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A student once told me that he has never regretted reading the bible…only not reading it!
WHAT DO THOSE NUMBERS MEAN? How to Navigate the Bible
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Doubt is not the opposite of faith, nor does it make faith weak. Rather, the saints who came before us experienced doubt often GXULQJ OLIHŇ‹V PRVW GLIĂ€FXOW PRPHQWV DQG ZH VKRXOG H[SHFW DQG EH prepared for the same. Remember God loves us where we are, not where we are going.
This is what God says, the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves, The God who summons horses and chariots and armies— they lie down and then can’t get up; they’re snuffed out like so many candles: “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brandnew. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’ —the coyotes and the buzzards— Because I provided water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth, Drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me. Isaiah 43:16-21 Questions? Ask us via facebook, email, in person, etc...
Week 1 Faith Week 1, Day 1 Jesus is the son of God. He was with God when the world was created and the bible tells us that God delighted in Jesus. Jesus is also the savior of mankind, the only perfect person ever, and a character worth imitating. That said, even God’s son experienced pain and struggled with God’s plan for his life. Read: Luke 22:39-46. Questions: 1) What is Jesus talking about when he asks his father to take his cup away?
2) Does Jesus seem kind of human in this passage? What emotions is he showing? Fear? Anxiety?
3) How does Jesus demonstrate faith?
4) How does God react to Jesus’s prayer for help?
Pray: Thank God for making you (heart, mind, body, and soul) just the way you are. Ask that he would be near you, whether you are certain about your faith or not. Questions? Ask us via facebook, email, in person, etc...
Week 1, Day 2 Personal Time Write about a time that you or somebody you are close to has experienced something tough. Use single emotions (hurt, fear, humiliated, doubt, unsure), phrases, sentences, or big long paragraphs. Whatever feels most comfortable.
Read: Joshua 1:9
Now that words are on the paper, pray. Talk to God. Tell him about the EJGmDVMU UIJOH ZPV KVTU XSPUF BCPVU "TL IJN UP CF OFBS ZPV
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Week 1, Day 3 Family Time As a family or with a friend if your family isn’t available or interested... Remember that the conversation that Jesus has with God in Luke is about his own death, the most important piece of God’s plans for new life. Discuss Together: 1) Talk to your family about the struggle Jesus faced when he prayed to God alone in a garden. 2) What hardships/challenges are you facing at school, with friends, or on your team? Read Isaiah 43:18-19 with somebody you love. This passage in Isaiah is part of the good news of Christianity. It is a promise from God to his people that he will renew and restore his creation. 3) If you could see God bring healing to something or someone who or what would that be?
Consider the possibilities of heaven
Read: Romans 5:3-5 Pray: Take a moment to invite God to bring healing to what you talked about in question 3 through prayer.
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Week 1, Day 4 Pray Today, simply take the opportunity to talk to God. Tell him about questions that you or a friend might have. Tell him about a time when life was hard for you. Remember that Jesus carried his fear to God, and remember how gently God responded. Above all, whether you believe your faith is super strong or kinda weak, thank God for making you you, with all of your unique gifts and abilities.
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Week 2 Struggle Week 2, Day 1 Week 2 Day 1: D Group Time Mary and Martha were two of Jesus’s best friends. They were close to him through his life, death, and resurrection. They appear a number of times in Jesus’s story, but despite their great faith and close friendship with Jesus, they still wrestled with doubt. Read: John 11 or John 11:32-45 Questions: 1) What happens in verse 35?
2) Does Jesus’ reaction to his friends’ suffering and death surprise you?
3) Martha and Mary believe that their brother has passed away for eternity. They are unsure of Jesus’s power and God’s ability to help them in their pain. How does Jesus respond to their uncertainty?
Pray: Thank God for the friends you love the most. Thank him for the power he has over death and doubt. Ask him to help you understand his power and love. Questions? Ask us via facebook, email, in person, etc...
Week 2, Day 2
Personal Time Read: Psalm 34:18 Write two notes today, one to a friend and one to God (you don’t have to send either). Tell your friend what you admire most about them. Encourage them and explain why your friendship is important to you. Then, write God a note. Thank God for your friend and the good things he has given you. While you are writing these notes, think about how God is good to you, when your faith is strong, and when you aren’t so sure. Remember that even when Martha and Mary believed their brother had died and God could not bring him back to life, Jesus still responded with love and compassion.
