Leader’s Notes
Leader’s Notes
MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU. (2 COR 12:9)
Leading a Bible discussion can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. But it can also be scary—especially if you’ve never done it before. If this is your feeling, you’re in good company. When God asked Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he replied, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it”! (Ex 4:13). It was the same with Solomon, Jeremiah and Timothy, but God helped these people in spite of their weaknesses, and he will help you as well.
You don’t need to be an expert on the Bible or a trained teacher to lead a Bible discussion. The idea behind these inductive studies is that the leader guides group members to discover for themselves what the Bible has to say. This method of learning will allow group members to remember much more of what is said than a lecture would.
These studies are designed to be led easily. As a matter of fact, the flow of questions through the passage from observation to interpretation to application is so natural that you may feel that the studies lead themselves. This study guide is also flexible. You can use it with a variety of groups—student, professional, neighborhood or church groups. Each study takes forty-five to sixty minutes in a group setting.
There are some important facts to know about group dynamics and encouraging discussion. The suggestions listed below should enable you to effectively and enjoyably fulfill your role as leader.
Preparing for the Study
1. Ask God to help you understand and apply the passage in your own life. Unless this happens, you will not be prepared to lead others. Pray too for the various members of the group. Ask God to open your hearts to the message of his Word and motivate you to action.
2. Read the introduction to the entire guide to get an overview of the entire book and the issues which will be explored.
3. As you begin each study, read and reread the assigned Bible passage to familiarize yourself with it.
4. This study guide is based on the New International Version of the Bible. It will help you and the group if you use this translation as the basis for your study and discussion.
5. Carefully work through each question in the study. Spend time in meditation and reflection as you consider how to respond.
6. Write your thoughts and responses in the space provided in the study guide. This will help you to express your understanding of the passage clearly.
7. It might help to have a Bible dictionary handy. Use it to look up any unfamiliar words, names or places. (For additional help on how to study a passage, see chapter five of How to Lead a LifeGuide Bible Study, InterVarsity Press.)
8. Consider how you can apply the Scripture to your life. Remember that the group will follow your lead in responding to the studies. They will not go any deeper than you do.
9. Once you have finished your own study of the passage, familiarize yourself with the leader’s notes for the study you are leading. These are designed to help you in several ways. First, they tell you the purpose the study guide author had in mind when writing the study. Take time to think through how the study questions work together to accomplish that purpose. Second, the notes provide you with additional background information or suggestions on group dynamics for various questions. This information can be useful when people have difficulty understanding or answering a question. Third, the leader’s notes can alert you to potential problems you may encounter during the study.
10. If you wish to remind yourself of anything mentioned in the leader’s notes, make a note to yourself below that question in the study.
Leading the Study
1. Begin the study on time. Open with prayer, asking God to help the group to understand and apply the passage.
2. Be sure that everyone in your group has a study guide. Encourage the group to prepare beforehand for each discussion by reading the introduction to the guide and by working through the questions in the study.
3. At the beginning of your first time together, explain that these studies are meant to be discussions, not lectures. Encourage the members of the group to participate. However, do not put pressure on those who may be hesitant to speak during the first few sessions. You may want to suggest the following guidelines to your group.
□ Stick to the topic being discussed.
□ Your responses should be based on the verses which are the focus of the discussion and not on outside authorities such as commentaries or speakers.
□ These studies focus on a particular passage of Scripture. Only rarely should you refer to other portions of the Bible. This allows for everyone to participate in in-depth study on equal ground.
□ Anything said in the group is considered confidential and will not be dis-cussed outside the group unless specific permission is given to do so.
□ We will listen attentively to each other and provide time for each person present to talk.
□ We will pray for each other.
4. Have a group member read the introduction at the beginning of the discussion.
5. Every session begins with a group discussion question. The question or activity is meant to be used before the passage is read. The question introduces the theme of the study and encourages group members to begin to open up. Encourage as many members as possible to participate, and be ready to get the discussion going with your own response.
This section is designed to reveal where our thoughts or feelings need to be transformed by Scripture. That is why it is especially important not to read the passage before the discussion question is asked. The passage will tend to color the honest reactions people would otherwise give because they are, of course, supposed to think the way the Bible does.
You may want to supplement the group discussion question with an icebreaker to help people to get comfortable. See the community section of Small Group Idea Book for more ideas.
You also might want to use the personal reflection question with your group. Either allow a time of silence for people to respond individually or discuss it together.
6. Have a group member (or members if the passage is long) read aloud the passage to be studied. Then give people several minutes to read the passage again silently so that they can take it all in.
7. Question 1 will generally be an overview question designed to briefly survey the passage. Encourage the group to look at the whole passage, but try to avoid getting sidetracked by questions or issues that will be addressed later in the study.
8. As you ask the questions, keep in mind that they are designed to be used just as they are written. You may simply read them aloud. Or you may prefer to express them in your own words.
There may be times when it is appropriate to deviate from the study guide. For example, a question may have already been answered. If so, move on to the next question. Or someone may raise an important question not covered in the guide. Take time to discuss it, but try to keep the group from going off on tangents.
9. Avoid answering your own questions. If necessary, repeat or rephrase them until they are clearly understood. Or point out something you read in the leader’s notes to clarify the context or meaning. An eager group quickly becomes passive and silent if they think the leader will do most of the talking.
