Bible Studies
Note: This Bible Study was originally published in the handbook of the "2004 CEM East Coast Churches Family Conference".
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Part I: Beyond the Everyday
Spin-Off Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:2-4, 8-14
1.) Give at least two reasons why you force yourself to wake up each morning to go through life the way that you do.
2.) How often have you asked yourself whether there was more to life than just those reasons? What type of answers have you given yourself, lately, if any at all?
3.) In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon reflected on life along with all of the things that are involved in it. Based on the passages below, how relevant do you think Solomon’s words are both to this generation and the world today? How relevant do you think his words are to your own life? Explain.
a.) Money: Ecclesiastes 5:10-12, 15.
b.) Self-Indulgence & Personal Accomplishment: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
4.) Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in the details of life to the point where we don’t even realize that we’re becoming secretly obsessed with them. When examining your own life, how much of it do you find is slowly being (or have already been) devoted towards those things mentioned in the passages above? If you placed this amount into a percentage, what percentage of your life would these things actually take up?
5.) Read Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. According to one of Solomon’s conclusions, we are to remember our Creator in the days of our youth. How does this apply in context to what was just read?
6.) So based on all that was discussed, what then is the meaning behind every person’s life, if it doesn’t lie in the things that Solomon mentioned before? Why is this important?
7.) Food for Thought: How much of your life could you admit is solely devoted towards God? How would a person actually go about devoting his life towards Him? Read Luke 9:23 and feel free to keep this in mind for Part II.
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Part II: Christ in Me is to Live…
Spin-off Verse: Luke 9:23
1.) What does it mean to devote one’s life to God or to “live” for Him? What are some of the things that usually come into mind when you hear this? Try to use your own words to answer this and not anything listed below.
Listed below, in italics, are the different aspects involved in living for God. As you answer each question, try to discuss how each aspect relates to another and how it contributes to living a life in Christ.
2.) Fearing Him. Read Deuteronomy 6:13 and Psalm 111:10. What exactly does it mean to “fear” God and how does fearing God fit into living for Him?
3.) Serving & Obeying Him. Try to list all the different ways a person can serve God. Overall, what should motivate a person to serve Him and how does a person “make” himself motivated? Is there actually a difference between serving God and obeying Him? If there is, then which one is more important? Read I Samuel 15:22.
4.) Trusting & Abiding in Him. Read Proverbs 3:5-6. What does it mean to trust and abide in God? Give some examples of this in relation to your own life or how it could be applied to it.
5.) Seeking Him. List the various ways a person can seek God. Overall, how long does it take a person to do the bare minimum of any of these each day? Now, how much time do you actually spend in doing any of these each week?
6.) Thanking Him. Read I Thessalonians 5:18, Hebrews 13:15-16, and Psalm 100:3. Why is it important to be thankful to God? How does being thankful to Him effect us, as believers?
7.) Putting It All Together: Based on what has been discussed, what then does it mean to live for God? Can a believer sincerely live for Him by only fearing and seeking Him without considering any of the other aspects of Christian living? Feel free to think about this and discuss it on your own.
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Part III: To Live, To Die, and To Gain
Spin-Off Verse: Philippians 1:21
1.) In the last two sections, we’ve discussed the meaning behind every believer’s life along with the means of living that purpose. But other than that, is that it? What does a believer actually gain in life by fulfilling his purpose to God? Go and read Galatians 5:22-26, Romans 5:1-5, and Philippians 4:4-7 and try to list your answers based on these passages and on your own experiences in life.
2.) In Philippians 1:21, Paul writes, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” If a believer has much to gain in life, by living for God, what then can a believer gain in death by living for Him? Read Matthew 6:19-21 and II Timothy 4:6-8. Overall, how does knowing and believing in this effect us, as believers?
3.) Read I Corinthians 3:7-15. Concerning what was discussed in the previous question, what does verses 12-15 mean? How does this relate to how we should live each moment in life? After answering this on your own, go and read I Corinthians 10:31.
4.) What do you think usually stops us from living for God or causes us to forget why we should live for Him? Why is it so easy to do this sometimes and how can this be changed?
5.) Closing Thought: Throughout the New Testament, Paul uses the analogy of running a “race” to describe the Christian life. Throughout Parts I and II, we’ve explored the meaning of the “race”, along with how we run it, and why we run it. In terms of your own race, where exactly are you? How have you been running it? Have you been running in the right direction? Think about it and pray to God for guidance.
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