Temple Teens » Day 4

SRC: The Pentateuch – Day 4

Pete — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:35:17 +0000

Today’s Chapters: Genesis 16-20

Pete’s Thoughts:

Genesis 16

I find it very interesting and very reflective of who we are that in this chapter Abram decides not to wait on the Lord for an heir anymore but takes matters into his own hands. Since Sarai is baren she tells Abram to have a child with her handmaid, Hagar and a whole mess of problems insues. How often are we like this. We have no patience with how things are turning out so we try to rush God and make things happen on our own. And the problems insue. If we learn to have patience and wait on the Lord, He will never fail in His promises.

Genesis 17

Here we have the changing of the names of Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah. It is also in this chapter that God reaffirms His promise to Abraham that he will be a father of many nations. God then displays His greatness in allowing Sarah and Abraham to have children at the age of 90 and 100, respectively. Nothing is impossible for God.

Genesis 18

If God were discuss with you the fate of the nation, like He did with Abraham in this chapter, would He find 50 righteous people in the nation? What about your city/town? Would you be counted as one of them? What needs to change?

Genesis 19

This chapter contains one of the saddest stories in Genesis and is proof that a godly Christian can fall into a lifestyle of sin. Lot looked at the world and liked what he saw and kept moving towards it until he was so deeply involved with it he could not pull himself and his family out. In one day, he lost all his “friends”, his wife, and his dignity with his daughters. We need to be reminded that sin takes us farther than we ever want to go.

Genesis 20

Once again, we see God taking care of Abraham even when he is doing his own things. Abraham has chosen to lie to those around him so that he is not killed and yet we see that an ungodly man has more character and integrity than Abraham – the example of a righteous man. When the world looks at you as a Christian, do they see any difference?

SCR: The Psalms – Day 4

Pete — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:08:23 +0000

Today’s Chapters: Psalms 16-20

Pete’s Thoughts:

Psalm 16:5

I love the words David uses in this verse to describe our relationship with God. He is our inheritance, not some rusty trinket your grandmother leaves you when she dies. He is our cup, the source of our sustenance and provisions. He maintains our lot, we don’t have to worry about what will happen, God is the one in control of all that we need!

Psalm 17:6

It is a great thing to be able to call upon the Lord but it is an even greater thing to be able to call upon the Lord and know that He hears you!

Psalm 18

Count the number of times David refers to God’s power in this psalm. Count the number of times God protected David in this psalm. Count the number of times David talks about the characteristics of God in this psalm.

Psalm 19:1

The wonder of the night sky has stopped many men in their steps as they view vast expanse of the heavens. This verse tells us this awe inspiring sight declares the glory of God. Next time you are out at night, stop and stare for a while at the glory that is displayed each night for you and behold that you have a glorious God!

Psalm 20

This psalm reminds me of something a parting family member would say. Encouragements and remembrances that our God is good.

Scripture Reading Challenge – Day 4

Pete — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:00:24 +0000

Today’s Chapters: Matthew 16-20

Download: .doc | .pdf

Chapter 16:

When Jesus tells His discples to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” what did they think He was talking about? Why did they think this? What was Jesus really talking about? How did He show them this is what He was talking about?
When Jesus asks the disciples who men say that He is, in verse 13, what was their response? When He then asks who the disciples say He is, what is Peter’s response? Where did this response come from?
What are the next words of Peter that we have recorded? What is the difference between these two statements of Peter?
What does Jesus tell His disciples to take up in verse 24? Why would this seem like such a strange thing for them to do? Was this item a nice and pretty thing to carry? What did it imply about the person carrying it? How does this apply to the life of a Christian? What does Romans 12:1-2 say about this?
What do you think the key point of this chapter is? How does this apply to your life?

Chapter 17:

Who were the three discples to go with Jesus up on the mountain? Why do you think He took just these three? If you were one of the twelve disciples, based upon the way you are living your Christian life, would He choose you to go with Him?
When questioned about Elijah, what does Jesus say? How does this relate to what we read yesterday in Matthew 11:14?
What does Jesus teach about taxes in verse 24-27? Does He pay His taxes? How does He get the money for it?
What do you think the key point of this chapter is? How does this apply to your life?

Chapter 18:

Who does Jesus say will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? What does this say about all of our ambition to be the greatest? What should we be doing instead? What should we do with things that cause us to sin? What are of the things in your life that cause you to sin? According to what Jesus said, what are you going to do about them?
What does Christ say we need to do when a fellow Christian sins against us? What if he doesn’t listen to us? And if he doesn’t listen to them? Do we do this today? What do we often do instead? Is this the correct way to handle the situation? What must we do to change this?
Jesus ends the chapter by answering Peter’s question about forgiveness. Is forgiveness an important thing? In the story Jesus told, which character are we? Why are we like this? How can we change this?
What do you think the key point of this chapter is? How does this apply to your life?

Chapter 19:

In chapter 19, the Pharisees try to trick Jesus. Did they succeed? What topic did they discuss? What does Jesus say about this topic? Is the how the world views this topic, today? Is this how the Church view this topic, today? Which one is the correct view? Is this your view? If not, why not? What are you going to do about that?
When discussing with the young man how to have eternal life, Jesus told him to keep the commandments. Which ones did Jesus list? Why did He list only these six? What was the young man’s response? What did Jesus then tell him to do? Why was the young man sorrowful?
Does Jesus tell His disciples that a rich man cannot enter the kindgom of heaven? Why is this the case?
What does Jesus say in verse 26? What is the context of this statement? Why should this be an encouragement to us? What do we need to do with this information?
How does verse 30 relate to chapter 18?
What do you think the key point of this chapter is? How does this apply to your life?

Chapter 20:

How many times, in the chapters that we have read today, does Jesus predict His death and resurrection? Do you think it was important to Him? Why? Why does He tell His disciples about it so many times? Did they understand what He was talking about?
What does Jesus say about greatness in chapter 20? How many times has He mentioned this? Do you think He is trying to make a point to His disciples? What is that point? Does that point apply to us today? How? What does this mean to how we view each other in the Church? What should we be doing for each other? Are we doing that now? What do we need to change to do that better?
What do you think the key point of this chapter is? How does this apply to your life?

What are your thoughts, so far, about the study? Anything interesting from these chapters jump out at you that were not covered in the study? Leave a comment for further discussion!