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Q2. What was the purpose of the Passover meal for future generations? Why was it to be repeated? What was to be remembered? What would have happened if the Jews had stopped remembering the Exodus? It was another way that the people could show love and respect for God by teaching each consecutive generation of God's Love and Mercy when He became their Redeemer and saved them from slavery under Pharaoh. Each generation was commanded to teach their children and to remember that they and their ancestors had been slaves. It was repeated as a way of remembrance and to show God that He was still their Provider, Shelter, Protector, Lord and God. The things to be remembered was that God had redeemed them from slavery and death under Pharaoh. That they were God's chosen people and that He was in control. That He had commanded they follow His teachings to Moses and do thing that He had done when God sent him to lead their ancestors to the promise land. If the people fail to keep God's commands and stop remembering the Exodus then it would meant they are rejecting God as Lord and Redeemer and they would be worse off than when they were slaves in Egypt. They would become slaves to their own sins never realizing that a Messiah was given to save them and bring them to the real Promised Land to be with their God forever.

Q1. What was the responsibility of the next of kin to someone in his family who was in trouble? How did Jesus play the role of Kinsman-Redeemer for us? What does this say about God's love? What does this say about our worth? It was up to them to do what ever necessary to help them deal with their problems and solve what ever trouble they were in. Jesus played our redeemer by paying our sin debt that we could never be able to pay. He gave His all to save us and give us a chance at a new life. It says about God love that it is deep and devoted to saving us even when we are so undeserving.It is by grace and His love only that saves us from having to face His wrathe when we die. It says that we are very valuable to God and that our worth is first place in His plan to save us.We are Sons of God so He makes it His first Priorty to save us from our selves and our **** for worldly things. Idols that we let take His place in our hearts. We are the most important thing to God because no matter what He gave His Son for Redeemer of all who would chose to follow Him.

Q1. When repeated often, doesn't the Lord's Supper run the risk of becoming mundane and lose its meaning? Why did Jesus command its repetition? It can become mundane if not done in the right frame of mind. That's why Paul reminded us not to make it a feast or it would its meaning. The Corinthians were even doing it when drunk from to much wine. We must make sure that Jesus is formost in our thoughts and hearts and the fact that He died a painful death to save us from our sin is there when ever we take part in the Bread and Wine used to symbolize His Body and Blood. I believe that Jesus commanded it be repeated becaus He knew that men are prone to forget unless they are given a reminder. Jesus wanted all men to be able to know the things that He had done for them and this was a means for them to show their faith and knowledge of His death and ressurection.

Q4. Which part of the meaning of the Lord's Supper is most valuable for you at this point in your spiritual journey when you partake of and meditate on the Lord's Supper? I don't quite know how to answere here. All of the parts of the Lords supper are important to me it is the time I need to reflect and try to seek a new start with Christ because it is without saying I can no more stop sinning and become completely Holy than I can stop breathing. I us this time of reflecting to seek His forgiveness once more to thank Him for the sacrifice He made so long ago for me. I tried and do better and offer my heart for cleansing and renewal. I ask that my heart be guarded by the bread and wine for another week that I may become Holy and Pleasing ing the site of my Lord and Saviour.

Q4. (1 Peter 5:10) How has God shown his grace to you and your family? Why do you think Peter describes him as the God of All Grace? God has blessed my family even though we like all people are truly undeserving. We have sinned against each other as well as neighbors,but God in His mercy sees fit to bless us anyway. Peter, knew the forgiveness of God and he also knew that he was undeerving of that forgiveness. He sinned against the Son when he denied Him three times but Jesus took Him back and told him to feed my sheep. Giving him another chance to show his obedience and to follow Jesus. He made another choice to live for Christ when He realized the Blessing he had just recieved and the Grace and Mercy of the Father.

Q3. Which action words used to describe the elements of the Lord's Supper, teach us that we are to be thinking of Jesus' sacrifice of atonement, when we partake of the Lord's Supper? I would say that it is DO THIS IN REMEMBERANCE OF ME, these word should be in our mind any time that we take part in the Lord's Supper. To not think of the pain that Jesus suffered and the Love He poured out on the cross is to make a mockery of the whole meaning of the Lord's Supper. I can't think of a greater gift than the chance to show Love back to Jesus through taking the bread and the wine in the fashion that He laid out for His disciples before He gave His life. He can expect noting less than a true act of repentance and an acceptance of His Love for us.

