Week 4 - Thessalonica, Berea & Athens

Transcription

1 Week 4 - Thessalonica, Berea & Athens Thessalonica And Paul reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead Acts 17:2-3 Powerful Rejection Berea Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Acts 17: Athens So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Acts 17: Live it Give it :4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 17:12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 17:34 but some men joined him and believed Page 28

2 Day 1 In Acts 17 we found the need for great heart work in our own lives. Live it 1. Teachable Heart 2. Wise Heart 3. Scriptural Heart Give it 1. Compassionate Heart 2. Wise Heart 3. Gospel Driven Heart We will take the next three days to dive in a little deeper in these heart areas. Read over this list of different heart needs and prayerfully ask the Lord to reveal the two He wants to lay on your heart this week. Go back and highlight or circle them. In the Old Testament book of 2 Kings we can read about a difficult time in the history of the people of God. The once great nation had divided and the throne was ruled repeatedly by kings who did not follow the Lord. However, there were a few kings in the southern nation, Judah, who sought the Lord. Today we will take a look at one of them, Josiah. Turn to 2 Kings 22 and read verse 1&2. Josiah is young when he becomes king but his rule is very memorable. Josiah has men of his kingdom begin to repair the temple. While they are doing so they have an important discovery. Read 2 Kings 22:8-10 The word of the Lord is discovered and read to Josiah. What response does Josiah have? (22:11-13) Josiah is heartbroken to hear that his nation has not been following the Lord. Of the five heart needs listed above which do you see true of Josiah? Page 29

3 His heart was teachable for sure and then we see a second heart need in his next move. Read 2 Kings 23:1-3. What heart need to you see pictured here? Josiah s heart was teachable and Scriptural. He set his heart and the hearts of his people on the Lord through Scripture. How is your heart in these two areas? In what way is the Lord calling you to grow? Prayer - Using 2 Kings and Josiah as an example and prayer inspiration, finish your time with the Lord today by asking Him to give you a teachable heart that is set on Scripture. Page 30

4 Day 2 We are doing heart work this week. :) Today we are going to soak in a beautiful passage, Psalm 119:9-16. Read through it and then take time to reflectively write it out. When we go through the process to write out Scripture and do so thoughtfully, it is a form of meditation. You can write the verses out in this workbook, in a journal, on card stock, on a chalk wall anywhere that would be encouraging to you. a few questions to consider: 1. How does the author keep his way pure? Keep your Heart with all vigilance for from it Flow the springs of Life Proverbs 4:23 2. How much of his heart seeks the Lord? 3. What does storing up the word in your heart mean? The Psalmist paints a beautiful picture of a Scriptural heart! If you have time you can read all 176 verse of this Psalm and see this in every verse. Prayer - Choose one of the verses from Psalm 119 and make it your prayer for today. Page 31

5 Day 3 Today we are going to turn to the book of Matthew and be inspired by the Lord Jesus. Find and read Matthew 9: In verse 35 what two things are we told Jesus was doing? 2. Reread verse 36, what heart did Jesus have that we have labeled as one of our heart needs? Jesus had a heart of compassion. He saw the people and saw their need and he felt compassion for them. Jesus sees us with that same compassionate heart. As he looks at your life today, what do you think he sees that moves him to compassion for you? Know that He sees it! Our challenge from this passage is to have eyes of compassion as Jesus did. Go back to page 20 of this workbook and read over the names you listed. As you do so pray that the Lord will give you a compassionate heart for these individuals, especially the ones you circled or highlighted. 3. In Matthew 9:37 Jesus gives us a command to pray. What are we to pray for? You may be the laborer the Lord is sending to some of those on your page 20 list. He definitely wants you to be praying that he will send a laborer. Prayer - Close today by praising the Lord that he sees you with compassion. Ask him to give you compassion for those he has put in your life and ask him to send laborers to them. (it might be you :-) ) Page 32

6 Day 4 Paul s life is extensive. In our 8 week study we will not be able to cover all of his life in detail. Today and tomorrow you are going to read through a few areas that we will not be covering in our teaching time, but it will help you to know events in his life and prepare you to hear from the passage that we will dive into in our next teaching time. Today read Acts 18:1-17 listing the encouraging things that happened for Paul in Corinth. In Acts 18:9 Paul receivers the blessing of a promise from the Lord. What did this promise include? One of the gifts Paul received in these verses was the gift of companionship. Verse two tells us of Priscilla & Aquilla and verse ten tells us that there were man in the city who are the Lord s people. Companionship in the gospel is a blessing. Prayer - close your day by thanking the Lord for those he has brought into your life who are companions in the gospel. Page 33

7 Day 5 Read Acts 19:8-20 What examples in this passage do you see of powerful acceptance and powerful rejection? Powerful Acceptance Powerful Rejection Prayer - This week in our teaching time we will take a closer look at powerful rejection that Paul receives. Ask the Lord to prepare your heart for our teaching time. Page 34