10. Don’t be afraid of silence. People may need time to think about the question before formulating their answers.
11. Don’t be content with just one answer. Ask, “What do the rest of you think?” or “Anything else?” until several people have given answers to the question.
12. Acknowledge all contributions. Try to be affirming whenever possible. Never reject an answer. If it is clearly off-base, ask, “Which verse led you to that conclusion?” or again, “What do the rest of you think?”
13. Don’t expect every answer to be addressed to you, even though this will probably happen at first. As group members become more at ease, they will begin to truly interact with each other. This is one sign of healthy discussion.
14. Don’t be afraid of controversy. It can be very stimulating. If you don’t resolve an issue completely, don’t be frustrated. Move on and keep it in mind for later. A subsequent study may solve the problem.
15. Periodically summarize what the group has said about the passage. This helps to draw together the various ideas mentioned and gives continuity to the study. But don’t preach.
16. At the end of the Bible discussion you may want to allow group members a time of quiet to work on an idea under “Now or Later.” Then discuss what you experienced. Or you may want to encourage group members to work on these ideas between meetings. Give an opportunity during the session for people to talk about what they are learning.
17. Conclude your time together with conversational prayer, adapting the prayer suggestion at the end of the study to your group. Ask for God’s help in following through on the commitments you’ve made.
18. End on time.
Many more suggestions and helps are found in How to Lead a LifeGuide Bible Study, which is part of the LifeGuide Bible Study series.
Components of Small Groups
A healthy small group should do more than study the Bible. There are four components to consider as you structure your time together.
Nurture. Small groups help us to grow in our knowledge and love of God. Bible study is the key to making this happen and is the foundation of your small group.
Community. Small groups are a great place to develop deep friendships with other Christians. Allow time for informal interaction before and after each study. Plan activities and games that will help you get to know each other. Spend time having fun together—going on a picnic or cooking dinner together.
Worship and prayer. Your study will be enhanced by spending time praising God together in prayer or song. Pray for each other’s needs—and keep track of how God is answering prayer in your group. Ask God to help you to apply what you are learning in your study.
Outreach. Reaching out to others can be a practical way of applying what you are learning, and it will keep your group from becoming self-focused. Host a series of evangelistic discussions for your friends or neighbors. Clean up the yard of an elderly friend. Serve at a soup kitchen together, or spend a day working on a Habitat house.
Many more suggestions and helps in each of these areas are found in Small Group Idea Book. Information on building a small group can be found in Small Group Leaders’ Handbook and The Big Book on Small Groups (both from InterVarsity Press). Reading through one of these books would be worth your time.
Study 1. Who Is God? Acts 17:16-34.
Purpose: To see how Paul’s crash course in Christian theism challenges our concepts about God.
Group discussion. The particular “gods” that group members suggest are not so important; almost anything can become a false god for someone. The two most important parts of this activity are getting group members talking and the question about behaviors that spring from worshiping false gods. Have someone write down all the answers as fast as they come, then read the list aloud. Ask for some general categories into which these “gods” can be grouped. Try to identify several groupings, but don’t belabor this too much; move promptly to the behaviors which these “gods” can produce.
Personal reflection. These ideas are geared toward people doing the studies on their own for personal growth. However, at times you may want to use these questions in place of or in addition to the suggested group discussion.
Question 1. The Areopagus, where Paul was given the privilege of speaking (v. 19), was Athens’ oldest and most prestigious institution: a Senate-like court with special jurisdiction in moral and religious affairs. Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who became curious about what he had to say invited him there. Epicureans believed that pleasure is the chief end of life, “the pleasure most worth enjoying being a life of tranquility, free from pain, disturbing passions, and superstitious fears (including in particular the fear of death). [They] did not deny the existence of gods, but maintained that they took no interest in the life of men” (“The Book of Acts,” in The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1973], p. 351). Stoics “aimed at living consistently with nature, and in practice laid great emphasis on the primacy of the rational faculty in man, and on individual self-sufficiency. In theology, they were essentially pantheistic, God being regarded as the World-soul” (Ibid., p. 350).
Question 2. Group members should see their working life and community life as their “marketplace,” that is, the place where diverse kinds of people meet, and where not only goods and services but also ideas are exchanged. Christians often find open doors for talking about Christ in the natural contacts we make at work and in our community involvement.
Question 3. Like Athenian society, our society constantly hungers for the newest thing—knowing it or getting it. You may wish to consider the following excerpt from an article by a Canadian pastor, “Trapped in the Cult of the Next Thing.” This article discusses our obsession with the latest products, while the Athenians were obsessed with the latest ideas, but both reflect a similar drive for whatever is newest.
I belong to the Cult of the Next Thing. It’s dangerously easy to get enlisted. It happens by default—not by choosing the cult but by failing to resist it . . . . If ever there was a cult that gave us stones when we asked for bread, this is it. It promises so much. Look at the ads. If you get this car, take that trip, buy these clothes, use this detergent—what joy! What fulfillment will finally and fully be yours! . . . [After hearing the testimony of a woman who thanked Jesus for a very ordinary pair of shoes] I looked at a lot of Scriptures about being thankful. I discovered that being thankful and experiencing the power and presence of Jesus Christ are tightly entwined. As we practice thankfulness, we experience more of God’s transforming grace, God’s thereness . . . . Thankfulness is an act of subversion against the Cult of the Next Thing” (Mark Buchanan, “Trapped in the Cult of the Next Thing,” Christianity Today, September 6, 1999, pp. 63-72).
