Fall 2017 Bible Study-YAY... we are off!Face-to-Face- THIS WEEK- Tuesday, September 26th (2nd Floor- Main Library)Online: Next Week, Tuesday, October 3, 2017 (a link will be sent)
Fall 2017: The Quest (Beth Moore)
Timeframe: September- December 2017
Overview:
Learn to pray to promote intimacy with God.Explore questions and responses from the Bible.Track your quest by journaling along the way.Learn to read and respond to Scripture.
Ordering: $14.99--To purchase your copy please visit Lifeway -- See link HERE=> The Quest- Study Journal (An Excursion Toward Intimacy with God)
Want to participate with us? Complete the Fall 2017 Registration
Let's GO!...
Ephesians 6:18 tells us that praying at all times in the Spirit, will infuse the armor and through the Holy Spirit we will be given the strength we need to be the ambassadors (the warrior princesses) to fulfill our ministry He has called us to for this time; this season
1. What's A Quest Without Questions?
Have you ever been lost? You know, you planned the trip or got the map, checked your Google Map (MapQuest), GPS and thought you had everything all planned out. BUT... somewhere along the way, you got lost! The audacity! Now if you were traveling with someone you may have started to blame them slightly for the confusion. Comments like,
"Did you read the map right?"
"You had one job, what happened?"
Now, I'm sure none of these comments were ever vocalized, no arguments ensued, but let's be real for a moment, didn't things get a little bit tense for a second? If not, I'm giving you a "that a girl/guy" applause because unlike you, in those situations, my first response is typically not a "that's okay". Don't get me wrong, I eventually get there, it's just not typically the first response!
Anyway, back on course (I seemed to have gotten lost in the story ( a pun on words!). Think about the planning and mapping we do for most trips. Think about the questions we ask if you have ever have gotten lost? Think about your emotions when you were lost (calm, anxious). Well, just like our lives, our story, our Christian walk, our relationship with Christ is a quest. Our life of faith is a journey that we sometimes believe we have control over. A journey that we sometimes believe we are walking alone, but the reality is that God has and will always be walking right beside us AND (psst...can I share with you a little secret), HE is in control, not us.
Speaking of relationships, like all relationships, there's the element of "the conversation". You may not know it, but God has given us specific guidance on question asking (another play on words that you will see further down, keep reading). You see in Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus tells us how to not only ask, but how to find and receive. Simply put, Jesus tells us how to A- S- K. Take a look:
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Keep in mind, asking our questions is not a one-sided equation. You see, God also asks us questions. Check out the questions posed to Adam/Eve; Job; the disciples? Yes, while we can ask our questions, God will ask His as well. Throughout our next couple of months of conversation, reading, journaling, and praying think on the following questions (Genesis 3:8-11, John 1:38, Matthew 8:26 and Luke 11:13):
WHERE are you?WHO told you that? WHAT are you seeking?WHY are you afraid?How much more?
You'll find, these foundational questions have existed at every part of your walk of faith. The question I ask you, dear princesses,
"Have you taken the time to slow down to hear the response?"
2. Asking, Seeking, Knocking: A Necessity For The Journey
An Adventurous Journey- No Risk; No Gain
Beth Moore comments in the opening video of "The Quest", that a "quest is more than a trip", a "chivalrous enterprise in medieval romance usually involving an adventurous journey". On any adventure, there are risks and danger. Along our journey, we are bound to have highs and lows, but it's not about the highs and lows. The risk we take can't even begin to compare to what we gain- more of Christ and less of us. The gain of becoming a woman after God's own heart; the gain of patience, endurance, confidence, trust, and faith; the gain of a relationship with Christ. You see on this adventurous journey God is calling us to join Him in the quest, to be the salt and light to this world. To show the world that there is more ~ He is our more. For who is like the Lord, nobody.
3. 40 Week Prayer Challenge (content for the reading plan is taken from Redeemed by Angela Thomas-Pharr; adapted for GO! and courtesy of LifeWay Women, 40 Days of Prayer 2017);
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are called to "pray without ceasing". Here's your Week 36 Scripture for meditation and prayer... Ready?
Week 36 - Ask, Seek and Knock - A Necessity on the Journey
Step 1, Read Psalm 120-124
Step 2, Read the Prayer for You below
Father, may Your presence be our first priority. Teach this one to live in Your presence. Run back to Your presence. Yearn for Your presence. Comfort her there. Restore her. Change her. Give her joy. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Step 3, Take a few moments to quiet yourself and Pour Out, Pour In and Pour Forth- PRAY
Oh, princesses of faith...remember
Prayer “empowers and ‘charges up’ every other piece so they can be used effectively against the enemy. Without prayer… your armor, cannot, will not, be infused with the power that only God’s-Spirit can give."
Closing Thought-
Know that through the Holy Spirit you can:
do things you couldn't;feel things you didn't; andknow things you wouldn't.
NEW GO! PLAYLIST....For your praise and worship:
GO! 9/25/17- New feature, contains a playlist of songs and Books of the Bible (from Bible Project) for your praise and worship time.
Housekeeping:
The Quest- Study Journal (An Excursion Toward Intimacy with God)Registration (Face-to-face- This Week- September 26; September 19 (Online)- October 3)
Remember, each day is an opportunity for us to...
Lead, Serve and GO!