Assignment
Welcome to the first online Bible study this season,
You will enjoy Breaking Free. Some of you are new this time around and we are very excited that you are with us. I wanted to explain how this works. Fridays you will recieve a reading assignment from either Di or I. Di Beals and I take turns writing the lessons on Monday. I am doing it this week and next week you will have our one and only Di Beals writing the study(a little bit of humor there). This way you get two different flavors and we get to enjoy hearing from each other as well. We will challenge you to respond to the lesson throughout the week. Even though it is online and we dont see each other face to face you do get to know each other. For this to work effectively we need your responses. Dont ever think you dont have anything to share. You never know if someone else is going through the same thing and needs to hear your words. We are all working together to encourage one another to grow in Christ. Amen sister!
Overview of pgs 1-22
I wanted to start by giving a quick overview of these pages. I know several of you dont have the book yet so I dont want anyone to feel left out. Please read these pages when you get your book though. I have read it at least 3 times now and I am very excited about this study.
On page 2 I highlighted a quote "A Christian is help captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for him or her." You can see a pattern throughout the People of God that whenever they allowed corupt behavior or began worshipping idols they were held captive by that bondage. When they obeyed the Lord they were victorious. Beth Moore lists 9 lessons about captivity and freedom. I wasnt going to write them but I feel they are very important. 1The people of God can be oppressed by the enemy. 2When oppressed, the children of God tend to prepare shelters for themselves rather than do what liberty demands. 3The people of God have little defense against the destructive nature of the enemy without the power of God working in their favor. 4God did not allow His people to be oppressed so that they would be defeated but so that they would ultimately be victorious. 5God willingly tells His children why they are being oppressed if they are willing to listen. 6God sees the potential of His children. 7Any sacrifice we make in our quest for freedom will be wholly consumed and blessed by God. 8To live in the freedom God has purposed, we must recognize and forsake all other gods. 9God wants to remove all doubts concerning who brings the victory. Do you want to be victorious? I do! Lets do something about it.
I dont think it is a coincidence that we begin studying the same message Pastor Brandon has been speaking about these last 4 Sundays, the 4 kings who reigned during the ministry of the prophet Isaiah. Can you name them? We can learn so much from their examples. Uzziah became king at 16 and reigned for 52 years. He was a great leader and loved the Lord but when he became well known he allowed pride to come in. He entered into the holy place to burn incense and was struck down with leprosy. He was excluded the rest of his days. The second King was Uzziah's son Jotham. Jotham loved God but didnt take a stand against idolatry. The people continued to worship other Gods. Jotham's son Ahaz was the next king. He grew up in this corrupt land and did what everyone else was doing, worshipping false gods. He even sacrificed his own sons in the fire. I cant even imagine how someone could be so corrupt. He was very rebellious. The amazing thing is that the next king Hezekiah came from this society. He was the exact opposite. He was a witness to all the corruption of his father yet he was able to free himself of it all. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and restored the people back to freedom. He destroyed the "high places". Hezekiah became ill and he pleaded with God to let him live. God gave him 15 more years. Even though he was a great king and loved God he too let down his guard and allowed pride to enter in. "No one is immune to foolish actions fueled by pride." We can never let our guard down. We need to continue to be thankful for the things God has done in our lives.
We learn that humans are not without failure. We are not perfect. Even the most God fearing King failed from time to time. We fail from time to time. "We need a savior...Christ continues His saving work in us for the rest of our lives." Yea Amen! Read Isaiah 61:1-4 God hears the cry of the oppressed. Even though Israel was disobedient over and over he was still there and loved them. God is always there the question is are we willing to get up, and turn around, and get rid of those "high places" that are keeping us from that freedom. "Christ came forth to 'bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn, to bestow on them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes- a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair'."
Assignment:
1. Think about the 4 kings. How can you relate to them or what can you learn from their mistakes? Share with the group.
2. Write down the nine lessons about captivity and freedom (book pgs 2-4 or I listed them above) in a notebook or journal and read them everyday as you spend time with God. Lets be on our guard and defeat the enemy!
3. If you don't already have it memorized, begin memorizing Isaiah 61:1-4.
4. In your journal write down the things that hold you captive and then write how you are going to be set free. I realize this may be personal but if you feel like sharing this we would love to hear from you. As you talk about it your faith will grow and you will minister to others as well.
5. Share your thoughts from this reading.
Rhonda
You will enjoy Breaking Free. Some of you are new this time around and we are very excited that you are with us. I wanted to explain how this works. Fridays you will recieve a reading assignment from either Di or I. Di Beals and I take turns writing the lessons on Monday. I am doing it this week and next week you will have our one and only Di Beals writing the study(a little bit of humor there). This way you get two different flavors and we get to enjoy hearing from each other as well. We will challenge you to respond to the lesson throughout the week. Even though it is online and we dont see each other face to face you do get to know each other. For this to work effectively we need your responses. Dont ever think you dont have anything to share. You never know if someone else is going through the same thing and needs to hear your words. We are all working together to encourage one another to grow in Christ. Amen sister!
