"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

What an incredible joy it was to see so many women Tuesday night so excited about getting into God's Word! There was a palpable buzz in the air. I saw women across all decades from young mamas to the faithful pillars of FBC. I saw women of diverse backgrounds and some of you even brought new friends. If you are new, we are so thankful you joined us! It was a thrill to see so many women connecting in the name of Jesus. He's our common denominator. He's always pursuing us and He is going to meet us as we pursue Him. He's already begun!

I just want to brag on the Lord for a moment. The last 10 days have been such an exciting ride! I went from hoping to find at least 15 women to huddle up with me in Bible Study at the fireplace, all the way to realizing that our group of seventy-some women would best be housed in the sanctuary! As numbers grew, so did questions of how to best accommodate you. Over and over again, God provided the answer to my questions literally before or as I was asking them!  It blew my mind!  

My heart was so touched and humbled by FBC staff and lay people who just jumped in with both feet to help me. I didn't have a team of people in place, but God brought them to me! It definitely kept me on my toes, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world! 

*As promised I am going to post a few of our discussion questions from Tuesday night so more people can engage in discussion.

1. Please share any truths that stood out to you during our video session Tuesday night.

 Point 3 in our viewer guide stated, "walking with a whole new level of effectiveness takes faith." Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him much believe that He exits and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
2. How might our faith be displayed as we follow Jesus in new ways?

A Few Helpful Reminders

Diaspora: (Descended from the Greek word diaspeirein, meaning "to scatter, spread about.")
a: the settling of scattered Jews outside Palestine after the Babylonian exile
b: the area outside Palestine settled by Jews
c: the Jews living outside Palestine or modern Israel
(Merriam-Webster)

Sadducees
1.They were extremely self-sufficient to the point of denying God's involvement in everyday life.



2. They denied any resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18-27; Acts 23:8).

3. They denied any afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death, and therefore denying any penalty or reward after the earthly life.

4. They denied the existence of a spiritual world, i.e., angels and demons (Acts 23:8).


Pharisees
1. They believed that God controlled all things, yet decisions made by individuals also contributed to the course of a person's life.



2. They believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).

3. They believed in an afterlife, with appropriate reward and punishment on an individual basis.

4. They believed in the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

(www.gotquestions.org)

*FYI. Scripture writing starts next week in our study on Day 1











Comments

Barbara said…
What an awesome outpouring of God's grace, and His blessing on your endeavors. He clearly wants to bless the hearts of many women who participate in this study. I'm so thankful to have a daughter-in-law who is such an incredible answer to this Mom's prayer for her son's partner in life and in ministry! Prayers continue for this fantastic work!
January 27, 2017 at 9:20 AM
Kristy said…
Thank you so much! I am SO incredibly grateful to have a mother-in-law who would pray for me and support me in my life and ministry this way. What an amazing blessing. Thank you 😌
January 27, 2017 at 2:35 PM
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