Oasis of God

Do you ever get discouraged? Depressed? How about when it comes to Christianity, church, and the world? Begin to prepare for tomorrow’s message by reading Matthew 16.

Can you think of any more positive message than no matter how bad it may get, Satan loses – we win! I know that it’s sometimes hard to remember that simple fact when we get caught up in the difficulties of life on a day-to-day basis, but that is the truth that is our light at the end of the tunnel. What a comforting thought to know that it is a forgone conclusion that our story has a happy – perfect – ending! (Out of all of the different identities of Jesus, which one is your favorite? Lord? Savior? Friend?)

Have you ever been in the presence of someone famous or powerful? How did you act around them? Keep that thought in mind as you read Luke 2.

What does Mary call Jesus? How does she identify herself and Joseph? (Remember, Mary and Joseph know who Jesus really is!)

See what we can learn about who Jesus is by reading Matthew 1.

How does the angel describe Him in verse 23? Is it important that Jesus – God – came to live among us? Why?

Extra credit – What do you think Mary and Joseph called Jesus?

We’re familiar with Peter’s famous confession of, “You are the Christ,” but he had more to say about who Jesus is. Today’s reading will be from 2 Peter 1.

What does Peter call Jesus is verses 1 and 2? Is there a difference between Jesus being your God, your Lord, and your Savior?

Take a few moments to think about what each of these ‘identities’ of Jesus actually means to you. Do we have an awesome God, or what?!

Read John 1.

Who is Jesus according to this passage? Do you have trouble picturing Jesus being all of these different things?

Which of these is most important to you? Why?

Let’s start off our week by reading Matthew 16:1-20.

Jesus  has been working among the people for quite some time when these events take place. Do the religious leaders understand who He is? As a human, how do think that makes Him feel?

Why do you think He poses the questions in verses 13 and 15? Do you think He ever wondered if the people were ever going to ‘get it?’ (Take a quick look at Mark 9:19.)

Yesterday we looked Jesus making a strong statement/prophecy about “the” church – about “His” church. This week we’ll be looking at some of the other things that scripture can teach us about the church. Start your week off by reading Acts 2.

This chapter records the birth of the church under the new covenant. How did the church start? What were the leaders doing? What were the members doing?

What can we take from this passage and apply to our lives?

Begin to prepare for tomorrow’s message by reading Psalm 24.

Do you know who this chapter is talking about? It’s Jesus. How many different things does it tell us about Him?

Who is the king of glory? What does it mean to be the king of glory? (Did you know that the root word for glory means “to be heavy”? To have the weight of riches, of power, of authority.) So now what do you think about Jesus being the “King of Glory?!”)

As you read 1 Thessalonians 5 and 1 John 4, watch to see what the authors have to say about “testing.”

What does 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tell us to test? Why?

How about 1 John 4:1? Why?

Do we have any real excuse if we are led astray by false teaching? What is our best defense against false teachers?

False teachers are nothing new – they weren’t even new in Jesus’ day. Take a look at Ezekiel 13 for today.

Based on the first seven verses, what is the problem with the prophets?

You should always test what you hear against scripture. Just because something is said by a person in a suit, white lab coat, robe, or prayer shawl – it’s not necessarily the truth, or the whole truth. We live in a truly blessed time to have such easy access to the scriptures. (We have NO EXCUSE!)