Introduction
Notes:
1. The duration of the devotional sessions is 20-30 minutes.
2. This leader’s guide is suitable for both online and physical discussions.
3. This leader’s guide is suitable for officers and leaders who lead a group or individuals who are not joining any of the discussion groups.
For officers or leaders who conduct the sessions in a group, keep in mind the following:
1. Have a non-judgmental attitude.
a. In the course of the discussion, some members may give answers that you, as the leader, know are wrong.
b. Don’t pounce on the answer or reprimand them – they will not want to continue participating.
c. Value the insight you are gaining into their true thoughts, so that they are able to share what they think openly rather than parroting “right answers” to you.
d. Accept the answer by saying something like, “That’s an interesting point of view. What do the rest of you think?”
2. Encourage participation.
a. Some members are chatty and assertive. Welcome their contribution but remind them to give others a chance to speak.
b. Other members are shy and quiet. Encourage them to share, but if they really don’t want to, don’t force them.
c. Try to give every member a chance to say something.
3. When summarising or concluding, highlight good answers that have been contributed and add insights from the leaders’ guide that the members may have missed.
Day 1: Choose Life
Lesson/Learning Objective: To face the choice before them – to choose to love God, follow Jesus, and obey God’s Word; or to choose to go their own way and follow their own desires and ambitions –and for them to choose the former.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read Deuteronomy 30:11-20.
❖ Context: This is part of Moses’ final speech to the Israelites as they got ready to enter the promised land. Their parents had seen the fearful and terrible plagues by which God had delivered them out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 7:14-12:30). Unfortunately, because of their disobedience, they had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and all that generation had passed away, except for Caleb and Joshua (Numbers 14:20-35). Now, as they are finally about to end their time of wandering and enter into the land that God promised their father Abraham about 470 years earlier (Genesis 15:12-16), Moses leads them through the process of renewing their solemn covenant with God. He puts the stark choice before them, the choice that is also before us today - to choose God, who is our life; or to choose our own way, which leads to death and destruction.
(Note: The context is given here so that the facilitator can have a better and deeper understanding of the passage. The participants may not need to know the entire context, but the facilitator should feel free to explain as questions arise or as otherwise necessary. This note applies to all the sections on “Context” in this Leader’s Guide.)
Activity:
❖ Think back to the last decision you made (maybe what food to eat, which outfit to wear, what subject to start revising before exams, which YouTube video to watch, etc.)
❖ What were your options? How did you make your choice in the end - by what criteria or reasoning? Are you happy with the choice you made?
❖ Today’s devotion is about the choices we face, and the title of the devotion is, “Choose Life!”
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and the devotional article with the participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: What were the two options that Moses laid before the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 30:15, 16-18, 19)?
A: Life vs death (30:15, 19).
Prosperity vs destruction (30:15).
Love and obey God, which will lead to increase and blessing, vs turn away from God, disobey Him, and worship other gods, which will lead to death and destruction (30:1618).
Blessings vs curses (30:19).
2. Q: Why are the two options divided in that way? For example, why couldn’t the Israelites choose other gods and still have life, prosperity, and blessing (Deuteronomy 30:16, 20)?
A: God is the source of blessing (30:16), life, and prosperity (30:20). If we choose Him, then we will gain all these good things together with Him. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” But if we try to choose the good things we want without choosing Him, we will lose everything. Jesus also described this in Matthew 16:25: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
3. Q: Have you made the choice to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and to follow Him? If you have, share with the group how you came to know Him and choose Him. If you have not, share what is holding you back from making that choice. (Or, if you are doing this challenge as an individual, reflect on the question and jot down your answer in the space provided.)
A: This question gives Christian participants an opportunity to share their personal testimony of salvation with their friends. In case non-Christian participants find the question threatening, just encourage them that there are no wrong answers, it is simply about where they are in their personal journey of faith. You may suggest answers to them, such as “I don’t understand what Christianity is all about,” “I don’t think God exists,” “The Bible doesn’t make sense to me,” “I am a Buddhist/Hindu/etc. and I don’t want to change,” “My parents would be angry with me,” “I haven’t thought about it much,” etc. It might be easier for them to pick out an answer from a list rather than generate their own answer. If they really do not want to share, do not force them. For those who do share, thank them for their honesty and gently encourage them to keep seeking God, because He loves them and is seeking them.
Conclusion:
❖ Some of the choices we talked about in the introductory activity were not very important, right? Like, whether you choose to eat chicken rice or roti canai doesn’t really have any great impact on your life and future.
❖ The choice that we have talked about in today’s devotional, though - to choose God, to choose life - is of infinite importance and has eternal consequences.
❖ If you have already chosen to follow Jesus and obey God’s Word, that’s great! Keep it up, because this is not just a one-time decision, but one we renew every day (Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”)
❖ If you have not yet made this choice, do think about it and consider it carefully. Get to know more about this God who loves you and this Jesus who died for you, and one day, if or when you are ready, choose life!
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 2: Like Jesus
Lesson/Learning Objective: To grow and develop a loving relationship with Jesus, which will result in them living as He did, obeying God and loving people.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read 1 John 2:5-11.
❖ Context: The letter of 1 John was written by John the Apostle, who also wrote the gospel of John and the book of Revelation, and who was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. John wrote this letter for two purposes: To combat false teachings in the church (2:26), and to help believers to be sure of their salvation (5:13). One false teaching that John fought against was the lie that one can be saved simply by having special knowledge about God and Jesus, and that there was then no need to live a morally good life. To combat this false teaching, we can see that in today’s devotional passage, John gives us two moral standards by which we can know that we belong to Jesus (“are in him,” 2:5c) and are saved (“in the light,” 2:9-10). Firstly, we are to obey God’s word (2:5) and Jesus’ commands (2:7-8). And secondly, we are to love our fellow Christian brothers and sisters (2:9-11). John likes to use stark contrasts such as light vs darkness, truth vs lies, and love vs hate in his writing, and some of these themes can also be seen in today’s passage.
❖ Materials:
➢ Phones, internet connection (Or, if these are not available)
➢ Papers and pens
Activity:
❖ Open up https://opposites.app on your phone.
❖ If you are doing this devotional individually, try to finish one round of the game as fast as you can.
❖ If you are doing this devotion in a group, compete to see who can be the first to finish one round.
❖ If you don’t have a phone and an internet connection, simply list down 10 pairs of opposites (big vs small, etc.). If you’re in a group, make it a friendly competition!
❖ Today’s devotional passage was written by the apostle John, and he liked to use opposite themes in his writing.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and the devotional article with the participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: List down the opposite pairs that you can find in this passage (1 John 2:8-11).
A: New command vs old command (2:7).
Light vs darkness (2:8-11).
Love vs hate (2:9-11)
2. Q: Is John writing a new command or an old command to his readers (1 John 2:7-8)?
Explain your answer.
A: Both! The command to love others is an old one, because it is from the Old Testament. But it is also new, because Jesus redefined and reinterpreted it in the New Testament. In the old commandment, the standard by which we should measure our care for others is our level of care for ourselves (“love your neighbour as yourself” - Leviticus 19:18). In the new commandment, though, the standard is Jesus’ self-sacrificial love for us (“As I have loved you, so you must love one another” - John 13:34).
3. Q: Think of someone in your squad, your company, or in your sphere of acquaintance whom you dislike, or even hate. How can you obey (1 John 2:9-11), and love this person instead so that you will be living in light and not in darkness?
