How was your week?
What was the worst thing that happened to you this week?
Did anything spiritually significant happen to you this week?
What kind of things do you worry about?
How much control does God have over human history?
Isaiah 46:
3"Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
You who have been borne by Me from birth
And have been carried from the womb;
4Even to your old age I will be the same,
And even to your graying years I will bear you!
I have done it, and I will carry you;
And I will bear you and I will deliver you.
5"To whom would you liken Me
And make Me equal and compare Me,
That we would be alike?
6"Those who lavish gold from the purse
And weigh silver on the scale
Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
They bow down, indeed they worship it.
7"They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it;
They set it in its place and it stands there
It does not move from its place
Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer;
It cannot deliver him from his distress.
8"Remember this, and be assured;
Recall it to mind, you transgressors.
9"Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
10Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, 'My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure';
11Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.
12"Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded,
Who are far from righteousness.
13"I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off;
And My salvation will not delay
And I will grant salvation in Zion,
And My glory for Israel.
Do you take comfort in these words?
Why would you worry then?
Do you ever trust in things other than God and His Word?
Do you ever worry that God’s plans for you will be difficult?
Luke 12:
22And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
23"For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
24"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
25"And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span?
26"If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?
27"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
28"But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
29"And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.
30"For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.
31"But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
33"Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
34"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Have God’s promises ever lifted your worries?
Are God’s plans for you always good?
Romans 8:
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
What does “good mean”?
Do these promises apply to everybody?
Should we be happy even if our lives are tough?
Why?
Philippians 3:
18For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,
19whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.
20For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
21who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Are you content with salvation?
How do we apply these promises?
Proverbs 3:
5Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Do you feel like you have to know what God has planned for you?
In Closing:
Psalm 23:
1The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
4Even though I walk through the [a]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
John 16:
33"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Outline From 2/25/08
Did anything interesting happen to you this week?
Did anything spiritually significant happen to you this week?
What Makes a Christian different from a non-Christian?
John 3:
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
2this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
3Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
4Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"
5Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7"Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
8"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
What does Jesus mean?
Thoughts?
What is religious hypocrisy?
Luke 11:
34"The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
35"Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.
36"If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays."
37Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table.
38When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.
39But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.
40”You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
What does he mean when He says that inside they are full of robbery and wickedness?
John 8:
12Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
13So the Pharisees said to Him, "You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true."
14Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
15"You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.
16"But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.
17"Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.
18"I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me."
19So they were saying to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
What was the Pharisees’ problem?
How do you clean the inside of the cup?
John 6:
35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
36"But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
37"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
38"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
40"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
53So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
54"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
55"For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
56"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
57"As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
58"This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."
What does he mean by eat his flesh and drink his blood?
How do we receive this?
Acts 3:
19"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
What does repent mean?
American Heritage Dictionary:
1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.
Why do we need to repent?
Romans 6:
6knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7for he who has died is freed from sin.
8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Why is this important?
Is your cup full of light or darkness?
2 Corinthians 13:
5Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?
6But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.
In Closing:
John 14:
6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
7"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
2 Corinthians:
17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Did anything spiritually significant happen to you this week?
What Makes a Christian different from a non-Christian?
John 3:
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
2this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
3Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
4Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"
5Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7"Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
8"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
What does Jesus mean?
Thoughts?
What is religious hypocrisy?
Luke 11:
34"The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
35"Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.
36"If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays."
37Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table.
38When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.
39But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.
40”You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
What does he mean when He says that inside they are full of robbery and wickedness?
John 8:
12Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
13So the Pharisees said to Him, "You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true."
14Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
15"You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.
16"But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.
17"Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.
18"I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me."
19So they were saying to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
What was the Pharisees’ problem?
How do you clean the inside of the cup?
John 6:
35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
36"But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
37"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
38"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
40"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
53So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
54"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
55"For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
56"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
57"As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
58"This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."
What does he mean by eat his flesh and drink his blood?
How do we receive this?
Acts 3:
19"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
What does repent mean?
American Heritage Dictionary:
1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.
Why do we need to repent?
Romans 6:
6knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7for he who has died is freed from sin.
8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Why is this important?
Is your cup full of light or darkness?
2 Corinthians 13:
5Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?
6But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.
In Closing:
John 14:
6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
7"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
2 Corinthians:
17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
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