Q3. How does God's steadfast love in the Old Testament relate to his mission of love in John 3:16? I agree with everyone else God's Love for man is never changing. His word says that He has loved us since before the creation of the world. That means He loves us the same every day without change no matter what we do. The love He had for the Isrealites in the wilderness and the Love laid out for man in John 3:16 are a continuation of the same Love that was spoken of before time began,When He spoke the words let us make man in our image that was a greater Love than anyone could ever imagine. There is no change in God's Love it is timeless and the only pure unrestricted Love there is.

Q2. How can an extreme symbolic interpretation cause a person to have too little respect for the Lord's Supper and its elements? Where is the balance, do you think? When we make to much symbolism out of the elements they lose there meaning to us. We forget that Christ gave us the instruction to Do This In Remembrance Of Me. We must always strive to keep Christ first place in all our worship because He was made head of the church but this is most important when taking part in communion or Lord's Supper. The balance comes when we always put Christ first and remember why He instituted this Holy Scrament. He gave us the symbols that we were to us them to remember what He chose to do that our sins could be forgiven not just making an extra step in our church time. We need to think first of Jesus and then we can give proper place to the bread and wine.

Q2. What does faithfulness have to do with trustworthiness and keeping one's word? What does the Faithful God inspire in you? Why must faithfulness be part of our character as believers? They are enter-twined you can't be faithful and not trustworthy. If you are not faithful then you are not trustworthy. God is sboth of these He is the fulfillment of trust and faithfullness. He is the creator of all faith and trust. He is our guide to the learning of faith and trust without His Spirit to teach and guide us we can'tknow what faith and trust are. To be true Christians we must be trustworthy and faithful. We must be faithful to serve God and to keepHis commandments which include being trust worthy.

Q1. How does your particular understanding of the bread and the wine (literal or figurative) help you grow closer to Christ when partaking of the Lord's Supper? My basic understanding of the bread and wine have always been figurative (symbols) that were to be used to represent the Body and Blood of Christ and the taking was very serious and had to be done with a contrite heart due to the fact that Paul stated to take it anyother way was to sin against the Body and Blood. It is a fact of making me feel closer to Christ as making me feel more of the act of His death. I feel that this is a real time of repentance for me and to not be deeply sorry for all the things I have done would be just one more sin added to my list. I think of the taking of the bread and wine as my covering for the next week when I'll get to renew that covenant with Christ again.

Q1. Why was God's willingness to forgive essential to Israel's survival in the wilderness? Was Israel contrite after turning away from the Lord in Exodus 34? What is so amazing about God's forgiveness? Without God's forgiveness Isreal would not have survived in the wilderness, they needed food and water, not to mention protection from their enemies. They seemed to be sorry at times but most often forgot the things that God had done for them. The amazing thing about God's forgiveness is that He kept forgiving and then providing for them. Even when they made idols He forgave and continued to had a covenant relationship with them. It can only be His huge unending love for them that allowed Him to forgive.

Q5. What do we miss in our understanding of God if we remove the metaphor of Father and Son from our church vocabulary? Which feminine metaphors of God especially help you understand God's nature? I agree that there is a number of places that a feminine side of God is shown, one can even argue that the protective side is more feminine.ever seen a mother hen protect her chicks, but to call God by a fiminine name is to me a sin against the creator. We are instructed to follow Christ, He is our example, He call God the Father and taught the desciples to pray that way so that is good enough for me.

Q4. In what sense was God the Husband of Israel? What is the New Testament extension of this metaphor? What causes God to be jealous? God was the husband of Isreal in that He provided their needs, food in the form of manna, water, their clothes never wore out, He fought for and protected them in their journey out of Egypt. He showed them His love by giving them a coveanant and a place to worship Him by coming and dwelling with the in the tabernacle. Jesus came as our covenant with God and made us the Bride by dieing for our sins. He formed His church and made us a part of it when we confess those sins and turn to Him for our saviour. God becomes our husband when we give up our lusts and turn to Him and depend on Him for our needs. He is our Husband when we look to Him in love for the saving of our souls, He becomes our protector. God is a jealous God when we turn to idols for our fulfillment instead of Him. He like any husband is jealous when we show love to another instead of Him.

. In what sense are Jesus and the Father one? In what way was Jesus distinct from the Father? Is Jesus God in the sense that the Father is God? They are one in the fact that they are doing what the Father wants accomplished in His relationship with His chosen people. Jesus said that He came to accomplish the Father's will and that is what He did. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one in their relationship with their Father and ours. He is the Son of the Father sent to do His will and to fulfill His will. He is distinct in that He is the one Who died for us on the cross. He shed His blood,preformed the perfect sacrifice and love the Father by doing His will. Jesus is God in every sense. He is the Son sent to fulfill the will of the Father . He is God in His relationship with us. He is Emmanuel, the Christ, Lord of Lord, He is our High Priest in the order of Melchidzek. He is the head of the body the church all this at the biding of the Father and His will to do the Fathers work that He gave Him to do.

