Woodlawn Family Bible Study TUESDAY BIBLE READING: Genesis 32:22-32 Do you want to be blessed? That sounds like a rhetorical question, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t want to be blessed? I guess it really depends on your definition of “blessed.” Many people desire blessings that will make them wealthy or, perhaps, material goods. However, being blessed is not limited to those physical things. In fact, sometimes we can be blessed in the most unusual ways. For instance, in Genesis 32:26, we find Jacob wrestling with what we often call an angel. Within the story, Jacob is overtaking the angel and holding him down; refusing to let go until the angel gives him a blessing. The angel obliges Jacob, but not in the way he might have imagined. The angel changed his name from “Jacob” to “Israel,” but he also did something else. He put Jacob’s hip joint out of socket, causing him much pain and difficulty walking. In part, his blessing had to do with him walking with a limp. How is tha...
Woodlawn Family Bible Study SATURDAY BIBLE READING: Matthew 25:33-46; James 2:13-16 MAIN IDEA : “IS FEELING SORRY FOR SOMEONE IN NEED ENOUGH?” DISCUSSION : I think mercy, as it applies to our Christian responsibilities, might be defined as withholding judgment and doing good to all those in need. God tells us He will have mercy on us if we show mercy. What can we do today to start showing mercy to others? It is easy to have compassion on the poor, homeless and hungry people that we see every day. However, ask yourself this: Do I have enough compassion for this person to take action as Christ did? After all, isn’t mercy just compassion in action? If we don’t provide mercy to people who need our help we already know the consequences. Are we guilty of judging why someone needs our help? Do we try to justify our lack of action (mercy) because they don’t meet the threshold we have set within our own mind for us to show m...
Reading: Matthew 3 Text: Matthew 3.13-17 The baptism of Jesus has been looked at as problematic by some. If baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, why was Christ baptized? This is often asked by those who do not believe in the necessity of baptism in salvation. Consider a very simple argument for the baptism of Christ. If Christ had not been baptized there would surely have been people who would say, "Jesus wasn't baptized, so why should I?" Christ was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness" (3:15). Note that in Psalms 119:72 the Bible says, "all thy commandments are righteousness." This means Jesus was baptized to fulfill the commandment of God. We can draw the conclusion that Jesus was baptized because it was a commandment of God. Not for Jesus specifically, but for all people. Baptism is a command and Jesus felt He should be baptized to keep all the comma...
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