Old Testament 150 Rea ding Challenge week 22

Old Testament 150 Reading Challenge 5 May 2014 to 28th November 2014 Week 22: Bible Reading Plan and Discussion Starters

Welcome to The Salvation Army's Challenge to read
150 popular chapters from the Old Testament within 7 months,

reading just 5 chapters per week.  

 

Monday, September 29 , 2014 --- Job 4 --- One of Job’s friends speaks up  

-        The friend’s first speech carries on into chapter 5, what would you make of this if a friend of yours said such things after calamity came your way?

-        Is this the main teaching of the book of Job, to highlight that one’s difficulties in life are not necessarily the result of one’s own sin? 

 

Tuesday, September 30 , 2014 --- Job 40 --- God replies to Job  

-        V8-40, after much talking and consideration of whether or not Job is to be blamed for his own misfortune, or whether God’s fairness is to be challenged, we come to these verses…how would you summarise them?

-        Have you ever challenged God’s fairness or justice?...How might these verses help? 

 

Wednesday, October 01 , 2014 --- Job 41 --- God describes a magnificent creature  

-        What creature is being described here?

 

-        What do you think is the point that God is making in these verses? 

 

Thursday, October 02 , 2014 --- Job 42 --- God restores Job’s losses  

-        V6, Why does Job humble himself in this way?

 

-        There seem to be several lessons we can take from the story of Job. Can you summarise two of these?

 

-        V10-13, compare what Job now has to what he had before he lost everything (in chapter one). We are told that he had twice as much as before, and this seems to be true in every respect except his sons and daughters, where he ends up with just as many as he had before. Why do you think this is?...Could it be that God considers the deceased children as nevertheless still being his children?...If this is the case, how can this   story be used to help comfort those who are grieving the death of a loved one? 

 

Friday, October 03 , 2014 --- Psalm 1 --- A Psalm directing us toward holiness and salvation  

-        V1-3, do these verses provide the formula for living a life of holiness?

-        V2, can we fully understand and appreciate God mercy and salvation without first understanding how we have broken His law and need forgiveness?

-        V2, what does it mean to meditate on God’s word day and night?

-        V5-6, what is your motivation for telling people about Jesus?

 

Old Testament 150 Reading Challenge week 21

Old Testament 150 Reading Challenge 5 May 2014 to 28th November 2014 Week 21: Bible Reading Plan and Discussion Starters

Welcome to The Salvation Army's Challenge to read
150 popular chapters from the Old Testament within 7 months,

reading just 5 chapters per week.

 

Monday, September 22 , 2014 --- Esther 9 --- The celebration of Purim is instigated  

-        Why is the celebration of Purim still so important to Jews today?

-        What is the story’s relevance to Christians? 

 

Tuesday, September 23 , 2014 --- Esther 10 --- The story of Queen Esther, King Xerxes, and Mordecai concludes  

-        How many times is God mentioned throughout the book of Esther?

-        How would you summarise the story?

-        In what way can the book of Esther be used to teach us something about the nature of God, and about ourselves? 

Wednesday, September 24 , 2014 --- Job 1 --- Job is introduced, and his life becomes plagued by problems.  

-        V1-3, Why do you think it is significant to know these numbers? (The answer will reveal itself later on in the book.)

-        V6, Who is Satan?

-        V9-11, 20-21What about us?...do we only worship and praise God when things are going well for us?...How do we respond when things go wrong in our lives?

-        V22, is it a sin to blame God for things that go wrong? How can we tell whether something which has gone wrong might have a deeper, more important or better purpose?

-        What can we learn or apply to our own lives from this first chapter of Job?  

Thursday, September 25 , 2014 --- Job 2 --- Things get even worse for Job!

-        V1-6, Do you think God allowed Job to be so tormented purely to prove a point to Satan?...What other reasons might there be?

-        V6-7, If Satan had to have specific permission from God to be able to inflict these sores on Job, then is it reasonable to believe that our illnesses or afflictions in life cannot be induced by Satan without God’s permission? If so, how could this knowledge be of help in our times of trouble?

-        V13, Can you identify with the need for friends to sometimes just empathise without the need for words?  

 

Friday, September 26 , 2014 --- Job 3 --- Job expresses his feelings

-        Can you empathise with Job, and understand why he felt like this?

-        Have you ever felt like this?

-        If you were with Job at this moment in his life, what would you say or do?