A: Before asking your members to answer this question, explain to them that “love” here is not primarily a feeling. Sometimes someone has hurt us deeply, or our personalities just clash in such a way that it is very difficult and maybe even impossible to change the way we feel about them.
“Love,” though, is more than just a feeling. It is a choice and a commitment to think, speak, and act in a person’s best interest. While you cannot change the way you feel, you can certainly change the way you think, speak, and act towards this person.
With that understanding, your members may come up with suggestions like, “speak politely to them,” “be kind to them,” “be helpful to them,” and so on. Those are all good ideas and should be commended and encouraged.
Conclusion:
❖ Once everyone who has something to contribute has spoken in answer to Question 3, remind them of the devotional title, “Like Jesus,” and the key verse, “whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6).
❖ Encourage them that while loving those who are unlovable and even loving our enemies is a very difficult thing to do, when we do it, we are really being like Jesus, for that is exactly what He did.
❖ Have them turn to Romans 5:8 and ask one of them to read it. Highlight the words, “while we were still sinners.” This means that while we were still enemies of Jesus, when we were people who didn’t care about what He wants and did things that hurt and insulted Him, even then He had already come to die on the cross for us and save us!
❖ Remind them also that this is not something that we can do by our own effort, just by trying our best. We need to know Jesus, be in relationship with Him, and have His help and strength to do it. The closer our friendship is with Him, the more we will be like Him.
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 3: Listening to God
Lesson/Learning Objective: To encounter this God who calls to us and questions us, giving us opportunity to hear His voice, listen to Him, and answer Him.
Preparation
❖ Bible verse: Read Genesis 3:8-19.
❖ Context: Adam and Eve were the first human beings, created by God in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27), designed to know and love Him and one another. We catch a glimpse of the perfect relationship that they had with God in the first verse of today’s reading, Genesis 3:8, which implies that God would regularly walk and talk with them in the beautiful Garden of Eden in the cool evenings. Unfortunately, the verses after that describe the consequences of their choice to rebel against God and disobey His command not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). This first sin, the fall of humanity, had farreaching effects; for that tendency to turn away from God and disobey Him was passed down to all of us, the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. And we can see those continuing illeffects in humanity’s cruelty and brutality to one another; in wars, in crimes, and in all the ways we hate and hurt each other. Yet there is hope; even in the midst of judgment, God promised that one day, the “offspring of the woman” would crush the head of the serpent, defeating Satan and evil once and for all (Genesis 3:15). This promise was fulfilled when Jesus, the second Adam, came to redeem us, giving His life for ours on the Cross and saving us from sin and death (Romans 5:12-19).
❖ Materials:
➢ Whiteboard and markers
➢ Papers and pens
Activity:
❖ Draw the following table on the whiteboard (or if you don’t have a whiteboard, read out the place names for your members to write them down).
Where is it?
Place Country Continent
Sitiawan
Quebec
Rio de Janeiro
Nairobi
Christchurch
Nice
❖ Challenge your members to fill in the blanks in the table in five minutes. The one with the most correct answers wins!
❖ If you think this is too difficult for your members, you may assist them by giving them the first letters of the answers (e.g. NZ for New Zealand).
❖ If you are doing this devotion individually, challenge yourself to fill in the blanks. Don’t peek at the answers given below!
Where is it? (Answers)
Place
Sitiawan
Quebec
Rio de Janeiro
Nairobi
Christchurch
Nice
Country Continent
Malaysia
Asia
Canada North America
Brazil
South America
Kenya Africa
New Zealand Oceania
France Europe
❖ Was it difficult to figure out where all these places are?
❖ In today’s passage, God asks Adam, “Where are you?” While God, being omniscient, knew Adam’s whereabouts, His question allowed Adam a chance to respond and confess. Sometimes BB officers may do something similar when their members err. Rather than telling the members what they have done wrong, they ask for a report, giving the members a chance to reflect, evaluate, and explain themselves. It is not that the BB officer does not know what went wrong, but he is asking for the benefit of the members. Similarly, God's question was for Adam's benefit, not His own.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and the devotional article with the participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: Did God know where Adam was? Why did He ask Adam, “Where are you” (Genesis 3:9)?
A: Yes, God knew where Adam was. He is omniscient, He knows everything. (Psalm 147:5, Hebrews 4:13, 1 John 3:20).
He asked this question in order to give Adam a chance to answer Him, to admit what he had done, to confess honestly and come clean to God.
2. Q: Can you list out one point of judgment and one point of grace in God’s words to Adam, Eve, and the snake (Genesis 3:14-19)?
A: (During the discussion you can ask your members to share their answers, and if they have different answers they may cover most of the answers given below. If they don’t cover all the answers, you can share more with them as you see fit.
But Point of Grace (a) is important and must be covered, either by their sharing, your additional sharing, or both.)
Judgment on the snake:
a) Cursed to crawl on its belly in the dust (Genesis 3:14).
b) Will face the hostility of human beings (Genesis 3:15).
Judgment on Eve (and women):
a) Painful childbirth (Genesis 3:16a).
b) Will be ruled over by her husband (Genesis 3:16b - note that this is not the way marriage is supposed to function, it is a negative consequence of sin).
Judgment on Adam (and men):
a) Working and making a living became more difficult (Genesis 3:17-19a).
b) Physical death became inevitable (Genesis 3:19b).
Points of Grace:
a) One day, a Saviour will come (the “offspring” of the woman - note that it is singular, referring to a particular person and not her descendents in general), who will defeat Satan and evil once and for all (“he will crush your head”) at great cost to Himself (“you,” that is, the serpent or Satan, “will strike his heel” - Genesis 3:15).
b) The limits of human lifespan (“for dust you are, and to dust you will return” Genesis 3:19), while it is a punishment, is also an act of grace to us. For to live forever in a state of sinfulness and rebellion against God would be horrible indeed. When there are bad men who oppress others, at least we know that their time of death will come. Imagine if their lifespans were unlimited. To quote C.S. Lewis, “length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery.”
3. Q: Are you trying to hide from God like Adam did after disobeying Him? Perhaps you are not hiding your whole self, but are there parts of your heart or your life that you feel are dirty, wrong, and you are ashamed and want to exclude God from them? Write them down below.
A: Encourage your members to reflect on this question and honestly write one or two (or more, if they wish) things that they are trying to hide from God. These may be intensely personal things, so tell them not to peek at each other’s answers and assure them that you will not ask them to share their answers if they are not willing to. It is between them and God.
When they have written some things down, remind them from Question 1 that God is omniscient. He knew where Adam was, and He knows where they are too. Whatever they are trying to hide from Him, He already knows it - and He loves them anyway. Remind them again of the scripture that they read in the conclusion of Day 2 - “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Conclusion:
❖ Just as God called out to Adam, “Where are you?”, wanting to connect with him, giving him a chance to answer and admit honestly what he had done, God is calling out to you today.
❖ While God may rebuke and correct you if you have done wrong, He always does so gently and lovingly. He is not angry with you, for if you believe in Jesus, Jesus has taken God’s wrath upon Himself on your behalf (Romans 5:9). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1).
❖ The promise of a Saviour in Genesis 3:15 is for you. Jesus is the “offspring” of the woman who “crushed the serpent’s head” when He defeated sin and death on the Cross. He has made a way for us to be washed clean of all the bad things we want to hide from God, and for us to be friends with God again, to walk with God like Adam and Eve used to do in Genesis 3:8. Yes, Jesus has made a way: Jesus is the way (John 14:6).
