Jude. Deeper Bible Studies. Life Changing, Life Application

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1 Deeper Bible Studies Life Changing, Life Application Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies?

2 Copyright Copyright 2010 by DBS Company. All rights reserved. This publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of DBS Company. If you chose electronic delivery of this publication, you are authorized to print up to the quantity purchased. If you chose physical delivery of this publication, you are not authorized to scan, print, or photocopy additional copies without additional purchase and/or the written permission of DBS Company. Trademark Acknowledgements Deeper Bible Studies and the DBS Company logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of DBS Company. Disclaimer This publication is provided without any warranty whatsoever, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Deeper Bible Studies office@deeperbiblestudies.com Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies?

3 Page 1 Study Guide Organization: Each Deeper Bible Studies study is organized the same way for the same reason... to provide context for the reading, to provide study questions to deepen your understanding of the bible, to help you apply the bible readings to your daily life, to help you memorize God s word, and to help put each study into action. We want you to change your life through the study, according to God s grace and perfect will. This is accomplished through the following sections found in each study: Make it Relevant Make It Relevant: The beginning of each study includes a Study Background. It provides context for the reading, such as who the letter was written to and what life was like when the verses were written. Context helps avoid misinterpretations and deepens your bible understanding. Read It Read It: This is the reading for the week. You will grow in knowledge and faith as you read God s word. You should be able to progress without feeling overwhelmed. We occasionally recommend additional readings in the Study It section to compliment, reinforce, and/or expand on a topic. These additional readings are optional, but encouraged to help you grow deeper in your study. Study It Study It: This section has questions to make you think and engage in the readings. We provide additional bible references that help clarify a question or add insight. By completing the questions, you will gain a richer understanding of the reading. During your group session, we don t expect you to address every question. However, during your personal study time, attempt to answer each question. Make It Personal Make It Personal: It s crucial to personalize each study. What can YOU take away from the study? How might this message apply to YOUR life? What can YOU learn from the reading? This is where you start turning head knowledge into heart knowledge. A personal relationship with God is only possible by making it personal. Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product: Study Guide

4 Page 2 Study Guide Memorize It Memorize It: Getting God s word off the page and into your heart and mind is key. You ll have an opportunity to share the verse with your group, so go for it! Remember, expressing the meaning of the verse is more important than getting every word right. So, if all you can do is paraphrase a verse, then paraphrase it. If you can completely memorize it, fantastic! Either way, make a good faith attempt to internalize God s word. Put It Into Action Put It Into Action: If you do a study and don t allow it to penetrate your life, then you are just spinning your wheels. Open your heart and allow yourself to change, even if it s a little change. You will find examples of steps to take, and have an opportunity to craft your own I Will... statement. Your group should support, encourage, and help you be accountable to God and each other. Use these tips to craft a good I Will... statement: Your action step should be simple, specific, measurable, observable, and achievable between each group session. Avoid action such as I will be a better person, or I will read the entire bible. A better action step would be I will call John this Wednesday and tell him how much I appreciate his friendship. Notice it s simple (make a call), specific (John, express appreciation), measurable (one call, this Wednesday), observable (someone could see you make the call), and achievable (not dependant on another person s involvement). Be realistic. If the action step takes longer than 30 minutes to fulfill, you should scale it back to something more manageable. Here is the key: Do It! Allow God to mold you into Christ-likeness. Leaders: We recommend you start each session with a spiritual song fitting the study to allow each member to calm their mind and open their hearts to God. Open and close each session with a prayer. Invite God to be part of your study. Don t feel compelled to answer every question or make every point. Select the most relevant questions and be open to discussing others of interest to the group. Encourage group discussion and balanced participation. Have everyone share their I Will... statements. Write them down and distribute them so your group can help each other fulfill their commitment. Save some time during your group session to collect Prayer Requests and have your group pray over these requests (either now or post-session as time allows). Lastly, HAVE FUN! Bible studies aren t supposed to be boring. God Bless Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product: Study Guide

