Abram and Lot Separate - Genesis 13

1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. 3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD. 5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. 8 So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left." 10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. 14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you." 18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.- Genesis 13

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS:
1) Why did Abram and Lot separate? (v.1-9)
2) Where did Lot choose to dwell and why? (v.10-12)
3) What was noteworthy about the land where Lot chose to live? (v.13)
4) What did God promise Abram after Lot left? (v.14-17)
5) What did Abram do in response? (v.18)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1) Have you ever had to leave a person, or a place, that you cared for, as a result of unexpected strife?
2) If so, what happened?
3) Have you ever made a poor choice because you did not seek the Lord's counsel?
4) If so, what happened?
5) Has the Lord ever blessed you as a result of your obedience to His leading?

LIFE LESSONS:
1) The Lord will remove anything from our lives that keep us from fulfilling our purpose.
2) The Lord expects His people to consult with Him before making decisions.
3) The Lord will always bless us for our obedience to His will.

God Calls Abram - Genesis 12

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." 4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." 14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. 17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.- Genesis 12 

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS:
1) What was the Lord's instruction to Abram? (v.1)
2) What were the Lord's initial promises to Abram? (v.2-3)
3) Did Abram do everything that God told him to do? If not, in what way did he disobey? (v.4-5)
4) Who remained in Canaan and what did God promise Abram concerning the land? (v.6-7)
5) What did Abram do after receiving God's promises? (v.8-9)
6) Why did Abram go to Egypt? (v.10)
7) What did Abram tell Sarai to do and why? (v.11-13)
8) What did Pharaoh do after meeting Sarai? (v.14-16)
9) What did God do to Pharaoh and why? (v.17)
10) How did Pharaoh respond to what the Lord did? (v.18-20)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1) Do you always obey the Lord's instructions to you? Why or why not?
2) Has the Lord ever intervened, on your behalf, during a time of severe testing or trial? 
3) If so, what did the Lord do and how did you respond?

LIFE LESSONS:
1) We can depend on God's promises because God is dependable.
2) The Lord is our Good Shepherd and He watches over His sheep.
3) The only correct response to the Lord's intervention in our lives is worship.

The Righteous and the Wicked - Genesis 11

1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel--because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. 10 This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. 12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. 18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. 22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters. 24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters. 26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. 27 This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no children. 31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.- Genesis 11

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS:
1) What did the men of the world purpose to do and why? (v.1-4)
2) What did the LORD do in response and why? (v.5-9)
3) Who were Shem's descendants? (v.10-26)
4) Who did Terah father? (v.27)
5) Where and with whom did Terah settle before he died? (v.28-32)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1) Have you ever made plans apart from the Lord's leading? 
2) If so, how did your plans work out?
3) Has your life ever been disrupted or interrupted during a time of great productivity? 
4) If so, what happened as a result of the disruption (interruption)?
5) Have you ever settled for less than what you might have had if you'd pursued your dreams?

LIFE LESSONS:
1) God's plans for man will always prevail!
2) Interruptions are not always God's denial, but may be His "not yet"!
3) As His people, we must always learn to wait for His perfect timing before pursuing our dreams.

Abundant Life Lessons luke 1 26 28 1

Free Indeed - Galatians 6

1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load. 6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. 11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! 12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God. 17 Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. - Galatians 6

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS:
1) How are believers to fulfill the law of Christ? (v.1-2) 
2) What warning and instruction does Paul give the mature believer? (v.1,3-5)
3) What principles of sowing and reaping does Paul teach? (v.6-10)
4) What does Paul emphatically say the Judaizers wanted to boast about? (v.11-13)
5) According to the Apostle Paul, what are believers to boast in? (v.14-15)
6) What is Paul's prayer for those who receive his teachings? (v.16-18)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1) Have you ever known, or heard, of a believer who was overcome by habitual sin?
2) If so, what did you do to help them (e.g., pray for them)? 
3) What do you do to encourage other believers in their times of need, regardless the cause for their distress?
4) Have you ever attempted to assist a believer and found that their need was greater than what you were able to handle?
5) If so, please describe what happened?

LIFE LESSONS:
1) God calls and equips His people to minister to fellow believers.
2) Every believer is not called to minister to the needs of every other believer in spiritual distress.
3) Whatever we sow to determines what we will reap in this life.
4) There are times when God may only call us to pray for those in spiritual distress. 
5) When our motive in helping others is to glorify ourselves, our efforts are of no eternal significance.

Free Indeed - Galatians 5:16-26

16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. - Galatians 5:16-26

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS:
1) How do believers refrain from gratifying the desires of the sinful nature? (v.16)
2) What is the sinful nature in opposition to? (v.17)
3) What keeps the believer from living a Spirit-led life? (v.18)
4) What is the "fruit" of living according to the sinful nature, rather than the Spirit? (v.19-21)
5) What is the "fruit" of living a Holy Spirit led life? (v.22-23)
6) What must the believer do to live a Spirit controlled life? (v.24-26)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1) Since giving your life to Christ, have you had difficulty in one (or more) area(s) of your spiritual walk?
2) If so, please describe your area of difficulty.
3) What can you do to experience victory in your area(s) of weakness?

LIFE LESSONS:
1) The Law reveals our sin but can never keep us from sinning.
2) To live a Holy Spirit led life we must crucify (put to death) the deeds of the sinful nature.
3) Our victory in Christ is assured when we live a Holy Spirit controlled life.

Free Indeed - Galatians 5:1-15

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. - Galatians 5:1-15

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS:
1) Why did Christ set us free? (v.1)
2) Since Christ did this for us, what should we not be burdened by? (v.1)
3) What will bondage to the law do for us? (v.2-3)
4) From what, and whom, has a bound Christian fallen away and been alienated? (v.4)
5) What does a Christian hope for and by what does (s)he receive it? (v.5-6)
6) How had perversion of the Gospel impacted the Gospel, the Galatians and the Judaizers? (v.7-12)
7) What were the Galatians called to and why? (v.13-15) 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1) Has any pastor, or other church leader, insisted that you observe religious rituals to prove your faith?
2) If so, did you grow as a result of following their teachings? Please explain.
3) How does religious ritual (i.e., tradition) help us to grow in grace and the knowledge of God?

LIFE LESSONS:
1) Once a believer is liberated from bondage to the law, (s)he is to remain free.
2) Christ did not call us to freedom to live a sinful life, but to be led by His Spirit.
3) The law of love frees us from the law of sin and death.