Christmas Chronicles

This week the eighteen students (3rd week in a row at that number...a great size for our group) in attendance discussed the parallels between the Chronicles books and Christmas. It worked out well that at our last meeting of this calendar year we were studying the last book in the Hebrew Bible (Tanahk) that summarizes all of the books that have come before it. There was also a great tie in between the genealogies in Chronicles and the one found at the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. To see the study notes from today click here.

Due to exams we will not be meeting next week...our next meeting will be on Tuesday January 6th.

Questions for further reflection:

What is the best gift you have ever received?
Why do we get gifts on Jesus' birthday?
What gifts did Jesus get from the Wise Men?
What was the meaning behind each gift?

By No Other Namaan

We had a great study today ( my second favorite this year after David and Goliath) in spite of the tenuous road conditions. Eighteen students studied 2 Kings, which can be a depressing book. The good news is that the story of Namaan has a message for us all. To see the study notes click here.

Questions for further discussion:
Who is Namaan?
Why would God fight on Namaan's side against His chosen people?
Who was Elisha?
Why did Elisha refuse Namaan's offer of payment?
How does this story mirror the Christian life today?

Elijah vs. the 450 Prophets of Baal

The story of Elijah told in 1Kings 18 is one of my favorite Bible passages. I would have loved to have been there to see the prophets of Baal trying in vain to get a wisp of smoke near their altar, and then to see the soaking wet wood set ablaze in an instant after Elijah prayed to God asking Him to send fire. It must have been quite a scene.

I was so happy to see that even though it is a two day school week with Thanksgiving at hand, that we had seventeen in attendance this morning. We had a very good discussion with lots of people participating. If you would like to see the notes I was presenting the story from they may be seen here.

Questions for further discussion:

1. In what ways is it hard to be a Christian today?
2. Do we ever feel outnumbered by those who oppose God?
3. What is our response when we feel overwhelmed?
4. What are the positive things we can point to about how our nation and world are responding to God's message.
5. What is our hope for the future?

Have a great Thanksgiving!!!

2 Samuel

We had a great discussion this morning centered around the character of David. What an amazing man!! Like all of us he had his ups and downs, but he knew at the end where his salvation came from.
The study notes can be seen here.

It was a great to see a new face or two among the eighteen students present, and it was also a treat to be joined this morning by the FOCUS area director, Tim Foster.

Dinner table questions:

What is the most valuable thing in your life?
Are everyone's values the same?
How do we get our values?
Do our values ever change?

Have a great week...a few people have already asked this question so I will answer it here...we will be meeting next Tuesday November 25th. See you on Tuesday!!

A Fresh Look at David and Goliath

What a great day!!! This morning saw a few new faces which is always a wonderful thing. I hope they come back next Tuesday. We had a total of nineteen students which is a new all time high. The study focused on the story of David and Goliath which is told in the book under study this week, 1 Samuel. To see the notes that I wrote for the study click here. If you want to have a follow up conversation at dinner there are lots of questions to choose from:

In what ways was David the underdog in his fight with Goliath?

In what ways was David the favorite in the fight?

Do we ever discount our own chances for success?

Why?

What are the Goliaths in our life?

How can we hope to prevail against them?

Everyone Needs a Ruth in Their Life

The study today went well. There was lots of good discussion and a new student...always a great thing. The lesson can be seen here. We had a total of fifteen which means that next week will be seventeen or eighteen if our cycle holds. At some point we may need to consider having a second day of the week that we meet son that we have room for more students. It would make sense to have the second day on a Friday since squash season is nearly upon us and squash meets on Tues. Wed. and Thurs. Please email me your thoughts if you want to weigh in on this.

Thoughts for the dinner table:

Who is the Ruth in your life? Who can you count on to stick with you?

Who are you a Ruth for? Who can count on you?

If you do not have a Ruth how can you find one?

The Cycle of Life as seen through the Book ofJudges

It is amazing how cyclical our lives are...from the daily rising and setting of the sun, to the tides, to the school year, to sleeping each night, we repeat a lot of cycles. Today the lesson was spirited and full of lots of great discussion as we looked at the repeated cycle of rebellion and redemption that the Israelites went through as they settled into the Promised Land. I asked a lot of questions of the fifteen students in attendance (the blueprint of our conversation can be seen here), and they had great insight into problems the Israelites may have faced and the overall human condition. The Book of Judges has a lot to teach us today about the way we conduct ourselves.

Questions for further reflection:
Why do we make wrong choices when we are so aware of the right choices to make?
Will I ever be able to consistently make good choices?
What are the factors in my life that help me make good decisions?
When do I tend to make poor decisions?
If I were God would I have as much patience as He does?

Promises and Faithfulness as Seen Through the Eyes of Joshua

The lesson today went well. After last week's group of sixteen students I wondered how many would come today. It did feel crowded last week, and lots of studies have shown that being crowded is not a comfortable feeling. I expanded the seating area, which made the nine students that came today feel like they had lots of room. They commented on how much they liked the seating more this week. 

The study was on the book of Joshua and for those so inclined more detailed notes may be seen here. I had it written out in this post, but it seemed too long so I uploaded it to Google Docs. I hope the links still work.

Questions for the dinner table

How does God show us in our daily lives that He is faithful?

How do we show God that we are faithful?