5 Page 3 Study Background Make it Relevant Who was this letter written to? wrote this letter to the general audience of Jewish believers in Christ who were currently part of the church. was the brother of James (the current leader of the Jerusalem church and half-brother of Jesus). What was life like when these verses were written? The book of was believed to be written around A.D. and is often considered a parallel book to 2 Peter. It was written during a time where the church was experiencing some false teaching and falling away from the truth inside the church. urges his readers to passionately defend the faith and to persevere in the truth and grace of Jesus Christ. Make It Personal What does this mean to me TODAY? With the many ways that a person can receive teaching, (through church sermons, books, blogs, podcasts, word of mouth, etc...) it is increasingly important that we understand exactly what the Bible teaches. Otherwise, we might inadvertently begin to follow what the world teaches instead. reveals what false teachers look like, which is still relevant today. also teaches how to persevere in our own faith, and how to defend the truth of Christ. Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product:

6 Page 4 Read It Read the Study Guide Read Study Background Read 1:1-8 Study It Background: False teaching among the church today can be difficult to identify. Why is it critical to recognize false teaching and teachers in the church? What false teachers are you aware of? What s one way to recognize a false teacher? 3: pleas with us to contend for the faith..that was once and for all entrusted to the saints. This means that our faith is complete in Jesus Christ (there is no other revelation of God s plan). This faith is entrusted to His followers to keep it from being perverted or changed from age to age. What are some constructive ways to contend for (or defend)...god s truth in Jesus Christ? 4: criticizes false teachers who misinterpret God s grace and forgiveness as a free pass to sin. Why does call them godless? Have you witnessed others living immorally because of God s grace and forgiveness? 5: reminds us of the consequences of rejecting God and His teaching by providing some examples (Read Numbers 14:1-4 and 14:18-23 about the Israelites after being freed from slavery in Egypt). What were the Israelites saying about God through their grumbling? 7: Sodom and Gomorrah were towns in the Old Testament that had completely given themselves over to sexual immorality. God destroyed these cities in punishment (See Genesis 19:24-25) How does a life of self-indulgence and a preoccupation with pleasure separate us from God? 8: What are the consequences of our sin, even if we have received forgiveness by accepting Jesus Christ as our savior? Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product:

7 Page 5 Make It Personal 1: Being a servant to Christ can be demonstrated in many different ways. How are you being a servant to Jesus Christ through how you live? In what areas of your life are you not submitting fully to Christ? 4: We sometimes forget that God s grace and forgiveness is a gift; extended to us freely and not earned. By accepting Jesus Christ as your savior, you are receiving this gift. In return, you are submitting to His authority and will in your life. Where have you been tempted to sin because of the grace and forgiveness you have been guaranteed? 8: In what ways are you rejecting God s authority in your life? suggests sexual immorality pollutes our bodies (Read 1 Thessalonians 4:2-8 and 1 Corinthians 6:18-20) Why is it important to keep your body pure? Memorize It Memorize 1:3 Contend for the faith that was once and for all entrusted to the saints. (NIV) Would anyone like to share this verse, or another verse from memory that you found compelling? Put It Into Action Share one thing with your group members that you can commit to doing between now and your next group session to apply this study to your daily walk. Read the Study Guide for tips on crafting a good I Will... statement. Here are a few examples to get you started: I will pray to God daily; giving thanks for His grace and forgiveness in my life. I will fully submit to God s authority in the area of lust with my eyes. Write your action step below. I Will _ Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product:

8 Page 6 Read It Read 1:9-16 Study It 9: draws from a traditional story of the time, to make a comparison that even the great archangel Michael knew his own place of authority in heaven. Instead of himself judging Satan for his treatment of Moses, he deferred to God to bring judgement upon him. What is the importance of knowing our place of authority under God : Cain gave a half-hearted offering to the Lord, and murdered his brother (Read Genesis 4:1-12). Balaam was a soothsayer who knew the ways of the Lord, but rejected them for the pursuit of power and money (Read Numbers 22). Korah led a sinful rebellion against Moses (Read Numbers 16). These men disobeyed God, and suffered great punishment for choosing their own way over God s. In what ways do we disobey God in our culture and time? 12-13: describes false teachers as shepherds who only feed themselves and clouds without rain. What actions would you expect of a false teacher today? What would you expect to see from someone speaking truth through the Holy Spirit? 14-16: concludes his examination of ungodly teachers. He explained that they will be judged for their sins against the church. These men had self-serving, calloused, and unrepentant hearts. However, we are also sinners. When the Lord Jesus returns, do you believe you will be judged for your sins? Why or why not? What separates the sins of the saved from the sins of the unsaved? Make It Personal 9: Knowing that God has authority over all things is sometimes hard to accept. This is especially true over things like the judgement of someone who has wronged us (Read Romans 12:19-21). Why is it so important to not curse or judge others yourself? 10: This verse reminds us to evaluate the words from others and also ourselves. We should be very careful how we treat the word of God, particularly when we are teaching or leading others. Describe a time when you judged and spoke out against something when you didn t really understand all the facts? Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product:

9 Page 7 11: Jesus also warned about false teachers in his day, saying it would be better if they were never born (Read Matthew 18:7). Express why you think God is so serious about people who lead you astray? 12-13: doesn t mince words regarding the true character of false teachers among the church. He calls them blemishes at your love feast. A love feast in his day would be referring to a meeting of fellow believers to break bread and share communion. is warning believers, saying Hey, these men are among you, working undercover to mislead the church away from Christ. Be on guard or you might be misled next! What would you do if you discovered such deceivers within your church community? Do you think this is just as important today as it was in s day? Why? Memorize It Memorize 1:10 These men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals-these are the very things that destroy them. (NIV) Would anyone like to share this verse, or another verse from memory that you found compelling? Put It Into Action Share one thing with your group members that you can commit to doing between now and your next group session to apply this study to your daily walk. Read the Study Guide for tips on crafting a good I Will... statement. Here are a few examples to get you started: I will commit to read my Bible daily, so I can recognize false teaching in the world. I will share God s truth with my family to help them avoid false teaching in the world. Write your action step below. I Will Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product:

10 Page 8 Read It Read 1:17-25 Study It 17-19: now focuses on persevering in the face of false teaching. He issues a call to remember the words of the apostles who first prophesied about the future apostasy in the church. Why is it important for the church today to remember what God has done in the past, and what He says about the future of the church? 20-21: gives us the way to persevere in the midst of apostasy. How can you build yourself up in faith? What is the best way to keep yourself in God s love? 22-23: identifies three groups of people and how to treat them: 1) To those who doubt...be merciful 2) For others who have believed false teaching and are on the brink of disaster...go out of your way to save them 3) For those already consumed by their sin...be merciful and extremely cautious that you don t fall prey to their sinful ways (metaphorically, if their sin could rub off on their clothing, you would want to keep a safe distance from them) Why do you think being merciful to others is so important to God? 24-25: Jesus is the One who is able to keep us from falling. What do you think this means in context with persevering in the face of false teaching? What would falling look like? Make It Personal 17: s call to remember the past teaching of the apostles is good advice. The Bible also gives insight into the future. Can you share a specific example of how God s word helped mold your future behavior? 17-19: encourages us to be discerning and to combat attempts to compromise God s word. What are you willing to do to know what God says in the Bible? With internet, television, and computer access to both true and false teaching, how do you plan to filter out the good from the bad? Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product:

11 Page : It s easy to read the words of, and miss the literal direction they give: 1) Build yourself up in the holy faith 2) Pray in the Holy Spirit 3) Keep yourself in God s love 4) Wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ How can you act on each of these instructions? 1) 2) 3) 4) 22-23: How have you shown mercy to people in your life that are doubters of the truth? Memorize It Memorize 1:22-23 Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear, hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (NIV) Would anyone like to share this verse, or another verse from memory that you found compelling? Put It Into Action Share one thing with your group members that you can commit to doing between now and your next group session to apply this study to your daily walk. Read the Study Guide for tips on crafting a good I Will... statement. Here are a few examples to get you started: I will identify one person this week that I can snatch from the fire, and I will pray for God s help in doing so. I will read a page of the Bible every day this week to fill my heart, mind, and soul with God s truth. Write your action step below. I Will Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product:

12 Page 10 Journal Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product:

13 Page 11 Make it Better Study Evaluation We are constantly seeking to improve our studies and help you achieve a deeper relationship with God. Completing this evaluation will help us greatly. Please answer the questions below and then submit your evaluation online at: 1. How likely are you to recommend this study to a friend, your church, or another small group? (circle one) Not At Extremely All Likely Likely What are your main reasons for your answer to this question? 3. If your answer to Question 1 was a 9 or 10, what would you tell your friend, your church, or another small group about the study? 4. If your answer to Question 1 was between 0 and 8, what would it take to move your score to a 9 or 10? Copyright 2010 DBS Company. All Rights Reserved. Need more copies? Product: