This week, I want you to discuss what impacted you the most in this chapter (cite at least one passage). The love of God is incredibly vast, so focus on something that God reveals about His love through creation.
How does this knowledge affect your relationship with God and with others?
Hopefully this forum will be easier to use than the last one. You can see what you’re typing now!
so sorry did not mean to post that i didn’t know it didn’t post . I have never done it before
Be sure to refresh the page as you go, so you can see what is being added!
no worries! will love to hear your thoughts, sorry about the tech confusion!
The young ladies at Highlandville were impressed by the fact that even before creation, God knew what the outcome would be, and He created us anyway.
This is probably my favorite point about God’s love through creation! What is a verse that teaches us this?
I would say Romans 5:8
Great verse. God didn’t love us because we were easy to love, did He? We are called to imitate this. Look at Luke 6:31-36. Do we get any credit if we love the people who love us? Who loves those who are easy to love?
No, I know that sometimes we can be very annoying. Also no then they do not want to love us. If any one loves then at times whomever they love will be hard to love
True! We have to step beyond the kind of love the “sinners” show, and imitate Christ’s love. What are some practical ways we can love those who don’t love us?
Number one on my list is Matt 5:44 : Pray for them
It’s hard to be mad at someone when we’re praying for them, isn’t it?
also even sinners love those who love them Lk 6:33 says
From the lesson, Eph. 3:9-10 and Col. 1:16, and Gen. 1:26 tells us that they were all there at the beginning.
Perfect. Focus on Ephesians 3:9-10 for a minute. What specific group was part of God’s “eternal purpose?”
The church… Eph. 4:1 – Rom. 8:28-30
How does this effect the way we interact with the church? Some people say “give me Jesus but not His church.” Does this hold up with Ephesians 3:9-10? Should this change our faithfulness to the assembly?
no It says it was hidden from the beginning of the ages and now we get to be a part of that which has been hidden.
There are two specific analogies in the Bible about the relationship between Christ and His church. Can ya’ll come up with either of them? (and I may be missing some, so I’m excited to see which one’s you find!)
not off the top of my head
I also like this because we can never be perfect Rom3:23 I know i certainly am not. so we can still be loved and saved by him
um… I think, for me, that the most powerful part of this chapter was thinking about God having already known, before creating man, the tremendous sacrifice that it would take, to save us and keep us as His children. Revelation 13:8 says He was “slain from the foundation of world” and it’s a very powerful thing to me, to think that God created man even though He would be hated, by his own creation that he gave His own Son for… And for me personally it makes me wonder how I ever felt the nerve to turn from Him to my own way instead of trusting Him and obeying the one who gave His most precious possession for me…
Excellent verse. For me personally, this is one of the most powerful motivations for obedience. For some reason, I think we tend to think of the precious blood of Jesus as God’s afterthought, or backup plan. Jesus was the plan for all of eternity. The last part of your comment made me think of 1 Peter 1:17-21. What does Peter say we should know…?
”… that you were not redeemed with corrouptible things, like silver or gold from your aimless conduct recieved by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ w/o blemish & w/o spot
I love those verses. We were redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”
I don’t know how we can truly process this and still be disobedient. But, obviously, that’s very easy at times!
Cindy used these verses in her digging deep study with escaping by the blood
Perfect! I haven’t gotten there yet, you’re ahead of me! 🙂
Taking this discussion of the blood a step further…using Hebrews 10:26-31, think about what we do to the precious blood when we willfully sin.
same^^^
those verses have always been scary to me…
“trodden underfoot the Son of God”
They scare me as well. Hebrews 6:1-8 build on this as well. What else do we do to Christ when we choose to willfully sin?
so I have a question for you… Those verses aren’t talking about like singular willful sin, but a life of willful sin, right?