Question 5. In verse 28 Paul used literature familiar to his audience by quoting from two Greek poets. The first quote is attributed to Epimenides the Cretan: “They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one. The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies! But thou are not dead; thou livest and abidest for ever; For in thee we live and move and have our being.” The other is from a Cilician named Aratus: “In every direction we all have to do with Zeus; for we are also his offspring.”
Paul was not saying that every person is a child of God in the sense of being spiritually reborn; to become God’s child as a Christian requires faith in Jesus Christ. Scriptures such as John 1:12-13 and Hebrews 12:7-8 make this difference clear. Still, every human being is created in the divine image (Genesis 1:27). Paul was acknowledging that he and his hearers were all God’s offspring in this general sense.
Question 6. Group members may be surprised by this question; how could they disagree with the apostle Paul? A few follow-up questions may be helpful: Do we experience God anywhere and everywhere, not just in church? In what ways are all human beings the same? How natural is it for people to seek after God? Does everybody in the world know something about the true God?
Question 8. Acts 16 and 17 tell how Paul, Silas and Timothy tried to travel to several areas but were prevented by God. Then they went to Macedonia in response to a vision. They won converts to Christ in Philippi, were beaten and imprisoned, were freed by an earthquake (though they chose to stay until the next morning), went on to other cities and again met with both success and violent opposition. Paul was taken to Athens by Christians who wanted to protect him from danger (Acts 17:13-15).
Question 10. Possible follow-up question: “When have you given those three responses to the gospel?”
Question 11. Refer to the list you made in the group discussion activity. Group members will probably have thought of other false ideas about God during the course of the study.
Study 2. God Reveals Himself. Exodus 33:12—34:9.
Purpose: To gain a fresh vision of God’s glory and goodness.
Group discussion. The person who inspires awe does not have to be a celebrity or have high social status. We may feel awe in the hospital room of someone who is suffering greatly but radiates peace. We can feel awe at a person who has tremendous knowledge or skill at something, even if it hasn’t brought the person fame or money.
Question 1. At God’s direction, Moses had led the enslaved Israelites (and some other hangers-on) out of Egypt and into the desert with the intended destination of Canaan, or the modern “Holy Land.” God had given the Ten Commandments and other laws and instructions through Moses. But the rescued people had fallen into idolatry even while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the commandments. God informed Moses that he (God) would not accompany the Israelites beyond this point (Ex 33:1-3). Moses felt overwhelmed at the prospect of dealing with this difficult group of people plus meeting unknown obstacles ahead—and to do it without God’s presence would be unbearable!
Some group members may wonder how this conversation between Moses and God took place. It reads as though they had a normal conversation like two human beings. Exodus 33:7-11 says that Moses did meet alone with God in the “tent of meeting” outside the Israelites’ camp, where “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Ex 33:11). However, God did not appear to Moses in anything like a human shape.
Question 2. Moses offers several complaints that may sound familiar to group members: I’ve been given this big responsibility with nobody to help me. You’ve told me I’m the right person for the job, but I still need training and instructions. Who’s going to believe me if I don’t have the right credentials?
Question 3. This conversation comes at a very low point in Israelite history. The people did not stay faithful to God even after he had miraculously freed them from Egypt and was in the process of giving them his laws. How could they survive their journey through the desert without God’s presence?
Question 4. Verse 14 is a tremendous assurance by itself. In times of danger it is good to know that God himself is there, even if circumstances do not immediately change. Also, God said he was pleased with Moses. It’s comforting to know that our faith and our actions have been in line with God’s will, even though we know we’re sinners. And God knew Moses by name; that is, he knew Moses intimately, in a personal relationship.
Question 5. A follow-up question might be: What are some things Moses could have asked right then but didn’t, choosing to ask this instead? For example, Moses could have asked for knowledge of the future or some practical hints for governing the people or a road map for getting to Canaan. Instead, he was so caught up with God that he asked only for a revelation of God himself.
Question 6. Although no one may see God’s face and live (33:20), Scripture refers to Christians seeing the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6).
Question 8. The commandments had been written on two tablets of stone. But Moses broke the originals in anger when he came down from Mt. Sinai and discovered the people worshiping an idol (Ex 32:19). God’s law is part of his self-disclosure, one way he manifests his covenant character. Today the Scriptures are a rich resource for getting to know God. Of course, God still reveals himself in other ways. Encourage the group to identify some of these as well.
Question 10. Here God proclaims his name (33:19) by describing his moral nature and way of treating humanity. He wants his people to have this description in mind whenever they hear or speak of the Lord—the self-determining, self-disclosing “I Am” (Yahweh) revealed to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3:14.
Question 11. Moses worshiped—a natural response for those who see God’s glory. The quality of our worship is therefore dependent on a fresh vision of God. He also asked for forgiveness. A vision of God’s holy character shows us how far we are from his perfection. Moses also expressed hope for the future journey. When we have a fresh understanding of the God who goes with us, it gives us hope for the future.
Study 3. The Father & the Son. John 13:31—14:11.
Purpose: To lead us to know the Father through the Son.
Group discussion. Invisibility is a tantalizing idea. Think of all the books and movies that hinge on someone becoming invisible. The ability to get around unseen would carry a lot of temptations! God doesn’t use his invisibility for mischief. It’s more of a mercy for us. Remember, in the Scripture passage from study 2 God said, “No one may see me and live” (Ex 33:20)!
