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SOUL
TREKKING PASTOR
STEVE |
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SEED THOUGHTS PART THREE |
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last updated 05-05-2009.
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Obtaining What Wasn’t Ours Read Romans 4:18-25 - What does it mean for a Christian to have “the faith of
Abraham”? What things do you
believe in “against all hope”? Read Galatians
3:9-14 - Who are God’s chosen people today? Who are the people he blesses? Read Ephesians
3:1-6 - Paul says that a great mystery has been
revealed during the age of The Church - that Gentiles are heirs of
God’s promises along with Israel in Christ. Hints of this can be found in the Old
Testament, but it was made explicit in the New Testament. Read Ephesians
2:11-12 - Does Paul mean to cause us to despair when he
says that we Gentiles were once excluded from God’s Kingdom and without
hope in the world? Or does he mean for
us to rejoice now that we have been brought near? How does Jesus bring Jews and Gentiles
together? Read Ephesians
3:7-9 - Why does Paul call his ministry to the Gentiles a
grace that was given to him? Read Isaiah 52:13-15 |
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Read Psalm 51:10-17 - What does the
Lord want us to bring to him? Read Malachi 1:1-14 - How can we honor
the Lord with our gifts today? How do
we dishonor the Lord at times? Read Matthew 2:7-11 - What does it
mean to worship a baby? How do you
think the Magi did it? What was Herod
going to pretend to do? How can we
worship Jesus? Read Revelation
21:1-5
- Our calendar has changed over to 2009.
But has much really changed in our world? How new is the New Year, really? But one day God will bring something new! Read Matthew
25:31-46
- We can still give gifts to Jesus Christ even though we weren't alive when
he was present bodily on Earth. How
can we do this? Read Matthew 2:1-12 |
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Read John 5:1-15 - This is a
familiar story told in Sunday School classes.
But what may not be so familiar is the ending. What do you make of Jesus' last words to
this man? Read John 4:4-18,
39-42
- Why did Jesus bring up the woman's previous marriages and current sexual
relationship? Was it just so he could
impress her and the townspeople by knowing things he shouldn't have been able
to know, or was there something more behind this? Read John 8:1-11 - Many people know
the story in today's scripture lesson, but they only remember Jesus' famous
line, "he who is without sin, let him cast the first stone." We easily forget that Jesus also told the
woman not to sin anymore. Read John 9:1-11 - When bad things
happen, are they always signs of God's judgment? Read Jonah 3:1-10 - What was the
purpose of Jonah's harsh prophecy?
Does God delight in punishing the wicked? Read Luke 13:1-9 |
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Read Romans 8:18-21 - Are you looking forward to the day the creation will be liberated
from its “bondage to decay”?
What do you think that means?
Do you believe that whatever present sufferings you are experiencing, they
won’t compare with the glory that will be revealed in us? If we believe that, why do we focus so much
on our suffering? Read Romans 8:22-25 - Have you ever experienced the kind of inward groaning Paul is
talking about here? What are you
hoping for most in life? Read Psalm 51 - David feels his sin very acutely.
Have you ever felt as David does about your own sin? Read Psalm 56 - Even though David was currently experiencing suffering at the hands
of others, he still hoped for better days.
How do you think he was able to do this? Read Psalm 67 - The Psalmist asks for his people to be blessed in order that they
would, in turn, be able to bless others.
And when the world praises God, God’s people will be blessed
again. Do we desire that the nations
praise God? Read Psalm 130 |
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Read
Nehemiah 1:1-4 - Nehemiah was an official in a foreign
king’s court. And he lived a
good life. Why then was he concerned
with what was happening at Jerusalem? Read
Nehemiah 2:1-6 - The king is generous and will let Nehemiah go and
rebuild Jerusalem. But who is really
the one behind it all? Read
Nehemiah 5:14-19 - Why did Nehemiah abstain from eating “the
food allotted to the governor”?
Doesn’t rank have its privileges? Read
Nehemiah 9:1-3 - Could you ever imagine us having such a day of
confession? And why do the Israelites
confess not only their own sins, but also the sins of their fathers? Read
Nehemiah 13:23-27 - Is Nehemiah a bigot or a xenophobe? Why is he so upset here? Read Daniel
1 |
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Read Genesis 1:1-2
- Notice that at creation, God is mentioned, but
His Spirit is also said to be involved.
