Sunday, May 21, 2023 Questions

Here are some additional passages of scripture to consider for this week’s study:

2 Corinthians 5-6:1; Psalm 34:17-20; Psalm 42:5-7; Psalm 62:5-8; Psalm 40:1-5; 1 Corinthians 15:19; Joshua 1; Romans 5:12-21.

Why was Zechariah’s audience discouraged?

How did we define discouragement?

How could Zechariah’s prophesy have been an encouragement to the people?

When were some other times that God’s chosen people were discouraged?

Which decade in American history do you think has been the most discouraging?

What does the Bible say about how to handle discouragement?

What did Paul say about discouragement and hope?

What can we learn from the Lord’s charge against the people in chapter 7:8-12?

What can we learn about Christ’s seconding coming from chapters 9-14?

Does “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5) fit into the book of Zechariah?

How would you explain, “Return to me says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you says the Lord of hosts,” to a friend or someone who knows the Lord, but has wandered, or run away from their faith?

How can the book of Zechariah bring someone hope?

How do you see the book of Zechariah fitting in with the other minor prophets? With the rest of the Bible?

What’s one thing you believe the Lord is speaking to you about from this week’s study?

Homework: Read Malachi

Sunday, May 14, 2023 Questions

Here are some additional passages of scripture to consider for this week’s study:

John 15:1-17; Ephesians 2:8-9; James 1:5; Psalm 104; Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 18:2; Matthew 4:1-11; Daniel 3; Philippians 4:6; Acts 17:10-15; Psalm 85:8-9; Exodus 2:1-10; Daniel 6; 1 Sam. 17; Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 12:7-10; Matt. 6; 1 Pet. 5:6-11; Matt. 18:1-6.

Of the six disciplines we talked about, which do you find most difficult to model for your kids, or others, and why? Prayer/Honoring the Bible/Doing right/Being a living sacrifice/Abiding in Christ/Refusing to worry.

What are some ways you can model those to your kids and others?

How has your prayer life grown since you came to know Jesus?

What are some memorable answers to prayer you have seen?

What are some unanswered prayers you are living with?

In what ways do you honor God’s Word?

What role does time meditating on God’s Word play in your life?

What is your “life verse”?

Are you growing in your understanding of the overall theme of the Bible?

Do you find yourself walking with certainty to doing the “right thing,” or do you question yourself?

What does it means to be a living sacrifice before the Lord and among those around you?

How does Jesus’ words about the vine and the branches help us understand what it means to be “in Christ”?

Can you see fruit in your life that Jesus is producing?

How much power does worry have in your daily life? Why is that?

What can you do to change the patterns of worry in your life?

Homework: Read Zechariah

Sunday, May 7, 2023 Questions

Here are some additional passages of scripture to consider for this week’s study:

Haggai; Ephesians 4:17-6:24; Matthew 6:25-34; Exodus 20; Ezra 4-5:5; 1 Cor. 3:10-17

Which part of Haggai’s prophesy do you relate to most closely?

How does Haggai’s prophesy fit in with the other prophets we have studied so far?

What can we learn from Haggai’s prophesy?

What is the value of worry?

Where do you land on the worry scale? Where would a close friend put you on the scale?

1             2             3             4            5              6            7           8             9            10

“Constant up all night Worrier”                                                                  “Free as a Bird”

What did Jesus say about God’s daily provision for you?

What are some ways that you “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?”

What are some ways that selfishness shows up in your life?

How do you think you build on the foundation of Jesus Christ?

Have you ever felt that you have missed God’s blessing because of your actions?

Why do some people seem to wait until they face difficulty before they “consider their ways”?

How do you best “consider your ways”?

Are there priorities in your life that need to be rearranged? If so, what are they & what do you need to change?

What is one thing you think God may be speaking to you about from this week’s study?

 Homework:

- Read Zephaniah

Sunday, April 30, 2023 Questions

-What part of this prophecy stood out to you?

-What did you learn from the prophecy of Zephaniah?

-What questions do you still have when it comes to this prophecy?

-What does this prophecy teach you about the Lord?

-How does this prophecy help you love the Lord better?

-What does this prophecy teach you about humanity?

-How does this prophecy help you love people better?