Personal reflection. It seems it would be easier to talk to God if we could see him and be sure he’s there. This is where faith comes in, along with the assurance of God’s Word and the record of our own experiences of God’s faithfulness. And much as we wish we could see him, could we bear the sight?
Question 1. Jesus spoke of the glorification of God and of himself; the fact that he would soon leave; his love for the disciples and their love for each other; Peter’s coming denial; his disciples’ peace of mind and heart, including their security in his eternal home; his identity with God the Father; their need to believe in him and trust him.
Question 2. Jesus answered the question “Lord, where are you going?” only by saying it was somewhere Peter could not yet follow but would later. He answered, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now?” with the crushing news that Peter would soon fail miserably. He answered, “How can we know the way?” by pointing to himself as the way.
Question 5. It would be a shock to Peter and the others to hear that the (apparently) boldest follower of Jesus would fail miserably three times that very night. If Peter could do that, what hope was there for the rest? Besides, Jesus had bluntly said he was leaving them. But Jesus’ statement in 14:1 directs his followers away from circumstances toward trust in God the Father. Also, the fact that he said “Trust also in me” assured them that in some way he would still be around to help them.
Question 6. Many people today, including those from other religions, would be willing to admit that Jesus is a way to God in some limited sense. But Jesus claims more than this. He wants us to know his Father as our Father, and to this relationship he is not a way but the way. The following notes may be helpful for your group:
The way: “In this verse . . . [t]he emphasis is clearly on “the way,” for that is the question that Thomas was asking. Jesus does not show or teach about the way; he is the way to the Father’s house. He is the way, of course, because he is also the truth (a term found twenty-one times in John) . . . and the life (found thirty-nine times in John)” (Peter H. Davids, in Hard Sayings of the Bible [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996], pp. 500-501).
The truth: “No one but Jesus can reveal truth because only he has been personally sent into the world by God. His authority is rooted in his commission . . . . But Jesus is more than a mere courier. By perfectly testifying to the Father, he also testifies to himself (8:18), because he and his Father are one (10:30). To know Jesus is to know the Father (14:9). Consequently, Jesus can say that he, too, is the truth” (D. M. Crump, “Truth,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1992], p. 861).
The life: “Jesus himself claims to be the life (Jn 11:25; 14:6). True life traces its source to him (Jn 10:10). But he is more than its source, he is its sustaining power, apart from whom nothing can be accomplished (Jn 15:5). He is life itself” (G. F. Shirbroun, “Life,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 471-72).
Question 7. Jesus is not simply one way to see the Father. He is the full and final revelation of the Father. That is, there is no other way to see the Father clearly and directly than through Jesus. This is not only true for the disciples; it is and always will be true for us as well. This is one reason, at least, why there is no other way to the Father apart from Jesus.
Question 8. The relationship of God the Father and God the Son is a complexity that can’t be fully explained in human language. Jesus spoke of himself and the Father being “in” one another. The words and actions of Jesus are the words and actions of the Father; yet the two are distinct.
Question 9. God has allowed humans to see him in his incarnation, becoming a human being in Jesus Christ. Now Jesus can truthfully say, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (v. 9).
Question 10. Only the people who lived in Jesus’ time and locality got to see him in the flesh. We know about his incarnation through Scripture and the witness of the church. For us today this question must be answered in a spiritual rather than a physical sense.
Study 4. The Spirit & the Son. John 15:26—16:15.
Purpose: To help us understand and imitate the Spirit’s purpose of glorifying the Son.
Group discussion. The responses of your group members will tell you a great deal about what they find attractive or intriguing about Jesus. It will also be interesting to hear what people don’t say. For example, does anyone wish they’d been there to see Jesus when he died, or when he hung on the cross, or when Judas betrayed him?
Personal reflection. Imagining seeing may be easier than the other senses but involving all the senses will help bring the event to life.
Question 1. Suggested answers: by implication, grief versus joy (vv. 6-7); Jesus’ physical presence versus the presence of the Spirit (v. 7); having truth withheld from them versus knowing (vv. 12-13).
Question 3. In the original Greek the word Counselor is paraclete, which can mean “comforter,” “consoler” (an active sense) or “one called to another’s side” for the purpose of helping (a passive sense). The Spirit is called (or in this case sent) to our side to help us. In John 14:16 Jesus calls him “another Counselor.” There are two possible Greek words for “another,” meaning “another of the same kind” or “another of a different kind,” and the word used in 14:16 is allos, “another of the same kind.” The Spirit is not something radically different from Jesus but the presence of Jesus himself.
Question 4. It is important to realize that everything the Spirit does in this passage—testify, convict, guide into truth and bring glory—all focus on Jesus Christ. Just as the Spirit testifies about Jesus and glorifies him, we must follow the Spirit’s example. It is the combined testimony of the Spirit of Jesus and the disciples of Jesus that God uses to reach the world. If we assume that evangelism is the Holy Spirit’s task and not ours, we avoid our responsibility. Likewise, if we assume we are sufficient by ourselves to reach others, we will lack the Holy Spirit’s power.
Question 5. This question recalls question 8 in the preceding study, concerning the Father and the Son. Again the Spirit and the Son are somehow inseparable and yet somehow distinct.
