is telling the foolish the results of their foolishness. Just as we read in verse 7, we can see that not respecting God is foolishness
we see in verse 30 how the foolish not only don't take wisdom's advice, but they turn their back on it - they completely reject it!
Verses 31 and 32 describe some of the results of their foolishness.
- they get what they deserve (v 31)
- it won't really satisfy them (v 31)
- they will go down the wrong path which leads to death (v 32)
- they might be satisfied with their lives, but they'll be destroyed
When you remember Proverbs 22:6 - which is the theme verse for our family Bible study - you see that we want you to go down the right path and not the foolish path
This passage ends, like so many Proverbs, with a contrast. After showing the results of rejecting wisdom, it once again shows some of the benefits of wisdom
- live in safety
- not worry
- won't be afraid of getting hurt
Now, it doesn't say you won't get hurt if you are wise, but you won't be afraid of getting hurt. It's important to keep in mind that a wise person won't lead a perfect life, but a wise person will fear God and not fear what can happen to him. A wise person should remain focussed on God and not on the situation he's in.

Wisdom laughs at the foolish

2009-09-29T05:00:00.003-04:00

Today as we continue our study of wisdom, we see that wisdom laughs at the foolish.

²⁴ But you turned away from me when I called out to you. None of you paid attention when I reached out my hand. ²⁵ You turned away from all my advice. You wouldn't accept my warning. ²⁶ So I will laugh at you when you are in danger. I will make fun of you when hard times come. ²⁷ I will laugh when hard times hit you like a storm. I will laugh when danger comes your way like a windstorm. I will make fun of you when suffering and trouble come. ²⁸ "Then you will call to me. But I won't answer. You will look for me. But you won't find me.
Proverbs 1:24-28

Discussion

Wisdom is speaking here to people who have turned away from wisdom and rejected wisdom.
When wisdom is laughing at these people, it is mocking them and kind of saying "Ha ha, I warned you that would happen."
There are a few times that wisdom will be laughing:
- in times of danger
- during hard times
- during really hard times (like a storm)
- during suffering
- during trouble
Would you want to be laughed at in those times?
In those times, these people will be looking for wisdom but won't be able to find it? after they rejected true wisdom, they'd be looking for wisdom in the wrong places.
Do you think it's better to accept wisdom to begin with?

Wisdom wants your attention

2009-09-28T05:00:00.001-04:00

Today, we continue our series in Proverbs. We will see how wisdom wants our attention. Wisdom wants us to pay attention to it and to be wise.

²⁰ Wisdom calls out in the street. She raises her voice in public places. ²¹ At the noisy street corners she cries out. Here is what she says near the gates of the city. ²² "How long will you childish people love your childish ways? How long will you rude people enjoy making fun of God and others? How long will you foolish people hate knowledge? ²³ Suppose you had paid attention to my warning. Then I would have poured out my heart to you. I would have told you what I was thinking.
Proverbs 1:20-23 (NIrV)
This week, since my younger son has an NIrV, we will be using scripture quotations from it

Discussion

First of all, in this passage, we see wisdom personified. Even though we know that wisdom is not really a person, by treating it as if it was a person, we can describe it more easily.
Wisdom is crying out. The Hebrew word here implies crying out with joy. Why do you think wisdom is crying out?
Verse 20 also says that wisdom raises her voice. Why does wisdom have to raise it's voice?
What are some things that try and drown out wisdom's voice?
Wisdom warns people of three things:
- being childish
- being rude to others
- being foolish and hating knowledge
Do you ever have problems with any of those? How so?
If people had paid attention to wisdom, what would they have gained? they would gain wisdom in spirit and in speech

Proverbs: Don't be led astray

2009-09-25T05:00:00.002-04:00

Today, we come to our first strong warning in Proverbs. Let's read.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. ¹¹ If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul; ¹² let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; ¹³ we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; ¹⁴ throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"- ¹⁵ my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; ¹⁶ for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood. ¹⁷ How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! ¹⁸ These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves! ¹⁹ Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.
Proverbs 1:10-19

We've talked already about how Proverbs also warns us of things NOT to do. In this passage, Solomon is warning against people who plan on attacking, beating up, and robbing some one and having everybody split the money they get.

Discussion questions

What is the first thing recommended? (Verse 11) Don't give in
In verse 18 and 19, who are these people really hurting? themselves
So, if your friends were asking you to do something that would hurt someone else or take someone else from them, what would you do?

Proverbs: The Prize of Wisdom

2009-09-24T05:00:00.005-04:00

Today, we continue our study of Proverbs. We will be looking at how wisdom is a prize to be proud of.

⁸ Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
⁹ They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
Proverbs 1:8-9

In this passage, we read about what's to be desired or sought after - what is wise.We've already looked at verse 8, but verse 9 tells us a little more about the value of the wisdom that fathers and mothers pass on to their children.

Discussion questions

A garland was something like a crown made of flowers or of a laurel leaves
A chain might be something like a necklace or a medal hung around your neck
This makes me think of athletes winning at the Olympics. They would have a laurel wreath (or garland) placed on their head and a medal hung around their neck
These are things that you would be proud to wear. Can you think of anything that you would be proud to wear?
Do you think "wearing" the wisdom and lessons passed on by your mother and father is a good thing?
Do you think that "wearing" the wisdom and lessons passed on by your mother and father is fulfilling the commandment to honor your father and mother?
That commandment promises "...that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." Do you think this is can come from living wisely?
Based on what we have studied today, what do you think you should do?

Proverbs: From the beginning

2009-09-23T05:00:00.006-04:00

Today, we really are going to start from the beginning of Proverbs.

Prologue: Purpose and Theme
¹ The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
² for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
³ for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;
⁴ for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young-
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-
⁶ for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:1-7

Discussion Questions

Who wrote Proverbs? What do you know about him?
What are some of the purposes he wrote Proverbs?

attaining wisdom and discipline
understanding words of insight
acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair
giving prudence to the simple, nowledge and discretion to the young

verse 2 talks about attaing wisdom and discipline.

The Hebrew word here translated wisdom is chokmah which can mean knowing how to fight well, knowing how to manage things well, or knowing how to make right decisions.
The Hebrew word here translated discipline is muwcar and can mean discipline in the sense of being disciplined or corrected as in a parent disciplining or correcting their child.
Thus we can see that Proverbs not only can teach you how to make good decisions but also show you the bad decisions you make

verse 2 also talks about understanding words of insight

The Hebrew word translated understanding is biyn which means to carefully consider and understand, to discern
the words of insight could be talking about sayings or writings that help people to understand how to do things
I get the sense from this phrase, that we are talking about school learning or being trained (maybe as an apprentice) how to do something

verse 3 refers to wise behavior, doing what is right and fair to other people
verse 4 talks about teaching people how to take care of themselves and giving the young knowledge and teaching them how to make wise choices
verse 5 tells us that the proverbs can make a wise man wiser and someone who makes good decisions will be able to make better decisions. In other words, you can always get wiser!
from verse 6, we see that the wisdom you obtain will help you to understand the proverbs better, which give you more wisdom, which help you understand the proverbs which...
we've already looked at verse 7 which tells us that wisdom comes from having a proper respect of God!
Do you want to be wise or be a fool?
what things do you want to be wiser in?
How do you think you can become wiser?

Proverbs: Where do we begin?

2009-09-22T05:00:00.003-04:00

As we begin our study of Proverbs, you might think that we would start at the very beginning. You'd almost be correct. I want to start just a little bit after the beginning.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:7

Let's note two things quickly before starting to look at things in a little more depth.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." Fear here means proper reverence shown towards God. When you consider God's great power and holiness and compare it to our relative powerlessness and sinfulness and how we rightfully should be punished for our sin, you realize why it's called fear. the beginning means a starting point for or the best part of something. The word for knowledge here can be translated as knowledge or discernment or wisdom. In short, we could say that wisdom comes from having a proper respect of God.
We also see here a constrast in the second part of this verse. "Fools despise wisdom and discipline." All through Proverbs you will notice a lot of contrasts. The second point that we can see here can be summed up as Proverbs not only shows us what wisdom is, it also shows us what foolishness is.

Discussion Questions

Based on what we've looked at the last two days, how would you define wisdom?
Do you desire wisdom?
Can you think of a situation where you had two (or more) choices? What was the wise choice? What was the foolish choice? Which did you choose?
If you desire wisdom, should you desire what fools despise (hate)?
What doesn't the fool like that you should desire?

Proverbs

2009-09-21T05:00:00.004-04:00

Today, we begin our study of the book of Proverbs. What are proverbs? Dictionary.com gives a few definitions. The one that I think is most useful for us is "a wise saying or precept." The book of Proverbs in the Bible is a collection of wise sayings. Why do I want to take time and study Provers. I think we can see the answer in the first chapter.

Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
Proverbs 1:8

King Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs as a way of passing wisdom down to his son. Solomon, if you recall, asked God for wisdom and God granted it. Solomon became known as wisest man on earth. He didn't want just to keep his wisdom to himself, he wanted to pass it on to his son. As a father wanting to pass along Godly wisdom to my sons, I think it's going to be great to study Proverbs!

Discussion questions

Dictionary.com defines wisdom as "the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight." How would you define wisdom?
Do you think it is good to have wisdom?
Where do you think wisdom comes from?
How do you think wisdom will be useful to you?

You may have noticed...

2009-09-20T15:39:00.002-04:00

You may have noticed that our family Bible study blog hasn't been updated in a while. Much, I'm sure, to your relief, we haven't abandoned discipling our children. The last six months or so, we've been working our way through Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism by Starr Meade. We've made it through question 28 (How is Christ exalted?). It's been a good study and I haven't had to spend as much time preparing. But, I think it's about time to take a break from that and we're about to start a study on Proverbs.

