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ACE Men’s Bible Study

Fear Not – Chapter

1 - Impossible Ideas

September 25, 2015

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Agenda

� Welcome

� New Guests

� Announcements

� India Trip – Paul Austin

� Prayer

� Today’s Lesson – Chapter 1

� Small Group Discussion

� Homework – Read Chapter 22

Childhood Fears

• What was your strongest fear as a child?

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Adult Fears

• What inner fear is holding you back from

fulfilling your greatest potential for God’s

Kingdom?

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Fear Not: Finding Courage to Be

Who God Wants You To Be

Paralyzed by insecurities, self-doubt,

and feelings of failure, many Christ-

followers fall short of their God-given

potential. This spirit of fear does not

come from God. God has given us the

gift of courage! In Fear Not, Ed Love

unpacks eleven biblical stories in which

God commanded someone to "fear

not". Each story exposes a common

fear and challenges readers to face

their own fear and follow in faith.

Readers will discover how God uses

ordinary people to accomplish his

extraordinary purposes.

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Ed Love, Author and Pastor

Even though some people find it humorous to call Ed "Dr.

Love," he prefers to be called "Ed." He considers himself to be

an ordinary, down-to-earth guy who just so happens to be

passionate about following the way of Jesus. Ed has been in

ministry, equipping the body of Christ, for the past 15 years. He

has served as an eighth grade bible study leader, traveling

basketball missionary, student ministries pastor, bible teacher,

church planter, lead pastor, church planting coach/consultant

and an author. In 2006 Ed planted Epic Church (Portland, MI)

and in 2011 Epic sent Ed out into Ionia to start The Well. With

an immense passion to help people hear and see the living

Jesus, Ed spends his time teaching, writing, and discipling

others in the Way. Ed holds a Masters of Divinity from

Asbury Theological Seminary and a Doctorate of Ministry

from George Fox Evangelical Seminary. Ed has been

married to Emily for 12 joyous years, and together they are

raising three spunky children, Jennah, Josiah and Micah.6

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Fears to Overcome

1. When God’s ideas seem

impossible

2. When you feel

inadequate

3. When bad news is about

to hit home

4. When you feel like

you’ve been let down

5. When you don’t believe

6. When you are worried

about being deprived

7. When solutions seem

questionable

8. When you feel like a

failure

9. When life gets hard

10. When you doubt God’s

presence

11. When fears hold you back

(Introduction)7

Instant Poll

1. Raise your hand if you had a chance to read

Chapter 1.

2. Please share your reaction to the chapter.

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Chapter 1 – When God’s Ideas Seem

Impossible

“Expect great things from God; attempt great

things for God.”-- William Carey

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom

shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life –

of whom shall I be afraid?” -- Psalm 27.1

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Luke 1.11-22

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the

altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped

with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your

prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to

call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice

because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never

to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit

even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to

the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and

power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the

disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared

for the Lord.”

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Luke 1.11-22 - continued

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man

and my wife is well along in years.”

19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I

have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you

will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did

not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he

stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them.

They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to

them but remained unable to speak.

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Commentary

Zechariah was one of 20,000 priests, of which that group was divided into 24

sections. Temple duty for 2 weeks was determined by lottery, and every priest

hoped for the opportunity to minister in the temple. Zechariah had won the lottery.

He was standing at the altar of incense when an angel startled him, but the angel

told him not to fear, and announced that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth would

have a son, whom Zechariah should name John.

Zechariah and his wife must have been praying for years for a son, but now the

prospect of having a son seemed impossible. Nevertheless, the angel’s message

displaced the impossible with God’s possible. John, the promised son, would

prepare Israel for the coming Messiah.

But knowing he and his wife were elderly, Zechariah doubted and was struck

mute. When he emerged from the temple, he could not speak but only gesture to

the waiting crowd. He would not be able to speak until his wife delivered the

promised son.

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Zechariah - Questions

1. What fear did Zechariah have to face?

2. What lesson is the author illustrating through the

story of Zechariah’s unbelief?

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Believing God vs. Trusting God

1. Zechariah needed to learn a few things about how

God works in order for him to overcome his fears.

He needed to learn how to trust in God and God’s

timing.

2. Like Zechariah, we constantly face fears associated

with things we perceive as impossible. Imagine

what life could look like if we truly believed

nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1.37)

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Small Group Questions to Discuss

1. What inner fear seems impossible to overcome?

2. Why do you struggle to trust God with the outcome

in that area?

3. How much space and time do you carve out of your

life in order to listen to God’s promptings?

4. When it doesn’t feel good to overcome the

impossible, how will you push through the anxiety

and tension?

5. To whom might you be a blessing by overcoming

your fears? 15

Chapter 1 - Ideas to Remember

1. God likes to make the impossible, possible

2. Everything good requires preparation

3. To be trusted is a greater compliment than being

loved

4. More time with God will lead to deeper levels of

trust

5. God will use us to bless others as we overcome

our fears

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