#6: Forgiveness

Icebreaker Question:
Who in your life, in the world, or in history do you most admire?  (Besides Jesus.)  Why?  Who in the Bible (besides Jesus) do you most admire, relate to, or find intriguing?   

Open With Prayer

Read Lesson and Bible Verses:

            Okay, so we looked at our relationship with the Lord and how our past and our fears affect it.  Now let’s turn our attention outward, to other people.  As humans, we all hurt others and are hurt by others.  And the world’s way to deal with this is to hold grudges or to punish others.  But God has a lot to say about forgiveness – His forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others.  And these have major impacts on our relationship with Him and our standing before Him. 

           Mark 11:25:  “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  

            Matthew 6:14-15:  “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” 

            Psalm 66:18:  “. . . If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened”

#7: Wisdom and Fearing God

Icebreaker Question:
What are the best pieces of advice you have ever heard or the top mottos you try to live by?  If you could go back and offer your "younger self" some advice, what would it be?

Open With Prayer

Read Lesson:

            How many of us would like to be wise?  I’m sure all hands just went up.  Yet how many of us really know what it takes to be wise?  Here’s a hint: it’s not going to school longer or getting a better degree or reading more.  All of that is about finding more information, more knowledge. 
            But if we want to find real wisdom, there is a prerequisite, according to the Bible. 
            Psalm 111:10 says that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  If we want wisdom, we need to fear Him.  Yet how easy is it to have more fear of everything else than of Him?  At least it is for me.  I fear losing control, failing, losing our health, missing God’s Will for my life, making mistakes, etc.  I fear everything sometimes . . . except Him!

#8: Bringing God Glory

Icebreaker Question:
What are some things that you are passionate about in life, that really spark your enthusiasm?  What are some of your “soapbox” issues, the issues that get you fired up, that you have strong feelings and opinions about?

Open With Prayer

Read Lesson and Verses:

            Psalm 96:4, 8:  “For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise . . . Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name . . .”
            John 14:13:  “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.”
            1 Corinthians 10:31:  “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
        
            God is worthy of praise and glory!  Jesus’s goal was to bring glory to the Father!  We need to do everything for God’s glory! 
            But do we really esteem God’s glory as much as we are supposed to?  As much as God does?  (Or do we just say that we do?)   

#9: Predestination vs. Free Will

Icebreaker Question:
What are three things most people don’t know about you?  And what are three “quirky” things about you?

Open With Prayer

Read Lesson:

             (Oh, this is gonna be fun!)  I know that this is a “hot button” topic, and it can get people really worked up.  So let’s not let this issue become divisive.  Scholars and theologians through the centuries have not come to an agreement on this topic, and I do not think that we will be able to figure it all out either.  But let’s at least explore it and try to figure out what we believe, why we believe it, and why it matters. 
            I am going to present to you my view on this issue, but it doesn’t mean that I am necessarily right.  I am giving it to you as a starting point and as food-for-thought, to give you things to consider and talk about and disagree with.  I am not a Bible teacher or scholar, so remember that this is just my opinion.  If you disagree, discuss with others why you disagree and what you think Scripture really says. 
            [And I will be honest, I am going to do my best to show why I really do believe that we have free-will.  Even the questions at the end are written from that bias.  So if you are a strong believer in predestination, challenge what I believe, bring up your own Bible verses, and ask your own questions.  We should all be able to present our view on this and still feel respected, because this is not an issue that’s super clear-cut in the Bible.  And so we need to approach it with humility.]    

#10: Understanding God's Will

Icebreaker Question:
If you could invite any five people (living or dead) to a dinner party at your house, who would you invite?  Why?  

Open With Prayer

Read Lesson: 

            (This is a huge topic to explore.  And if you want to get deep into this topic, I recommend that you read the “Understanding God’s Will” series that I posted at https://myimpressionisticlife.blogspot.com.  It will take a while, but it will give you a lot to think and talk about.  And then you can get together and discuss those posts and the following questions.  But if you do not want to do that much, I have given a much shorter overview of it here.  FYI: Those posts do included other things that we look at in this Bible study, too.  So some stuff will be familiar.)

            “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  (Romans 12:1-2)

#11: Be Still

Icebreaker Question:
When you were young, what were some things that you wanted to be when you grew up?

Open With Prayer

Read Lesson and Bible Verses:

            Psalm 46:10:  “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
            That is one of my favorite verses.  And it’s funny because when I was in high school, I went to a Christian retreat where that was the key verse for the week . . . and all I could think was, How boring!  What a boring verse to pick to inspire, challenge, and “activate” the teens for Christ.  Be still?  Blah!
            But now, this verse has become so dear to me.  It is one of my top five.  So I guess I’ve come full circle.  To me, this verse is all about humility.  A humble person is one who has learned to trust in God’s goodness, love, and faithfulness so much that - despite the storms that rage around - they can “be still” because God is God!  A humble person desperately desires to be near the Lord and to bask in His presence, and so they have learned the importance of being physically and mentally still with the Lord at regular times.  And a humble person also knows that everything is about God’s glory!  He will be exalted!!!
            Oh, I love this verse!!!
           But I think one of the most important (and least developed) characteristics of a deep relationship with God is learning to be still before Him. 

#12: God's Word

Icebreaker Question:
What are some of your favorite songs?  Ones that make you want to turn up the music and dance, sing out loud, or that make you cry?  Any songs you can’t stand? 

Open With Prayer

Read Lesson:

            Okay, I am assuming here that we have all been Christians for a long time and that we all know the importance of God’s Word.  Now then, raise your hand if you live like the Bible is “extra-credit”?  Or do you live like you really believe that the Bible is crucial to your day, your life, your walk with the Lord?  

            I fear that in our day and age of being too familiar and comfortable with God and His Word (in America), we have lost the sense of awe and fear of Him and His Word.  It’s too familiar, and we are too comfortable.  We have heard the Bible stories again and again.  We pick them apart as objects of study, to be looked at closely under a microscope.  It is educational and academic.  Or we pick them apart so that we can piece them back together again in a way we like better.  We twist them for our own ends.  Or we just shrug our shoulders and yawn and ignore it. 
            We have lost the ability to put ourselves into the stories.  To see God for who He really is.  To stand with the Israelites at the foot of the mountain when they trembled at the powerful voice of God.  We need to start seeing ourselves in the stories and in the people of the Bible if we are to learn from them, if we are to understand what God wants us to know through them and to let it change our lives and our hearts (instead of just educating our minds).  So many people can know the Bible forward and backward without ever meeting God there.
            Or there are those who don’t even feel the need to read the Bible more.  They have the sense that people in general should read their Bibles more, but they themselves don’t feel convicted strongly enough to care.  “Just enough of the Bible and of God to get by” is good enough for them.  How tragic!