❖ Will you trust in Jesus today to forgive you and wash away your sins, so that you can answer God’s call for you to come to Him, know Him, and walk with Him?
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 4: Seeing Well
Lesson/Learning Objective: To see and know Jesus both as their best friend who is always by their side, and their Lord who is always to be obeyed.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read John 15:12-17.
❖ Context: These were some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples on the night of the Last Supper before He was arrested. In today’s reading, Jesus starts off by describing Himself as the true vine. We, the branches, must stay connected to Him, because without Him our greatest achievements are of no value, but with Him we will be fruitful (John 15:1-8). In the first and last verses (John 15:12 and 17), Jesus reiterates the commandment to love one another as He had loved them (John 13:34-35) and describes that love as self-sacrificial to the point of giving up one’s own life (John 15:13). He calls us His friends for whom He will die, with the condition of our obedience of His commands (John 15:14-15). If we stay connected to Jesus and obey His commandment to love one another self-sacrificially – we will produce good results that will last forever, and experience the joy of answered prayer (John 15:16).
❖ Materials: Whiteboard and marker, or pen and paper.
Activity:
❖ What are some things that people say or do to show or express their love for someone? (Make wild promises like, “I will climb the highest mountain for you;” give flowers, chocolates, and expensive gifts, etc).
❖ List down the answers your members give on a whiteboard (or if you don’t have one, list them on a piece of paper)
❖ Ask them to rate these expressions of love, from the greatest to the least (If you are doing this devotion individually, just make and rate your own list of four or five expressions of love). What is the greatest expression of love you can think of?
❖ In today’s devotional reading, Jesus describes the best expression of the greatest love in the world.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and devotional article with participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: In this passage, list minimum two roles that Jesus plays in our lives and the actions He takes in those roles (John 15:12-17)?
A: (Similar to Day 3’s Question 2, as each member in your group lists down two roles, hopefully in combination they will cover most of these answers. You can then share further on anything they missed out. This principle will hold for any questions going forward in which the members are only asked to give a limited number of answers when there are more answers listed in the Leader’s Guide. You should make sure that Jesus’ role as our commander, greatest lover and commissioner are mentioned, as these will be further discussed in Questions 2 and 3 below.)
➢ Jesus is our commander; He commands us to love one another (John 15:12 and 17).
➢ Jesus is our greatest lover; He lays down His life for us (John 15:13).
➢ Jesus is our friend; He does not expect blind obedience like a slavemaster would (John 15:15a), but shares the Father’s heart with us so that we will willingly obey Him (John 15:14, 15b).
➢ Jesus is our commissioner; He has chosen us and given us a mission to bear lasting fruit (John 15:16a).
➢ Jesus is our authority; it is only when we pray in His name, asking as He would ask, that we can expect our prayers to be answered (John 15:16b).
2. Q: Earlier, in the introductory activity, we rated expressions of love from the greatest to the least. According to Jesus, what is the greatest possible expression of love (John 15:13)? How can we receive Jesus’ great love for us?
A: The greatest possible expression of love is self-sacrifice. It is the kind of love which is willing to die for the sake of the beloved. Jesus was referring to His own willingness to die for our sake (in John 10:11, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”) It is His love for us which is the greatest love in the world, and His death on the Cross to save us which is the greatest possible expression of love.
We can receive Jesus’ great love for us by…
(For non-Christian members, here you can introduce the sinner’s prayer to them:
“[1]Admit that you are a sinner,
[2] Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for you, and [3] Confess Him as your Lord and Saviour.
Once you have prayed this prayer, you are a Christian. You have a brand-new relationship with Jesus, He lives in your heart by His Spirit, and you can continue to grow in His love.”
They may not yet be ready to pray the prayer, but it is good to let them know that the option is always open to them if or when they decide that yes, they want to receive Jesus’ love.)
(For Christian members, often they know intellectually in their mind that Jesus loves them. This is a fact that has been presented to them many, many times in Church, Sunday School, and Youth Fellowship. Yet they may not truly know it and feel it deep in their heart. In John 14:21, Jesus promises, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Encourage your Christian members to bring this verse before God in prayer and claim Jesus’ promise. As they continue to obey and follow Jesus, encourage them to ask Him to show Himself and His love to them more and more in deeper and realer ways.)
3. Q: What are some practical ways we can obey Jesus’ commission to bear “fruit that will last” (John 15:16)?
A: We can bear “fruit that will last” by…
a) Staying connected to Jesus by spending time with Him, reading His Word and praying
four or more times a week (Here you can read John 15:1-8 with your members and explain that we cannot bear fruit without staying connected to Jesus, as briefly mentioned in the “Context” section above).
b) “Fruit that will last” refers to:
i) The fruit of Christian character (Galatians 5:22-23) - As you stay connected to Jesus, you will become more and more like Him; more loving, more joyful, more peaceful, and etc.
ii) The fruit of Christian conduct (Colossians 1:10-12) - Flowing out of your transformed character, your behaviour will change for the better. The way you speak, the way you treat people, and the choices you make will be affected positively. You will, of course, obey His command to love one another as He has loved you (John 15:12, 14, 17)
(Do ask your members to give concrete, specific, practical examples of changes in their conduct and behaviour that would constitute “fruit that will last”).
iii) The fruit of Christian converts (Romans 16:5, NKJV - Epaenetus is referred to as “the firstfruits of Achaia”) - People around you will see the change in your character and conduct and will be drawn to Christ in you. You will have opportunities to share God’s goodness and love with them, and some of them will come to believe in Him as you do.
Conclusion:
❖ All these things that we’ve been discussing that we should and must do – love one another, obey Jesus’ commands, become more and more like Jesus, bear lasting fruit – are things that we cannot do on our own just by trying our best.
❖ Remember John 15:5, where Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
❖ We may be able to do many good and great things by our own efforts – get straight A’s, win competitions, make lots of money, become a famous online influencer – but in the end, from an eternal perspective, if these things were done out of selfish ambition and without staying connected to Jesus, they all amount to nothing.
❖ Will you, with God’s grace and help, stay connected to Jesus, who is both your best friend who loves you as well as your Lord and King who commands you, so that you can bear fruit that will last?
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 5: Unlock the Chain
Lesson/Learning Objective: To commit themselves to obey Jesus without reservations, and follow through on that commitment.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read John 14:15-24.
❖ Context: The context for today’s reading is similar to Day 4; Jesus assuring His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them in Heaven (John 14:1-14) and using the vine and branches metaphor, calling us to stay connected to Him in order to bear fruit (John 15:1-8). Our reading starts with Jesus drawing an unbreakable connection between love and obedience (John 14:15). The two always go together. He then promises to send the Holy Spirit to be with them and help them (John 14:16-20). This is essential because we need the help of the Holy Spirit in order to obey Jesus’ commands. Jesus then restates the relationship between love and obedience, with the promise that those who love Him will be loved by the Father and Him in return (John 14:21), and in response to Judas’ query, He adds that the Father and He will come and dwell with them.
❖ Materials: Pen and paper.
Activity:
❖ How many different ways can you complete the sentence structure, “If you… then you…”? See how many answers you can write down in one minute! (If you are doing this devotion in a group, you can compete to see who can generate the most answers; if you are doing it alone, just challenge yourself.)
❖ Members may give answers like, “If you are hungry, then you should eat something,” “If you study hard, then you will do well in the exam,” and so on. If in competition mode, don’t count answers that don’t make logical sense!
