180 days with the 180 days with the -...
Transcript of 180 days with the 180 days with the -...
180 days with the 180 days with the
Abundant Life Foursquare Churchalfc.us
Abundant Life Foursquare Churchalfc.us
180 Days with the Prophets
Spending time reading, memorizing, learning, and studying the Scriptures are some of the most important life giving moments for all believers in Jesus. The time we spend interacting and relating to God’s written Word really matters!
2 Timothy 3:16-17 Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us (from the MESSAGE by Eugene H. Peterson).
God’s Word applies to all areas of life. The whole Bible is God’s inspired Word. Because it is inspired and trustworthy, we should read it and apply it and integrate it into our lives.
The Bible is our standard for the practice and application of our faith. It is the tool we use to test everything else that claims to be true. It is our safeguard against false teaching and our source of guidance for how we should live today. It is our only source of knowledge about how we can be saved and receive the gift of eternal life. God wants to show us what is true and to equip us to live for Him.
Over the next 180 days, we are continuing the adventure of reading God’s Word together by focusing on the Prophets. The Prophets are foundational to our walk with the Lord. Reading the Prophets will enrich our understanding and transform our relation-ship with our Creator; these books will teach us what it is that the Lord desires and requires.
A prophet was an individual who received a call from God to be God’s spokesperson, and then announce God’s message of judgment and/or deliverance to Israel and the nations. The func-tion of the prophet was twofold: FORTHtelling and FOREtelling. Forthtelling is an act of courage and conviction crying out against the evils of the day. It involves bringing God’s truth into the lives of God’s people. Foretelling is looking ahead into the future to
180 Days with the Prophets
Spending time reading, memorizing, learning, and studying the Scriptures are some of the most important life giving moments for all believers in Jesus. The time we spend interacting and relating to God’s written Word really matters!
2 Timothy 3:16-17 Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us (from the MESSAGE by Eugene H. Peterson).
God’s Word applies to all areas of life. The whole Bible is God’s inspired Word. Because it is inspired and trustworthy, we should read it and apply it and integrate it into our lives.
The Bible is our standard for the practice and application of our faith. It is the tool we use to test everything else that claims to be true. It is our safeguard against false teaching and our source of guidance for how we should live today. It is our only source of knowledge about how we can be saved and receiveew the gift of eternal life. God wants to show us what is true and to equip us to live for Him.
Over the next 180 days, we are continuing the adventure of reading God’s Word together by focusing on the Prophets. The Prophets are foundational to our walk with the Lord. Reading the Prophets will enrich our understanding and transform our relation-ship with our Creator; these books will teach us what it is that the Lord desires and requires.
A prophet was an individual who received a call from God to be God’s spokesperson, and then announce God’s message of judgment and/or deliverance to Israel and the nations. The func-tion of the prophet was twofold: FORTHtelling and FOREtelling. Forthtelling is an act of courage and conviction crying out against the evils of the day. It involves bringing God’s truth into the lives of God’s people. Foretelling is looking ahead into the future to
warn and admonish as well as make known God’s guidance and wisdom.
The importance of the prophetic office can be seen in the fact that the word “prophet” occurs over 300 times in the Old Testa-ment and almost 125 times in the New Testament. The Prophets (Hebrew: Nebhiim) make up 19 books of which 7 are considered the Major Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).
Throughout all of these amazing books, the Lord reveals Himself in each situation and circumstance. We need to take the Bible’s history seriously; God reveals Himself to His people through all of it.
It is our hope and prayer that you will learn the discipline and fruitfulness of Bible reading and devotional journaling. We know that the Lord will use this time in some amazing ways.
Our adventure continues together,
Pastor Steve
warn and admonish as well as make known God’s guidance and wisdom.
The importance of the prophetic office can be seen in the fact that the word “prophet” occurs over 300 times in the Old Testa-ment and almost 125 times in the New Testament. The Prophets (Hebrew: Nebhiim) make up 19 books of which 7 are considered the Major Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).
Throughout all of these amazing books, the Lord reveals Himself in each situation and circumstance. We need to take the Bible’s history seriously; God reveals Himself to His people through all of it.
It is our hope and prayer that you will learn the discipline and fruitfulness of Bible reading and devotional journaling. We know that the Lord will use this time in some amazing ways.
Our adventure continues together,
Pastor Steve
We are going to read through the Torah as a church in 180 days using the S.O.A.P. method which stands for Scripture, Observation, Application/Integration and Prayer/Praise.
Scripture (S)As you read your Bible, underline or make note of 1 - 3 key verses that stand out for you or have special significance. After you have underlined the verses, write out the verse or verses in your journal.
Observation (O)In 1 - 3 sentences, what is it that personally stands out for you as you read these verses? What is the Lord speaking to you through the verse or verses?
Application (A)Briefly write out how your observation(s) of the verse or verses applies to you today or how you might integrate this passage into your life. How is this verse or verses relevant to you?
Prayer/Praise (P)Based on what you have just learned, ask the Lord to help you apply and/or integrate this truth into your life. Write out a prayer or put down a prayer request or record a praise report. If God has answered one of your prayers, record it here!
HOW DOES IT WORK?We are going to read through the Torah as a church in 180 days using the S.O.A.P. method which stands for Scripture, Observation, Application/Integration and Prayer/Praise.
Scripture (S)As you read your Bible, underline or make note of 1 - 3 key verses that stand out for you or have special significance. After you have underlined the verses, write out the verse or verses in your journal.
Observation (O)In 1 - 3 sentences, what is it that personally stands out for you as you read these verses? What is the Lord speaking to you through the verse or verses?
