Run With Horses

Can you Lead A Bible Study?

Can You Lead a Bible Study?
Hopefully most of you answer that question with a resounding YES!
It’s not that hard but it is extremely important.
Basic Bible study, for beginners.
What?What do we mean by a Bible study? What we don’t mean:-- You don’t have to have all the answers.-- You don’t have to go through a devotional book.-- You don’t have to be a seminary graduate or pro.-- You don’t have to have an extensive library of resources.-- It doesn’t mean guessing at the meaning of the Bible passage.
What we do mean:-- You have a group of friends you enjoy being around and are willing to have spiritual conversations with.-- You are reading your Bible and growing. You have learned something from the Bible that has helped you in the past.-- Willing to invest time and energy in other people with the Bible as the center. The Holy Spirit is the teacher.-- Basically, it’s reading the Bible with other people and talking together about what God has to say.-- Being willing to say, “I don’t know. Let’s look into that.”-- Accepting that God doesn’t give you every answer for every question you ask in as much detail as you might want.
Who?Everyone!Everyone who wants to grow in Christ-likeness. Everyone who has Christian friends who you want to see grow.Everyone who has unsaved friends who you’d like to meet Jesus.
How do you define a mature Christian? Certainly being able to talk about God’s Word to others would be a requirement.-- Example: How Dottie Hatfield passed the opportunity on to me, though I didn’t feel ready, was clueless.
Why?The church needs more mature Christians. Having more people to lead Bible studies means more people are actively growing from both sides, as teachers and as students. You grow more when you are the teacher than as a student. It helps you learn to put biblical truth into your own words.
Everyone will benefit from being part of a small group of people who are actively discussing the Word of God.
Often understanding the personal application requires some discussion and thought.

Are You Building a Biblical Foundation

Building a Biblical Foundation
 
If the Gospel is our foundation that we never leave and prayer is a foundational activity of a disciple maker, certainly biblical knowledge and pursuit of obedience to God’s Word is right up there in importance.
 
We know the Gospel from time in God’s Word
 
We Know about prayer, that we can and that we do through the name of Jesus because God has revealed it in His Word.
 
We know who God is
 
We know God’s love of us
 
We know God’s will for our lives. It’s not hidden!
 
Ephesians 5:15-20
 
2 Peter 3:9
 
1 Timothy 2:3-4
 
1 Thessalonians 5:18
 
1 Thessalonians 4:3
 
1 Peter 2:15
 
Hebrews 13:20-21
 
The Bible reveals God to us, as well as reveals God’s plan for us. He wants what is best for us. Trust Him and read His word to know what that will is.
 
He gives us a glimpse of the future in His presence, without suffering, without pain, in a relationship with the creator that we were intended to have with Him.
 
 

The Prayer of a Disciple Maker

The Prayer of a Disciple Maker
 
Personal
God help me grow.
Recognize how much I need you.
Be sensitive to the work you are doing in me.
Be sensitive to the work you are doing through me.
 
Outward Prayer.
 
The Church Family
That I will be an encourager.
That I will grow in my ability to live out the one another’s in my church family.
That I will be a servant to my local church and the universal church, wherever we connect.
 
The World.
That I will be salt and light.
That I will be sensitive and aware of those God is working in around me.
That I will bring glory to the name of Jesus by my life. Actions, Words, Relationships, and Attitudes.
That I will be a good ambassador for Jesus.
 
Pray for specific people.
Men in your church. Men in your community who are believers but part of other fellowships.
Men in your life who don’s yet know Jesus. At work, in your neighborhood, those you exercise with or enjoy your hobbies with.
 
Pray for specific things in their life.
Spiritual growth and maturity but what does that look like in their life? What is their next step? Look up the Engel’s scale. Consider each person in your life and prayerfully consider how you can help them make steps toward Christlikeness.
Pray for the salvation of the unbelievers in your life. Where are they in their understanding of who Jesus is? What is the conversation that they need to have next? Pray you are ready for it!
 
Pray that you will be ready and willing to do your part! Put feet on your prayers!
 

How is your Prayer Life? God wants to hear from you!

Prayer
Jesus is the foundation for prayer.We talk to God and and heard and answered because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. God wants to hear and answer the prayers of His children!
Prayer is talking to God. The Holy Spirit helps us prayer when we don’t know what or how to pray.Prayer is natural, just talking to God, but there is also the opportunity to practice and improve in our prayer life. Study the prayers of Paul and David!
We pray in His name.We are able to pray because He opened the way, tore the temple veil. We pray because He offers us help and comfort.We pray because He calls us friends.We pray because He offers us forgiveness.We pray because He offers us strength.We pray because He gives our lives meaning and purpose.We pray because often there is nothing else we can do!
Practical Tips:Keep a prayer journal.Write out key things you want to pray about before you start.Read a Psalm and pray along with it. Works with other passages too!Pray with a friend.Pray through the attributes of God.