❖ In today’s devotional reading, Jesus gives us a few “If you… then you…” statements.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and devotional article with participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: What “If you… then you…” statements do you find in this passage (John 14:15, 21, 23)? Write down a minimum of two.
A: (If your members don’t get all the answers in combination, share with them the ones they missed.)
➢ “If you love Jesus, then you will obey Him.” (John 14:15, 23a)
➢ “If you obey Jesus, then you do love Him.” (John 14:21a)
➢ “If you love Jesus, then He and the Father will love you, and He will show Himself to you. (John 14:21b)
➢ “If you love Jesus, then He and the Father will come and make their home with you.” (John 14:23b).
➢ “If you don’t love Jesus, then you won’t obey Him.” (John 14:24)
2. Q: List down three things this passage tells you about the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-20). What is the connection between the Holy Spirit and loving or obeying Jesus?
A: (While your members share their answers, add value by giving them further explanations written for you here. Once they have shared, let them know the answers which they might have missed.)
The Holy Spirit is our advocate (John 14:16a).
(Explanation: The Greek word translated “advocate” is ‘parakletos’, one who is called (kaleo) to be close beside (para). In other words, He is always near us, always by our side, always on our side, giving us counsel, guidance, comfort, strength, and help.)
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus, and having Him with us is as good as having Jesus Himself with us (John 14:16a, 18, 20).
(Explanation: The Greek word “another” in the phrase “another advocate” is ‘allos’, one of the same kind. So the Spirit is of the same kind as Jesus. If He were another of a different kind, the Greek word would be ‘heteros’. Greek aside, we can also see their equivalency in the fact that after promising them that the Spirit will come to them, Jesus says that He Himself will come to them (John 14:18) and after saying that the Spirit will dwell in them (John 14:17), Jesus says that He Himself will dwell in them (John 14:20).)
The Holy Spirit will help us and be with us forever (John 14:16b).
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17a). He will teach us and lead us to know the truth.
The Holy Spirit cannot be seen, known, or accepted by unbelievers or non-Christians (John 14:17b).
The Holy Spirit is known to Christians, because He lives with us and in us (John 14:17c).
The Holy Spirit helps us to love and obey Jesus. This is something we cannot do in our own strength. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to do it.
3. Q: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you love Jesus? On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you obey His commands to love one another (John 13:34-35), forgive one another (Matthew 18:21-22), and even love your enemies and pray for them (Matt 5:44-45)? How can you increase these numbers?
A: (These questions are for your members’ reflection and self-evaluation. Note that the answers to the first two are closely connected, according to Jesus. The numbers given should not be wildly different.
Encourage your members to give specific and practical answers to the last question. Ask them to try to do one or two things they’ve thought of in the coming week, and report back to the group how their effort to love and obey Jesus more turned out. Remember to followup on this the next time you meet.
If you are doing this devotional challenge on your own, share with one trusted, reliable friend – it could be someone in your squad, company, church youth fellowship, school Christian fellowship, or even a family member – about the one or two things you would like to do in the coming week to love and obey Jesus more. Ask them to keep you accountable.)
Conclusion:
❖ Even as you try to do the one or two things in Question 3 this week, remember to ask the Holy Spirit for help. You are not left struggling on your own like an orphan (John 14:18); you have the resources of God Himself to enable and empower you. Draw on His strength and help.
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 6: Positive Repetition
Lesson/Learning Objective: To choose to love God and obey His Word.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read Deuteronomy 30:11-20.
❖ Context: Today’s reading is the same as Day 1, so the context is similar (do read it again if you need to).
❖ Materials: Phone, tablet, or computer with internet access or pen, paper, and scissors.
Activity:
❖ If you have a device with internet access, play the memory game at https://g.co/kgs/inhD4Rn.
➢ If you are doing this devotional challenge in a group, see who can get the highest score! If you are doing this challenge alone, try the game two or three times and see how well you can do.
❖ If you don’t have a device with internet access, get a piece of A4 paper and fold it 4 times. Then, cut the paper according to the folded lines. You should now have 16 small, rectangular cards.
➢ On each pair of cards, draw a unique picture. You don’t have to draw complicated or beautiful pictures; simple pictures like two circles, two squares, and so on are fine.
➢ Mix up the cards and then arrange them face-down in a 4x4 grid.
➢ Flip two cards. If they match, remove them from the grid. If they don’t, turn them face down again. Repeat.
➢ If you’re in a group, you can take turns. Once all the cards are matched, the one who took out the most cards wins. Or, you can play one by one and see who finishes in the best time. Or, you can each make your own set of cards (if you have enough A4 papers) and race to see who can be the first to finish.
➢ If you’re alone, time yourself to see how long you take to match all your cards. Then try to do it faster.
❖ What did these games test? (Your memory!)
❖ How does our memory work? How do we remember things? (By repetition! That’s why it’s so important that you revise your notes and attempt mock questions before an exam. As you repeatedly go over the information and repeatedly recall it to answer questions, you’re forming connections that will make it possible for you to recall the necessary facts when you’re actually sitting for the exam.)
❖ In today’s devotional passage, Moses uses repetition to tell the Hebrews some important things.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage (Today’s reading is the same as that for Day 1. If you’re a leader, you can encourage your members to re-tell what they have learned from this passage previously) and the devotional article with the participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: What is Moses’ main point in Deuteronomy 30:11-14? How does he use repetition to put his point across?
A: Moses’ main point is that God’s Word is not far away or difficult to obey.
Moses repeats the pattern, “It is not here, so you have to ask…” (v.12_ and “It is not there, so you have to ask…” (v.13).
Moses also starts by stating his point negatively (it is “not too difficult… or beyond your reach,” v.11) and ends by repeating it positively (it is “near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it,” v.14).
2. Q: What is Moses’ main point in Deuteronomy 30:15-20? How does he use repetition to put his point across?
A: Moses’ main point is that God’s people must love and obey God.
Moses repeats his points about loving and obeying God, rebelling and disobeying God, and the consequences of these two actions many times. See the following table:
Love God (v.16, 19, 20) Life (v.15, 19), live (v.16, 19)
Walk in obedience (v.16)
Keep His commands, decrees, laws (v.16)
Listen to His voice (v.20)
Heart turns away (v.17)
Death (v.15, 19)
Prosperity (v.15) Not obedient (v.17) Destruction (v.15)
Increase (v.16)
Be blessed (v.16), blessings (v.19)
Drawn away (v.17) Certainly will be destroyed (v.18)
Bow down and worship other gods (v.17)
Will not live long (v.18)
Hold fast to Him (v.20) Have many years (v.20) Curses (v.19)
3. Q: The Hebrews had good reasons to love and obey God. He had saved them from slavery in Egypt with mighty and terrible plagues (Deuteronomy 29:2-3), and led them and provided for them through 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 29:5). What about you? What are your reasons for loving and obeying God?
A: Some of your members may have good reasons for loving and obeying God. Perhaps they have experienced miraculous healing, or received answers to prayer, or have thought through what they believe and why they believe it. Some may simply be following their parents. Encourage such members to get to know God for themselves and make a personal decision to belong to Him and follow Him.
Some of your members may share that they do not have good reasons to love and obey God. Perhaps they do not believe He exists, or perhaps they have gone through
some suffering and trauma that caused them to think that He isn’t there or He doesn’t care. Or perhaps they just haven’t thought much about spiritual things and are just trying to get by in school and have some fun in the meantime. Listen and accept their answers without judgment.
