Post Category: Discussion Questions

In chapter 7, Mark sets the scene for a conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders over ceremonial washing. Instead of answering the Pharisees' question, Jesus addresses the true nature of defilement before God; a sinful heart. Remarkably, Jesus declares all foods clean and all human hearts unclean. As J.C. Ryle wrote, "Every man has within him the root of every sin"...

This devotional is based on Matt Gray's sermon, Evangelism, given on September 25, 2016. Day 1: Who is God? Quotes: "The power of God unto salvation is located in a message, the message of the Gospel, the message of Jesus Christ; all that he was and all that he did to reconcile sinners to a holy God." Matt Gray "If we don't start with God, we have nothing to do with ...

Day 1: Worldly Orientation Quotes: "James personifies the entire church as the "bride" of Yahweh or Christ. At best she has become distracted from and at worst unfaithful to her groom . . . The audience has the wrong object for a lover the fallen world system and values of the unregenerate." Craig Blomberg "The intention to be a friend of the world makes a person an ...

This devotional is based on Jeff Purswell's sermon, The Poison of Partiality, given on April 3, 2016. Day 1: The Partiality of AppearancesJames 2:1-4 Quotes/References: "When we show favoritism, when we assess people by externals, we are usurping God's exclusive right to stand in judgment over others. You're taking the place of God." Jeff Purswell "If we have faith...

Review Job suffered because of his blamelessness, not because of his sin. It was to show that God is worthy of the worship of a man even when worldly goods are lost. Job did not suffer because of his sin, but he sinned in his suffering. Job's why questions lose their power when he encounters the greatness of God. "I had a million questions to ask God, but, when I met him...

The Complaint Job has come to the conviction that he does not live in a well-run world. What begins as a general lament before God in prayer gradually becomes a sinful complaint or charge before God, accusing him of mistreatment. If you, like Job, have suffered severely and even at times presume that you can better run the universe than God, lean in. The LORD has mercy fo...

Introduction CJ begins by recapping how far we have come in Job. In short: Job's suffering Job's "why question" Job's friends' accusatory (wrong) explanation for his suffering and Job's disagreement Chapter 28 interrupts the arguments between Job and his friends. It effectively ends the ongoing debate between them and allows the author to address Job's (and our) "...

Introduction Cyclical Discussions From chapters 4 to 19, the book of Job has been a series of three cyclical discussions between Job and his friends; each cycle has the same theology. His friends come with rigid, cold, cause-and-effect theologyyou do good, you prosper; you do bad, you suffer. In reality, a man's relationship with God cannot be determined by his circum...

Summary: CJ began by recapping Job 1-3. He highlighted Job's vividly described agony and explained how Job should humble us when we find ourselves complaining. Job's lament captures his fear that the worst has come to fruitionGod has abandoned him. But despite all of Job's suffering to this point, the worst may be yet to come. Satan slithers away and Job's closest compani...

Summary C.J. explains that we are about to venture into one of the darkest chapters in scripture (not the darkest). It lets us into the heart and mind of Job, a man undergoing unbearable misery. We transition from Job's obedient suffering to his lament before God. Job 2:11 13 Job's friends were legitimate friends. Little did they know, they would eventually be of no h...