MEDITATION

BIBLE STUDY SUGGESTIONS
Women In The Old Tesrtament	Women In The New Testament
Eve	Mary, Mother of Jesus
Deborah	Elizabeth
Esther	Mary and Martha
Sarah	Priscilla
Miriam	Lydia
Rehab	Mary Magdalene
Hannah	Phoebe
Ruth and Naomi	Anna
Rebekah	Dorcas
Un-named Women
Woman at the well
Woman with the issue of blood
Woman accused of adultery
The bent-over Woman
The Canaanite Woman
Potiphar's Wife
Men In The Old Testament	Men In The New Testament
Abraham	Peter
Jacob	James
Joseph	John
Noah	Joseph
Moses	Paul
David	Timothy
Joshua	Luke
Jeremiah	Mark
Also, the parables make excellent Bible studies. Here are a few suggestions:
Jesus' Parables of Grace
The Sower, The Seeds, and The Soils - Mark 4: 1-9 (Broadcasting the Seed) The Prodigal Son - Luke 15: 11-32 (Anxious to love, quick to forgive and eager to reconcile) The Unjust Judge - Luke 18: 1-7 (What we count on from God) The Good Samaritan - Luke 10: 25-37 (Eyes too busy to see) The Least of These - Matthew 25: 31-40 (Do everything as if you were doing it for our Lord)
Jesus' Parables of Life
The Laborers in God's Vineyard - Matthew 20: 1-6 (God is generous and He wants us to be generous) The Pharisee and the Publican - Luke 18: 9-14 (Plugging into the Power Source) The Weeds Among the Wheat - Matthew 13: 24-30 (Watch those over-reactions!) The Ten Pounds - Luke 19: 11-26 (Use it or lose it) Dives and Lazarus - Luke 16: 10-31 (The one thing more costly than caring is not caring) The Unmerciful Servant - Matthew 18: 21-35 (Lord, help me forgive.)
Jesus' Parables About Discipleship
Unconditional Love - Luke 15: 11-24 (What is the Good News?) Humility - Luke 14: 7-11 (Presumptious religion) Service - Matthew 25: 14-30 (You want me to play second string?) Vision - Luke 11: 33-36 (The parable of the lighted candle) Listening - Mark 4: 1-9 (God speaks and the church is our hearing aide.) Action - Matthew 25: 14-29 (Use it or lose it)
Jesus' Parables of the Lost and Found
The Lost and Found Sheep - Luke 15: 1-7 The Lost and Found Coin - Luke 15: 8-10 The Lost and Found Son - Luke 15: 11-32 The Lost and Found Gifts - Luke 15: 11-24 The Lost and Found Elder Brother - Luke 15:25-32 The Lost and Found Celebration - Luke 15:15-24
Jesus' Parables About Priorities
The Pruority of Love - Luke 15: 11-32 (Looking for love in all the wrong places) The Priority of Grace - Luke 15: 11-32 (Amazing Grace) The Priority of being Prepared - Matthew 25: 1-13 (When crisis comes) The Priority of Courage - Matthew 25: 14-30 (Locked in a room with open doors) The Priority of Forgiveness - Matthew 18: 21-35 (Why should we forgive?) The Priority of Strong Foundations - Matthew 7: 21-29 (Building on a rock)

A Sample Bible Study - The Promises of God

Introduction

What is a promise?
The dictionary gives several definitions of the word promise:

1. An assurance given by one person to another that the former will or will not do a
specific act.
2. Reasonable ground for hope or expectation, especially of future excellence or
Satisfaction; as a youth of great promise.
3. Something promised; the fulfillment or obtainment of that which is promised.
4. To engage or covenant to do or not to do; also, to make a promise to (a person)
As that one will give or yield something.
5. To give ground for hope or expectation.

When a person makes a promise to you, what are your expectations?
How seriously do we take making a promise?
How easily do we make promises?
Do we sometimes make a promise and unconsciously never really intend to keep it?
Have you ever given a promise that wasn't kept? How did you feel?

During the course of a lifetime, we make many promises. A promise might take many forms. A promise can be implied, written, signed or sealed with a handshake. How long do promises remain? Some are nullified by mutual agreement or by the courts, and some are sustained by law. Some expire, and some last forever.

Theologians estimate that 30,000 to 36,000 of God's promises have been identified in the Bible. Approximately 7.500 of these were made by God to humankind. God's promises offer guidance for everyday conflicts, for all types of problems, and for salvation through Jesus Christ.

