NORTH HOLLYWOOD BIBLESTUDY GET TOGETHER FRIDAY DECEMBER 30TH

Dear fellow Douloi

This coming Friday night we will have a special “getting together” with our “Noho-Study” for fellowship, potluck, singing, teaching, hiking, and all with a great view over Down Town Los Angeles and the surrounding area.  Dear friends of the Grosjean family allowed them to host the Study in their house in the Canyon Back Mountain area.

Address:

[email doulosnorthhollywood@gmail.com for more info]

Google Maps: http://maps.google.de/maps?hl=de&tab=wl

Programm:

3:00pm: Meeting at the house and going for a hike over the local Canyonback-Trail

5:00pm: Potluck, please bring whatever you would like to bring

7:00pm: Singing, Biblestudy Genesis 18:22-33, Lessons on Intercessory Prayer

Feel free to join us at any time...!!!

Preparation:

If you would like to prepare for the Study, just observe the passage in Genesis 18:22-33, and try to glean some lessons/ principles of intercessory prayer from it.  It is important though, that these principles are really FROM THIS PARTICULAR TEXT.  Do not bring in other passages, except for further proof of the point already made from this passage.  Try to be an exegete, and be prepared for not only state your principle, but give a short explanation how you gleaned it from the text (which verse, why, and how does it apply).  We will do a short group study and bring together what you all could figure out.  Looking forward to see many of you on Friday!

Blessings

Pascal

The fear of the LORD. 7pm, Friday Dec 23rd at the Moore's.

1.     

I really enjoyed the discussion time we shared at the Grosjean's this last Friday and I would like to include time for that in the study coming up. I am posting this a little early and with a bit more info than usual so that you will have time to do a bit of studying on your own. That way we will have enough time for discussion when we meet together as a group. If you have any questions as you go through the material, please feel free to call or email me at any time. I mean it :-)

1 - The first part of the study will center on the nature of the fear of the LORD. What does the bible teach about the fear of the LORD.

Is this actually a trembling fear? Look at Isaiah 6:1-5, Jeremiah 5:21-25.

 

We will look at two main causes for the fear of the LORD. To understand the first cause, look at Hebrews 2:14-15, Genesis 3:8-10, Isaiah 59:1-2, and 1 John 4:17-19. Why would people be afraid to die? What happens after death that might cause fear? Does this change when one puts their faith in Christ? For the second cause of the fear of the LORD, consider the nature of God next to our nature. No one can look at God and live because he is too awesome for us to see completely. When Job questions God, Elihu answers him by proclaiming God’s Majesty. How does Elihu’s response to Job in Job 36 and 37, help foster a fear of the LORD in you? Why would being confronted with God’s majesty and power create fear? Does this change when one puts their faith in Christ? For some practical examples, think of your response if you were to come across a bear in the wilderness or if you were swimming in the ocean and saw a shark’s fin a few feet away. Or imagine you are in a thunder storm and lightning strikes a tree nearby. What do you think your response might be? Think of an example that you’d like to share, when you were confronted by the power of God in nature, or otherwise, and what your response was.

 

Given that Christ never sinned, do you think he ever feared God? Read Isaiah 11:1-4 for the quick answer. Given what you know, how would you explain this?

 

2 - The second part of the study will center on the changes that the fear of the LORD leads to. For that, let’s try a biblical study exercise.

I have gone through the book of Proverbs and found each example of the fear of the LORD. I believe the verses can be broken into 3 categories. The categories are: one, the fear of the LORD leads to loving the knowledge of God; two, the fear of the LORD leads to turning away from evil; three, the fear of the LORD leads to blessing and protection from the LORD. Look at the following verses and try to put them into one of the three categories: Proverbs 1:29, Proverbs 2:1-5, Proverbs 3:7, Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 9:10, Proverbs 10:27, Proverbs 14:2 & 27, Proverbs 14:26, Proverbs 15:16, Proverbs 15:33, Proverbs 16:6, Proverbs 19:23, Proverbs 22:4, Proverbs 23:17, Proverbs 24:21, Proverbs 28:14, Proverbs 29:25, Proverbs 31:30.