Overview of pgs 1-22
I wanted to start by giving a quick overview of these pages. I know several of you dont have the book yet so I dont want anyone to feel left out. Please read these pages when you get your book though. I have read it at least 3 times now and I am very excited about this study.
On page 2 I highlighted a quote "A Christian is help captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for him or her." You can see a pattern throughout the People of God that whenever they allowed corupt behavior or began worshipping idols they were held captive by that bondage. When they obeyed the Lord they were victorious. Beth Moore lists 9 lessons about captivity and freedom. I wasnt going to write them but I feel they are very important. 1The people of God can be oppressed by the enemy. 2When oppressed, the children of God tend to prepare shelters for themselves rather than do what liberty demands. 3The people of God have little defense against the destructive nature of the enemy without the power of God working in their favor. 4God did not allow His people to be oppressed so that they would be defeated but so that they would ultimately be victorious. 5God willingly tells His children why they are being oppressed if they are willing to listen. 6God sees the potential of His children. 7Any sacrifice we make in our quest for freedom will be wholly consumed and blessed by God. 8To live in the freedom God has purposed, we must recognize and forsake all other gods. 9God wants to remove all doubts concerning who brings the victory. Do you want to be victorious? I do! Lets do something about it.
I dont think it is a coincidence that we begin studying the same message Pastor Brandon has been speaking about these last 4 Sundays, the 4 kings who reigned during the ministry of the prophet Isaiah. Can you name them? We can learn so much from their examples. Uzziah became king at 16 and reigned for 52 years. He was a great leader and loved the Lord but when he became well known he allowed pride to come in. He entered into the holy place to burn incense and was struck down with leprosy. He was excluded the rest of his days. The second King was Uzziah's son Jotham. Jotham loved God but didnt take a stand against idolatry. The people continued to worship other Gods. Jotham's son Ahaz was the next king. He grew up in this corrupt land and did what everyone else was doing, worshipping false gods. He even sacrificed his own sons in the fire. I cant even imagine how someone could be so corrupt. He was very rebellious. The amazing thing is that the next king Hezekiah came from this society. He was the exact opposite. He was a witness to all the corruption of his father yet he was able to free himself of it all. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and restored the people back to freedom. He destroyed the "high places". Hezekiah became ill and he pleaded with God to let him live. God gave him 15 more years. Even though he was a great king and loved God he too let down his guard and allowed pride to enter in. "No one is immune to foolish actions fueled by pride." We can never let our guard down. We need to continue to be thankful for the things God has done in our lives.
We learn that humans are not without failure. We are not perfect. Even the most God fearing King failed from time to time. We fail from time to time. "We need a savior...Christ continues His saving work in us for the rest of our lives." Yea Amen! Read Isaiah 61:1-4 God hears the cry of the oppressed. Even though Israel was disobedient over and over he was still there and loved them. God is always there the question is are we willing to get up, and turn around, and get rid of those "high places" that are keeping us from that freedom. "Christ came forth to 'bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn, to bestow on them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes- a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair'."
Assignment:
1. Think about the 4 kings. How can you relate to them or what can you learn from their mistakes? Share with the group.
2. Write down the nine lessons about captivity and freedom (book pgs 2-4 or I listed them above) in a notebook or journal and read them everyday as you spend time with God. Lets be on our guard and defeat the enemy!
3. If you don't already have it memorized, begin memorizing Isaiah 61:1-4.
4. In your journal write down the things that hold you captive and then write how you are going to be set free. I realize this may be personal but if you feel like sharing this we would love to hear from you. As you talk about it your faith will grow and you will minister to others as well.
5. Share your thoughts from this reading.
Rhonda
posted by Rhonda | 10:09 AM
2 Comments:
Hello CC Chicks,
I have started this book and God has already challenged me through it. I am amazed at His love for us and how He uses other people in our lives to lovingly show us His never ending love for us. Just this weekend 2 complete strangers were used to nudge me toward going deeper with Him. A wonderful Christian lady on a Boat to Victoria saw that I was reading the book and shared with me that her daughter in Iowa is teaching it to their women and now she's reading it (she praised the book and its content), then a Real Estate class I'm currently taking- the instructor has HIT some topics that I totally need to hear about loving others unconditionally & really listening to people. Talk about a challenge from God- in this day and age we hurry about our lives and forget that there are hurting people around us everyday. I tend to FOCUS on the task at hand & not the people around me & their needs. I'm praying God will change that in me through this study.
Something that Beth Moore said in her book really stood out to me. It is where she is talking about King Jotham and she says something along the lines of "it is no coincidence that the things that Jotham ignored are the very things that ensnared his son."
Such a scary statement. I don't want to look the other way on sins or even areas of laziness because they could be MY downfall, but especially I don't want them to be the downfall of my kids.
Anyway, this is a good lesson so I hope you are all taking the time to study and do the "assignments" from Rhonda!
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