Q2. How was the intimate way that Jesus taught his disciples about God as "Abba" and "Father" different from the Jews' understanding of God as Father? How does God as Abba influence your relationship with him? The Isrealites were taught that God as Father was a stern disciplinarian. One who punished to the third and fourth generation. They as a people had no knowledge of God as a daddy figure. Even Abram was afraid to question God and took his questions as being a punishable offense. Till Jesus came and started teaching that God was also a tender hearted God of love and devotion,one who could be endeared in the heart and chearished like one does an earthly Father no one had heard of this concept. I think of Father in the same way, a Father figure is a stern person to be looked up to and obeyed. Respected more than loved, but daddy is one who loves me and wants to show me that love and expect it back in return.Daddy is respected out of that love not of fear. I want to have that relationship with God that He came come to be my daddy ,one who is there for me helping me in time of trial and pain. One who I can turn to when I need help just getting through the day. One I can talk to about any problem or guild without reservation or fear. God is always waiting for us to come to terms with the knowledge that this is truly what He wants from us the Love due our DADDY.

Q1. What does the concept of "father" teach us about God, especially the formal way which the word is used in the Old Testament? According to the quote from Otfried Hofius above, which two aspects of a father underlie our understanding of Father in the Old Testament? How should they affect our behavior? "In the patriarchal societies of antiquity, the father figure is endowed with two particular characteristics. On the one hand, the father rules as head of the household and the person to whom most respect is due, having absolute authority over his family. On the other hand, he has the responsibility of guarding, supporting, and helping the other members. Both these characteristics are also present when a deity is described or addressed as father."1 The concept of Father teaches that God is a loving caring person who created us and helps us to learn and live with each other. According to the quote above He is One that is to be respected and has absolute authority over the family. He has the responsibility of providing for us and guarding us from our enemies. If we truly love God then we should want to please Him and that would include all of the above. We would show the respect that a Father deserves and would not resist the guiding and directing that the Father does for us. We would yield to His leadershsip and allow Him to care and provide for us with out question but instead with expection like an earthly Father. Knowing God as Father should give us a feeling of closeness that is only found in a Father. We should not be afraid tto go to Him for anything or to tell Him any of or short comings.

Q4. Meditate on the concept of God as a Spring of Living Water or a Fountain of Living Water for you. What does this say about God? About your thirst? About your future? For life to exist there must be water, for a spiritual life to exist there must be God. He is our source and there is no other that we can go to for that spiritual refreshing that is needed to exist in the unspiritual world. With out God there is no hope. This says that God is indeed the Creator and Finisher of Life with out Him nothing can exist. He is our help. He is of strength and He fills all our daily needs. When we are thirsty we seek Him for that refreshing drink of His word to continue to be filled. Without Him there is no future. He will be there when ever we seek HIm but to turn from Him can only lead to darkness and despire.

Q3. Why do we sometimes resist calling on God to be our Helper? Why do we try to do it ourself first? What is required of us if God is to be a Helper and Shepherd to us? I start my day asking the Lord to help strengthen me and give me the knowledge for the day something I never did before, but even now I sometimes when facing a challenge I forget to ask God to lead me I just jump right in forgetting that all good things come from Him and that if I am to be successful I need the Lord to guide me. We want to be independant now accepting help from anyone even our God. We form habits of doing it our-selves now seeking guideance from the one who created us and can lead us through any situation. If God is to be our Helped and Shepard I must totally surrender to Him. I must always put seeking Him and His guidance first before all else. He must be the first thing I think of when I start something or prepare for a new task or even everyday life. I must acknowledge Him as Lord of my life and always give Him thanks for the things that He does for me. We must have Him in our hearts if we are to be able to remember to seek ye first before all else.

Q2. (Psalm 23) Can you remember any times when God has cared for you as a Shepherd -- in times of blessing and in times of trouble? What are you facing right now where you realize your need to rely on God as your Shepherd? Yes there are many times when God was there as my provider and protector. He has kept safe and provided for my needs when I thought I was truly alone and saw no way out. I turned to Him and repented os my sins and He was just and merciful to forgive me and show me that He was there as My Father, I give Him all praise and Honor for the things He brought me through. I am facing the daily struggles to His will for my life against the fleshly desires that keep trying to pull me away and turn me back to a way of life that leads to death. He is my shepard, He gives me strength in these times and protects my spirit with His Spirit and leads me in green pastures. Where I can find safty and reassurance.

