How does Paul deal with his anger and handle the conflict he has with a brother in Christ? What can we learn about how church community is to relate to one another from this passage?
How might it be possible that two people can be right in one way and wrong in another? What are ways to disagree with another Christian without falling out with them?
The British philosopher and atheist, Bertrand Russell was once asked what he would say to God if he appeared to him after death and demanded to know why he had failed to believe. Russell answered, “Why did you not give me better evidence?”...
REFLECT: The psalmist describes people experiencing four different kinds of need and despair. For each, what choices did the person make that brought on the trouble? What drove them to desperation? What three actions are common to each of these situations? How did each person experience...
REFLECT: Amos 9:11-15 looked ahead to Israel’s restoration and this psalm looks back in remembrance of that time of God’s blessing. In what season of your life was God’s provision for you so clear that others could easily recognize it? Verses 4-6 find the psalmist in a...
PSALM 50 REFLECT: God’s justice will be evident throughout all of creation. What power exists when God speaks? (Genesis 1:3; John 1:1-3) In God’s eyes, what did his people get right? What were they lacking? How did the wicked fail? What did these two groups have in common? RESPOND...
REFLECT: God’s love, faithfulness, righteousness, justice, strength, joy and life are all described in verses 5-9 with a series of word pictures. Consider each one: what truth is conveyed in the intangibles underlying each image? How would you describe each of these characteristics of God...
REFLECT: Who is David, the author of this psalm, addressing in the beginning of this piece? Make a list of God’s essential characteristics that David wants to keep at the forefront of his thinking. Verses 13-18 contrast the temporal with the eternal. In your daily thought patterns, where...
PSALM 31 REFLECT: Choices matter, in the physical and in the spiritual realms. What is the intentional choice that the psalmist has made? Verses 1-8 describe four actions the psalmist has taken; list the blessings from God that flow in this expectant prayer. What do you think the...
REFLECT: Suffering and injustice troubled this psalmist as it did the prophet Habakkuk…and both brought their raw emotions and unanswered questions directly to God.