-Reflect on a time when your pride was humiliated, and you were brought to the feet of Jesus in prayer and worship? How did God’s grace meet you there?

Homework:

- Read Haggai

Sunday, April 23, 2023 Questions

Here are some additional passages to consider this week:

Habakkuk; John 1:14-34; Acts 4:23-30; Romans 8:26-30; Job 1&2; Job 21:7; Job 38-40:2; Job 42; Jeremiah 12:1-2; Psalm 73:3, 13; Psalm 37:1-7; Isaiah 44:28; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 2 Peter 3:9-15; Matthew 5:45; Genesis 50:15-21; John 3:36; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 2:16; Romans 5:19

-What can we learn from Luke’s & Paul’s words in Acts & Romans about evil in the world?

-What can we learn about evil in the world from Joseph’s response to his brothers in Genesis?

-What can we learn from Habakkuk’s resume?

-What can we learn about evil from Job’s life?

-State the “problem of evil” in your own words.

-In what ways are the messages of the prophets and psalmists an encouragement to you?

-When it comes to evil around us, have you ever expressed the same sentiments to God that Habakkuk had?

-What are some things, both good and bad, that we can learn from Habakkuk’s relationship to the Lord?

-What can Nahum & Habakkuk’s prophesies teach us about the “problem of evil”?

-How does the crucifixion of Christ help us understand the “problem of evil”?

-How can you talk to someone who doesn’t know Jesus about the “problem of evil”?

-What is one thing you believe the Lord is speaking to you about from this week’s study?

Sunday, April 16, 2023 Questions

Here are some additional passages to consider this week:

Nahum; Exodus 34:6-7; Isaiah 10, 14 & 52; Colossians 1:16; Psalm 115; Romans 11:33-36; Isaiah 25; Ephesian 1:4-6; Jeremiah 32:17; Psalm 121; Matthew 19:26; Proverbs 19:21; Acts 5:33-42; James 4:13-17; 1 Chronicles 16:28-36; Revelation 4.

What are your impressions of God from the book of Nahum?

Was God caught off guard by the Assyrians and their actions?

What do you think God thinks about as man’s actions unfold?

Israel had a terrible pattern of unbelief, did not trust God, did not love God and did not follow God. Does this pattern seem to be sequential or random, and have you ever experienced a similar pattern in your life? What happened?

What was the cause for Israel’s unbelief?

Why do you think as humans we have such a strong “need to know”?

When you listen to the news, are there times when you doubt that God is in control?

How could you talk to an unbeliever about God’s sovereignty in light of evil?

Is it easy or hard for you to believe that God is in control of all things yet at the same time Nineveh being responsible for their actions?

Why do proud and arrogant people not like it when God is control?

What does that say about how God feels about pride and arrogance?

In what ways does the sovereignty of God bring comfort to you?

In what ways is the sovereignty of God unsettling to you?
What is one thing you think God has been speaking to you about from this week’s study?

Homework:

Read Habakkuk

Sunday, April 9, 2023 Questions (Easter)

Here are some additional passages of scripture to consider this week:

Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20 & 21;

Compare the Old Testament prophesies and New Testament fulfillment of Jesus as Messiah in the following passages; Isaiah 8:14 & I Peter 2:7-8; Isaiah 53:3 & Luke 4:28-29; Exodus 12:21-27 & 1 Corinthians 5:7; Exodus 12:46 & John 19:31-36; Leviticus 17:11& Matthew 26:28; Numbers 21:9 & John 3:14-18; Job 19:23-27 & John 5:24-29; Psalm 22:15 & John 19:28; Psalm 22:18 & John 19:23-24; Psalm 31:5 & Luke 23:46; Isaiah 25:7-8 & 1 Corinthians 15:54

Compare and contrast the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection.

Which of the gospel accounts do you like most? Why?

Try to imagine yourself at the resurrection of Jesus. What emotions do you think you would have felt? Why those emotions?

Why is the resurrection of Jesus so important?

Why is celebrating the resurrection so important?

Have there been things about Jesus that you once believed, then later discovered they were not true? What were they and what changed your mind about them?

What do you appreciate most about Jesus’ resurrection?

What is one thing you believe the Lord is speaking to you about this Easter Sunday?

Homework:

Read Nahum

Sunday, April 2, 2023 Questions