Opening Question: Have you ever been tempted in any way?
Read Matthew 4:1-11 / Luke 4:1-13
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours." 8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" 12 Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time, and angels came and attended him.
Questions:
1) Are there any words, or verses, that you don’t quite understand?
2) Who is the “devil” and what is he like, according to this part of the Bible?
3) What does it mean to be “tempted”?
4) How did Jesus respond to the devil’s temptations? Discuss.
5) Who was involved with Jesus before and after he was tempted? Explain.
6) How can we respond when we are tempted to do something that’s against God or against other people?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Praise God
Opening Question: What are you most thankful about this past school year?
1. What does it mean to “praise”?
2. What do you notice people like to praise, besides God? Give examples.
3. What do you notice about praise in the following passage from the Bible:
18 God shows His anger from heaven. It is against all the godless and evil things people do. They are so evil that they say no to the truth. 19 The truth about God is plain to them. God has made it plain. 20 Ever since the world was created it has been possible to see the qualities of God that are not seen. I'm talking about His eternal power and about the fact that He is God. Those things can be seen in what He has made. So people have no excuse for what they do. 21 They knew God. But they didn't honor Him as God. They didn't thank Him. Their thinking became worthless. Their foolish hearts became dark. 22 They claimed to be wise. But they made fools of themselves. 23 They would rather have statues of gods than the glorious God who lives forever. Their statues of gods are made to look like people, birds, animals and reptiles. 24 So God let them go. He allowed them to do what their sinful hearts wanted to. He let them commit sexual sins. They polluted one another's bodies by what they did. 25 They chose a lie instead of God's truth. They worshiped and served created things. They didn't worship the Creator. But He must be praised forever. Amen.
Romans 1:18-25
4. What does the verse below say to you?
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:11
5. What does the following Bible verse mean to you?
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150:6
6. How would you explain the connection between praising God and serving man, like we see below?
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Hebrews 13:15,16
7. Close in praise.
1. What does it mean to “praise”?
2. What do you notice people like to praise, besides God? Give examples.
3. What do you notice about praise in the following passage from the Bible:
18 God shows His anger from heaven. It is against all the godless and evil things people do. They are so evil that they say no to the truth. 19 The truth about God is plain to them. God has made it plain. 20 Ever since the world was created it has been possible to see the qualities of God that are not seen. I'm talking about His eternal power and about the fact that He is God. Those things can be seen in what He has made. So people have no excuse for what they do. 21 They knew God. But they didn't honor Him as God. They didn't thank Him. Their thinking became worthless. Their foolish hearts became dark. 22 They claimed to be wise. But they made fools of themselves. 23 They would rather have statues of gods than the glorious God who lives forever. Their statues of gods are made to look like people, birds, animals and reptiles. 24 So God let them go. He allowed them to do what their sinful hearts wanted to. He let them commit sexual sins. They polluted one another's bodies by what they did. 25 They chose a lie instead of God's truth. They worshiped and served created things. They didn't worship the Creator. But He must be praised forever. Amen.
Romans 1:18-25
4. What does the verse below say to you?
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:11
5. What does the following Bible verse mean to you?
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150:6
6. How would you explain the connection between praising God and serving man, like we see below?
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Hebrews 13:15,16
7. Close in praise.
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Widow and the Oil
Opening Question: Do you believe in miracles?
Read 2 Kings 4:1-7
1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha. She said, "My husband is dead. You know how much respect he had for the Lord. But he owed money to someone. And now that person is coming to take my two boys away. They will become his slaves." 2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me. What do you have in your house?" "I don't have anything there at all," she said. "All I have is a little olive oil." 3 Elisha said, "Go around to all of your neighbors. Ask them for empty jars. Get as many as you can. 4 Then go inside your house. Shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all of the jars. As each jar is filled, put it over to one side." 5 The woman left him. After that, she shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her. And she kept pouring. 6 When all of the jars were full, she spoke to one of her sons. She said, "Bring me another jar." But he replied, "There aren't any more left." Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God about it. He said, "Go and sell the oil. Pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left."
Discussion:
1. Try to tell this story again in your own words.
2. Describe what the following characters did:
The widow -
Elisha -
The widow’s sons -
God -
3. What do you think the widow felt before and after the miracle? Why?
4. What do you have that God can multiply and use for your own good, and for the good of others?
5. What can we learn from this story?
6. What do the following promises from the Bible say to you?
God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us. Ephesians 3:20
My God will meet all your needs. He will meet them in keeping with his wonderful riches that come to you because you belong to Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
God did not spare his own Son. He gave him up for us all. Then won't he also freely give us everything else? Romans 8:32
Read 2 Kings 4:1-7
1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha. She said, "My husband is dead. You know how much respect he had for the Lord. But he owed money to someone. And now that person is coming to take my two boys away. They will become his slaves." 2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me. What do you have in your house?" "I don't have anything there at all," she said. "All I have is a little olive oil." 3 Elisha said, "Go around to all of your neighbors. Ask them for empty jars. Get as many as you can. 4 Then go inside your house. Shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all of the jars. As each jar is filled, put it over to one side." 5 The woman left him. After that, she shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her. And she kept pouring. 6 When all of the jars were full, she spoke to one of her sons. She said, "Bring me another jar." But he replied, "There aren't any more left." Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God about it. He said, "Go and sell the oil. Pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left."
Discussion:
1. Try to tell this story again in your own words.
2. Describe what the following characters did:
The widow -
Elisha -
The widow’s sons -
God -
3. What do you think the widow felt before and after the miracle? Why?
4. What do you have that God can multiply and use for your own good, and for the good of others?
5. What can we learn from this story?
6. What do the following promises from the Bible say to you?
God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us. Ephesians 3:20
My God will meet all your needs. He will meet them in keeping with his wonderful riches that come to you because you belong to Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
God did not spare his own Son. He gave him up for us all. Then won't he also freely give us everything else? Romans 8:32
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