The Spirit hovers, or broods, over the waters like a bird waiting for
its eggs to hatch. Read Proverbs
8:22-31 - These verses are a poetic personification of
Wisdom. But could they also be
describing Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity? Read John 1:1-3 - Here we are told that another member of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, was
involved with creation. How do these
verses tie in with the verses from Proverbs we read earlier? Jesus is both the Word of God and the
Wisdom of God. Read Acts 9:1-17 - Why do both Saul and Ananias call Jesus “Lord”? What does this term mean? Read Colossians
1:13-20 - Prayerfully consider all that these verses tell us
about Jesus. Is there anyone else like
Jesus? Is there any other god like
Jesus? Read 2 Corinthians 13:11-14. |
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Read Acts 2:1-4 - Why do you think God used such
dramatic signs to signify that the Holy Spirit was coming upon the
believers? What do the signs mean? Read Acts 2:5-11 - The gospel message was being
spoken in many languages to people from many nations and regions. Was this the start of The Church's world
mission? Read Acts 2:12-13 - How is being filled with the Holy
Spirit like being drunk? Or are there
any similarities? Were the mockers
just looking for some way to dismiss what was happening? Read Acts 2:14-21 - What significance is there to
Peter quoting a prophecy about the last days and saying it was fulfilled on
Pentecost? What significance is there
to the fact that the Spirit is being poured out on young and old, male and
female? Read Acts 2:22-24 - How does Peter, who ran away in
the Garden of Gethsemane and who denied Jesus three times, now have the
courage to say what he is saying? Read Numbers 11:24-30 |
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Read Matthew 28:16-20 - What does Jesus
mean when He says that all authority has been given to him? How does this relate to his command to go out
into all the world and make disciples? Read Luke 24:36-49 - How important is
it that Jesus had a real flesh and bones body after the resurrection? Read Luke 24:50-53 - Jesus, with his
flesh and blood body (see yesterday's reading), ascended into heaven. This means there is hope for real human
beings like us! Read John 20:10-18 - Jesus was not
just ascending to "the gods," but to a specific God. He calls him "my Father and your
Father, my God and your God."
What is the significance of this? Read Luke 1:1-11 - How important is this story (of
the ascension of Jesus) to the Christian Faith? Why? Read Ephesians
1:15-23 |
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Read Luke 24-45-48 - What things concerning
Jesus are you a witness of? Real Acts 1:7-8 - Do you think these
verses applied to only the apostles, or do they apply to us as well? Are you called to be one of Christ’s
witnesses? How can you get the power
necessary to live out your calling? Read Acts 6:8-15 -What do you think
Stephen’s face actually looked like?
How could he be calm when false accusations were being made against
him? Read Acts 7:54-56 - Why was Jesus standing
up as Stephen was about to be martyred? Read Acts 7:57-60 - Sometimes witnesses for
Jesus are called to die. How could
Stephen forgive those who were stoning him?
Why does the Bible say “he fell asleep,” rather than,
“he died”? Read 1 Peter 3:13-22 |
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Read 1
Samuel 15:24-31 - Saul had disobeyed the Lord's
command to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Instead, the people kept the best of the
enemy's animals as plunder. This could
make it seem as though the Israelites waged war for personal gain and not as
instruments of God's vengeance. So,
the Lord was rejecting Saul as King.
Why is God called "The Glory of Israel?" Why does Saul call God, in effect, Samuel's
God? Why doesn't he say, "My
God?" And why does he want to
worship the Lord even though God has taken his kingdom from him? Read 1
Samuel 15:32-35 - Notice that, although Samuel
knows what the Lord has done is right, he still grieves for Saul! We can accept what happens to us and to
others in life as the Lord's will, but still be saddened by it and react
emotionally to it. Read 1
Samuel 16:1 - Both the Lord and Samuel now move
on from Saul. After periods of
mourning, there comes a time when people must get on with life and do the
next things. Not that they won't carry
grief around with them, but that the Lord will enable them to function. Read 1
Samuel 16:4-7 - What does the Lord see when He
looks at your heart? Read 1 Samuel 16:8-13 - God chooses the least likely of Jesse's sons to be
the new king. This is good news to us
because, apart from God's grace, sinners like us are unlikely candidates to
be admitted to God's Kingdom. And
God's Spirit equips David, just as He equips us. |
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2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 by Steve R. Bierly. |