Feb 12
26
This week the sermon discussed God’s involvement with the fall of man. The questions of “Where is God in all the suffering” is a question that has troubled Christians for centuries. The following is a list of OIA questions in the attempt to bring consensus to this difficult question. (Note that several passages of scripture were used in this sermon, so several verses should be included in answering the following questions.)
(See sermon page emmauscf.org/sermons/ for a complete list of scriptures used)
Observation
1. Are there any cultural or background issues that are important in understanding any of the listed passage?
2. What key word(s)/phrase(s) really stand(s) out to you in these passage of scripture? Why are/is they/it important?
3. Which scripture passage did you find most intriguing or interesting? Why?
Interpretation
1. Compare at least 3 of the used passages with at least 3 other Bible versions (NIV, ESV, NASB, NKJV, Ect.) What similarities/differences do you observe? Share with your group.
2. Are there any verbs, commands, prepositions, or conjunctions, that seemed to stand out? What? Why? Share.
3. Read through at least 2-3 commentaries on your chosen 3 passages and share what your learned with your group. Here are some free online resources. (http://net.bible.org) (http://www.blueletterbible.org/) (http://biblia.com)
Application
1. How does/should the truth that God is completely Omniscient affect/effect how you live every day? How should this truth affect the amount of how much you worry or have anxiety? Why? Explain.
2.Why is the truth that nothing in life is meaningless or without purpose important in the every day life of believer? How would you minister to a hurting Christian, who perhaps recently experienced the death of a loved one, if they asked the question “why would God allow this to happen?” (I know this is a difficult question to address, but you should discuss this question in your groups as it is very likely someone will ask you this question in the near future.)
3. Ponder (really ponder) on the truth that Nothing, Nothing, Nothing is outside of Gods control. What thoughts, feelings, or ideas come to mind? Share.
4. The Bible teaches that God works all things to good for those who love him (Rom 8:28) Though we cannot always see this truth in everything, we can often see how God has worked seemingly “bad things” into “good things” in our lives. Share with your group some experiences in which God worked something bad into good.