Question 8. Jesus said to the disciples, “You also must testify,” following the Spirit’s example (15:27). If we are to do this effectively, we need to consider how the unchanging truths of the Bible can best be communicated in an environment similar to the one Paul encountered in Athens (study 1). It takes at least a three-part strategy: reliance on the Holy Spirit, studying to understand current ideas without bending to them, and determining the best ways to communicate with nonbelievers.
Questions 9-10. In John 14:26 Jesus promised that the Spirit “will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” In John 16:13 he stated that the Spirit “will guide you into all truth . . . and he will tell you what is yet to come.” The Holy Spirit would call to mind things past and reveal things future. He would, in fact, guide the disciples “into all truth”—not all truths that can be known, but everything they needed to know about the One who is the truth, Jesus. Obviously, these words were originally spoken to the apostles. They may be related to Christ’s provision for the writing of Scripture. But the Spirit’s ministry through Scripture to every believer is to glorify Jesus and reveal the truth about him.
Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit comes not to call attention to himself but to glorify the glorified Savior in our minds and hearts. The Spirit glorifies Jesus by displaying to the world who Jesus is and what he does. In so doing he summons our praise and worship not for himself but for Jesus. He prompts our praise by convincing us of our present spiritual need and of Christ’s ability and readiness to meet it, leading us to trust and love the Savior.
Question 12. Encourage group members to think both locally and on a wider scale. You might want to begin with “close-to-home” considerations and move outward through family, neighborhood, city, nation, world. Or begin globally and progress to involvement closer to home (a better approach if your group thinks of faith in general terms but has trouble making specific applications).
Study 5. Beyond Comparison. Isaiah 40:12-31.
Purpose: To enlarge our small thoughts about God with the truth of his incomparable greatness, and to learn to wait on him for the strength we need.
Group discussion. There are several collections of sayings that put God or Jesus into popular advertising slogans. You can have fun with these. But the study to follow will show how inadequate even the best slogan is when we apply it to God.
Personal reflection. We may not even be aware that we put some problems in this category. We don’t mean to tell God he can’t handle them; we just don’t pray about them because prayer seems pointless. Identifying such problems at the beginning of a time of Bible study and prayer can lead us naturally toward starting to bring these things to God.
Question 1. At this time, the apathetic nation of Israel was devoid of hope and vitality because they thought their God had lost interest in them and left them to sink. Isaiah presents God as eternal and infinite, sovereign and gracious, ready to renew the strength of all that look patiently and hopefully in his direction.
Question 2. Depending on how insightful or honest your group is, they may have trouble with this question or they may leap right into it!
Question 3. This passage holds a fascinating combination of tenderness and power. God is a shepherd carrying lambs; God weighs mountains in his balance scales. When we’re overwhelmed with need, we crave both the personal care and the mightiness of God.
Question 4. Notice that verses 13-14 stress not only God’s knowledge but also the fact that no one taught him his knowledge. He has always known everything and is himself the source of knowledge. Recall Jesus’ statement in study four that he is “the truth” (Jn 14:6).
Question 5. At various times in Israel’s history the gods of other nations drew them away. They also made political alliances to try to guarantee their safety rather than relying on the Lord. Perhaps God was reminding them that human help is ultimately futile, at least when it tries to oppose him or get around his purposes.
Question 8. The purpose of these figures is to give us some idea of the overwhelming vastness of the universe. Yet in spite of its immensity, God created and controls it all.
Question 10. In verses 21 and 28 God asked, “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” Of course Israel could recite the facts about God’s power, wisdom and love, just as we can. But our real knowledge of God is only as great as our faith. Therefore, we need to be constantly reminded and challenged about our view of God.
Question 11. Make sure the group ponders the beautiful images of an eagle soaring, a tireless runner and a person on a vigorous walk. Each of these word pictures helps us understand the vitality God promises those who hope in him. The phrase “renew their strength” literally means “change their strength.” It is as though God clothes us with a fresh kind of strength in exchange for our old inadequate and worn-out strength.
Question 12. Consider writing a favorite phrase or verse from this passage and taping it up where you’ll see it at just the right time, whether it’s in your car, on your computer, on your refrigerator, on the baby’s crib, on your door as you leave home or come home.
Study 6. God Is Love. 1 John 4:7—5:5.
Purpose: To understand the meaning and implications of “God is love.”
Group discussion. Does your group come up with mostly secular or mostly Christian songs? From what era? What do their answers tell you about what they listen to? What do their answers say about what they prefer to believe about love?
Personal reflection. Depending on circumstances, at different stages of our lives we may have a view of love dominated by romance, faith, family, needs of the world at large, sacrifices we’re making or kindness others have shown us.
Question 1. It will be helpful to have some general background information about this entire letter from John. Christians had split over some very basic beliefs. The seceders denied the incarnation and the atonement (Jesus’ sacrifice for sin), apparently holding that “the Christ” was a spirit from God which rested on Jesus for a time after his baptism but left him before his death. These seceders looked down on those who held to the original teaching of the apostles, seeing them as stuck-in-the-mud ignoramuses with whom it was impossible to associate any longer. John wrote to reassure the shaken conservatives that they, not the seceders, were the ones who knew God. He exhorted them to maintain faith, righteousness and love as their response to God’s redeeming love in Christ.
Question 3. This question, along with question 11, is difficult. First, we should not make the mistake of interpreting John’s statements in isolation. John’s other writings, and indeed the entire New Testament, make it clear that a person is a child of God if he or she puts faith in Jesus for salvation. Love is evidence that a person is born of God. Yet we all know non-Christians who display great sacrificial love for others, often putting Christians to shame. Love displayed in a human life is always a gracious gift from God regardless of whether the person has come to know God or not.