God said to Abram, 'To your offspring I will give this land". What an incredible claim! Abram is an old man. His wife Sarai is well past childbearing years. Yet, here is God making promises about children that are no longer hoped for but have instead become a painful reminder in the hearts of both Abram and Sarai of dreams unfulfilled. Rather than railing at God for a promise that seems impossible, Abram builds and altar in the place where these words of hope are shared so that God can be worshipped there. Abram trusts God even when he cannot comprehend God's promise to him.

That particular promise becomes reality in the lives of Abram and Sarai with the birth of Issac. According to the chronology of Genesis, Issac was born approximately 25 years after the promise was given. That is a long time to wait. Despite times of questioning, doubt and anger as Abram and Sarai journeyed to a new land, they trusted the surety of God's word.
The fulfillment of God's promises did not cease with the birth of Issac. God's promises reached into the hearts of the prophets who spoke boldly of Yahweh's commitment to the people. Mary opened herself to the seeming impossibility of God's promise, and Joseph chose to continue his journey with Mary. And when God's promise was born into the world, countless people through the ages not only believed the promise but lived it. Even in the midst of heartache, failure, grief, and betrayal, the promise of God 's mercy. justice, and salvation made visible in Jesus has given and continues to give sustenance for the journey.

Several scriptures could be used:

Matthew 28: 16-20 God's promise to be always with us

Some questions that could be asked -
Where do you find God and feel the presence of God?
1. What does it mean to you personally to know that "God is always with you"?
2. Recall a time when you personally felt especially close to God?
3. Why do people often feel God so vividly when they are suffering?
4. How can suffering be beneficial to us?
5. In what ways is God like a loving parent?

Luke 15: 11-32 God's unconditional love and forgiveness

Some questions that could be asked -
1. In what ways is God like the father in the parable?
2. Is the parable more about the prodigal son or the father? Explain your answer
3. Explain what it means to love unconditionally.
4. Explain why unconditional love is the real test of faith.
5. Why does practicing unconditional love involve risk?
6. Why is it often hard for us to love unconditionally? What sorts of conditions do we tend to place upon love?
7. How does this parable challenge you personally?

Acts 2: 1-4 God's surprise - the promise of the Holy Spirit

All through Scripture, we see God surprising people. Pentacost showed God's surprising love for all people. Pentacost showed God's surprising presence in unexpected places.

1. Recall a time when you were surprised by someone or by an event.
2. Recall a time when you surprised someone. What was the person's reaction?
How did you feel? Why did you surprise this person?
3. How were people surprised at Pentacost?
4. Recall a time when God found you in an unexpected place.
5. How does the promise of the Holy Spirit show God's love for us?

Bible Study Resources

All About Eve - Ten Selected Women of The Bible - Robert L. Allen

Bad Girls of The Bible - Barbara J. Essex

Bad Girls of The Bible - Liz Curtis Higgs

Desperate Women of The Bible - Jo Kadlecek

Every Woman in The Bible - Sue and Larry Richards

From Eve to Esther - Nell W. Mohney

From Mary to Lydia - Nell W. Mohney

He Began With Eve - Joyce Landorf

Jesus called Her Mother - Dee Jepsen

Jesus' Parables About Discipleship - James W. Moore

Jesus' Parables About Making Choices - James W. Moore

Jesus' Parables About Priorities - James W. Moore

Jesus' Parables of Grace - James W. Moore

Jesus' Parables of Life - James W. Moore

Jesus' Parables of The Lost and Found - James W. Moore

Lost Women of The Bible - Carolyn Custis James

Mary Magdalene - Beyond The Myth - Esther DeBoer

Parables At Work - John C. Purdy

Parables of Jesus - J. Ellsworth Kalas

Really Bad Girls of The Bible Liz Curtis Higgs

Reclaiming Her Story - The Witness of Women in The Old Testament - Jon L. Berquiest

She Is Worthy - Encounters With Biblical Women - Marjorie L. Kimbrough

Sister Images - Mary Zimmer

Slightly Bad Girls of The Bible - Liz Curtis Higgs

Strong Was Her Faith - J. Ellsworth Kalas

The Storyteller's Companion to The Bible - New Testament Women -
Dennis E. Smith and Michael E. Williams, Editors

The Storyteller's Companion to The Bible - The Parables of Jesus -
Dennis E. Smith and Michael E. Williams, Editors

Twelve Extraordinary Women - John MacArthur

Twelve Ordinary Men - John MacArthur

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