Becoming a theologian: God's Glory

2009-02-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

The last of God's attributes that we will be examining as part of our study is God's glory. There are two different concepts in the Bible that are translated as glory: the honor and respect that God is due (remember our discussion of God's jealousy) and the appropriate outward expression of God's excellence. It is the second of these that we will be looking at today. Let's look at a few verses where God's glory is mentioned.

Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
Exodus 33:18
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.
Exodus 34:29
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
Luke 2:9
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Revelation 21:23

In Exodus, Moses asks to see God's glory. God passes by Moses but does not let Moses see His face. When Moses comes down from the mountain, Moses' face is glowing!
In Luke, when the Shepherds saw the angels announcing the birth of Jesus, there was a bright glow around them, God's glory!
In Revelation, it talks of the heavenly city not needing the sun, because God's glory is it's light.
Do we get to see a visible glowing (or whatever) as God's glory? I don't know. Maybe we have and I was not aware of it.
But, the Bible tells us that we were created to reflect God's glory, in other words, when people look at us, God wants them to see Him in us!
Do you want to reflect God's glory?

Becoming a theologian: God's Beauty

2009-02-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today we will be looking at God's beauty. By God's beauty, we don't mean that He is physically beautiful - since He is spirit not physical - but that He is the sum all of desirable qualities.

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:4

The Hebrew word used here for beauty is no`am which means "kindness, pleasantness, delightfulness, beauty, favour"
Of the English words here, only one is sometimes applied to physical beauty. All them can be used to describe good attributes of character.
If we saw a picture of a mountain or a sunset, we might describe it a as being beautiful. But seeing the mountain or the sunset in person might make it seem even more beautiful.
In the same way, reading about God in His Word, we might perceive of His beauty, but through having a relationship with Him and actively seeking Him, we might really know His beauty.
In the Psalm, David is talking about wanting to spend all of eternity in Heaven with God where he can truly behold God's beauty.
Do you want to know God's beauty?

Becoming a theologian: Gods' Blessedness

2009-02-24T06:00:00.004-05:00

Today we will be looking at God's blessedness. When used in the New Testament to refer to God's blessedness, it means happiness. God is happy and delights fully in himself and in everything that reflects his character.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31
As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
Isaiah 62:5
If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm;
Psalm 37:23

What are some things that make God happy

His Creation
His people
When people obey Him

The Greek word makarios is used in 1 Timothy to refer to God and is translated as blessed. One context that this word can be used is in congratulations where someone has done something that they are really happy about or when someone has won something.
What do you think God has to be happy about?
What should we be happy about?

When we show signs of God's character in our lives
When we are obedient to God
When we recognize God's gifts in our lives

What are you happy about?

Becoming a theologian: God's Perfection

2009-02-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

We're on the homestretch of our study of God's attributes. Today, we will be looking at God's perfection. When talking about God being perfect, we could also use the word complete. By this we mean that God posseses all the excellent qualities that He needs and does not lack in any desirable qualities.

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48

The Greek word here is teleios which means

brought to its end, finished
wanting nothing necessary to completeness
perfect

By "brought to it's end, finished", we can infer that God is not growing, God is not getting better, because there's nothing for God to improve on.
In baseball, if a pitcher throws a perfect game, he gets all 27 batters that he face out. He can't get any more batters out (in a 9 inning perfect game) because there are no more batters for him to face. There is no more room for improvement and he has brought the game to it's perfect end just like God is perfect.
The second sense of this definition implies God's completeness and lack of nothing. If God needed anything, would He be perfect?
This verse we read tells us to be perfect. Do you think you are perfect?
Because of our sin, we are not perfect.
It is interesting to me to note the tense of the verbs in this verse. When it tells us to "be perfect" it is in future tense - recognizing that we are not perfect now. When it says that God is perfect it is in present tense - meaning that it is true now.
How do we become perfect?

Becoming a theologian: God's Omnipotence

2009-02-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today we will be looking at God's omnipotence. Omnipotence means that God is all-powerful which means that He is able to do all of His will. Let's start by looking at several verses that speak to His omnipotence.

Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
Psalm 24:8
"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 19:26

Is there anything that God wills that He cannot do?
Is there any thing that God wills that He is not capable of doing?
Is there anything that God wills, that is impossible for Him to do?
Is there anything that God cannot do?

a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
Titus 1:2
if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
2 Timothy 2:13

There are things God cannot do because they are not in keeping with His character.

He cannot lie
He cannot sin
He cannot deny Himself
He cannot cease to exist

He, because of who He is, cannot do these things, but anything that is according to His will and His plan He can do. The only thing that prevents Him from doing anything else is God himself.
Let's consider the following things and tell me if God can do them or not:

Raise a man from the dead
Create heaven and earth
Tell a lie
Make a rock too big for Him to lift
Make the sun shine
Forgive our sins

Becoming a theologian: God's Freedom

2009-02-18T06:00:00.004-05:00

Today, we will be looking at God's Freedom. After spending time yesterday talking about God's free will, discussing His freedom might seem redundant, but it is not. You can't have free will or make free choices if you aren't free to begin with.

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
Psalm 115:3

Consider the following, suppose you were to freely decide (exercise your free will) that today you were going to cause an earthquake.

You've made a free will decision to cause an earthquake. Right?
Do you have the freedom to cause an earthquake?
What is restraining you from causing an earthquake today?

God, however, is not restrained from doing so.
He does what He pleases, because He can.
The only thing that restrains God is God himself (remember our discussion of His necessary will).
Can God cause it to be dark when it should be light? Yes, He did so in Exodus as one of the plagues
Can God turn water into wine? Yes, Jesus did so at the wedding in Cana
God can do these things that nobody else can do because He has freedom to do so

Becoming a theologian: God's Will

2009-02-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

Today, we will start looking at some of God's attributes of purpose. These attributes are the ones that deal with how God makes and carries out His decisions. Today we will be looking at God's will. We will be looking at the following aspects of God's will:

What do we mean by God's will?
God's necessary will
God's free will
God's secret will
God's revealed will

What do we mean by God's will?

Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology says "God's will is that attribute of God whereby He approves and determines to bring about every action necessary for the existence and activity of Himself and all creation."

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
Ephesians 1:11

God accomplishes all things according to His will.
In other words, everything is accomplished according to His plan.
Who is doing the accomplishing? God is

God's necessary will

God said to Moses, "I am who I am..."
Exodus 3:14a

God's necessary will refers to what He must do because of who He is.
Because of His righteousness and holiness, God can not tolerate sin. To do so would be to deny His nature.
Because of God's truthfulness, we know that He cannot lie.
Can you think of any other examples of things that God must (or cannot) do that are part of His necessary will?

God's free will

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
Revelation 4:11

Did God have to create all of creation? No.
God's free will refers to the things that He has done/will do because He wants to.
To help understand the difference between necessary will and free will, let's consider the following. You boys are children and you are obligated or required to obey your parents. The things on this list are necessary because you are obedient children are part of your necessary will. The things that you do because you want to are part of your free will.

Get dressed for the day. Necessary
Clear your dishes Necessary
Play with legos free
Brush your teeth Necessary
Play Star Wars Lego Wii free

God's Secret will

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29

God's secret will means that we don't know everything that God wills. Some of His plans for us may be secret.
When we consider God's wisdom and God's knowledge and know that we can't fully have His knowledge and wisdom, we can begin to imagine that there are some things we just can't know of God's will.
There may be parts of His will for us that are secret because we might not obey if we knew.
There may be parts of His will that we just don't need to know.
There may be parts of His will that we don't need to know now, but will be revealed to us in the future

God's revealed will

We can also see from the verse in Deuteronomy that God has revealed things to us and those belong to us.
One of the main places where His will is revealed is the Bible
Can you think of other places where His will is revealed?
Let's compare some of these things to see if they are examples of His secret will or His revealed will.

Worship God only Revealed
Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength revealed
What are you getting for your next birthday Secret
Why not all of our neighbors love God secret

Becoming a theologian: God's Wrath

2009-02-16T06:00:00.004-05:00

We come today to look at God's wrath. In Grudem's Systematic Theology, he says God's wrath means that he intensely hates all sin. The two themes we will be looking at are:

God hates sin
God is slow to anger

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
Romans 1:18

This verse talks of the wrath of God against godlessness and wickedness. What are these?

godlessness is "want of reverence towards God, impiety, ungodliness"
wickedness is "a deed violating law and justice, act of unrighteousness"

If people aren't properly respecting God, do you think He has a right to be angry?
If people are violating His law, do you think God has a right to be angry?
Do you remember ways that God has expressed His wrath?

What did He do to Sodom and Gomorrah?
When people touched the Ark of the Covenant (which was against the Law), what happened to them?

Do you want God to take out His wrath on You?

God is slow to anger

¹⁸ 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.' ¹⁹ In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."
Numbers 14:18-19

God is slow to anger. That doesn't mean He doesn't get angry, but it does show that He has patience with us.
God still will punish sin. He doesn't let it slide
Yet, because of His love, He does forgive our sin.
Let's consider the following vague scenario:

If you were to do something bad that Mom and Dad saw, would you expect us to get angry?
If instead of getting angry, we lovingly pointed out what you did wrong and forgave you?
If you did it again, would you expect us to get angry?
And if we again corrected you and forgave you, but maybe in a firmer tone of voice than the first time, would you like that?
If finally after a THIRD time, we punished you, do think that would be expected?

Do you think that is like how God is "slow to anger"?