 

3 - The third part of the study, where I would like to spend the bulk of the time, centers on specific changes that the fear of the LORD leads to. These are the practical everyday changes that you and I can make to reflect the fear of the LORD in our lives.

 

The three things we learned from the last section are that the fear of the LORD leads to loving the knowledge of God, turning from evil, and being blessed and protected by God. All these concepts demand actual changes from our lives. During the study, I would like to break into groups and discuss each of these three areas of change.

 

The first area centers on Proverbs 2:1-5. How is the LORD fearer characterized and how can we do that more?

 

The second area centers on Proverbs 8:13. Do we truly hate sin? How might we change to grow more in that area?

 

The third area centers on Proverbs 29:25. Here we see that the fear of man and the fear of the LORD are in contrast to each other. When we make decisions are we actually trusting that God blesses his obedient children or do we make decisions fearing man’s response?

 

This is a lot of work, but I think we can get through it if you guys do a bit of the leg work before we get to the study. I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Jacob

Game Night @ the Hughes'

North Hollywood Study,

Morgan and Shelbie Hughes are opening their home this Friday night at 7pm for a game night! Bring the whole family and enjoy some fun games and fruitful fellowship (feel free to bring your favorites games!). They even have an upstairs that works well for putting down sleepy children. :)

Their address is:
[email doulosnorthhollywood@gmail.com for more info]

Contact Shelbie with any questions at (818) 426-6859 or colorfulhues@mac.com.

We hope to see you there!

Is Repentance Part of the Gospel? The Lordship Salvation Controversy and 1John (Biblestudy @ the Grosjeans Friday December 9th, 7:00pm)

Dear Fellow Douloi

In our next Biblestudy @ the Grosjeans, on Friday December 9th, we will still be thinking about introductory questions concerning 1John.  “Lordship Salvation” is a term for a controversy that appeared in the late 1980s and predominantly addressed the question: “Is repentance part of the gospel?”  Robert Lescelius summarizes the issue as following: “The controversy centers on whether one is saved through receiving Jesus as Savior only, or whether one must acknowledge Jesus as Lord also.”  We will see, that the exposition of 1John heavily depends on what position someone takes in this debate.   

As a preparation for our discussion, I would like you to do the following:

1.     Study the main arguments of the “Non-Lordship” View below:

a.     Hodges: “Faith is just an acknowledgment of facts and a inner conviction that the Gospel is true. Just that!” (John 4:10/ John 6:47/ John 11:26-27)

b.     Ryrie: “When a person gives credence to the historical facts that Christ died and rose from the dead and the doctrinal fact that this was for his sins, he is trusting his eternal destiny to the reliability of those truths.” 

c.     Saving faith is just a single drink from the living water, and then you are saved forever, no matter what happens.

d.     Every human being can exercise saving faith.  We believe hundreds of times a day. For example; We drink water from our faucet and believe that the guys at the water supply works did a good job.

e.     Discipleship is a “higher class” of Christians, but not required for every Christian.  Discipleship is like going to school, or having an education, but not required in order to be saved.

f.      God can use repentance, but he can also use other means to draw someone to Christ.  Gratitude or inward dissatisfaction can bring someone to Christ.

g.     Ryrie: “Every Christian will bear spiritual fruit.  Somewhere, sometime, somehow.  Otherwise that person is not a believer... but this does not mean that a believer will always be fruitful… this does not mean that a certain person’s fruit will necessarily be outwardly evident… my understanding of what fruit is …may be faulty or incomplete.”

h.     Christians can be carnal for a long time (1Cor 3:1-3)

i.      “Repentance” means only “change of mind”, since this is what the Greek verb for “to repent” means.

2.     Prepare yourself to work together in a group on a refutation of the “Non Lordship” Position.  Try to reason theologically and from scripture.

I am looking forward having a great discussion next time.

Blessings

- Pascal