Tuesday, March 28, 2017

April 2: If I Reject Jesus


We have all dealt with rejection at some point in our lives. When it happens it can either bring out the best or the worst in us. For Jesus, rejection brought His best, but it also revealed the consequences for those who would reject Him. This weeks study focuses on helping us understand the sad truth of rejecting Jesus and the love that compelled Christ to look beyond the rejection of some to the salvation He would provide for so many more who would not reject Him through the ages.

Resources to Help You Prepare to Teach This Session
  • Video: Nice video that could be used to help introduce the passage.

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Thursday, March 23, 2017

March 26: More Than A Prophet


So many people long for peace. Most of the time they turn to a leader who they feel can just "fix" things so they can live life without turmoil, pain, or obligation. Sadly, when we look for this kind of person, ruler, or king, we want that person to be formed and shaped into the image that matches our criteria. This was the case for those welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem in LifeWay's Explore the Bible Study: More Than A Prophet. 

Jesus came in on a donkey which symbolized peace, but His peace was much different than what the people desired or even expected. His peace was not for a country, for a world, or for a region. It was for the heart of mankind (your heart). It is the kind of peace that only comes by responding in obedience to the King who conquered sin, death, and the grave!

WARNING
If you search Google for content, please observe where that content has been generated. If you use any search phrases using words such as Jesus, Jesus the King, Jesus a prophet, Jesus God's Son, you will most likely be directed to Mormon research first. Verify all content including research, videos, and images to make sure they aren't of Mormon (LDS) origins or any other non reliable source.

POWERPOINT
PowerPoint images are available to use as needed. CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD

KEY WORDS
Fulfilled - Throughout the remaining study of Matthew this word rises in significance. Challenge your group to consider the significance of this word and to look at the Old Testament passages referenced each time. Point out the supernatural circumstances that brought about the fulfillment of these passages. Here are some of the passages from the Old Testament referenced during our study this week:
  • Isaiah 62:11
  • Zechariah 9:9-10
  • 2 Kings 9:13
  • Psalm 118:25-26
Lord - When Jesus gave instructions to the disciples in Matthew 21:2-3 regarding selecting a donkey, He used the word Lord to describe Himself. This word means "Master." Observe the directives and promises Jesus gave to His disciples in this context. Use it to discuss the importance of obedience and how Jesus guides us when we obey.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
I have provided a list of strong and challenging reflections questions based on the study. Be sure to end with a strong challenge regarding the kind of king we might be tempted to try and make Jesus become. Here are the questions:
  • Do you want to cheer on a king like we cheer on our favorite sports team when they enter the stadium, only to boo them when they don’t play like we think they should?
  • Do you want a king who goes after those who aren’t fulfilling our agenda? 
  • Do you want a king who takes down those who oppose our moral views? 
  • Do you want a king who exacts revenge on those who have oppressed us? 
  • Do you want a king who brings peace to our country and world so that we can live without any kind of oppression?
  • Do you want a king who changes our external circumstances or one who invades our heart and cleanses it of all unrighteousness?
  • Do you want a king that will examine our temple (heart) to see what is unclean?
  • Do you want a king who will "fix" our circumstances or "fix" us?
PASSAGE OVERVIEW
Use to help you in your research of the passage: CLICK TO VIEW

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Thursday, March 16, 2017

March 19: What is Required?


How good is good enough? If good works are the path to eternal life, when do you meet your quota of good works? What is eternal life? Do you have to take a vow of poverty in order to gain eternal life? Who is really good enough? Is eternal life more important to me than following Jesus? These are just a few of the questions posed and answered in this week's Explore the Bible Study: What is Required? Jesus helps us answer these questions through a dialogue He has in Matthew 19:16-26 with a rich young man.

This rich young man desired to have eternal life, but he didn’t desire to follow Jesus. Many people today assume, as he did, that they can have eternal life without following Jesus. The only path to the promise of eternal life is through Jesus Christ. Following Jesus Christ begins with absolute surrender of every part of our lives to Him. It is about a relationship that comes with the promise of eternal life; not a promise that comes with an optional relationship.

While the primary passages are Matthew 19:16-26, this week's teaching ideas suggest that you have someone read the passages from the other two gospels that record this story - Mark 10:17-22 and Luke 18:18-23. While all are very similar, God led each writer to capture some significant words that help us understand more fully the beauty of all Jesus was teaching about eternal life.