Becoming a theologian: God's Jealousy

2009-02-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

As we continue with our study of God's attributes, we come to God's jealousy. Jealousy is a word that sometimes is a bad thing, but with God, it is a good thing. Jealousy as a bad thing is feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages. In God's case, it's not being satisfied when He doesn't get the honor that He is due. As we examine God's jealousy, we will look at these two points.

God is a jealous God
We should be jealous when things try and take our attention from God

God is a jealous God

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...
Exodus 20:5a

Here in the Ten Commandments, God is explaining why we shouldn't have other gods or idols - because He is a jealous God
If God is the only true God, then He alone should get glory, honor, and praise - not false gods or idols
There are numerous places in the Bible that say we are not to have idols. There is mention of the punishment for having idols. God is very serious about this!

We should be jealous when things try and take our attention from God.

²I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy... ³But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:2-3

In this passage the Apostle Paul is talking of being jealous.
He is concerned that the Corinthians will be distracted from God. He definately does not want them to be led astray.
What are some things that you can think of that can distract you from God?
What are some things you can do to keep from letting those distract you from God?

Becoming a theologian: God's righteousness and justice

2009-02-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

Today, we will be looking at God's righteousness and justice. In English, they may be two different words, but both in the Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) they are just one word. Righteousness means doing what is morally upright; without guilt or sin. With respect to God, we know that He always does what is right and that He is the standard of what is right.

God always does what is right

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Deuteronomy 32:4

This verse says that He is morally upright.
If God does no wrong, then everything He does is right

God sets the standard of what is right

...I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
Isaiah 45:19b

In this verse, we see that God says he declares what is right
Can you think of somewhere where God declared what is right? The Ten Commandments

We should pursue righteousness

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6

When you are thirsty what do you do?
When you are hungry what do you do?
Hunger and thirst are signs that something is lacking in our life and we must do something (eat or drink) about it
If you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, what are some things you would be doing?

Becoming a theologian: God's peace

2009-02-10T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today, we will be examining God's peace. We can think of peace as being a lack of dissension or a lack of disorder. We will be looking at the following themes as we examine God's peace.

God is a God of order
God's peace upholds us
God wants us to live in peace with others.

God is a God of order

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
1 Corinthians 14:33a

God is a God of peace or order.
God's creation shows His peace and order. As we learn the laws of nature and science, we find they make sense and they couldn't if God was a god of disorder.
We've read in Psalm 139 how all of the days of our life were written in God's book before one of them came to be. The fact that they all happen according to His plan is evidence of God's peace and order.

God's peace upholds us

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
Then God's peace will watch over your hearts and your minds because you belong to Christ Jesus. God's peace can never be completely understood.
Philippians 4:7 (NIrV)

We can never fully understand God's peace
God's peace guards our hearts and minds
God's peace keeps us connected to Christ
If we're feeling separated from God or lost or disordered, it's because we have brought disorder into our lives by sin or by losing focus on what God wants for us.

God wants us to live at peace with others

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:18

God wants us to live a peace with everyone
The verse implies that it may not always possible. What are some reasons it may not be possible?

We are not at peace - we have sinned and brought disorder into our lives
Someone may have sinned against us, thus bringing disorder and separating us from them
Others may not be seeking God's peace and thus it would be hard to live at peace with them

What are some things that we can do to live at peace with others?

Make sure that we are at peace with God. If we have sinned, we need to confess our sin and accept God's forgiveness.
If we have sinned against someone (or them against us) we should seek out or grant forgiveness.
We can pray for them that God will bring about peace
We can do good for or to them to promote peace
We should not think bad things of them

Becoming a theologian: God's Holiness

2009-02-09T06:00:00.002-05:00

We continue our journey of looking at God's attributes and we come to looking at God's Holiness. Holiness is defined as the quality or state of being holy, but to understand that, we need to know what it means to be holy. The definition of holy is specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated. In other words God is separated from sin. Today, we will look at three points.

God is separated from sin.
God is deveoted to His own glory
We should be holy

God is separated from sin

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.
Psalm 99:9

The Hebrew word for holy is qadowsh
It means clean, free from defilement.
A lot of the Law (as contained in Leviticus) was concerned with avoiding things that unclean.
Thus, one who kept the entirety of the Law could be said to be holy.

God is devoted to His own honor

And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
Isaiah 6:3

The angels don't just say that God is holy, they say He is "holy, holy, holy." By repeating it, they are emphasizing His holiness.
The earth is full of His glory
God set aside the Sabbath day and made it Holy.
Everything God does gives testimony to His holiness and can bring Him glory and honor.

We should be holy

"Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
Leviticus 19:2
You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.
Leviticus 20:26

We are commanded to be Holy
God has set us apart from others that He can use us.
By using us, He will bring glory and honor to himself
Only through Christ, not on our own efforts, can we be holy
Do you want to live a holy life and bring honor to God?
You can do so by obeying Him and letting Him use you as He wishes.
Studying the Bible regularly like we are helps us to know Him and to know what it is we should be doing.

Becoming a theologian: God's Mercy

2009-02-05T06:00:00.005-05:00

Today, we will be looking at God's mercy. Mercy can be defined as the tendency to do good or compassion which causes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves. As we examine God's mercy, we will look at three things.

God is merciful
Because of God's mercy, He forgives our sin
God wants us to be merciful to others.

God is merciful

For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
Deuteronomy 4:31
As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
James 5:11

There are many verses that talk of God's mercy and compassion towards us.
God's mercy includes having compassion on us and taking care of our needs.
God's mercy means He will never forget the promises that He made to us, no matter what we do.

Because of God's mercy, He forgives our sins

⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

Surely you remember that we are sinners (Romans 3:23) and that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), but God:

made us alive in Christ,
saved us, and
cleansed us from all unrighteousness

Does that sound like God is treating us better than we deserve?

God wants us to be merciful to others

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:36

In order to understand what it means for us to be merciful to others, let's look at this story from Matthew 18

²³"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. ²⁶"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' ²⁷The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
Matthew 18:23-27

Did the king have mercy on his servant?
Let's continue reading...

²⁸"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. ²⁹"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
Matthew 18:28-29

The amount that the first servant had owed the king was a lot of money. The amount the second servant owed the first wasn't much by comparison
If the first servant had mercy on the second, what would he do?
Let's read on and see what happened...

³⁰"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
³²"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' ³⁴In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
³⁵"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matthew 18:30-35

Did the first servant have mercy on the second?
What happened when his lack of mercy was found out?
What does this mean to you?
Aren't you glad that God has mercy on you?

Becoming a theologian: God's love

2009-02-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today we will be looking at God's love. As we examine God's love, we will be looking at three things.

God is the source of love
God's love for us is unconditional
God wants us to love Him and to love others

God is the source of love

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8

In verse 8 (which we've read before), we see that "God is love." The Greek word used here is agape. This word is used to describe

The love Christians should have for other Christians
The love men should have for God
The love God has for men
The love of God for Christ
The love of Christ for men

I would describe this as meaning godly love which includes affection, good will, and doing good to others.
In verse 7 we see that "love comes from God." When we look at the Greek words here, we see that love comes out of God. Love comes "out of God" in much the same way as light comes "out of a flashlight" - a flashlight is a source of light and God is the source of love.

God's love for us in unconditional

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ
Ephesians 1:4b-5a
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

John 3:16 is probably one of the most famous verses in the Bible. "God so loved the world." It doesn't just say God loved some of the world, does it?
God loves us enough that He adopted us as His children.
Furthermore, God loves us, even though we are sinners!
If God loves you, even though you're a sinner, is there anything you can do to make Him NOT love you?

God wants us to love Him and love others

³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' ³¹The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:30-31

Here Jesus is answering a question about what the greatest commandment is. What does He say?
Who are we to love?
What are some ways that you can show affection, good will and do good deeds towards God?
What are some ways that you can show affection, good will, and do good deeds towards others?

Two final things to remember about love. 1 John 4:7-21 (some of which we read earlier) is a great passage to read and learn about love. Verse 19 gives us reminds us that 'We love because he first loved us.' And verse 21 gives us this commandment 'Whoever loves God must also love his brother.'

Becoming a theologian: God's goodness

2009-02-03T06:00:00.004-05:00

Today we start looking at God's moral attributes. These are the attributes that deal with right and wrong. The first of these that we come to is God's goodness. As we look at God's goodness, let's look at these three things:

God is good
Everything God does is good
God wants us to do good.

God is good

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.
Luke 18:19
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; His love endures forever.
Psalm 106:1

What does it mean to be good?
Who sets the standard for good?
How do we know that God is good?

Everything God does is good

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

After God had finished creation, what did He say?
If God causes everything to work for our good, is anything that He does bad?
What does it mean that everything is for our good?

God wants us to do good

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

What were we created to do?
If these good works are prepared in advance, do you suppose that we are capable of doing these good works?
How can we do these good works? through Christ
Do you want to do good?

Becoming a theologian: God's truthfulness

2009-02-02T06:00:00.004-05:00

Today we will be looking at God's truthfulness. We will be looking at three things.

God is the only true God.
Everything about him is true.
As His children, He wants us to love and pursue the truth.

God is the only true God.

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
John 17:3

Here is John 17, Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemene and is praying. He knows that God is using Him to bring eternal life to people and that eternal life is knowing God.
Sometimes people have idols or other Gods that they follow. Are those God's truly God?
Do you remember the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal? They each built altars and put sacrifices on them and called on their gods to send fire. Do you remember which god sent fire that completely destroyed the alter and all of the water thrown over it?

Everything about God is true

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
Psalm 33:4

God's Word is true.
Since we studied Psalm 119, do you know how many times God's Word is referred to as true or as truth? 5
In Romans 3:4, Paul says "Let God be true..."
We know that God is true and His word is true. Can you trust Him?