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Week 2, Day 3 Family Time As a family or with a friend if your family isn’t available or interested...
Talk to an older family member or somebody that you look up to about a time that they felt doubt in their life. If you are comfortable, ask them about how they saw God during that time. If you are experiencing doubt share what you are struggling with.
Read: Mark 9:20-27 Spend some time praying together.
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Week 2, Day 4 Pray Read: John 11:38-44... again. What does this passage show us about who Jesus is?
Praise God for his power and his goodness.
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Week 3 doubt Week 3, Day 1 Pray Read: John 20:24-25 Who is with Thomas when he shares his doubts? Read: John 20:26-29 Who is around when Jesus shows himself and his wounds to Thomas? Talk about doubts that you might have felt about God. Questions that you have wanted to ask or things you have heard people say at your school about God. (Helpful Hint: There are no right or wrong answers). Pray: Thank God for making you the way that you are, and pray that he would answer the questions and doubts that you talked about today.
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Week 3, Day 2 Personal Time Read Matthew 14:22-34. Remember that Peter was as close to Jesus as any of Christ’s friends on earth, but he still had doubts and didn’t totally understand God’s limitless power. Write or Pray about why Peter might have doubted Jesus. Consider that Jesus was one of Peter’s best friends, as well as being the Son of God.
If you have doubts or questions about God, consider that you are in really good company, as Martha, Mary, and Peter, 3 of Christ’s closest GSJFOET PO &BSUI TUJMM IBE EJGmDVMUZ VOEFSTUBOEJOH XIP (PE XBT EVSJOH hard times. Pray: Ask God to meet you in the middle of your doubt.
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Week 3, Day 3 Family Time As a family or with a friend if your family isn’t available or interested... Read 1 Peter 4:7-11 Discuss: 1. Share how Peter doubted Christ while he was walking on water. (Matthew 14:22-34) Consider how good God must be to let the same Peter who doubted Jesus write some of the most passionate words of the New Testament. 2. How do you think Peter has changed since doubting Jesus on the water to writing 1 Peter 4:7-11?
3. Parents, share what God has used to grow your relationship with Him.
Pray Ask God to grow you in your love for Him and others.
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Week 3, Day 4 Pray Go for a walk today, and pray for strength like Peter’s. Pray that your doubts and fears would be turned into strength by God, and that you would always remember how much you are loved by God.
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Week 4 friendship Week 4, Day 1 Read: 2 Corinthians 11:24-29 Questions: 1) What the heck is going on in this passage?
2) Does it seem reasonable that Paul would feel doubt after his experiences?
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Question: 1) How does Paul (a real life Christian action hero) deal with frustration and doubt?
2) How do you deal with doubt? Who do you talk to?
Talk about a time when you have been discouraged and pray together, asking God for strength.
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Week 4, Day 2 Personal Time Write or pray about a time in your life when God took something GSVTUSBUJOH EJGmDVMU BOE IVSUGVM BOE DIBOHFE JU NBLJOH JU JOUP B OFX PS beautiful thing.
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Week 4, Day 3 Family Time As a family or with a friend if your family isn’t available or interested... Jesus being a friend to Zacchaeus Describe a time when someone was an awesome friend to you. Read: Luke 19:1-9 Tax collectors were known to be thieves in this day. Zacchaeus was no different and people knew it. 1) What do you think life would be like for a disliked taxcollector? 2) Zacchaeus brought this suffering on himself. Regardless, what is Jesus’ respsonse to him? 3) How is Jesus a friend to Zacchaeus? 4) How does his friendship change Zacchaeus’s life? 5) What does a friendship with Jesus look like in your life?
Pray: Praise God for his faithful friendship to us, especially when we are suffering or doubting.
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Week 4, Day 4 Pray Whether you have great certainty or tremendous doubt in your faith, thank God for making you, and ask him for eyes to help see the beauty of his creation. The bible tells us that we ultimately receive what our hearts truly desire, which should give us hope as we face doubt and struggle in our relationships with God.
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