10/10 Guidance for Next Week’s Assignment

For Next Week:  Our Assignment

I just wanted to follow up from Thursday and give a little more direction for next week.

As you do your reading, you can use the SOAP method or whatever works best for you.  A couple things that may help for all of us to do, not just those who are presenting,  to get the most out of the study is to do the following as you read:

S- Scripture -
    The passage you are reading – this week is Ephesians chapter 1

    O- Observations -
    Write down some facts/observations that stuck out to you while reading. 

     I – Interpretation – Dig Deeper into what you observed – maybe a word, a verse or a whole section of the

      passage

     – look at the context in surrounding verses.
     Look up a word to find its true meaning in the original language
     Cross-reference a verse to see more depth to the meaning of the verse. 
     Are there any of the Literary Elements used that we discussed on Monday night (see attached Bible Study

     Basics)  Click on this link: 

bible-study-basics

     Is there a Biblical/theological principle in the text that we should be able to take away

A- Application -
    How can I apply the verse to my life so that I can change and become more like Christ?

P- Prayer

Here’s a short example of one Mark did yesterday:
S- Eph 1:3-14

O- Verse 3 “Blessed  be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I asked what does Blessed mean here?  What was Paul trying to convey? 
I also observed how many times it refers to God working

 

 

“3He blessed us,

4He chose us,

5He predestined us to adoption, He freely bestowed grace, He lavished grace on us, He made know to us,” etc
I found it interesting to note that all through this introduction Paul gives praise and glory to God and says that God has done all the work through His grace.  This is going to setup the rest of the book as we will see. 

I – The word Blessed here comes from the same Greek word as eulogy, which means to praise or commend.  This is the highest duty of us as Christians (and of all of God’s creation) – to give Him praise.
I cross-referenced a couple verses with Eph 1:3 that were in the center column – 2 Corinthians 1:3 & 1 Pet 1:3.   Both of them are introductions to other books where the authors start out there letter by giving praise and glory to God for who He is and what He has done. 
I noted all of the action verbs/roles (#8 & #12 from the list of Literary Elements attached) associated to God’s work in my life.

A- If it was important to the apostles to start off by giving praise and glory to God, I should start off my day, my conversations, my new endeavors, – everything I do – by giving God praise and glory.  I should also always point to Him as the one who has provided everything for me and never think that anything comes from myself or by my doing.
When someone tells me I’ve done a good job, I can praise God and give him the glory instead of receiving it for myself.

P – My prayer – God help me to dig deeper into your word and to always focus on giving you praise and glory as my loving, forgiving, providing God.

10/9 Heart & Attitudes

Looking up a few verses and thinking about the heart and attitudes we approach the Bible with.  These attitudes will reveal the heart condition necessary for meaningful Bible study.

 

Summarize the attitude of each verse:

 

Psalm 119:18 NIV

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

 

As disciples, we are followers – that is, students of the Word and the behaviors/actions of Jesus Christ and others who have lived out their faith filled life before us.  A few thoughts about this verse:

Ø Implies God is the revealer of truth (he will open my eyes/heart to understanding)

Ø Humility

o  Be clothed in humility – Colossians 3:12 NIV

o  God is the giver of grace to the humble – 1 Peter 5:5 NIV

Ø Faith

o  Lack of faith – Mark 6:6 NIV

o  Increase in faith – Luke 17:5 NIV

o  Belief or Expectation to receive – FAITH – Hebrews 11

Ø God’s Word is complete (wonderful), not burdensome

o  Gods word judges my heart and attitude – Hebrews 4:12 NIV

 

1 Corinthians 2: 6-16 NIV

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.  7No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.  8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  9However, as it is written:

 

“No eye has seen no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”

 

10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  13this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.  14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:

 

16”For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.

 

Hebrews 11:1-2, 6

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  2This is what the ancients were commended for…………..6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

 

James 1:22-25 NIV

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.

 

Ø Caution – do not merely listen.

Ø Command – do what it says.

Ø Renewed strength – Isaiah 40:31; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16

Ø Freedom – from bondage of sin (doing what you know is against God’s perfect law

Ø Blessed

Ø Progression of doing (daily) – results in God blessing our actions

o  Bearing fruit – Matthew 7:16; John 15:5, 16: Romans 7:4; Galatians 5:22; Colossians 1:10

 

For Next Week:

Let’s read Ephesians Chapter 1.  We will study this book in depth over the next several weeks.  Let’s study this chapter and the circumstances surrounding it.

Whenever you begin a study of an entire book of the Bible, you should ask five questions:

 

1.  Who wrote it?

 

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2.  To whom was it written?

 

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3.  When was it written?

 

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4.  Why was it written?

 

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5.  What’s the main message?

 

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