We should be truthful

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Ephesians 4:25

We are commanded to speak the truth.
If you remember, one of the Ten Commandments is to not bear false witness against a neighbor. In other words, not to lie or tell something that is not the truth.
If God's every Word is true and we are to be like Him, shouldn't our every word be true?
Do you sometimes have trouble telling the truth?
Do you think God wants you to tell the truth?
Do you want to be more truthful so you can be like God?

Becoming a theologian: God's Wisdom

2009-01-29T06:00:00.003-05:00

Today, as we continue looking at God's attributes, we come to wisdom. Dictionary.com defines it as "the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight." As we look at God's wisdom, we will focus on three things:

God is wise
God knows best
God gives us wisdom

God is wise

His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
Job 9:4

Job was a godly man to whom a lot of bad things happened. He struggled to figure out why the bad things were happening and yet he recognized that God was wise.
The definition above refers to "knowledge of what is true or right." Where have we read about what is true and right?>
From what we read in Psalm 119, many of the words in this definition are applied to God's word or coming from God Himself: true, right, just, judgment, discernment, and insight.

God knows best

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

In all things God works for our good
Though, like Job, we may not always see the good in what's happening to us, we know that God is working for our good.
If God created us and created the world around us, you would certainly think He knows what is best

God gives us wisdom

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
1 Kings 3:9

The verse in James says that God gives us wisdom and does so generously!
The verse in 1 Kings is where Solomon asked God for wisdom. God granted him wisdom and he became known as the wisest man on earth!
If you ever think you need wisdom, ask God and He will give it to you

Becoming a theologian: God's knowledge

2009-01-28T06:00:00.002-05:00

We continue on our exploration through God's communicable attributes and today we come to God's knowledge. God is all-knowing and a big word for this is omniscient. As we look at God's knowledge, we will examine four things.

God knows Himself
God knows everything that has happened and will happen.
God knows everything that can possibly happen.
God already knows all of this and doesn't need to learn it.

God knows Himself

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 2:10a-11

We see here that God alone fully knows Himself.
We also see that know man can know all of God's thoughts, but as we have established previously, that we can know God.
Since we know that we have the Holy Spirit in us, we can begin to know and understand God.

God knows everything that has happened and will happen.

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
Isaiah 46:10

We read here how God knows end from beginning and knows all time. God knows everything that has happened and will happen.
We've read before in Psalm 139 how all the days of our life were written by God before one came to be.
We can always remember what has happened. Sometimes, God gives us insight into what will happen through prophecy, dreams, or visions.

God knows everything that could possibly happen.

"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Matthew 11:21

When Jesus made this statement, Tyre and Sidon were a distant memory.
Yet, Jesus speaks with authority that if Tyre and Sidon were to have seen the miracles they would have repented.
This is one of those things that we can't emprically prove, but to me, if Jesus said so, it's good enough for me.

God already knows what he knows

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Matthew 10:30

How many hairs are on your head?
How would you find out? You would have to count
God knows the number of hairs on your head, He doesn't have to count!

Becoming a theologian: God's invisibility

2009-01-27T06:00:00.003-05:00

We continue on with our study of God's communicable attributes and today we come to God's invisibility. If something is invisible, we cannot see it. Though we may not see God, God reveals himself to us through visible, created things. Invisibility is another attribute that describes God's being.

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
John 1:18
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17

From these two verses, we can see (ha ha) two things:

No one has seen God.
No one can see God.

Just as we discussed briefly yesterday, we personally have never seen God.
Have you ever seen evidence of God? If so, what did you see?
We know that God is omnipresent, which means that's He's everywhere, which implies that He is here with us. Do you see Him? Do you know that He is here.
If you were invisible, how would you get someone know you were there?
Knowing that God is invisible, what are some ways that we know He's there?
How, you may ask, can we say that invisibility is communicable? Obviously, we can see each other. But what we see is our physical bodies. Yesterday, we talked about how we have spirits. Can you see someone else's spirit? Isn't that invisible?

Becoming a theologian: God is spiritual

2009-01-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Today, we turn our attention to some of God's communicable attributes. Communicable attributes are attributes that we may see not only in God, but also we may see evidence of in our lives. The first attributes we will look describe God's being - or in some way what God is made of. Today we will look at God's spirituality.

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
John 4:24

Here in John 4, Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman at the well. The Samaritans were descended from Israelites who had married people of other religions. Though the Samaritans may have practiced their religion similarly to the Jews of Jesus days, they had differences in how and where they worshipped God. Jesus is explaining to the Samaritan woman how God is to be worshipped. In this verse, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman both about God and about God's worshippers.

God is spirit. The Greek word used here is pneuma which sometimes is used to refer to the Holy Spirit and more generally refers to the spirit or soul of someone/something. Other times it is even used to refer to the wind.
From this little bit Jesus says about God, we can infer two things

God, the Father, does not have a physical body. We've already, from our study of the incommunicable attributes, learned how God cannot be measured and how he is omnipresent. That would be impossible if God had a physical body.
The Holy Spirit, as part of the trinity, is equal to God, the Father.

Jesus goes on to say how God's worshippers should worship God in spirit and in truth. The Greek word used here for spirit is also pneuma. From this we can learn...

We are not just physical bodies. We posses a spirit or a soul.
From our spirit, we should worship God.

Have you ever seen the wind? Or have you only seen the effects of the wind?
Have you ever seen God? Or have you seen what God has done and is doing?
Do you want to worship God in spirit and in truth?

Becoming a theologian: God's unity

2009-01-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today, we look at the last of God's incommunicable attributes in our list: God's unity. By unity, we know that God doesn't have parts. His many attributes are all of God and though we may see one or another emphasized at a given moment in time, God is no less of any of the others at that time.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5

God is love. God is light. Is love light? Is God still both love and light?
Simon is both a third grader and a Cub Scout.

Is being a third grader the same as being a Cub Scout?
When Simon is doing school work which of these is emphasized?
When Simon is wearing his Cub Scout uniform, which of these is emphasized?
Does wearing his Cub Scout uniform make Simon any less of a third grader?
Does doing school work make Simon any less of a Cub Scout?

In the same way, God has many different attributes (which we will continue studying in coming days.
There may be times in our lives where we see more of one of God's attributes than others. But, God does not cease to be any less of those other things. God is all of these things together even if we don't always see all of it.

Becoming a theologian: God's omnipresence

2009-01-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today, we will be looking at God's omnipresence. The definition we looked at last week was God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with His whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:7-10

God is everywhere.

You cannot hide from him. The Psalmist tried to hide from God, but everywhere he went, God was there. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God, but they couldn't, because He was there.
If God is everywhere, then we can still trust Him no matter where we go.
If God is everywhere, then no matter where we are, we can pray to God and know that He will hear us.

God does not have spatial dimensions.

You cannot measure God.
You cannot put God in a box, no matter how big the box is.
The biggest problem you have, God is bigger.
The biggest fear you have, God is bigger.

God acts differently in different places of His creation.

Some times and places, God is present to punish. If people are unrepentently sinning, God may be there to bring punishment to them.
Some times and places, God is present to sustain.
When Noah and his family were in the ark, God sustained them. They weren't able to work to grow food and God sustained them.
In heaven, God is present to be worshipped.
God is present with you to bless you and guide you.

What aspect of God's omnipresence is most important to you?
Do you feel blessed that God is everywhere?

Becoming a theologian: God's eternity

2009-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

The next incommunicable attribute we come to is God's eternity. God has no beginning or end. God sees all time. God is timeless.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 1:8
Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalm 90:2

God has always existed. There was never a time when God did not exist.
In fact, we can go as far as to say that when God created the universe, He also created time. Though we may not understand time to be a dimension such as length, width, and height, it is. And if God created the length, width, and height, then God also created time.
As we'll look at tomorrow, God is omnipresent and exists in and can see all points in space. Then, if time is really a dimension, God exists in all times and can see all of it equally.
Think about the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie. We can watch it and it takes time for us to watch it. But the ending - even when we're watching the beginning - has already been written. If you were to look at the DVD, the whole movie is there on DVD at the same time. We just can't see both the beginning and end at the same time because we are limited to watching the movie one scene after another.
In the same way, our lives are written by God. God already knows and sees what lies ahead for us because He has already written it. We must live our lives one day at a time, but God sees it all because He is not bound by time.
Even though God sees all time equally, He knows all time individually.

We can read in Psalm 139:16b "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
Each day is like a page in a book to God. He has already written the book even though we haven't finished reading it yet.
This page on the book is not just plain words to God, it has vivid pictures. It is

Ian's birthday
inauguration day in the U.S.
It's supposed to be cloudy and 31 degrees here.
It's supposed to be 51 degrees and mostly sunny in Flordia.
And much, much more.

All of the details of a day that is not complete are already known to God.

If God is not bound by time, do you think you can trust Him to lead you in the way that you should go?
Knowing that God will still exist tomorrow (and be unchanged), do you think you can still trust Him tomorrow?
Aren't you glad for God's eternity?

Becoming a theologian: God's unchangeableness

2009-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

We're continuting to look at God's incommunicable attributes. Today, we will be looking at God's unchangeableness.

²⁵ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. ²⁶ They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. ²⁷ But you remain the same, and your years will never end.
Psalm 102:25-27

God doesn't change. His being doesn't change. He is always perfect. His promises do not change. But, how He is expressed in different situations may be as different as the situations are, but even then, He doesn't change in His will.

It may sometime seem like God changes His mind (which would mean that He is not unchanging). Consider the story of Jonah:

Jonah is sent to Ninevah to tell them that God is going to destroy them because of their sin
The Ninevites repent from their sins
God chooses not to destroy them

Did God change His mind? No, God wanted the Ninevites to repent. The message He gave Jonah was of the consequences of their sin. The Ninevites repented as God has wanted and thus were spared the consequences of their sin.
As situations change, how we see God act may change. But how God acts is always in keeping with His character. And because how we see God is colored by our circumstances, how we see God may change - but He doesn't.
The fact that God is unchanging is good for us. How could we ever hope to get know Him better if He changed all the time.
Consider this, you both have had the same Sunday School teachers since September. Do you know them better than you did in September?
Have you learned what they expect of you and what you can expect from them?
Is it sometimes hard to adjust when you have a different teacher?
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As we get to know Him better, we know more about Him. As we go through different situations, we see different aspects of God.
Aren't you glad God does not change?

Becoming a theologian: God's independence

2009-01-15T06:00:00.004-05:00

Now that we've taken a quick look at five of God's incommunicable attributes, I want to start taking a closer look at each of them to make sure we really understand them. The first one we come to is independence.

Per dictionary.com, indepence is roughly defined as "being independent." Independent is defined as "not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself:" The key phrases I see here (as it relates to God) are not... controlled by others and acting for oneself.

²⁴"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
Acts 17:24-25

From this passage, how can we see that God is not controlled by others?

He is Lord of heaven and earth
He is not served by human hands

From this passage, how can we see that God is acting on His own?

He made the world and everything in it
He gives all men life and breath and everything

God said to Moses, "I am who I am"...
Exodus 3:14a

In this passage God is telling Moses who to say is sending him to Pharaoah. This is where God tells Moses his name: YHWH.
From His name, we can see that God is. There is no cause suggested for God. Nothing created God. He just is.
In this verse, do we see God as being controlled by anything? No
In this verse, do we see evidence of God acting on His own? Yes, if He just is, he must be acting on His own
Can you agree, based on these two passages (and there are others like them) that God is independent

Becoming a theologian: Incommunicable Attributes

2009-01-14T08:01:00.002-05:00

Today as we continue our quest in becoming theologians, we want to start looking at God's incommunicable attributes. Both of these are words are ones we don't use very often, so, like we often do, let's turn to dictionary.com for definitions:

attribute means "something attributed as belonging to a person, thing, group, etc.; a quality, character, characteristic, or property"

incommunicable means "incapable of being communicated, imparted, shared, etc."

Based on these definitions, I want to define God's incommunicable attributes as being qualties or characteristics of God's that belong only to God and are not and cannot be found in others. The incommunicable attributes that we are going to look at are (with definitions from Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology:

Independence - God does not need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation can glorify Him and bring Him joy.
Unchangeableness - God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet god does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations.
Eternity - God has no beginning, end, or succession of moments in his own being, and he sees all time equally vividly, yet God sees events in time and acts in time
Omnipresence - God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.
Unity - God is not divided into parts, yet we see different attributes of God emphasized at different times.

As we usually do, we're going to look at the Bible to learn a bit more about these attributes. But this time, I want to read some verses and see if you can figure out which of these attributes they relate to.

⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Exodus 34:6-7

What attribute does this refer to? Unity

"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

1 Kings 8:27

What attribute does this refer to? Omnipresence

For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night

Psalm 90:4

What attribute does this refer to? Eternity

But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

Psalm 102:27

What attribute does this refer to? Unchangeableness and Eternity

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:7-10

What attribute does this refer to? Omnipresence

How great is God beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.

Job 36:26

What attribute does this refer to? Eternity

Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

Job 41:11

What attribute does this refer to? Independence

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

John 8:58

What attribute does this refer to? Eternity

"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

John 17:24

What attribute does this refer to? Independence

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

What attribute does this refer to? Unchangeableness

Becoming a theologian: Can we know God?

2009-01-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we discussed whether God exists. We answered, "Yes!" Perhaps the next question - certainly an important one since we are defining theology as knowing God and knowing about God - is "Can we know God?"

We can know God because He makes it possible for us to know Him.

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Matthew 11:27

So, who can know God?

Jesus (the Son)
and those that Jesus chooses to reveal God to

Jesus also helps us to know about God.

No one has ever seen God. But God, the one and only Son, is at the Father's side. He has shown us what God is like.

John 1:18 (NIrV)

Though we can know God, we can't understand him completely

We are finite, which means that we can be measured. Whether we want to measure our height, weight, or age, we can be measured. God, however is infiite, which means that He can't be measured. He has no beginning or end.

Lord, you are great. You are really worthy of praise. No one can completely understand how great you are.

Psalm 145:3 (NIrV)

Consider for a moment, Star Wars. Certainly, you boys know a lot about Star Wars.
Do you think that you know everything there is to know about Star Wars?
What planet is Han Solo from? Corellia (I had to look that up
But Star Wars - even with the six live action movies, the Clone Wars movie and TV, video games, and books - is finite. If we could devote all of our time to studying Star Wars (and before you ask no, you may not) we might eventually know all there is to know about Star Wars.
Even though you've seen each of the Star Wars movies a whole lot of times, don't you still want to watch them again and again?
When we consider again that God is infinite, can we ever expect that we could know all there is to know about God?
Even though we can't know all there is to know about God, we should still strive to know as much about God as we possibly can.

We can know God and that is a good thing

This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

God Himself says that we CAN know Him.
Knowing God is something that we can boast about. What is boasting?
If God says we can boast about knowing Him, do you think it is good to know God?
Do you want to know God better?

Becoming a theologian: Does God exist?

2009-01-12T06:00:00.003-05:00

As we continue our quest to become a theologian, where we are studying to know about God and to know God, we must first ask ourselves a simple question: Does God exist?

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

Psalm 14:1a

Fools deny the existence of God. The Bible tells us that people who don't believe that there is a God are actively denying the evidence that there is a God. But, how can we know that there is a God?

All creation testifies to the existence of God

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1

What about the world around you makes you think of the existence of God?
Do you ever look up at the stars or the moon and praise God?

We were created to know God

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...

Genesis 1:26a

The Hebrew word for image is tselem which means an image kind of like a picture of something. In some usage it means a shadow of something.
If you see a shadow of a person coming from beind us, do you expect that if you turn around you'll see a person?
Do you believe in God?
Do you think you believe in God because God created you to know Him?

Becoming a theologian: Rightly handling the word of God

2009-01-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

As we continue to become theologians and as we realize that the Bible is our starting point for knowing God and knowing about God, we must realize that it is important to correctly handle God's Word. In other words, we must make sure we don't use it - or part of it - inappropriately.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

We're not reading the Bible in the original language(s) it was written in

We are reading from translations which means that we're not reading the original texts. Thus, the words we see, are a person's or a group of people's interpretation of what the original words mean. Sometimes, an original word in the Hebrew or Greek may be translated into many different English words or several different Hebrew or Greek words may be translated to the same English word.
This means that if we're having a hard time interpreting what Scripture is saying, we may need to consult someone or something that knows more than we do about what the words in the original language mean.

The world has changed a lot since the Bible was written

When the Bible was written, a lot of things that we take for granted for living our daily life did not exist: there were no cars, telephones, TVs, computers, interstate highways, and many other things.
Thus, when we read things in the Bible that sound strange to us (like Jesus washing the disciples feet), we may need to read other books called commentaries to help us understand what was happening.

Context is important

Context means understanding the big picture around what we are reading.
If we read just one sentence of Isaiah 56:12, we can read "Let us drink our fill of beer!" Does that mean we should drink beer until we're full - until we can't drink any more?
If we look at this in context by reading what's around it, we find that this is said by wicked people who according to verse 11 "lack understanding." In other words, the people who are saying this aren't very smart. With that in mind, do you think everyone should go out and drink beer until they are full?

Even though Scripture has clarity and we can understand it, we need to make sure that we are studying it carefully so that we know we're doing what God wants.

Becoming a theologian: Why we use the Bible

2009-01-07T06:00:00.001-05:00

As we continue our study to become a theologian, I want to look today at why we can use the Bible as our starting point. The Bible as we know it has four characteristics:

Authority
Clarity
Necessity
Sufficiency

Let's look at what each of these mean.

Authority

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16

If Scripture is God-breathed (inspired by God), can we trust what it says about God?
Who knows God better than God Himself? nobody
If God inspired all of Scripture, then the Scripture itself has authority to tell us about God

Clarity

⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Some of Scripture may be hard to understand, but for the most part, it is clear and easy to understand.
Would we be commanded to teach it to our children if it couldn't be understood clearly?
Would we be commanded to talk about it in different situations to different people if nobody could undertand it clearly?

Necessity

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:4

We know we need to eat to live. Jesus tells us that we need God's Word to live.
If Jesus tells us we need God's Word to live, do you think we need it?

Sufficiency

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Scripture equips us to do every good work.
Are there things we should do that Scripture does not help us with? No
You may also recall from our study of Psalm 119 that Scripture is useful for many things.
Is there any thing else that we can take as having authority, clarity, and necessity? no

Becoming a theologian: Where do we start

2009-01-06T06:00:00.003-05:00

As we pursue becoming a theologian, we must pick a starting point. What is one thing that we can use through which God has revealed Himself and told us about Himself and told us of what He has done? If you're thinking the Bible, you're exactly right! We've studied a lot about God's word in Psalm 119 and Psalm 19 and 2 Timothy 3:16 among other places. Let's look at what the Gospel according to John says about itself.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:31

We see three purposes mentioned in this one verse:

Knowing that Jesus is the Christ. In other words knowing that He was the Messiah. This relates to His purpose in coming to earth.
Knowing that Jesus is the Son of God. Here, it's talking about understanding the relationship between God the Father and Jesus, His Son.

Believing in God and having eternal life. In other words, the John didn't write this just so we could know about God but also so that we could believe in and know God!

We're going to use the Bible as the starting point for becoming a theologian. It would be helpful to know a little bit about the Bible.

What are the two major divisions of the Bible? The Old Testament and the New Testament
How many books are in the Bible? 66
What kind of books are in the Old Testament?

the books of the Law - telling the Law and how it came to be (contains some history)
History books - telling about God's people
Wisdom books - containing poetry, songs, and wise sayings
Prophecy books - containing prophecy

What kind of books are in the New Testament?

Gospels - stories about Jesus
Acts of the Apostles - stories about His followers
Epistles - letters written to teach believers in Jesus
Prophecy

Tomorrow, we'll learn a little bit more about the Bible.

Becoming a theologian

2009-01-05T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today, we begin our next "unit" of Bible study. Today's Bible Study is titled "Becoming a theologian." Well, what is a theologian?

dictionary.com defines theologian as a person versed in theology, esp. Christian theology; divine. Well, then, what is theology? dictionary.com defines theology as the field of study and analysis that treats of God and of God's attributes and relations to the universe; study of divine things or religious truth; divinity.

If you look at the individual parts of the word theology, it literally means, the study of (or knowledge of) God. For our purposes, I want to define theology as knowing God and knowing about God. Let's quickly look at a couple of Bible verses that talk about knowing God and knowing about God.

¹When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. ⁴My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, ⁵so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

The apostle Paul was a theologian. He did not think of it as being something fancy and involving big, fancy words (although some theologians use big fancy words). To him, it was as simple as knowing Christ and that Christ was crucified for our sins. He didn't want the believers in Corinth (to whom 1 Corinthians was written) to trust in fancy words, but to trust in God's power. Paul wanted to teach the Corinthians about God because he wanted them to know God. What would happen in they knew God? Let's read what Jesus said about knowing and keeping His teachings.

³¹To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 8:31-32

Jesus wanted people to know and follow His teaching because the truth (about Him and through Him) would set them free.

Do you want to be a theologian?
Do you want to know about God?
Do you want to know God?

Tomorrow, we will look at our starting point for knowing about God.

The Road To Bethlehem: God With us

2008-12-23T08:52:00.002-05:00

Today we continue on the Road to Bethlehem and we continue in Isaiah 7:14.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

God with us... Why is it that the Messiah would be God With Us?
Sin Romans 3:23 tells us that "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." In other words, our sin separates us from God.
Remember yesterday how we talked about how Jesus had to be born of a virgin so that He would not inherit sin? Our sin is still the central issue why the Messiah is coming to be God With Us.
Who walked and talked with God in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve
What happened when they sinned? They got thrown out of the garden. Their sin separated them from God physically and spiritually.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

This passage in Ephesians reminds us that our salvation is only by grace and not by works
In other words, our works - no matter how good they may be - cannot save us.
If we can do nothing to save ourselves, then we can do nothing on our own to bring ourselves back to God.
We can read (like in Romans 3:11) that nobody seeks God.
So, if God wanted to have a relationship with us, He would have to come to us.
So, if God was sending a Messiah who would be called "God With Us" do you think He wants a relationship with us?

The Road To Bethlehem: A Virgin Shall Be With Child

2008-12-22T07:27:00.002-05:00

Today we continue on the Road to Bethlehem and we come back to Isaiah. This time we come to chapter 7.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

A few weeks back, we looked at Genesis 3:15 and saw (among other things) that the Messiah was to be born to a virgin. In other words, He was going to have an earthly mother but not an earthly father.
We had looked in Matthew 1:18 and read about how that part of the Genesis prophecy was filled in Jesus.
Have you ever wondered why (other than this prophecy) the Messiah had to be born to a virgin?

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned

Romans 5:12

Sin. That's why the Messiah had to be born of a virgin. Because of Adam's sin, we have all inherited sin and the death that is the result of sin.
Many wise men, believe that sin is passed down through the father and since everybody has an earthly father, everybody has inherited sin.
The father, as you might recall from last week when we studied "Everlasting Father" represents the first of it's kind. In other words, If the father sinned, all of his descendents like him sin.
But Jesus, the Messiah, did not have an earthly father. Therefore, He did not inherit the sin of Adam.
Another aspect of the Messiah being born to a virgin is that, well, it would be a miracle since normally there needs to be a mother and a father to make a baby.
But remember we're talking about a Messiah whose name would be "Wonderful" and that Hebrew word means miraculous!

The Road To Bethlehem: Bethlehem

2008-12-19T06:00:00.004-05:00

Today as we continue on the road to Bethlehem, I want to read a little bit about Bethlehem and who is associated with it. Bethlehem means "house of bread." It is also known as Ephrath which means "place of fruitfulness." Several well known Old Testament people are associated with Bethlehem.

Rachel (wife of Jacob) was buried near Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19)
Elimelech was from Bethlehem. He was the husband of Naomi who went and died in Moab. Naomi returned to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth.
Boaz, who married Ruth, was from Bethlehem, as was their son Obed and their grandson Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David, the second King of Israel, writer of many Psalms, "a man after God's own heart," and one through whom the Messiah was promised.

Another well know prophecy of the Messiah focuses on Bethlehem.

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
    out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
    whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times. "

Micah 5:2

Although many significant people came from Bethlehem, it was a city for one of the smallest tribes of Israel.
This verse says talks about a "ruler over Israel." How does this remind you of Isaiah 9:7?

The government shall be on his shoulders
wonderful counselor
Prince of Peace

This verse also mentions "whose origins are from old, from ancient times." How does that remind you of Isaiah 9:7?

Everlasting Father

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and He is King of Kings and He has existed forver. Do you think Jesus fulfills this prophecy?

The Road To Bethlehem: Prince of Peace

2008-12-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today, we finish up our journey through Isaiah 9:6 (but not the road to Bethlehem) as we come to "Prince of Peace."

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

The Hebrew words here are sar shalowm.
Sar means prince or commander. It is used in the Old Testament of both nobility (princes) and commanders of armies.
Shalowm is a word that today is used of peace. It can refer to completeness (in number), safety, soundness (in body), welfare, health, prosperity, peace, quiet, tranquillity, contentment, peace in friendship
We know that the Messiah will be

ruler of everything (the governement will be on his shoulders)
a master strategist (wonderful counselor)
a mighty warrior (mighty God)
forever (everlasting father)

So what will he rule over?

a complete kingdom - not one of His children will be left out
a safe kingdom where we will be free from harm
a healthy kingdom where no one will get sick again
a peaceful kingdom where there will be no more war

If that sounds like Heaven, it is!
From all that we've learned by looking at Isaiah 9:6, can you see how the Israelites would be looking forward excitedly for the Messiah?
Aren't you glad that we know the Messiah is Jesus?
Are you glad that Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy?

The Road To Bethlehem: Everlasting Father

2008-12-17T06:00:00.002-05:00

As we continue on the road to Bethlehem, we come now to "Everlasting Father."

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

The Hebrew words we see here are `ad 'ab.
`ad means "perpetuity, for ever, continuing future." and both means ancient (from forever ago) and lasting for all times (until forever in the future)
'ab means "father" or "head or founder of a household," or "ancestor," or "originator or patron of a class, profession, or art (i.e., first of it's kind)"
So, how long has the child who was to be born existed?
How long will He exist?
How long has Jesus existed?

How long will Jesus exist?

He [God] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Ephesians 1:5

This verse says we were adopted through Jesus. Would this confirm the Messiah as father or head of household?

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Romans 8:29

This verse talks of Jesus being the firstborn among many brothers. Does this sound like the Messiah is originator or patron of a class, profession, or art (i.e., first of it's kind)
Does it sound to you like Jesus fulfills the "Everlasting Father" part of this prophecy?

The Road To Bethlehem: Mighty God

2008-12-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

As we continue on the road to Bethlehem, we come to "Mighty God."

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

The Hebrew word gibbowr means strong and mighty. It is often used to describe mighty warriors, fighting men, or heroes.
How would you define mighty?
What are some ways that God is mighty?
What are some things that God battles against?
What are some ways that God is a hero?
The Hebrew word el which is translated here as God means god or mighty one.
So, in effect, we could translate gibbowr el as "Mighty, mighty God" further emphasizing God's mightiness!
Isn't it good to know that the Messiah, who will be running the world and will be a master strategist, is called mighty mighty?
If the Messiah is Mighty God, do you think he'll be able to carry out his plans?

The Road To Bethlehem: Counsleor

2008-12-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

As we continue on the road to Bethlehem, we continue with our examination of the prophecy of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6. Thus far, we've read about how the Messiah will

Be born a baby
Will be a son
Will be ruler over all, and
Will be wonderful

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

In the Old Testament, a counsellor was someone who gave you advice and helped you plan. The Hebrew word here was often used of a king's top helpers, the people who helped the most in running his kingdom.
We know that the Messiah would be the King of Kings. Here we see him referred to as Counselor. To me, this says that as King of Kings, he doesn't need anyone's advice. He already knows what is best.
As I mentioned when we looked at "wonderful" most translations treat this as one phrase: "Wonderful Counselor." The New English Translation of the Bible translates this phrase as "Extraordinary Strategist."
We often think of strategy when we're playing chess. We think a move may be a good move because it causes our oppponent to not have any good moves or to lose.
The Messiah, the prophecy says, will be a master strategist. He will always know what the best move will be. He will always know how to acheive victory.
Do you think that Jesus knows what is best for you?
Can you follow Jesus' advice?
Do you think that you should do what Jesus says to do?

The Road to Bethlehem: Wonderful

2008-12-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we read about how it was prophesied that the Messiah would run the world. Today, we'll look at the word in the prophecy: "wonderful."