Conclusion:
❖ Share 1 John 4:19 with your members - “We love because he first loved us.” Of course it doesn’t make sense for us to love and obey God if we don’t know Him, if we haven’t experienced His goodness and love.
❖ Remind them of Romans 5:8 which we talked about on Day 1 and Day 2. God’s love is available to them; He has shown us, proved to us, demonstrated to us how much He loves us by sending Jesus to save us.
❖ For those who have undergone suffering or trauma, sometimes we cannot know why God has allowed such bad things to happen to us. But we can know for sure that God did not and does not abandon us. By sending Jesus to die on the cross for us, He shows us that He is with us in all our troubles and suffers together with us. We are not alone!
❖ Encourage those members who have not really known God’s love in a deep way, to pray and ask Him to let them know that He loves them. Then once they have received His love, they can love Him and obey Him as Moses repeatedly told us to do in today’s passage.
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 7: Driven by God
Lesson/Learning Objective: To examine their driving motivations and choose knowing, loving, obeying, and glorifying God as the first and greatest driving force in their lives.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read 1 Kings 8:54-63.
❖ Context: This blessing of Solomon comes at a critical moment in Israel’s history - the building of the Temple. Today, we can worship God anywhere (John 4:19-24). There are many churches everywhere, and we can also worship Him at home, in school, or wherever we are. But that was not the way it was in Old Testament times. Back then, the Temple was the only place to go if you wanted to worship God and give Him fellowship offerings, sin offerings, and so on. It was the singular centre of worship for the entire nation of Israel. Before this, since the time of Moses, God’s presence and the centre of worship had been in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:8-9). David had wanted to build a permanent house for God (2 Samuel 7:1-2); but instead, God promised to establish David’s house and promised that his offspring would be the one to build the Temple for God (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Now Solomon, the son of David, is fulfilling that promise. After the completion of the building works, the ark of the covenant and the sacred furnishings of the Tabernacle were brought into the new Temple, God’s presence filled the Temple in a cloud of glory, and Solomon dedicated the building to God with a prayer. This brings us to today’s reading, in which Solomon blesses the entire assembly of God’s people before the Temple is dedicated to God with many sacrifices (1 Kings 8:62-66).
❖ Materials: none needed.
Activity:
❖ In today’s devotional write-up, the author talks about “driven people.” What is a driven person? (Some of your members may not know what this means. Those who do may say something like, “They are people who are highly motivated… who are very ambitious, want to achieve their goals at all costs… single-minded…” and so on.)
❖ Who are some people you know or you know of whom you would consider “driven people”? (This may be politicians like Mahathir, celebrities like Taylor Swift, or other people that your members know, like even their parents or a particularly hardworking teacher in their school.)
❖ What drives them? (It could be a desire for power, wealth, popularity, simply being responsible to provide for the family, and so on.)
❖ In today’s devotional reading, King Solomon has done a great thing - he has built a Temple for God (you may share about the significance of the Temple from the “Context” section above) Let’s see what drove him to do it.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and the devotional article with the participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: What are the things which Solomon desires for the people of Israel in this blessing? Write down three or more of them below.
A: (If your members don’t get all the answers in combination, share with them the ones they missed.)
For God to be with them and never abandon them (1 Kings 8:57). For God to turn their hearts to Him, to obey His Word (1 Kings 8:58).
For his prayers (see 1 Kings 8:22-53) to be heard, and for God to support and defend the King and His people (1 Kings 8:59).
For all the nations of the world to know that God alone is God (1 Kings 8:60). For their hearts to be fully committed to God, to live according to His Word (1 Kings 8:61).
2. Q: From the above, what do you think drove Solomon to build the Temple?
A: God was Solomon’s main driving force - God’s presence, God’s relationship with the people of Israel and their faithfulness to Him, God’s favour, and God’s glory among the nations.
3. Q: What are the motivations which drive you to do and achieve things in your life? Which of these would you say is your chief or main driving force? What would change if you chose instead to be driven by God?
A: (Some of your members may be very laid back, not driven at all. For such members, their answer is likely to be, “Dunno.” Others may be driven by a desire to be better than their peers, or an ambition for a certain kind of career, or wanting to please their parents, and so on.)
As to the question of what would change if they chose to be driven by God, their external actions might not change much; e.g. if before, they studied hard to score well in exams, they might still continue studying hard after making that choice. But the heart behind it will be different; the action will be an act of worship to God rather than a self-serving or people-pleasing act.
Conclusion:
❖ Remind your members again about John 15:5, which we talked about on Day 4. There, Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
❖ Explain to them that there is nothing wrong with their motivations - it is good to have high ambitions, or to be healthily competitive, or to want to please their parents. Even if their motivation is just to have fun for now, there is nothing wrong with that, for the enjoyment of fun is a good gift from God. But if those are their sole or main driving forces, then they risk doing and achieving things of no significance or eternal value; things that add up to nothing
❖ Encourage and invite them to commit their lives to Jesus and abide in Him, to make knowing, loving, obeying, and glorifying God as the first and greatest driving force in their lives.
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 8: Plod On!
Lesson/Learning Objective: To consider God’s calling for their lives and respond positively to it.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read Judges 6:7-16.
❖ Context: The book of Judges is set in the period after Israel entered Canaan, the promised land, and before she began to be reigned by human kings. Unfortunately, Israel never drove out all the Canaanites as God told them to, but instead chose to co-exist with them (Judges 1:27-36). As a result, Israel ended up in a five-step cycle of rebellion against God. Firstly, they would worship the Canaanite gods and do evil in God’s eyes (Judges 2:11). Secondly, God would respond in anger by allowing a foreign nation to oppress them (Judges 2:14). Thirdly, this oppression would cause them to turn back to God and cry out to Him (Judges 3:9). Fourthly, God would hear their cry and raise up a judge to deliver them (Judges 2:16). Fifthly, the enemy would be defeated and there would be a period of peace until the death of the judge (Judges 3:10-11). As this cycle repeated, however, it did not remain the same. Each time the nation went through it, they became a little bit worse and there was a little more moral decay. It was a downward spiral, until at the end of the book we have the horrible story of the Levite and his concubine (Judges 19) and the civil war between Benjamin and all the other tribes of Israel (Judges 20). The immorality and anarchy of this period is summarised in the sentence, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6, 21:25). Today’s devotional reading shows us God calling Gideon, the fifth of 12 judges, almost in the middle of this long downward spiral. At the beginning of our reading, we are in the third step of the cycle - the Israelites are crying out to God because they are being oppressed by the Midianites (Judges 6:7). This is followed by the fourth step - God calls Gideon to be the next judge to deliver Israel from her enemies (Judges 6:11-12).
❖ Materials: Pen and paper.
Activity:
❖ Distribute one A4 paper to every member in your group.
❖ Ask everyone to write someone’s name at the top of the paper without telling anyone who it is. It can be anyone; a famous person, someone you know in real life, a fictional character, etc.
❖ Then ask everyone to fold back the top of the paper so that the name cannot be seen, and pass it on to the person on their right.
❖ Now, ask everyone to write down an outfit: “Wearing…” So, for example, “Wearing jeans and T-shirt,” “Wearing a Santa Claus costume,” etc.
❖ Fold the paper again and pass it to the person on their right. Now, write down a place: “In…” So, for example, “In the toilet,” “In the basketball court,” etc.
❖ Fold the paper and pass it to the person on their right one last time. Finally, write down an action: Doing something. So for example, “Washing the dishes,” “Singing Negaraku,” etc.