Question 8. It is important to determine whose “perfect love” (that is, mature love) is being described in 4:18. Is it ours, God’s or both? Certainly God’’s love has been emphasized throughout this passage. But here John seems to be speaking of our love. If we love perfectly, we have no need to fear punishment from God on the day of judgment. He would never punish those who are like him (4:17).
Question 9. Genuine love for God is invisible to the human eye, but the outward evidence of that love should be quite visible. If a person claims to have a deep love for God, he or she will love those whom God loves. If instead of love there is hatred, the person’s conduct contradicts the person’s claim.
Questions 10-11. John set forth three tests for distinguishing genuine faith from counterfeit: the tests of obedience, love and belief. A person must pass all three tests (not just one) in order to know he or she is a child of God. But what if a person believes in Jesus Christ yet fails one of the other tests—love or obedience? This, too, is difficult to answer. John assures us that genuine faith in Christ will manifest itself in love and obedience. A spiritual child, in his opinion, must resemble the parent. Because God is love and holiness, his children will manifest these characteristics also. Yet John does not intend for us to sit in judgment on others, deciding, “You are a Christian and you are not.” The most we can ever say from our finite perspective is that the Bible gives no assurance of salvation to someone who claims to be a Christian but disregards God’s commandments.
Study 7. Holy, Holy, Holy. Isaiah 6.
Purpose: To deepen the impact of God’s holiness on our everyday lives.
Group discussion. Be sensitive about using this activity if you have group members who have received very bad news, especially recently. You may wish to change the activity to “the best unexpected news you have ever received.”
Personal reflection. It is interesting to see how God often answers our prayers not with the specific thing we requested but with a deeper understanding or awareness of himself—so much that our request grows dim by comparison.
Question 2. Previous passages in this guide have emphasized that no one can see God and survive. Then how do we explain Isaiah’s statement, “I saw the LORD”? We should realize that Isaiah saw a vision of God, obviously a vision full of symbolism. We assume God is not a very large king who wears a long robe and sits on a literal throne. Yet though this was a vision, Isaiah feared for his life. He might literally have died if the Lord had not taken away his guilt and atoned for his sin (vv. 6-7).
Seraphs are a type of angelic being, messengers of God. In Hebrew the plural is seraphim, a word we often see in hymns (along with cherubim or cherubs, another kind of angelic being).
Question 4. The basic idea of the word holy is that of being separated or set apart. When God is declared to be holy, the word expresses all that sets him apart and makes him different from his creatures. The threefold “Holy, holy, holy” in verse 3 is a Hebraic way of emphasizing that God is very holy. We typically emphasize by repetition in our own speech: “I was really, really, really scared,” “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times . . .”
Question 5. A sinful person cannot stand before a holy God unless the person’s guilt is removed. The seraph told Isaiah that his sin had been atoned for (v. 7). Atonement is a very important word in the Bible. To atone for sin means to make full payment for sin. First John 2:2 calls Jesus Christ “the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Jews today celebrate the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Under Old Testament law, various animal sacrifices were made to pay for sin; but the book of Hebrews explains that all these sacrifices serve to point to Jesus Christ, the ultimate perfect payment for our sin. Christ is symbolized by the burning coal from the altar in Isaiah 6:6. Obviously Jesus had not yet died for sin, because this event happened hundreds of years earlier. However, God could forgive Isaiah because Jesus’ death covers all people of all time, before and after.
Question 7. Jesus quoted this portion of Isaiah concerning people who heard his parables (Mt 13:14-15). John in his gospel quoted it concerning Jesus’ hearers who did not believe in him (Jn 12:39-41).
Question 9. Isaiah’s harsh message must be understood in its historical context. The people had a long history of rejecting God’s law and spurning his words (see Is 5:24). Because they had refused to see and hear God’s words, they were in danger of losing any ability to see or hear. Failure to respond leads ultimately to inability to respond. In fact before too many years the northern kingdom of Israel would be conquered by Assyria and the people taken into exile, although the southern kingdom of Judah (where Isaiah lived) would be spared at that time. In another 140 years Judah would also fall to Babylonia. But through all this, God always preserved a “remnant” of his faithful people and did not abandon them.
Study 8. God’s Wonderful Goodness. Psalm 107.
Purpose: To encourage us to trust God’s delivering power in every situation of need.
Group discussion. Consider also how “thank you” helps the person doing the thanking as well as the person who receives thanks.
Personal reflection. This exercise may also show up areas of ingratitude in our lives and remind us where we have failed to thank others. Are there situations where it’s not too late to say, “thank you”?
Question 1. Notice the faithfulness of God and his intervention on behalf of his people when they are in trouble.
Question 3. Notice especially verses 4-9: “Desert Survivors”; verses 10-16: “Rebellion Forgiven”; verses 17-22: “Sickness Healed”; verses 23-32: “Sailors Rescued.”
Question 4. People are in distress, they cry out to God for help, God answers and saves them, they are called to thank him. It makes no difference whether trouble comes because we ask for it by sinning (vv. 11, 17) or simply because things go wrong (people lose their way, vv. 4-5; storms come, vv. 24-27). Today as in Old Testament times the only issue is whether we will cry out to God when in trouble, confessing our sin and need, consecrating ourselves to him and pleading for deliverance. Thankful celebration of God’s goodness and unfailing love in the past will fortify us to trust him when trouble strikes in the present.