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Looking at some of the comments on this verse in the Bible there are some people who put a comma in between "wonderful" and "counselor" and some who don't. From reading "Eats Shoots and Leaves," we know things read differently if we punctuate them differently. For purposes of today's Bible study, I am going to treat it as if there is a comma there. Today we will be looking at the Messiah being called Wonderful.

Dictionary.com defines wonderful as "excellent; great; marvelous" or "of a sort that causes or arouses wonder; amazing; astonishing:" How would you define wonderful?
What is something that you would describe as "wonderful"?
The Hebrew word here is pele' which is often used in describing miracles or marvelous deeds. Can you think of some miracles God did in the Old Testament?
Other times that this Hebrew word is used, it is translated as astonishing which is how you would describe something that was so amazing that it surprised you. Can you think of something that is wonderful in this way?
Jesus did many miracles when He was here on earth. What are some that you can remember?
Do you think the people who saw these miracles would describe Jesus as wonderful?
Would you say Jesus is wonderful?

The Road to Bethlehem: The Government On His Shoulders

2008-12-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, we read about how it was prophesied that the Messiah would be a son. Today, we'll look at the next phrase in the prophecy: "the government will be on his shoulders."

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Here in Virginia, the governor is the one person of whom it can be said that the government is on his shoulders. There is no higher authority in Virgina than the governor. In the United States, the President holds that distinction. There is no one person who has greater authority for the running of the United States than does the President. In Isaiah 9, we read that the Messiah has the government on his shoulders.

What are some of the implications of the government being on the Messiah's shoulders?

He has authority. You can't run a government if you don't have any authority. Jesus says in Matthew 28:18 "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Jesus has authority. He is in charge.
He is over all the earth. Jesus doesn't just have the government of one part of the earth on His shoulders, he has it all. As we just saw "all authority in heaven and on earth" was given to Jesus. There is nowhere on Earth where He is not in charge.
He is involved with our daily lives. The world is not like a wind-up toy that you wind up and let go and then watch what it does. The world is more like our electric Polar Express train. It only runs when you are running it. As Jesus is running the world, He is daily running it. Every day, He is a part of it. If He weren't, the world wouldn't run.
He has our best interests at heart. In America, if the country didn't feel that the President had their best interests at heart, he wouldn't get reelected. We know that Jesus has our best interests at heart because we know that He came to save us from our sin and to bring us close to God.

In Pinky and the Brain, the Brain is always trying to take over the world. Does it ever work for him? No
Is the Brain truly capable of running the world? No
Is Jesus capable of running the world? Yes, of course He is
Who would you rather run the world? The Brain or Jesus? Why?

The Road to Bethlehem: A Son Is Given

2008-12-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we read about how it was prophesied that the Messiah would be given as a baby. Today, I want to look at the next phrase in the prophecy: "a son is given."

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

To us a son is given. In Bible times, having a son was important. The son would be the heir, the one who would take over when the father died. The son would inherit the father's possessions and take over as the leader of the family. The son of a king would become the next king. Sons were important to carry on the family line. Though daughters were important too, when married they would become part of their husbands families. Today in America, sons aren't quite as distinctive as they were in Bible times. But in other places around the world, like China where families are encouraged to only have one child, parents prize sons and if a daughter is born they might give the daughter up for adoption hoping that they will subsequently have a son to carry on their family.

Why do you think that it was important that the Messiah would be a son?

He would be a prophet. Most of the prophets who brought God's word to His people were men. Yes, there were some prophets who were women, but most of them were men. Jesus brought God's word to His people.
He would be a priest. All of the priests in the old testament who would make sacrifices on behalf of God's people were men. Jesus is our great priest who intercedes on our behalf before God. He also was the ultimate sacrifice for our sin.
He would be the King of Kings. Yes, women can be queens, but as the great ruler over all of Heaven and earth, Jesus would be King of Kings.

Why is it important that the Messiah is a son given to us?

It shows that we are family and not separated from God. Jesus isn't just some stranger doing something good for us, we are family.
It shows God's love specifically for us. Jesus isn't like a great toy given to a friend that we get the benefit of playing with whenever we're at that friends how. Jesus was given to us and we get the benefit of knowing him all the time.
It shows we have a continuing relationship with Jesus. I will always be your father and you will always be my sons no matter what happens. No matter what happens, we will always have a relationship with Jesus.

The Road to Bethlehem: A Child Is Born

2008-12-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we read about how Jesus was prophesied as a great light coming into the darkness. Today, we get into some of the richness that is in Isaiah 9:6 where we read a lot about who the Messiah is going to be and what He is going to do.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Waiting can be hard, can't it? Yesterday, we also heard a little about how God's people were on the verge of being invaded by enemies. Through Isaiah, the Messiah was prophesied, but they would have to wait for the Messiah to come. And when the Messiah finally came, they would still have to wait a little bit longer. Why? "For to us a child is born." How many babies do you know that are great leaders? How many babies do you know that are great warriors? How many babies do you know that can defeat their enemies? Babies are good at eating, drinking, sleeping, pooping and peeing. Sure they will be able to do other things, but you have to wait for them to be able to do those things.

What is significant about Jesus the Messiah coming as a baby?

He was vulnerable. King Herod was so threatened by the birth of the Messiah that he had all of the young boys who were born around when Jesus was killed. (Matthew 2:16) An angel warned Joseph of this and he, Mary and baby Jesus fled to Egypt keeping Jesus safe.
He was dependent on others. Babies can't feed or dress themselves. Babies need their parents to take care of them. Jesus, even though He was God, still needed Mary and Joseph to take care of him.
He was able to experience all of human life live a sinless life.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Hebrews 4:15

I can recall holding each of you when you were just babies. It was truly an incredible feeling you in my arms and feeling the overwhelming love I had for you. At the same time I knew of your weakness and vulnerability I also had dreams of the future and of watching you grow up and become Godly men. Since you both were born after Christmas, I was also amazed that God would send His Son into our world as a little baby. That helped to even better appreciate the love that He has for us.

The Road to Bethlehem: A Great Light

2008-12-08T06:00:00.004-05:00

This week as we continue on the road to Bethlehem, we are going to spend a lot of time looking at one verse. This one prophecy has a lot to say about who Jesus is and what He came to earth for. Isaiah chapter 9 has a great prophecy of the Messiah. Verse 6 alone provides much rich description of the Messiah. But we're not going to get there today. Today we're going to look at the beginning of the prophecy. But first, let's read the whole thing.

¹ Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-
² The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:1-7

Today I want to focus on verse 2. Let's read that again...

The people who are now living in darkness will see a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light will shine on them.

Isaiah 9:2 (NIrV)

When Isaiah made this prophecy, God's people were on the verge of being invaded by the Assyrians. This would be terrible for the Jewish people, especially in the Northern part of the promised land where the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali lived (they were mentioned in verse 1). The Northern part of the promised land was the hardest hit by the Assyrian invasion when it happened, but here, Isaiah talks of a great light in the darkness. Darkness can be scary. Especially when enemies are out to get you. We've read Psalm 23 before out of your little Bibles. Let's look at what that says about walking in darkness.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid. You are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff comfort me.

Psalm 23:4 (NIrV)

We also read about the darkness in our study of Psalm 119. Let's look back on a little of that.

Your word is like a lamp that shows me the way. It is like a light that guides me.

Psalm 119:105 (NIrV)

When we read the Creation account, what was the first thing that God said "Let there be..."

God said, "Let there be light." And there was light.

Genesis 1:3 (NIrV)

We discussed three purposes for light the other night while looking at Christmas lights. Who remembers them?

To help you see
To help you be seen
To communicate a message

Considering those three purposes, how do you think this prophecy of Jesus the Messiah is represented?

Like God's Word (and as you recall in John 1, we see Jesus referred to as "the Word"), Jesus helps us to see where we should be going? He is the example of the sinless human and we are to strive to be like Him.
In Psalm 23 we read "you are with me." To me, this implies that God is close enough that He can see us, to the point that we are comforted. He knows where we are. Since it is through Jesus that our relationship with God is restored, Jesus helps us to be seen.
Also through Psalm 23, we realize that we can have hope and we don't have to be scared. God's shepherd's rod and staff comfort us. Jesus is the good shepherd and he communicates a message of love, protection, and comfort to us.

Last, but not least, do you recall what God said about light after He created it? He said it was good.
If light is good, what must this "great light" be? great, very good
Do you believe Jesus is the "great light" spoke of here in Isaiah?

Let's close by looking at the first chapter of John and read about how Jesus IS the light.

The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

John 1:9

The Road to Bethlehem: The Lamb of God

2008-12-04T06:58:00.002-05:00

As we continue on the road the Bethlehem, today we look at another story from the life of Abraham that foretells of Jesus. In this passage in Genesis 22, we see how God is testing Abraham.

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. ² Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Genesis 22:1-2

God has told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering God. Normally, one would sacrifice a lamb or a goat or some other animal, but God is telling Abraham to sacrifice his son. A burnt offering represents complete submission to God's will, the entire offering is given to God (i.e., it cannot be used after it is burnt) (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/qorbanot.html#Olah). Of course, we know that ultimately God is the one who sacrifices His son Jesus. But in Abraham's time that hadn't happened yet. Abraham immediately obeys God and takes Isaac off to the place where the sacrifice will be made.

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" ⁸ Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

Genesis 22:6-8

Abraham and Isaac show up at the spot for the sacrifice and Isaac notices that something is missing (God didn't tell Isaac that he was to be sacrificed). Abraham knew that God would provide the lamb because Abraham knew that God had provided Isaac. Although Abraham may have been struggling trying to understand why God told him to sacrifice the son that God had given him when he was old - the son that was his first descendent in the line that would ultimately lead to Jesus, the son that God's promise would come through - he still obeyed God without hesitation!