I think one possibly will hurt Him but if you don.t repent it will almost “kill” Him
EXCELLENT question Lindsey. We have to remember that Hebrews 6 is not the picture of a Christian who makes a mistake…(even a willful mistake). Hebrews 6 is talking about the Christian who FALLS AWAY (or to say it another way, stops walking in the light). Now, look at 1 John 1:5-10. What happens to our sins if we are walking in the light?
We discussed the importance of confessing our sins and admitting we still have struggles.
Good good. To whom do we have to admit our faults? (James 5:16, Matthew 6:12)
crucify and hurt Him again
It makes you realize what you.re doing when you sin willfully & you don’t want to do it
It insults the blood all over again
Great point Lindsey. Sin takes a distortion of the mind, and a false way of thinking. When we believe the truth, it effects every area of our lives. When we buy into lies, that’s when we forget about the precious blood of the lamb. What are some lies that we tend to buy into?
Our girls say… 1) believing that a young man struggling because of our immodest clothing is not our fault.
2) That “little” things won’t hurt or lead to bigger things… watching something you shouldn’t watch, one “little” lie, etc.
Our girls also say just like eating one “cotton candy” grape leads you to eat too many… (not that we’re doing that).
haha you all are the best!
Those are very common lies in our society, and unfortunately, even in the church. What are some practical things we can do to fight those lies? The main key is in Romans 12:1-3.
We are discussing that we should constantly be transforming our mind through regular Bible study… we are also discussing all the different ways to constantly keep the Word in our lives, such as reminders on our phone and different resources.
That is so practical! I believe that our generations have the LEAST excuse for not knowing our Bibles. Through our phones, we have the Bible in our hands CONSTANTLY. Yet, we know our Bibles less than previous generations. Let’s use our phones for good <3
Also, consider Hebrews 12:1-3 (this is specifics of Romans 12:1-3).
That is one thing I struggle with sometimes looking at things I shouldn’t
Thank you for admitting that! I think we all fall into that temptation at times. Sin is so accessible to us, it’s difficult to say no at times. Hebrews 12:1-3 tells us that the key to laying aside that sin is looking to Jesus. His love for us keeps us from desiring sin!
Also, accountability partners are wonderful to have. James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to one another!
I agree with the little things that we think we can keep from being big things later. that one can be super tough
is anyone else experiencing a weird time stamp on all the comments…?
yes
It’s not showing up on my page, sorry about that.
do u mean like it says 6 minutes ago
yeah, but I think it could be my computer because I’m not on my laptop and this computer is set too fast…
7 minutes too fast so I bet that’s my problem…
Does that make sense?
yes ma’am
Rebekah, could we go over the questions on react 1&2?
Yes ma’am! Great idea. Everyone, feel free to bring anything up!
React 1
a) vs 8
b) vs 9
c) vs 15
d) vs 16
e) vs 19-20
f) vs 21-25
Was God the Father alone in the creation? – No, He was not. Genesis 1:26-27, we see that God is speaking to someone, and uses the phrase “our likeness.”
Who was there with God in the beginning? – Even if it is not clear who is with God in the beginning, John 1:1-5 clarifies this. The Word was with God at creation…and as you read further in John 1, we find that the Word is the Son of God, the man Jesus.
Through whom was the earth made? – The earth was made through Jesus, Colossians 1:16, John 1:3
For whom was the Earth made? – The earth was made for Jesus – Colossians 1:16
Who holds the earth together? – Jesus holds the earth together – Colossians 1:17
What was the eternal purpose of God? – The church, which was carried out through Christ Jesus – Ephesians 3:9-11
Did Jesus know He was going to have to die when He created the universe? Was it only after man sinned that God came up with the plan for Jesus to die? – Jesus did know, because the plan was in place for all of eternity (Ephesians 3:9-11). Therefore, it was in place BEFORE man sinned.