❖ Now, let everyone open up the folds and share the sentences that have been generated. You will hopefully get some hilarious sentences like, “Batman, wearing a hot pink dress, in the bathtub, dancing the Macarena.”
❖ * If you are doing this devotional challenge alone, you can go to the website https://randomwordgenerator.com/ Under the “word type” column, click “noun” to find a person’s name, click” verb” to choose an action that he/she does, then click “noun” again to find an object. You will need to “generate” a few times to get a person, action and object.
❖ What made these sentences so funny? (It’s incongruity. The characters, clothes, places, and actions were so wildly different and did not fit together at all, creating humorous pictures in your imagination.)
❖ In today’s devotional reading, we also find a couple of things which are incongruous, which are “funny” or strange because they do not seem to fit together.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and the devotional article with the participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: What was incongruous about Gideon’s actions in Judges 6:11? Why was he doing that?
A: He was threshing wheat, not on a threshing floor, but in a winepress. This is quite funny, because a winepress consisted of two vats cut out of the rock, a higher one where the grapes would be stepped on to press out the juice, and a lower one where the grape juice would flow down to. Threshing is the process of separating the grains of wheat from the stalk. Threshing floors were usually flat and exposed to the wind, so that it would be easy to winnow the wheat (separate the grain from the husk or chaff) afterwards. It was strange that Gideon was threshing wheat in the vat of a winepress, as he would have been out of sight and out of the wind.
He was doing it that way to keep his wheat from being stolen by the Midianites (see Judges 6:3-4).
2. Q: What was incongruous about the words of the Angel of the LORD (or sometimes known as “the LORD” to Gideon in Judges 6:12)? Why did God speak that way to Gideon?
A: [Note: You might notice that “the Angel of the LORD” is used interchangeably with “the LORD” in this passage (compare Judges 6:11 and 12 with Judges 6:14, 16, and 18). This is because “the Angel of the LORD” is not merely an angel, He is God Himself appearing in physical form. The theological term for this is a theophany. I am including this note here in case your members notice this and ask about it or feel confused about it.]
God called Gideon a “mighty warrior.” But Gideon’s actions at that moment, hiding in a winepress to thresh his wheat, were those of someone who is fearful, timid, and afraid of being seen or getting caught. It is incongruous because there was nothing “mighty” or “warrior-like” about Gideon’s actions.
God addressed Gideon that way because He saw potential in Gideon that Gideon could not see in himself. He is, in the words of Romans 4:17, “the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.”
3. Q: How did Gideon respond to God’s call for him to deliver Israel from Midianite oppression (Judges 6:15)? What is God calling you to do, and how will you respond to His call?
A: Gideon felt that he was unable to do it and that he was inadequate for the job, claiming that his clan was the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and himself the least in his family.
[Note: For the question of calling, Gideon was called to a big and important task - leading his nation to fight and battle against the oppression of the Midianites. Your members may not be aware of any such big and important calling on their lives. Reassure them that that is fine, God has different roles for different people to play. We can’t all be in the limelight. Also, the question of vocational calling (e.g. to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc. when they grow up) is probably quite hard for them to discern right now. Encourage them to think in the shorter term - what is God calling them to do right now, where they are?
Putting the question that way, your members may come up with answers like, “Be patient with this friend who is very irritating,” “Help that friend who is weak in Maths,” “Clean my room without my mum telling me to,” and so on. Encourage them to make their answers as concrete, specific, and practical as possible. They should think of things they can actually do rather than vague, general ideas.
Gideon expressed doubt in his own ability to do what God was calling him to do, but God assured him that He would be with him and give him success. What about your members? Do they feel reluctant? Afraid? Willing? Let them share, and gently encourage those who are not eager to do what God is calling them to that God promises to be with them.]
Conclusion:
❖ Share with your members that God’s primary call on their lives is for them to come to know and follow Jesus (Matthew 4:18-20; Romans 8:28-30).
➢ So, remind them again that the invitation is open to those who have not yet committed their lives to Jesus. (See Day 4, Question 2).
➢ For those who have already taken that step, if they feel that they have drifted away from Jesus or failed to follow Him well, today is a good day for them to recommit their lives to Him in response to His call.
❖ That primary call will then be expressed in a secondary or more specific call. For now, where they are, they are called to be good Christian sons and daughters, siblings, friends, students, and members (or NCO’s for those who have the rank) in the BB. Some of the actions we have discussed in Question 3 above are part of that call.
❖ As they grow older, their specific call will change; they will choose a field of study to specialise in, and eventually embark on a career. Their primary call will still be to follow Jesus; their secondary call will then be to glorify Him and serve Him as a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or whatever they will be.
❖ Encourage them to be true to their calling and to live lives worthy of it, for the long haul (Ephesians 4:1-3).
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 9: What We Want to Hear
Lesson/Learning Objective: To learn to seek God’s Word and will and submit to it, even if it goes against what we want to hear.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read 2 Chronicles 18:5-27
❖ Context: 1 and 2 Chronicles retell the history of kings of Israel, and after the nation was split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. In today’s reading, we see an interaction between Jehoshaphat (fourth king of Judah out of 20) and Ahab (seventh king of Israel out of 19). Jehoshaphat was one out of only six good kings of Judah; he did what was right and followed the ways of David. In contrast, Israel had no good kings, and Ahab was one of her most evil kings; he aroused God’s anger more than any who had come before him. Our reading today begins with Ahab gathering 400 prophets to ask them for counsel (2 Chronicles 18:5). If we look at the preceding verses, he did this because Jehoshaphat, the good king of Judah, wanted to seek God’s direction before making war on Ramoth Gilead. And Jehoshaphat was not satisfied with these 400 prophets. Discerning that they were merely yesmen, he asked that they consult with a true prophet of Yahweh. We can see the difference between Jehoshaphat’s and Ahab’s attitudes toward God, where one genuinely desired to hear from God, but the other disliked Micaiah because his prophecies were often unfavourable. Sure enough, Micaiah prophesied defeat and death for Ahab. Looking beyond today’s reading, Micaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled and Ahab died that very day (2 Chronicles 18:33-34).
❖ Materials: None needed.
Activity:
❖ When someone has a mixed message for you, they may say, “I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” How would you respond, and why?
❖ (Some of your members may prefer to hear the bad news first, to get the worst of it over with; others may prefer to hear the good news first, so that they can have a moment of happiness before having to deal with the negative side of things. There is no right or wrong answer for this, just let them share freely.)
❖ In today’s reading, we meet a king who really does not want to listen to bad news at all.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and the devotional article with the participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: Why did King Jehoshaphat ask, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can enquire of?” (2 Chronicles 18:6)?
A: King Jehoshaphat must have discerned or seen somehow that these 400 prophets assembled by King Ahab were not true prophets. They were just “yes-men” that King Ahab liked to listen to because they said nice things to him and told him whatever he wanted to hear.
2. Q: What was the difference between what the 400 prophets of Ahab said and what Micaiah the prophet of Yahweh said?
A: The 400 prophets of Ahab foretold victory and success for Ahab and his army. Zedekiah even went so far as to make iron horns as a prophetic act to illustrate how they would gore the Arameans.
[Note: True prophets often did such things, acting out prophecies instead of just speaking them. A good example of this can be found in Ezekiel 4.]
At first, Micaiah also tried to say the same; or perhaps he did so sarcastically (2 Chronicles 18:14). When King Ahab pressed him to speak truthfully, though, he could only convey God’s word to him and said that Israel will be like sheep without a shepherd and people without a master (v.16), meaning that Ahab, their “shepherd” and “master,” would be defeated and killed.