Q1. (Genesis 22:1-14) Do you think Abraham was really expecting God to provide a sacrifice, or that was just what he told Isaac? What support do you have for your position? Did you ever receive a last-minute provision from God? In what circumstances can we expect God to supply our needs? Any conditions? Yes, I believe that Abraham expected God to provide, I am sure that he did not know how God would accomplish this but He had faith from all the other times he had followed the Lords directions. He left his family and traveled to a strange land. He ask God to save the people of Sodom and Gomorrah if 5 righteous people could be found. He gave a tithe to Melchidzek to show his faith in God his provider. He knew that God had worked in his life before so He had to trust Him now that he was told to sacrifice Isaac. Yes. numberous times God has provided me strength to get through troubles that I saw no way out of,times whan I wanted to give up and end it all,but God was with me and help me see that He was the only way and that if I just lean on Him, He will get me through. God will provide when we are faithful, like Abraham we have to depend and not waver. He will provide our needs not want as others have already said. He will sustain us as we seek to keep His word and to do His will for our lives. God always has conditions after every promise there is an IF, we must keep His commandment and do His will for our lives if we expect Him to be there for us. We can't leave Him out of our lives and do everything on our own and then expect Him to be there for us.

Q4. (Psalm 121). What does it mean that God is our Keeper. In what ways does he "keep" or "guard" us? God is our keeper in that He guards our spirits from the evil of this life and the perials that satan throws our way every day if we give Him first place in our hearts. He will not force Himself on us it must be by our choosing and our commitment that we give our selves to His control. He gives us His word,His Son,and His Spirit to guard our thoughts and actions daily as we dedicate each day to serving Him in the best way we can.

Q3. In what ways is God a Rock in the above verses. What functions does a rock perform in Palestine? My Bible translates the Word Rock in Psalms 144:1 as Strength. I believe that God is our strenght and gives us the power to live each Day for His Honor and Glory if we chose to do so. I pray for strength each da and expect the Lord to help me face each new challenge. God is our protector against the enemy if our hearts and minds stay on Him. He will shield us and keep us that in it self make Him our Rock. The Rock of Palestine to me would be one of Judgement. THe people of Palestine must face the rath of God for what they have done to His chosen people. He is still the defender of Isreal and they are His chosen people. He has said blessed are the ones who bless Isreal so the Rock in Palestine will bring Judgement.

Q3. In what ways is God a Rock in the above verses. What functions does a rock perform in Palestine? In the verses I see God as the Rock of Strength, Comfort, Security,Perfection, Peace and Joy. He is the Stone that the builders rejected. He will become their Judge and Destroyer. He is their only Hope for a place of refuge that is eternal. He is the Creater that placed the Rock there and will be the one who's final assembly plan will have to be followed.

Q2. (Psalm 3:3) In what ways is God a shield? In what ways is he our glory? In what ways is he "the lifter up of my head"? What does this teach us about God? About ourselves? God is the shield of the believer when they stay in His word and allow the word to live in them. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and was God.Ant the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus promised to send a comforter His Spirit. We as belivers have that Spirit living in us when we practice doing the things God left for us to do in His word. He is our shield of our spirit when we have the shield of faith and breast plate of righteousness as our defence. He is our Glory when we succeed against those fiery dart sent from satan to destroy what God has created in His own image. We are fill with His Glory because His Spirit live in use to comfort and sustain us in time of trouble. He is the lifter up of my head by being there when I an weak for then He is strong. He is my comfort and healer at a time when I forget to look and know that He is God and that He is in control. This teaches me that I can always trust in God to be there for me even when things aren't going my way for He is in control and will see me through that home He promised to prepare for me. I know that I am weak and need God for my shield with out Him I can do nothing. I need His shield of faith every day to keep me going. I need the breast plate of righteousness because without Him none are righteousness no not one. I need to stand strong in the power of His Might becaus I have no strenght or protection without Him. He is my All in All.

Q1. (Psalm 91) What is the protected one required to do in times of danger (verses 1-2, 9). What metaphors are used of God's protection in this psalm? He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation I believe that like has already been said this Psalm is from the spiritual sense. It would be hard to look in the every day life and not find christians who truly believe and yet face persecution. We are to rest in the knowledge from scripture that in the end we will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He will redeem us as He promises from this life of sin and trouble. We must never forget to spead our belief for that is truly what builds faith,declaring that God is our refuge and fortress and we trust in Him only for our salvation. the Metaphors are : hiding place, shelter,shadow,shade, refuge, fortress,shield,buckler,habitation. These are all places of safety that we can seek when our spirit is under attack and we need that assurance that God will keep our spirit safe in His loving arms till we make that journey home.