Do you guys have any tips ( relating to reflect and relate 3) on how to tell a young adult about the word?
something my family has found helpful in doing personal Bible study is not just telling someone “this is right, this is wrong” but asking a question and then saying “here read this verse, and based on that, what is the answer to the question?” there’s a wonderful three part study for non Christians, I believe it’s called Back To The Bible. we’ve used it in personal studies before and it’s very effective. Hope that’s helpful!
the point is letting them find the answers themselves:)
This is a great discussion point, I’ll get to this later in the week! Thanks for bringing it up!
Lindsey brings up the essence of a proper Bible study! It is so important to lead them to the Scriptures, and allow them to find the answer themselves. This also keeps a Bible study from turning into an argument–it’s not your opinion against theirs, it’s an honest look at the Bible. Back to the Bible is great, and Fishers of Men is as well. There are MANY other great tools that will help you be able to lead a Bible study with a non-Christian. Also, don’t feel like you have to do it alone. Grab your friend, parent, elder etc., the person who (1) will be able to help you in your study, and will have scriptural contributions to add, and (2) will be able to make the person you’re studying with feel comfortable.
As for actually getting someone to agree to a study, it is important to be bold and honest when asking them for a study…don’t try to be subtle or they may feel like you’re tricking them.” One of my favorite conversation starters is…”So tell me about where you worshipped growing up.” or “Tell me about your religious background.” From there, you can say something to the effect of “That is fascinating! I’d love to talk with you more. Would you be willing to open the Bible with me and discuss that?”
Another great question, especially if it’s a close friend (where you already know their religious background) is: “Are you able to find much time to study your Bible?” If the answer if no, then you can say: “Life is so busy, I struggle with that too at times. Would you be open to finding a time once a week to get into the Word of God with me?” If the answer is yes, then you can say: “That’s wonderful! Would you like to spend some of that time studying with me?”
There are many ways to get someone to study with you, and you will be surprised at how many people are willing to do it! I hope this helps. There are many aspects to holding a Bible study with someone, so if you have any more specific questions that I can address…please feel free to ask!!
Ladies, thank you all for your wonderful input tonight! Time is officially up, but I will keep moderating as time allows. You had amazing insight, and great questions tonight, and I’m thankful for your hearts and time. Keep commenting and thinking through these things, and check back to see the new comments as the week goes! I’ll finish up going through React #2 tonight, see Kaitlyn’s post below.
Thank you so much Rebekah!!!:)
Thank you so much! I’m teaching this book with our teen girls at church, and this helps me so much with material!
I’m so glad! Feel free to get on the chatroom anytime, and ask any questions you may have. There are a lot of study points, and different ways to take the material. If I can help at all, please let me know.
Very good!
Thank you Rebekah so much for your time and effort Have a good night ladies and I am praying for all of you
God has provided everything for us so we need to realize that we are dependent and be thankful for what he has done. Jesus did not have to let the pharisees and scribes take him, drag him into court, strike him, spit in his face, take him to Pilot where He was sentenced to be flogged, then condemned to die, and taken up on the cross He was burdened by our sins till He cried ”It is finished”. I cant even begin to imagine having to go through that! It would be awful sometimes I feel we don’t realize what Christ actually did for us. This knowledge should affect us in our relationship with God to be more appreciative. And with others I realize we need to be more open with the gospel we need to take others to Heaven with us (that’s the only thing we can take with us). We need to show others the love of Christ tell them about what He did for us. Hopefully the can see his love, mercy, and forgiveness through us as well!
P.S.
I’m sorry I wasn’t present for the live chat I was at a teen devo at my youth ministers home.
With the love of the Lord,
Isabella Mason
Thank you for your insightful comment! Jesus’ act on the cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love. He certainly didn’t have to do it, but He chose to. This makes creation even more meaningful, as Jesus knew He would die for us, even as He was creating us.
I love how Genesis 2 describes, point by point, how we are dependent on God. It outlines all of the things that God gave to Adam, all things were crucial to his survival and ability to thrive. Thank you for bringing up our dependence!