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. ¹² "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." ¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Genesis 22:9-13

God here provides the physical substitute for Isaac in the offering. In this case it is a ram (mountain goat). In the eternal scheme of things, the lamb He provides is His own son, Jesus. Though Jesus wasn't offered as a burnt offering and God didn't need to show complete submission to Himself, God knew that we needed to be cleansed of our sin and sacrificed Jesus for us.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

Here we can see that Jesus is the Lamb provided to take away our sin. Turning back to Genesis 22, as the story ends, we can see the same promise we saw yesterday repeated.

and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Genesis 22:18

All nations will be blessed through Abraham's offspring, his descendent. He will be a Lamb that God offers to take away the sin of the world. What greater blessing could we want?

The Road to Bethlehem: Abram's Promise

2008-12-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

Our next stop on the road to Bethlehem is in Genesis 12. In this chapter, God is making a promise to Abram (who is later known as Abraham). Let's read.

¹ The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
² "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Genesis 12:1-3

This passage is where God tells Abram to move and go to the promised land. God promises him that he will have many descendents, though he was old and did not have any children. The promise ends with "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
What do you think is meant by this?
This gets mentioned a little later in the Bible.

⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." ⁹So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Galatians 3:8-9

Here, the Apostle Paul tells us that the promise in Genesis is referring to Jesus.
Who does Paul say will be blessed? those who have faith
Who does that include? Us
Abraham lived almost 2,000 years before Jesus was born and yet God told him about Jesus. Like Adam and Eve before him, he may not have understood it fully, but we know that he had faith. We again have the advantage of having seen this promise fulfilled in Jesus.

The Road To Bethlehem: A First Prophecy

2008-12-02T06:00:00.004-05:00

As we continue on the road to Bethlehem, I want to look at what I think to be the first prophecy concerning Jesus. This can be found in the third chapter of Genesis.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Genesis 3:15

This part of Genesis 3 deals with the curses that God has made after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and fell into sin.
Specifically, here we are reading from the curse on the serpent (representing Satan)
We can infer three things about Jesus from this prophecy.

He will be born to a virgin
He will destroy the power of Satan in our lives
He will suffer in saving us

God says He will put enmity between the woman and the serpent. What is enmity? Hate
Who's offspring (descendent) will have strike against the serpents? the woman's
This indicates that a descendent of Eve will do this. In other words, the person who does this will have to be born rather than just created like Adam and Eve were.
Furthermore, if you notice, instead of saying their (Adam's and Eve's) offspring it says hers. Some people who have written Bible commentaries (and have probably done a whole lot more study of this than I have) interpret this as indicating that this person referred to here will have an earthly mother but not a father. How can this happen?

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:18

Jesus was conceived in Mary through the Holy Spirit! He had an earthly mother but not a father (although Joseph took care of him as if he were).
The serpent represents Satan - the devil. The head refers to authority or power.
This prophecy says Jesus will crush the serpent's head? What do you think that will do to the serpents power? end his power
What did the serpent lead Adam and Eve to do? sin
Do you recall what the wages of sin are? death
If Jesus has died for our sins and we have accepted him as lord and savior, does the serpent still have power over us? no
This verse ends with "you will strike his heel." The Hebrew word for strike can mean to bruise or to break or crush. The word for heel may also be translated footstep or footprint. Though I am not a Hebrew scholar, I might translate this as "You will break him where He walks."
Where was Jesus broken? the cross
Aren't you glad that when Jesus died on the cross that he rose from the dead and wasn't defeated after all?
From this one verse here, we can sense God foretelling (prophesying) Jesus' birth, purpose (to crush the power of sin) and death. I don't know if Adam and Eve understood all of this at the time, but I'm glad that from looking at all of the Bible we can understand this!

The Road To Bethlehem: Jesus, Creator

2008-12-01T09:36:00.006-05:00

As we begin the month of December and look forward to Christmas, I want to work our way through the Old Testament (with some journeys into the New Testament) and see what it has to say about Jesus. We'll be looking at prophecies about the coming Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus as well as passages that - thanks to what we read in the New Testament - are about Jesus. Today, we'll begin at the beginning: Genesis 1.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

Now of course, we read that "God created," it doesn't say "Jesus created." Why is it that we can read this and think of Jesus?

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 1:1-3

Here in John, "the Word" refers to Jesus. Thus, we could read this passage as:

In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God and Jesus was God.
Jesus was with God in the beginning.
Through Jesus all things were made, without Jesus nothing was made that has been made.

Based on what we read in John, would you agree that Jesus was involved in Genesis 1:1?
Though Jesus had not come into the world, the world was created through him. Let's read a little bit more in John 1.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

John 1:14a

What is this verse talking about?
Though Jesus was there in the beginning, he did not become flesh until that first Christmas!
Now that we've seen Jesus in the very first verse in the Bible, we'll be looking out for him in other places in the Old Testament as we go through the month of December.

Remembering to be Thankful

2008-11-26T06:00:00.002-05:00

As we continue to look at Bible passages dealing with giving thanks, we come to a New Testament passage where Paul is instructing Timothy on dealing with some false teachers. In this passage, he tells Timothy of things that are to be received with thanksgiving.

¹The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ²Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. ³They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. ⁴For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:1-5

The false teachers that Paul warns Timothy of are in part telling people what they shouldn't eat. But Paul tells Timothy those things should be received with thanksgiving.
The Greek word used here - eucharistia - means to freely give thanks.
The English word Eucharist - which refers to Communion is derived from this Greek word. So, when we have Communion, we should remember to give thanks to God for what Jesus did for us.
Paul goes on to tell Timothy that "everything from God is good." The Greek word here is kalos which means beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable.
Because the things we receive from God are good, we are to receive them with thanksgiving.
Furthermore, the things we receive from God are also consecrated - hagiazō - set apart and dedicated to God.
What are some things that you have received from God?
Have you thanked Him for them?

Thank You For Saving Me

2008-11-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

Today, we continue on the theme of giving thanks. Yesterday, we looked at Psalm 100 and how giving thanks and praise are tied together. We looked at some of the things to be thankful for: mainly for God's love and faithfulness to us. Today, we are going to look at the story of Anna, one of the people who got to see baby Jesus, when Mary and Joseph brought him to the temple.

³⁶There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke 2:36-38

The original language for the New Testament is Greek (not the Hebrew we're used to from the Old Testament. The word used in verse 38 for giving thanks is anthomologeomai. This word means "to acknowledge fully, to celebrate fully in praise with thanksgiving." This long word is actually a compound word in the Greek - anti and homologeō which itself is a compound of homou and logos - which in it's parts mean "because of," "together," and "word." homologeō by itself means to agree, to praise and to celebrate. The prefix anti (though in other cases it could mean what we think of in English) means "because of." In other words, as Anna is giving thanks and praising, she is recognizing that it is because of Jesus that she is giving thanks.

What is Anna thankful for? the redemption of Jerusalem

The word for redemption - lytrōsis - means "deliverance, esp. from the penalty of sin"
Jerusalem can be taken to mean the people of Israel, God's people
Anna recognized that baby Jesus was going to deliver God's people from the penalty of their sin. She had been waiting all of her life for this and was excited that it had finally arrived.
Are you thankful that Jesus has delivered you from the penalty of your sin?
Are you glad you didn't have to wait all of your life for it?
If we know that Jesus has delivered us from the penalty of our sin, what should we do?

Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T06:00:00.004-05:00

This Thursday, we will celebrate the holiday Thanksgiving. As we gather with family and eat lots of good food, we will also remember to thank God for the many blessings that He has given us.

A psalm. For giving thanks.
^{1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.}
^{2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.}
^{3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.}
^{4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.}
^{5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.}

Psalm 100

In particular today, we are going to focus on verses 4 and 5. In this verse, we see the concepts of thanksgiving and praise coupled together twice. So let's look at those two concepts a little.

What does it mean to give thanks? the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, esp. to God
What does it mean to give praise? the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation
The Hebrew word for thanksgiving - towdah - means give praise to God or thanksgiving in songs of liturgical worship, hymn of praise
The Hebrew word for praise - tĕhillah - means praise, song or hymn of praise or praise, adoration, thanksgiving (paid to God)
The Hebrew words for give thanks - yadah (hiphil) - mean to give thanks. (Well, duh) But it's interesting to note that the verb here by itself can also mean to shoot as in shooting arrows. To me this implies that giving thanks is active not passive and that there is a target for giving thanks.
The second word we see translated as praise - barak - means to praise or to bless.
So from this verse we can see that thanksgiving and praise go together. The thanksgiving can be in song and it is active and directed towards God.
What, here in this Psalm, is the Psalmist thankful for?

God is good - in Hebrew towb - meaning good, pleasant, excellent, right
His love - checed meaning goodness, kindness, faithfulness - endures forever
His faithfulness - 'emuwnah meaning firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness - continues to all generations.

What are you thankful for?

Psalm 119: Wrapup

2008-11-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

So did you remember the 7 words referring to God's word? Let's look back on something we read before we got to Psalm 119.

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

What is God's word useful for

teaching
rebuking
correcting
training in righteousness
equipping the man of God for good works

What are some of the other things that we read about in Psalm 119?

promoting the fear of God
helping us live pure lives
comforting us when dealing with bad people
comforting us when we're not happy
focusing on what God wants us to do
living boldly
growing when we're afflicted
benefitting others
helps us when waiting
God's word is eternal
making us wise
guiding our path
God's word is to be greatly desired
God's word is right and trustworthy
we can put our hope in God's word when crying out for help

What have you learned about God's word