What Does Jesus Have Against Fig Trees?

This morning we had 18 students who seemed happy that spring is finally here. With Spring comes Easter, so today we looked at a few of the events leading up to Easter that are talked about in Matthew 21. Before preparing this lesson I had no knowledge of the deep meaning of figs in the Bible. It was quite eye opening to see how Jesus weaves elements from humanity into His divine story. To see the study notes click here.

Dinner table questions:
What fruit might have been the forbidden fruit for Adam and Eve?
Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?
How are we like the crowd who one day says "Hosanna" and a week later says "Crucify Him?"
If Jesus came into our temple would He be happy or would there be some tables He would overturn?
 

A Voice in the Wilderness

This morning we had 15 students who were glad to reconnect after a relaxing spring break. We reviewed a bit of our journey so far and then dove into the book of Isaiah. It was a great study in which we saw the foretelling of the coming Son of God in the dark days of the Assyrian and Babylonian domination of God's people. The practical lesson of the need to repent when we mess up was echoed throughout the lesson. The study notes can be seen here.

Questions for the dinner table:

What is the difference between an apology before your misdeed has been discovered and after?
If we know the right thing to do why do we so often do the wrong thing?

 

A Time for Everything

Today we had a lively group of 16 students this morning as we dove into a difficult passage from Ecclesiastes...the book as a whole raises some amazing questions, but Chapter 3 in particular is a favorite of mine. We talked through the first 8 verses and then discussed some of the troubling aspects of the verses that follow. The central message in the study is that God's truth is absolute, but because of our sin our lives are messy and as we pass through our lives we sometimes tread on shaky moral ground. Because of the fall we are confronted with situations in which there is not always an easy answer. Being able to talk to students about this in the context of a Bible Study will hopefully give them a basis from which to draw as they encounter difficult situations.

The text of the lesson can be seen here. I did not get through the whole study, but that was because of the great discussions that took us on very valuable tangents.

Dinner questions:

Is it ever okay to be angry?
Is it ever okay to be angry at God?
Is it ever okay to doubt God?
Why are books like Ecclesiastes in the Bible?
What is their value?
How can we come to grips with the apparent contradictions in this book with the rest of the Bible?

As Far as the East is From the West

This morning 17 students and I braved the chill to meet to talk about the next book of the Bible, The Psalms. After talking about some basic facts about the Psalms like the fact that David only wrote 73 of the 150 we looked at allusions to Jesus included in the Psalms and how that could have happened. After that we did a study of one of my favorite Psalms, which is Psalm 103. The study notes I used may be seen here.

Questions for the dinner table:

How far is the east from the west?
Are there really allusions to Jesus in the Psalms?
How are we like a piece of grass or a flower (Psalm 103:15)?
Is being compared to something so temporary a troubling thought to you?
How can this comparison spur you into action?