Question 5. Regardless of the specific events referred to in this psalm, they are clearly meant to apply beyond Israel’s situation to anyone who experiences God’s unfailing love.
Question 9. The answered prayers could be your own or someone else’s.
Study 9. Pleasing God. Matthew 6:1-18.
Purpose: To help us to seek our Father’s praise rather than the praise of others.
Group discussion. The memory may go back many years, even to childhood. Some compliments mean so much that we hold them in our hearts for many years. Perhaps the compliment was so significant because of who gave it, or because we were especially proud of a particular accomplishment, or even because we knew we didn’t deserve it and felt humbled.
Personal reflection. Some people are lavish in praise of others but have trouble receiving compliments; perhaps they feel embarrassed or undeserving or have been warned against having a swelled head. Others like to receive good words but find it hard to praise others, perhaps because they think people shouldn’t need it, or they don’t want to seem gushy.
Question 2. Central to the Sermon on the Mount is the thought that those in God’s kingdom are a family, with the divine Father as head of the family. Therefore, Jesus presents personal godliness as life with the Father. This is a life in which purity of motive is as important as outward performance. Indeed, motivation is more important, for if our purpose is not single-mindedly to honor and serve our heavenly Father, even our best performance is worthless.
Questions 4-5. The word hypocrite comes from the ancient theatrical world and refers to the practice of Greek and Roman stage actors speaking through large masks which amplified their voices. Hypocrisy is any act in which we “wear the mask” and are not revealing our true selves.
Question 8. The prayer begins intimately yet reverently with the words “Our Father in heaven.” Next it expresses the desire for God’s glory (v. 10). Finally, it focuses on our needs for provision, pardon and protection from him (vv. 11-13).
Question 9. This passage certainly does not mean that our forgiving others earns us the right to be forgiven by God. Rather, those who are unwilling to forgive others have lost sight of how much God has forgiven them. This ingratitude is sin, and cannot be forgiven until it is acknowledged and forsaken.
Question 10. If we are to fast, we must understand the purpose of fasting. In most instances fasting was a sign of mourning and of humbling oneself before God while asking for his will to be done (see 2 Sam 12:17-23; Neh 1:4-11; Dan 9:1-19; Mk 2:18-20). Fasting can also free us from the distractions of meal-planning, cooking and eating so we can devote ourselves exclusively to prayer.
Question 11. C. S. Lewis helps us understand one aspect—indeed the most important aspect—of rewards:
In the end that Face which is the delight or the terror of the universe must be turned upon each of us either with one expression or with the other, either conferring glory inexpressible or inflicting shame that can never be cured or disguised . . . . It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God.
Study 10. The Lord Is King. Daniel 4.
Purpose: To realize that the Lord is in control of our lives, so we can be liberated from pride and the illusion of self-sufficiency.
Group discussion. The point of this activity is not to embarrass group members but to discuss various things which humble various people and to consider what might be good about being humbled.
Personal reflection. There is always the possibility that a person has not yet been humbled before God, or has had the opportunity and has resisted it.
Question 1. The scene in Daniel 4 is actually the third time in four chapters that this pagan king was confronted with the power and majesty of God. Nebuchadnezzar’s willingness to testify in a public document to the ordeal through which God had taken him was a remarkable gesture of honest humility for an ancient Near Eastern potentate.
Question 2. This question may be challenging for the group because their circumstances are very different from those of an ancient pagan king! Some possibilities: being confronted with some tough questions which no one could answer for us; seeking wisdom; finding someone who could provide answers; dealing with pride; being humbled by God; having a radical change of mind and heart; having a new vision of who God is; feeling you have finally come into your “right mind.”
Question 3. Daniel had earlier interpreted a dream for Nebuchadnezzar under even more difficult circumstances: he had to say what the king had dreamed as well as the interpretation (Dan 2)! That earlier encounter explains why the king was so confident of Daniel’s abilities.
Question 8. Nebuchadnezzar ruled over one of the greatest empires that ever existed. During the time of his reign, Babylonia was a dominant world power. The city of Babylon, which Nebuchadnezzar had built (Dan 4:30), was a wonder of the ancient world.
Questions 9-10. Pride and self-sufficiency were the sins through which Adam and Eve fell, and together they constitute a syndrome that constantly afflicts us all. But the good things we possess and achieve are God’s gifts to us. It is gross irreverence and ingratitude to congratulate ourselves on God’s gifts as if we were their ultimate source and deserved all the credit for them.
Question 11. It is interesting to note that in verses 1-18 and 34-37, Nebuchadnezzar writes in the first person, but in verses 19-33 the narrative switches to the third person, as though the king could not offer sane testimony to those events.
Question 12. Be sure the group notices all the times that Nebuchadnezzar states or quotes words about God’s sovereignty (vv. 2-3, 17, 25-26, 32, 34-35, 37).
Study 11. God’s Severe Mercy. Hebrews 12.
Purpose: To help us understand and accept hardship as part of God’s loving discipline.
Group discussion. Seeing out of focus makes it impossible to make solid judgments about things or even be sure what’s real and what’s going on around us.
Personal reflection. Answers could include physical, emotional, mental and spiritual endurance.