Micaiah went on to describe his vision of God’s throne room (v.18), prophesying disaster for King Ahab, emphasising God’s sovereignty over all things, and accusing the false prophets of being inspired by a deceiving spirit.
[Note: There are a couple of theological problems here, which I should address in case your members notice them or ask questions about them. Firstly, why would an allpowerful, all-knowing God need to consult with other heavenly beings as to what He wants to do and how He wants to do it? And secondly, how can God, who is perfectly righteous and good and will never do evil (Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 John 1:5), send a deceiving spirit to entice Ahab to his death?
If your members bring these questions up, explain to them that the vision is symbolic. The main points we should understand from the vision is that:
(1) God has decreed defeat and death for Ahab if he goes ahead with this attack.
(2) God is sovereign and in control of all things. Even when bad things happen, e.g. when a deceiving spirit inspires false prophets to lie, such things can only happen if He allows them to happen.
(3) Ahab’s 400 prophets are false prophets who are not speaking the truth and should not be relied on. Apart from these three main points, we should take the details of the vision as simply symbolic. Micaiah used the picture of a human throne room (or God gave him the picture for him to convey it to them), because Micaiah’s listeners would be familiar with it and easily understand it.]
Zedekiah, one of the false prophets, then slapped Micaiah and asked him which way God’s Spirit went from him to Micaiah. In other words, he was disputing that God’s Spirit was with him and the other false prophets, and had not gone to Micaiah at all. In reply to this violence, Micaiah calmly prophesied that Zedekiah would find out who the true prophet was on the day he had to hide in an inner room.
[Note: The text here and in 1 Kings 22 does not describe the fulfilment of this prophecy. Nevertheless, it would have come to pass after Ahab’s defeat and death. Then, the false prophets who had encouraged him to go to his doom would have been called to account for their bad advice and punished. In order to escape, Zedekiah and his fellow false prophets would have had to go into hiding.]
3. Q: Look over the past seven days of devotions that we’ve been doing together. What has God been saying to you? List down one thing that sounds like good news to you, and one thing that sounds like bad news to you. Will you respond to God’s Word like King Jehoshaphat or like King Ahab?
A: Give your members some time to look over the past seven days of devotions and answer the question.
Explain to your members that King Jehoshaphat genuinely desired to hear and obey God’s Word, even if it was “bad news” to him; whereas King Ahab only wanted to hear “good news” that encouraged him to do whatever he wanted to do. Encourage your members to be like King Jehoshaphat, and to listen and follow God’s Word even if or when it sounds like bad news to them.
Conclusion:
❖ Share with your members that the best news of all is that God loves us, and that He sent Jesus to die on the Cross and save us.
❖ But we can’t understand or receive this very good news unless we first understand the bad news that we are sinners and we cannot save ourselves.
➢ Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
➢ Have you ever done something wrong? Said something wrong? Thought something wrong? That’s sin.
➢ But more than that, have you ever known what you should do - obey your parents, do your homework, etc. - but failed to do it? That’s sin too.
➢ And on a deeper level, sin isn’t just what we do or don’t do. It’s our heart’s attitude of rejecting God, pushing Him away, wanting to do things our own way instead of His way.
❖ So what’s the big deal about sin? Why can’t God just close an eye to our sin?
➢ Firstly, God can’t do that because He’s morally perfect. Therefore, His moral standard is also perfect.
■ Think of making an omelette with 10 eggs. The first 9 eggs are fine, but the 10th is rotten, and you’ve already cracked it in. Can the good eggs cover the one bad egg? Can you still cook and serve the omelette?
■ Of course not. When it comes to omelettes, the standard is perfection - 10 out of 10 of the eggs have to be good.
■ In the same way, God’s moral standard is perfect. Our good deeds can’t cover our bad deeds. And the problem is, no matter how good any of us are, none of us are perfect.
➢ Secondly, our sin is not a small matter.
■ How many times a day do you think a good person sins?
■ Imagine a person who only sins three times a day… quite a good person, right?
■ Well, imagine this person lives 70 years. How many days is that? (That’s 25,550 days). And at three sins a day, how many sins is that? (It’s 76,650 sins).
■ So it is not just one or two sins that God would have to overlook; it’s a whole mountain of sins.
❖ Do you understand and accept this bad news - that we are sinners and we can’t save ourselves?
❖ If you do, then understand and accept also the gospel, the best news of all – Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty of your mountain of sin and my mountain of sin, so that we can be friends with God right now, and have that friendship continue forever in Heaven.
❖ Close in prayer.
Day 10: The Slippery Slope of Success
Lesson/Learning Objective: To change our mindset and paradigm of success, turning away from worldly ideas of success and instead defining it as obeying and glorifying God.
Preparation:
❖ Bible verse: Read 1 Samuel 15:10-23
❖ Context: Samuel is considered the last of the Judges (for the context of that book, see Day 8). He therefore plays a key role in the transition from the theocratic era of the Judges to the monarchic era of the kings. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel tell his story as well as the story of the first two kings of the united kingdom of Israel, Saul and David, whom Samuel appointed and anointed in obedience to God’s instructions.
Today’s reading begins with God expressing regret that He had appointed Saul to be king of Israel (1 Samuel 15:10-11). A question arises from this: How can God, who has perfect foreknowledge of the future, feel regret? He would have known that Saul would be disobedient to Him beforehand, and so should not have appointed Saul in the first place. To answer this question, we must understand that foreknowledge does not preclude the giving of grace and opportunity; neither does it preclude the feeling of regret when that gift is misused or abused. For example, I may be able to foresee that my son will disobey me. But I will still give him a chance to obey, for instance, by telling him to study hard for his exams. And when he disobeys and fails the exam, in spite of my foreknowledge of his disobedience and failure, I can still feel sorrow and regret. That is similar to God’s regret of Saul’s appointment as king.
As we look a few verses earlier to see what the Divine instruction was that Saul disobeyed, we find that God had commanded him to utterly wipe out the Amalekites, including their babies, children, and livestock (1 Samuel 15:3). This is extremely disturbing to us, because genocide is seen today as a war crime and a great evil. So how could a good God have given such a seemingly evil command? This is a difficult question, but consider the following points:
a) God is the giver of life, and therefore He also has the right to take it away.
i) Just as it makes no sense to accuse God of murder when each person’s life and death are in His hands, so also does it not make sense to accuse God of genocide when the continuation or extinction of every race is in His hands.
b) The Amalekites threatened the very existence of God’s people.
i) Although Israel did nothing to them, they attacked for no reason just after Moses had led them out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 17:8-14).
ii) Other times they attacked Israel before the time of today’s reading can be found in Numbers 14:45, Judges 3:12-14, and Judges 6:3-5.
iii) Other times they attacked Israel can be found in 1 Samuel 30:1-6 and Esther 3:5-14 [The plot to kill all the Jews was instigated by Haman the Agagite (Esther 3:1), a descendent of King Agag, who we see in today’s reading (1 Samuel 15:20)].
iv) Therefore when it came to the Amalekites, Israel had to kill them or be killed by them. History shows that if they were not wiped out, they would continue to attack and threaten the very existence of God’s people as a nation.
c) By threatening to destroy God’s people, they also threatened God’s promise to bless all nations through Israel (Genesis 12:1-3), a promise that was ultimately fulfilled by Jesus. They threatened God’s salvation plan for the whole world, and would continue to threaten it unless they were wiped out.
d) The commanded genocide of the Amalekites was God’s judgment upon them.
i) This foreshadows and points to the final judgment, which is described in terrifying scenes of death and blood (Revelation 14:17-20).
ii) Just as there would have been no escape for the Amalekites if Saul had obeyed God’s command in today’s reading, there will be no escape from God’s judgment when that day comes.
e) Today we can be sure that God will not command any Christian to commit genocide like He commanded Saul, because on the Cross, Jesus took God’s wrath and judgment upon Himself on our behalf (Romans 5:9).
i) Whilst Saul was a disobedient king, Jesus our King was obedient to God even unto death on the Cross.
ii) Whilst Saul failed to exhaust or complete the judgment that God required upon the Amalekites, Jesus exhausted and completed the judgment that God required upon us all, by taking it upon Himself.