Application (A)Briefly write out how your observation(s) of the verse or verses applies to you today or how you might integrate this passage into your life. How is this verse or verses relevant to you?
Prayer/Praise (P)Based on what you have just learned, ask the Lord to help you apply and/or integrate this truth into your life. Write out a prayer or put down a prayer request or record a praise report. If God has answered one of your prayers, record it here!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
HOW TO DO PERSONAL DEVOTIONS
AND PRAYER � Supplies
- A Bible with wide margins so you can write in it. (Yes, it is okay to write in the Bible; in fact, it is important to your success.) This will become your personal study and devo-tional Bible. - A Bible Dictionary to use to assist you in your under-
standing and meaning of God’s Word. - A good pen that will not bleed through the pages and
that feels good in your hand. Make this your special write-in-my-Bible pen.
� PreparationEstablish a time frame. Decide before you start how long you are going to set aside for your devotional time. This will vary depend-ing upon life circumstances. It is best to have the same time each day. It might look like this:
Monday through Friday7:00 a.m. devotions and study7:15 a.m. prayer7:30 a.m. done
Saturday8:30 a.m. devotions and study9:00 a.m. prayer9:30 a.m. done
Sunday8:00 a.m. devotion and study8:15 a.m. prayer8:30 a.m. get ready to go to 9:00 am church service
HOW TO DO PERSONAL DEVOTIONS
AND PRAYER
� Supplies - A Bible with wide margins so you can write in it. (Yes,
it is okay to write in the Bible; in fact, it is important to your success.) This will become your personal study and devo-tional Bible. - A Bible Dictionary to use to assist you in your under-
standing and meaning of God’s Word. - A good pen that will not bleed through the pages and
that feels good in your hand. Make this your special write-in-my-Bible pen.
� PreparationEstablish a time frame. Decide before you start how long you are going to set aside for your devotional time. This will vary depend-ing upon life circumstances. It is best to have the same time each day. It might look like this:
Monday through Friday7:00 a.m. devotions and study7:15 a.m. prayer7:30 a.m. done
Saturday8:30 a.m. devotions and study9:00 a.m. prayer9:30 a.m. done
Sunday8:00 a.m. devotion and study8:15 a.m. prayer8:30 a.m. get ready to go to 9:00 am church service
� Establish a placeIt works best if you use the same comfortable, quiet spot each day, but have a back up time and place for when life interrupts, like sick kids, oversleeping, too tired. Have your coffee, tea, or-ange juice, or water prepared and a quiet comfortable place with good light to read where you will not be distracted or interrupted by others, phone, computer or animals (unless they are trained to rest next to you).
� Establish a patternHave a pattern of reading established. There are a number of options. Follow the reading plan provided. Later, there are pub-lished reading plans you can use once you have completed this journal. These plans walk you through an OT passage followed by a NT passage, followed by one of the Psalms and/or a Proverbs chapter. (It works if you match the number date from the calendar to the Proverbs passage. For example, on Tuesday, the 3rd, read chapter 3.) Or use a chronological Bible to read 1 - 3 chapters a day or, just read one paragraph with 3 - 5 sentences. It is not about the quantity, rather it is about reading every day. We all need to eat something in the morning before we start our day.
� Pray Before you start, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and keep your heart and mind open to whatever might be helpful or insightful.
� Read the passageThe first reading should be slow . . . relax and enjoy the words, look at the sentence construction, and if you can, imagine being there at the location or in the situation as you read the scriptures. Practice reading and understanding the scriptures and not just seeing the words. (Learn to read a section of scripture that has the start and finish of the concept or thought or event.)
� Establish a placeIt works best if you use the same comfortable, quiet spot each day, but have a back up time and place for when life interrupts, like sick kids, oversleeping, too tired. Have your coffee, tea, or-ange juice, or water prepared and a quiet comfortable place with good light to read where you will not be distracted or interrupted by others, phone, computer or animals (unless they are trained to rest next to you).
� Establish a patternHave a pattern of reading established. There are a number of options. Follow the reading plan provided. Later, there are pub-lished reading plans you can use once you have completed this journal. These plans walk you through an OT passage followed by a NT passage, followed by one of the Psalms and/or a Proverbs chapter. (It works if you match the number date from the calendar to the Proverbs passage. For example, on Tuesday, the 3rd, read chapter 3.) Or use a chronological Bible to read 1 - 3 chapters a day or, just read one paragraph with 3 - 5 sentences. It is not about the quantity, rather it is about reading every day. We all need to eat something in the morning before we start our day.
� Pray Before you start, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and keep your heart and mind open to whatever might be helpful or insightful.
� Read the passageThe first reading should be slow . . . relax and enjoy the words, look at the sentence construction, and if you can, imagine being there at the location or in the situation as you read the scriptures. Practice reading and understanding the scriptures and not just seeing the words. (Learn to read a section of scripture that has the start and finish of the concept or thought or event.)
� RereadGo back and look up any words or names that you do not un-derstand using your Bible Dictionary. If there are any footnotes or parallel passages, read them to see what you might get from them. (Don’t worry if there is nothing, just enjoy.)
� UnderlineAre there any words that stand out to you? (Yes, remember we can write in a Bible.) Do these words and/or phrases have some sort of immediate connection or meaning for you? This can be personal, intellectual, emotional, or just interesting.
� RereadGo back and look up any words or names that you do not un-derstand using your Bible Dictionary. If there are any footnotes or parallel passages, read them to see what you might get from them. (Don’t worry if there is nothing, just enjoy.)
� UnderlineAre there any words that stand out to you? (Yes, remember we can write in a Bible.) Do these words and/or phrases have some sort of immediate connection or meaning for you? This can be personal, intellectual, emotional, or just interesting.