In a sense living a Christian life is so simple. Why is it so difficult to do then?

How many of the pressures in my life are self-imposed?

What a Great Day!!!

This morning we had a few new students which is always a reason to be happy. With sixteen students in attendance we now have a new high total, and we are starting to outgrow our corner spot on the comfy couches. When I broached the subject of moving to a different spot in the cafe, there were plans formulated to make it work for next week and beyond. We'll see if Mia's plan works next week.

A few parents inquired today about how to make a donation to help defray the costs of the muffins and drinks. The easiest thing to do is to make a donation to Baltimore Focus. If you would like to see more details about the study itself click here.

Today we were talking about the book of Deuteronomy which is a fascinating book. It is basically comprised of Moses' farewell sermons as he gets ready to hand over the authority to Joshua. Since there is a new generation that has grown up the law needs to be re-told to the people.

In my study I found that the verses that encapsulate the core thought behind the book are found in the beginning of Chapter 6. After starting off with the questions below we dove into the Scripture.

Why would the law need to be repeated?

Who is it who is hearing this?

What are they finally about to do?

This book is a lot like a sermon...Why would Moses be giving sermons?

What is about to happen to Moses?

Who will the new leader be?

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. ³ Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. ¹⁴ Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 

Verse 2 what does it mean to fear the Lord?

Verse 4 what does it mean by heart, soul, strength?

Verse 6 how can they be on our hearts?

Verse 8 tie them on your hands, bind them on your foreheads?

Verse 12 why is God already warning them about being unfaithful?

Verse 14 why would anyone serve another God?

Are there other gods in our world?

How do people serve them?

Do they deliver?

Why do people serve them?

We ran out of time so I did not get to share Gandhi's quote, but i think that there is a lot of truth in it. No one thinks it is a good idea to do the wrong thing and go down the wrong path, but over the course of our lives, our small, day by day decisions turn out to define us, for better or worse.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Is this troubling or comforting to you?

How can we apply these thoughts in our lives?

My Busy Life

So sorry I have not posted anything lately...I have been swamped but I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...or is that the headlight of an oncoming train??? I will do my best to post every Tuesday during the day except for next Tuesday when there is NO MEETING!! This is because of field trips.

Anyway last week we talked all about rules in Leviticus. We had a great discussion about why there are rules in the world and why God has rules for our lives.

Yesterday we talked about the Book of Numbers...quite an interesting book...a few censuses (is that the plural of census?) We talked about how prior to that time God had done most of the heavy lifting (sending the plagues, parting the Red Sea, etc) but now he wanted the people to start to take ownership of their destinies.

It has been great to see the group grow. We had 14 in attendance yesterday which ties our all time high!!! If we get any more we may have to move away from the comfy couches since we are fairly crammed into that area of Evergreen as it is.

Another Great Tuesday

I remembered to take a picture of the group today which was an improvement over last week. YAY!! The picture will only load sideways so I will have to work on it later...Anyway...What a great group of boys and girls. Thirteen of us talked about the book of Exodus from Moses' birth to his dark days and then to his rise as a leader. Questions to ponder over dinner...

Moses knew the right thing to do but had a hard time doing it. How are we like him?

God talked to Moses through a burning bush. Does He still talk to us today?

Moses ran away and his from Pharaoh. If he had not run would he have been killed? How do we know when it is good to run and when it is better to stay?

Moses made lots of mistakes.

What is the best way to handle things when w know we have made a mistake?

A Great First Day

We were blessed with 12 students this morning who were bright-eyed and full of energy. The students had a great time getting to know each other as they enjoyed their muffins and croissants, and then we dove into our discussion. Since it was a new year we talked about the book of Genesis. I had meant to take a photo to show here, but in the excitement of the day it slipped my mind. Maybe I can remember next week. To see what we studied today click here. Next week we will do a lesson from the book of Exodus.

I am so excited that we had such a great first day. I look forward to next Tuesday. A few students have already said they want to come, and I would love it if that happens. 

Tuesday Morning Bible Studies Are Almost Here!!!

I am so happy to announce that we will be meeting once again this year on Tuesday mornings at the Evergreen Cafe located at 501 West Cold Spring Lane. We will meet from 7:00 A.M. until about 7:40 A.M. and then we will head over to school. Light breakfast items (muffins, croissants, etc) are available for the students as well as beverages like Snapple and hot chocolate. Students do not have to bring any money to purchase items, but parents who wish to do so may make donations to Baltimore Focus to help offset the cost of the breakfast items. Transportation to Calvert will be provided by Skip Howe or a parent of someone attending the study.The first Tuesday we will meet this year will be September 9th. Jenny Noon who co-led the group last year has moved out of state so this year Skip will be leading it alone.

A typical Bible Study consists of the following:

7:00 - 7:05 Get food and start to eat
7:05 - 7:10 Answer a get to know you question ( i.e. If you could have a superpower what would it be?)
7:10 - 7:40 Socratic Method Bible Study with a short presentation and a whole lot of questions asked
7:40 Leave for Calvert

This year we will be doing a series called Through The Bible in a School Year in which each week the Bible Study will deal with a different book of the Bible (with some omissions and books joined together since there are 66 books and only 36 or so weeks.)

Each week there will be a blog post that details what was studied and a few questions for further reflection at home if parents want to see what we talked about in the morning.