Jesus IS our Firm Foundation!

 
Jesus IS Our Firm Foundation
 
Who Jesus IS matters most!
God!
Creator!
Savior!
Friend!
 
What Jesus has done in the past:
Creation.
Lived life as an example to all believers.
Called and trained disciples – gave us the priority and the method.
Taught biblical truth in the context of life.
Took our sins on Himself and died in our place, purchasing our freedom from sin!
He went to the grave and rose again 3 days later, proving once and for all that our Hope in Him is not in vain. He won the victory over death and the grave.
He sent His Spirit to be in us and live with us forever.
He gave us His righteousness.
He accepted us as His bride, the body of Christ, the church.
He gave us a purpose for life – joining Him on this fantastic work of reconciling people to God.
Blessed us in the heavenly places will all spiritual blessings, given us all we need for life and godliness.
 
 
What Jesus is doing in the present:
Interceding on our behalf.
Preparing a place for us for eternity.
Mediator between God and man
 
What Jesus will do in the future:
Come to take us home!
Reign over all the earth with us.
Be praised and exalted forever.
 
 

Have YouLeft Your Foundation?

The Gospel is Our Strong Foundation
 
What is the Gospel?
First, the Bad News… We are broken, separated from God and His design for our lives by sin.
 
The Good News!
God IS!
God is INTENTIONALLY working in the world.
He loves us!
Jesus lived as an example for us, died as a sacrifice for us, was buried in a grave and rose again – victorious over death and offering us LIFE and HOPE.
 
Why is it so important?
What makes this foundation, so foundational for a Christian?
It recognizes God’s work in our lives and in the world. It points the glory to God and gives us a purpose for our pain and trials. It gives our lives meaning and hope.
 
How do we maintain it?
A foundation needs to be maintained to prevent corrosion and decay.
Spiritual growth is a result of God’s work in our lives.
 
How do we build on it?
A foundation is meant to support a structure. In this case a life.
Practice. Follow Jesus in the little things to learn to follow Him in the big ones. The practice of obedience grows our faith.

Why Do We Resist Change?

Why Do We Resist Change?
 
Change is scary for most people. “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me” carries the implied need for change. You have to make different choices. Denying yourself in anything is a big change for most of us. Choosing to serve in any way is another change. Following Jesus is giving the reigns of your life to someone else is a life of constant change. There are some good reasons why we make it more difficult than it has to be though. If you want to grow, to become the person God intends for you to be, you need to change. Here are some things to be aware of as you pursue the change that God is working in your life.
 
1. Too much too soon.
It is easy to see our failures and jump in to change everything at once. That usually doesn’t work.
It helps to prioritize the needs you see in your life and attack one at a time. At least commit to one and develop new routines or habits in one area before adding too many others. Don’t make it harder on yourself than you need to!
 
2. Not connecting related problems or not attacking the root issue.
If we make a change in an area that is influenced heavily by other decisions we make, we may find ourselves fighting a loosing battle to change something that is an uphill battle.
IE. trying to address your financial problems without addressing your spending habits.
 
3. All people tend to seek out the easy route naturally. That is usually the way we are familiar with already, no change or learning required.
You already know how to do things one way. Change means learning a new way and developing a new way of looking at life and responding to difficulties. Everyone prefers level ground, no one wants to run uphill. But the view is better from there!
 
4. Not sure why we need to change. If you don’t understand the goal clearly, or believe in it, you may find yourself lacking motivation when faced with a difficult change.
Why is this change important for you? If you can’t answer that you will struggle to make the change. Spend time thinking through and examining your life, identify meaningful change areas and make sure you understand why it is necessary before you begin.
 
5. Not having SMART goals.
Specific. Measurable. Actionable. Realistic. Time-specific.
Vague thoughts about doing better don’t usually work.
 
6. We often give up to soon. Deep, meaningful life change takes time and effort.
Anything worth doing will take time and effort. Don’t give up just because you don’t see results overnight. If you have thought through your WHY, stick with it when times get tough. There is a reason you are going through the trial.
 
7. We often try to change other people. That isn’t in your control.
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone did the right thing all the time? Sorry, we don't live in that world yet. Encourage people to change, help them when they will let you, but don’t let others inability to change keep you from being the person God intends for you to be!

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