PERSONAL PREPARATION

Sermon by Alistair Begg - The Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10)



Harmony of the Gospels
Use to understand the context. CLICK HERE TO VIEW

(Reference) Eternal Life: MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew
  • He came genuinely seeking eternal life, motivated by his sense of need for a true spiritual hope. The term eternal life is used some 50 times in Scripture, and always refers primarily to quality rather than quantity. 
  • Although eternal life obviously carries the idea of being an everlasting reality, it does not refer simply to unending existence. Even ancient pagans knew that mere unending existence would not necessarily be desirable. According to Greek mythology, Aurora, goddess of the dawn, fell in love with a young mortal named Tithonus. When Zeus offered to provide anything she wished for her human lover, she asked that he might never die. The wish was granted, but because she had not asked that Tithonus remain forever young, he continued to grow older and more decrepit. Instead of being blessed, he was cursed to perpetual degeneration.
  • The unsaved person is spiritually alive only to sin. But when he receives Christ as Lord and Savior, he becomes alive to God and to righteousness (Rom. 6:1-13). That is the essence of eternal life, the life of God's own Son dwelling within.
(Reference) Eye of the needle: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Volume 8
  • Jesus is not saying that all poor people and none of the wealthy enter the kingdom of heaven. That would exclude Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to say nothing of David, Solomon, and Joseph of Arimathea.
  • Most Jews expected the rich to inherit eternal life, not because their wealth could buy their way in, but because their wealth testified to the blessing of the Lord on their lives. Jesus' view is a different and more sober one. 
  • The proverbial saying of 19:24 refers to the absolutely impossible. The camel was the biggest animal in Palestine. Attempts to weaken this hyperbole by taking "needle," not as a sewing needle, but as a small gate through which an unladen camel could just squeeze and only on his knees are misguided - The needle was not a gate in the city but a literal sewing needle (Italics added).
TEACHING RESOURCES

PowerPoint Slides
Contains the New Testament Map below plus some funny cartoon illustrations of a camel trying to go through the eye of a needle.




Music Video Option
Use to close the session. CLICK TO VIEW

New Testament Map
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Wednesday, March 8, 2017

March 12: Is Jesus Fully God?


Jesus says to Peter, James, and John, "Boys, I want you to hike up to the top of this mountain with me." Obviously this is my paraphrase of Matthew 17:1, but I can imagine the three men looking at each other, possibly shrugging their shoulders, and thinking to themselves, "We've been walking so much already, and now He wants us to hike up this mountain? Does He ever get tired? But, we said we would follow Him, so follow Him we will." They never imagined the drama that would unfold at the top of that mountain! This week's Explore the Bible study: Is Jesus Fully God? invites us to that mountain top, along with Peter, James and John, so that we too might come to understand more fully, as they did, the reality that Jesus is fully God!

It might be that you are tired, and you keep wondering where this path of following Jesus is going to lead. Many in your group might be questioning if following Jesus is really the right path, too. They might have trouble grasping the reality that Jesus is fully God. All along the way Jesus takes us down trails and up mountains that continually challenge us. If we continue to follow, we will not only gain strength for the journey,but, most importantly, we will come to know Jesus like never before. If we are following Him, we must continually allow Him to teach us about Himself. This is the path of discipleship!

Below are some resources you could use to supplement your study. You can download a complete teaching plan at the end of the blog post.

Map: 
Indicates two possible locations of the mountain mentioned in Matthew 17:1


Passage Overview
Provides commentary and contextual helps. Provided by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. CLICK TO VIEW

Music Options
There are two music options you might want to consider using.
  • Listen to Him by Acapella. Use to supplement the passages, Matthew 17:1-6 - CLICK TO LISTEN
  • Jesus by Chris Tomlin. Use as a part of the closing challenge. - See video below.


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Thursday, March 2, 2017

March 5: Who is Jesus


Who is Jesus? I mean, who do we really believe He is? Does our life and lifestyle really reflect what we say we believe? Is it really that important to accurately identify Jesus? These are the questions we will begin answering today through this week's Explore the Bible study: Who is Jesus.

NEW FORMAT
You will notice a little different format to the blog. Various resources and ideas will be listed below including (1) Supporting Resources for your study of the passage; (2) Teaching ideas for your group. The complete teaching plans can still be downloaded using the links at the end of the blog post.

I hope you enjoy the new format and that it will help you learn how to better study the Bible so others can learn.

Supporting Resources
Teaching Ideas
  • Truth or Fiction Handout - This handout provides various statements about Christ, and the group is to determine which are truth and which are fiction. Handout is available at the end of the downloadable teaching plan.
  • Map - The following map can be used to identify where Jesus and the disciples were when this conversation took place.
Tyndale House Publishers, 2001
  • Video - The following video could be used at the end to challenge your group.

  • Video - The following video link could be used to discuss the truth that the church will never be destroyed (Matthew 16:17-20). It captures a recent clash between individuals who didn't want someone praying at a public event. The video was part of an interview published in Christianity Today (Click to read article).  CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO.
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