The Art of Waiting! (Patience) I always thought I was a patient person, until I was told I have to wait. I can be patient enough when I am not in a hurry, but when I am in a hurry or want things to get done and in my time frame, maybe I am not so good at waiting. Maybe I have fooled myself into thinking I am patient, when really, I am not. When …
“Blue mind” is a growing area of scientific research looking at what happens to our minds and bodies when we are in, or near, water. I immediately connected with “peace like a river”. Most of us can probably relate to finding psychological benefits to being near water. I find being near the beach is a wonderful sensory and calming experience, and I can relate to the research. Perhaps we don’t need research to tell us these things. Our Creator God knows it – because he made it all.
Let’s look at some different images from Scripture that begin to give us a glimpse and a beginning of the understanding of the peace of God.
Joy: Identifying and living with the fruit of the Spirit Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. We will begin by looking at the background to the well-known Fruit of the Spirit passage. We teach songs to Sunday school children, we can maybe list off the fruit – but let’s go back to the “root” of this scripture and use the analogy to really explore what it means to have the joy of the Lord …
The Fruit of Love Last month we started looking at the Fruit of the Spirit. This month’s study focuses on the Fruit of Love. Love is mentioned 551 times in the Bible. If any of us listen to the radio, we may have heard the song What’s love got to do with it? It was a song that was released in 1984 by Tina Turner. It is a pop song that talks about love and …
Before we begin: What is your favourite fruit to eat and why do you like it so much? Please discuss with group. Many people like fruit trees and the produce that comes from them. If we are prone to eating fruit, we find that, in moderation, it is good for us. However, if we have too much or too little fruit, we may find that we have some health issues that we need to deal …
“In just about every area of our life – finishing strong, and finishing well, are important goals.” Read Sal Huckel’s bible study on this theme…
Who taught you how to pray?
Are there any people you can name as mentors/influential in your prayer life?
Do you remember learning the Lord’s Prayer?
How have you prayed it over the years?
What happens in your mind as you pray it in our weekly liturgy?
If your church does not use liturgy regularly, do you still use this prayer? Why or why not?
Think more about prayer with this Bible Study by Sal Huckel …
“Give us this day (today) our daily bread” – Jesus, as he taught his disciples to pray, in Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4.
When we ask God to give us our daily bread, what do we mean?
Luther gives us some examples in his explanation in the Small Catechism:
Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbours, and the like.
Read Anna’s July Bible Study based on the fourth petition and looking at ‘Sustainability as a care action for today, and future generations’…
Have you ever watched God’s economy in action – a need you had filled in a way you didn’t expect, coincidentally as you also filled a need for someone else in a way they couldn’t have anticipated?
Some people only pray when they are caught in a crisis. In the classic story of Huckleberry Finn, a story by Mark Twain, “Huck” and Jim (a runaway slave) are caught in a severe storm as they float down the Mississippi River on a raft. Jim pleads, “Huck, aren’t you going to pray?” Huckleberry Finn responds, “It ain’t bad enough yet”.
Read Anne Hansen’s Study on being ‘Close to God in Prayer’.
By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8 (NIV)
A little boy was afraid of the dark. One night his mother told him to go out to the back porch and bring her the broom. The little boy turned to his mother and said, “Mama, I don’t want to go out there. It’s dark.”
Read the full Bible Study which tackles the idea of: “God pleasing prayers”
Can you think of a time when you made your parents sad or disappointed in you? When your behaviour and words grieved them and perhaps even made them (and you) ashamed?
It’s a horrible feeling, isn’t it? Now think of a time when you made your parents, or an adult you respected, proud of you. When your words or actions brought honour to them, and made them glad? That feels a whole lot better, doesn’t it?
These memories may help us to understand a little better the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer.
This is the second in Pauline Simonsen’s study of the first petition of the Lords Prayer.