Coming back to today’s reading, Samuel confronted Saul with his disobedience of God’s commands. Saul tried to justify his actions, but Samuel delivered God’s judgment upon him: God had rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:23).
❖ Materials: None needed.
Activity:
❖ Instruct your members to walk around your meeting-place aimlessly
❖ When you call out, “Squad!” they are to respond with, “Sir, yes, Sir!”
❖ You will then give them a task.
➢ This can be anything you like, depending on the place you’re meeting:
■ “Go outside and bring me a blade of grass.”
■ “Draw a chicken on the whiteboard.”
■ “Hop around the perimeter of the room on one leg.”
■ “Stand up and sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ as loudly as you can.”
➢ Be creative in coming up with tasks.
❖ After you give the task, they respond again with, “Sir, yes, Sir!” and then immediately do it and come to you to report when they are done.
❖ The first person (or the first three or four people, depending on how big your group is) to report to you gains a point.
❖ When you and your members have had enough, debrief them: ➢ Who got the highest number of points?
➢ They are the winner! (Cheer and clap for the winner. You can prepare a small prize for them if you want to.)
➢ How did they win? What was the secret to their success? (The answer is prompt obedience! In this game, success comes only through obedience. If you refuse to listen to the gamemaster and obey him or her, you cannot succeed.)
➢ *If you’re doing this devotional alone, you can think about what you’ve done in the past for your parents/teachers/elderly that was rewarded with praise or a gift. You can also think about what you’ve disobeyed in the past that led to punishment.
❖ In today’s reading, King Saul, the first king of the united kingdom of Israel, also learns something about obedience and success.
Discussions:
❖ Read the Bible passage and the devotional article with the participants.
❖ Discuss the three questions:
1. Q: What can you learn about King Saul’s actions and his character (the kind of person he was) in today’s reading?
Write down at least two actions and what they reveal about his character.
A: Action: He disobeyed God’s instructions.
Character: Self-centred, not God-centred (v.11).
Action: He set up a monument in his own honour.
Character: Proud and vain (v.12).
Action: He thought he had followed God’s instructions when he had not.
Character: Ignorant of God’s command (did not know, did not listen, did not realise, etc.) and presumptuous of his own innocence or goodness (v.13).
Action: Tried to excuse his disobedience by claiming that the livestock was kept in order to make sacrifices to God.
Character: A slippery, fast talker with little integrity (v.15).
Action: Doubled down and insisted upon his innocence; redefined “Completely destroyed” to mean “All, except for Agag and the livestock.”
Character: Stubborn, proud, unable to admit guilt (v.15).
2. Q: What did Samuel say to King Saul, and why did he say that (1 Samuel 15:14, 17-19, 22-34)? List down at least two things he told King Saul and his possible reasons for saying them.
A: Samuel asked King Saul about the sounds of livestock in order to give him a chance to admit that he had not killed them all as God had commanded (1 Samuel 15:14).
Samuel said that Saul originally had low self-esteem (was small in his own eyes), and yet God had raised him up and appointed him as king (v.17). Samuel said this in order to remind Saul of his humble beginnings and that he had his position and his success not by his own merit, but by God’s grace.
Samuel reminded Saul of God’s original command - to completely destroy the Amalekites and wipe them out (v.18). Samuel said this in order to refresh Saul’s memory and correct his ignorance, since he still seemed to think that he was innocent when he had actually disobeyed God.
[Note: At this point, if the question of how God could command an evil action like genocide comes up, allow your members to give their opinions and discuss the matter. In the process of listening to one another, wherever appropriate or whenever you have opportunity, share with them the five points that have been listed out in the “Context” section.]
Samuel asked Saul why he disobeyed God’s command (v.19). Samuel did this in order to give Saul a chance to explain himself and admit his guilt.
Samuel told Saul in prophetic poetry that obedience is more important to God than sacrifice (v.22). Samuel said this to correct Saul’s mistaken idea that the excuse of having animals to sacrifice to God made it alright for him to disobey His command.
[Note: We know that this is poetry because in your Bible, you should be able to see the difference in formatting and content: the indentations, arrangement of line by line instead of in one block of prose, and parallelism between lines. Whereas English poetry uses rhymes of similar sounds, Hebrew poetry uses parallelism of similar meanings.]
Samuel said that rebellion is as bad as divination and arrogance is as bad as idolatry (v.23a). Samuel said this in order to hit home to Saul how terrible his disobedience was to God, for divination and idolatry were (and are) serious offenses against God which deserved excommunication (Leviticus 20:6) and death (Exodus 22:20, Deuteronomy 17:2-5).
Samuel declared God’s judgment upon Saul: God has rejected him as king (v.23b). Samuel said this because previously, when Saul disobeyed God, God had given him a chance to learn from his mistakes and continue to reign, with the warning that his dynasty would be cut short (see 1 Samuel 13:11-13). This time, however, there were no more chances for Saul.
3. Q: How does the world define success? From today’s reading, how does God define success? Which definition will you use to measure your own life and achievements?
A: The world defines success as wealth, fame, power, and pleasure. If you have these things, then you are a successful person in the eyes of the world. God, however, defines success as obedience. Obey God and glorify Him, and even if you may look like a failure to others, God will see you as a successful person and He has a great reward in store for you.
Conclusion:
❖ Share with your members that the best example of this principle – that with God, success is obedience – is found in Jesus Christ.
❖ In the eyes of the world, Jesus was a failure, nobody special.
➢ He was just a poor, uneducated traveling preacher from a remote corner of the world. Not well-bred, not well-educated, not well-connected, not well-travelled.
➢ Somehow he managed to become so popular that he threatened the leaders of his country (the pharisees, scribes, teachers of the law, and chief priests) and he ended up being tortured to death by being hung on a cross.
❖ But in God’s eyes, Jesus’ obedience and willingness to surrender his own wants and desires to God (Luke 22:42) made Him a great success.
➢ And as He obeyed God, Jesus’ greatest defeat – His death on the cross – became His greatest triumph.
➢ Through that sacrifice, He won the victory over sin and death forever!
❖ So encourage your members to take this definition of success and make it their own.
➢ Not that they cannot be rich, or ambitious, or enjoy life; each of these things can be good in their own place and within the limits that God has set for us.
➢ But rather, that they will not chase after these things, thinking that if only they can get them, then they will be successful.
➢ And instead, that they will focus on getting to know God, His character, what He wants for them, and so obey God and glorify Him.
➢ If they will do this, other things in their lives will fall into place in God’s own time and way (Matthew 6:33), and they will be truly successful in the only way that matters: God’s way.
❖ Close in prayer.