Question 1. This chapter comes from a long section that encourages weary believers to live by faith. The section began at 10:19. All of is taken up with Old Testament examples of how faith operates in human lives. follows this with a direct call to rigorous concentration (vv. 1-2), resolute endurance (vv. 3-11), renewed effort (vv. 12-17), realization of our gospel privileges (vv. 18-24) and reverence for our awesome God (vv. 25-29), all of which are evidence of faith in action.
God’s mercy is being celebrated throughout. But it is mercy marked by severity—the severity of a holy and awesome God who will not have us in his presence unless we share his holiness. So faith must be linked with awe, moral effort, faithfulness, conflict with sin and acceptance of God’s disciplines.
Question 2. Those who ran in races got rid of everything that would hinder them from running—both excess weight and any extra or loose-fitting garments. (In fact, the Greek custom was for runners to strip naked.) Group members may answer this question very generally or in the abstract at first. Follow up by asking, What sorts of things weigh you down or tie you up in your own spiritual race?
Question 3. The author imagines a stadium filled with those who have already run the race. These spectators are members of the spiritual “hall of fame” in Hebrews 11. They are qualified to encourage us because they know the difficulties of the race and the joys of finishing it.
Question 4. Suggested answers: worship, Scripture, deliberate obedience, talking about him with other believers, personal reminders we carry with us or put in places where we’ll see them often.
Question 8. The story of Esau referred to here is described in Genesis 25—27.
Question 9. Sinai is the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Exodus 19:16-25 and 20:19-21 describe the frightening scene where the people were afraid to even approach the mountain. Sinai symbolized the Old Testament law. Zion is the high point in Jerusalem where the temple was built. A plague from God, moving through Jerusalem, stopped at that spot, and King David purchased the place and declared that God’s house would be there (1 Chron 21). Zion came to symbolize the eternal dwelling place of God.
Question 10. The author of Hebrews says difficult things regarding the perils of those who turn back from following Christ (see also Heb 6:4-8). We are tempted to do two unacceptable things with these warnings. The first is to explain them in such a way that they lose their force—to imagine, for example, that they refer only to loss of reward but not to one’s ultimate spiritual destiny. The second is to interpret them so severely that we imagine that genuine Christians can lose their salvation, thus denying what Scripture teaches about the eternal security of believers. There is, however, a middle ground that preserves the force of the warnings and the security of genuine believers. It is known as the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
Those who are real Christians are not only eternally secure, they will also persevere in faith until the end. They do not become God’s children by persevering; rather they persevere because they are his children and because God himself enables them to persevere. Those who depart from the faith give evidence that they were never really God’s children.
But what about the warnings? They are real: there can be no salvation for any that abandon Jesus Christ. But genuine Christians, by God’s grace, will heed these warnings, hold fast to Christ, and keep on running the race.
Question 11. The statement “God is a consuming fire” (a quote of Deut 4:24) refers to the fact that God judges those who reject him.
Depending on what you think would work in your group, you might consider breaking into pairs to answer this question and pray together.
Study 12. God’s Triumph. Romans 8:26-39.
Purpose: To give us unshakable assurance of God’s love and the triumph of his purposes for us.
Question 1. New Testament faith is assured faith, loving and serving God out of gratitude for his grace. Here Paul spells out the thrilling truths about the Father, Son and Spirit that form the content of Christian assurance. They boil down to this:
1. God’s love to believers who love him is everlasting.
2. His resolve to be our God, God for us, God blessing us with all he has to give, is fixed and unalterable.
3. His gift of Christ to die for us is the measure of his love for us.
4. Christ’s death and intercession guarantee our acceptance and enrichment by God forever.
5. Here and now God overrules all our life experiences for our final good, that is, our conformity to Christ.
6. The indwelling Holy Spirit helps us pray and intercedes for us himself, just as Christ does.
7. Thus the triune God in sovereign grace overcomes all forces and factors that are hostile or harmful to us, keeping us secure for eternity.
Questions 4-5. It is important to understand the meaning of good in this verse. If we assume it means an untroubled, prosperous life, we will be hopelessly disappointed. The apostle Paul would be the first to testify that the Christian life is full of hardship and difficulty, as the earlier part of Romans 8 states clearly. Instead, in all things God works to accomplish the good he desires for us, which is defined in verse 29: to make us more and more like Christ.
Question 6. Christians are often sensitive about the subjects of foreknowledge and predestination—that is, the questions of how free human beings are to choose their own way, whether God “causes” everything that happens, and whether God chooses who goes to heaven and who doesn’t. These questions leave the abstract and become painfully personal for those who have had tragic accidents or whose hearts are breaking over wayward family members. Let each person share ideas or doubts without harshness from other group members. It isn’t necessary at this point to try to resolve the tensions between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. It is more important to see that God is working to accomplish every stage of his plan for us and that his plan will certainly be accomplished (the fact that glorified is in the past tense assures us of this).
Questions 7-8. Paul asked, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” (v. 33). He assumed the answer was “no one.” Yet Satan, other people and even our own consciences from time to time accuse us of being guilty and unworthy of being in God’s family. Such charges exist, but they cannot hold up in court because Christ himself has died to pay for our sin, lives today and intercedes for us (v. 34).
Question 10. Paul strained to describe the magnitude of God’s invincible love for us. We could not have a stronger assurance than we find in this passage.
Now or Later. Individuals may do this activity or the group may want to do it as a whole, symbolizing your continuing support of one another even though this particular study is ending.