Craig

Q1. (Matthew 5:27-32; 19:1-12) With whom did Jesus side: Rabbi Hillel or Rabbi Shammai? What exception does Jesus give to his prohibition of divorce? How does this exception relate to Deuteronomy 24:1-4? Jesus appears to side with Rabbi Shammai. Sexual immorality -- adultery -- was grounds for divorce. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 suggests that if a husband found something to be "indecent" -- sexually immortal -- about his wife he could divorce her.

Q5. (Matthew 5:27-30) The spirit of our age is very accepting and approving of lus+ According to Jesus' words, how seriously are we to take lus+? How does agape love help us combat lus+? Regreatting **** and adultery, Jesus said: "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than your whole body to go into hell." Matt. 5:30 Jesus said we must take **** very seriously. When we begin to see others in a caring and Godly way we won't **** for them.

Q4. (Matthew 5:28) Sex is very closely tied to our core sense of person. This means that as we are healed in our view towards sex, it goes a long way toward making us whole inside. How would you counsel a brother who shared with you that he had trouble with pornogr*phy? How can you protect yourself against temptation over the Internet? At the beach or poolside? With your TV? I would pray with him, counsel him to end viewing ****, and come up with ideals to remove **** from his reach. Filters will prevent easy access to **** on the internet. At the beach or poolside you just have to look away. There are filters for tv's and don't watch sexually oriented programs. Sex of some kind is advertised throughout our society. It is hard to escape it. All of us have to pray over this issue consistently.

Q3. (Matthew 5:28) What is wrong with pornogr*phy? What is wrong with going to prostitutes? Who are the victims of this "victimless" activity? What is wrong with viewing *********** and sleepling with prostitutes is it is sexually immortal -- sin. It goes against God's plan for healthy sexual activity. The victioms are (quoting Dr. Wilson): "The women who pose. The men who view and become addicted despite their shame. The wives who suffer isolation, shame, and assault. The children who are abused. The women who are raped. The society that bears the cumulative pain of divorce, crime, and disorder. Victims? We all are victims."

Q2. God purposely created us with a good and natural sexual desire. How do we distinguish between that God-given sexual desire and forbidden lus+? Sex outside of marriage is forbidden ****. God has a plan to focus sexual drive into a pleasurable and productive channel and that is marriage. Outside of marriage sex is responsible for broken homes, children without both parents, diease, broken hearts and spirits, murder, economic hardship, etc.

Q1. (Matthew 5:27-30; Exodus 20:17) What is the point of similarity between adultery and lus+? What is the difference? How does lus+ break the Tenth Commandment? Both result from coveting a woman other than my wife. There is no difference, the attitude in the heart is the same. **** breaks the the Tenth Commandant in that one covets his neighbor's wife. **** and adultery are coveting another's wife, girl friend, etc. in thought and deed.

Q5. (Matthew 5:21-26) Verses 21-22 are about murder, anger, and insult. Verses 23-24 discuss some fault against one's brother. Verses 25- 26 discuss settling a civil suit before going to court. What is the overarching theme of Jesus' teaching in our entire passage, verses 21-26? The overarching theme is not to let anger and hatred reside in our hearts. But to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Q4. (Matthew 5:25-26) What is the point of Jesus' parable of settling out of court? Who are we supposed to settle with, according to this parable? What does "settling" entail? What are the reasons that we should settle? Settle out of court because if the the judge gets involved the punishment could a harsh judgement/punishment. According to this parable we are to settle with those we are in debt to or have wronged. Settling entails making restitution or reconciliation or amends to someone we have wronged in some way. The reasons we should settle is that it is the right thing to do and that if God gets involved the result can be harsh punishment.

Q3. (Matthew 5:23-24) What's wrong with worshipping while a brother has something against us (or us against a brother, Mark 11:25)? What is the appropriate action for us to take? How far should we go to bring about reconciliation with someone whom we have offended? Are there any situations that we shouldn't try to resolve? Or that we can't resolve? What's wrong is that the heart is not in the place it should be. The appropriate action for us to take is to attempt to reconcile the situation. We should go as far in reconciliation as the other person will permit. There are no situations we should not try to resolve. Again, resolution of a situation depends upon the spirit of the individuals concerned.

Q2. (Matthew 5:21-22) Why does Jesus treat calling someone a fool in the same classification as murder? Does this mean that murder is no worse than an angry insult in God's eyes? How would we act differently if we actually believed that angry attitudes towards others are viewed by God as murder? The spirit and attitude behind both situations are the same. Sin is sin. The heart must be changed because the spirit that crushes someone elses's soul/spirit is the same spirit that murders someone physically. If we really believed this, we would choke back and change our attitudes when we become angry.

Q1. (Matthew 5:17-20) Can you see any tendencies in the church today to effectively "abolish" the Old Testament from our Christian faith? What does a "Christian" legalism look like in a church? What does it look like in a church where there are no moral standards and no obedience expected of Christians? I frequently hear Christians say that they are under grace and that the law and the Old Testament do not apply to them. Preachers have stopped preaching out of the Old Testament and some have even limited their preaching to the Pauline letters. Christian legalism can look like: judging the appearance and social status of others; judging church attendance - whether you are attending Sunday and Wednesday services because that is when Church happens; are parents controlling their children the I think, judging the tithes of others, etc. In a church where there is no moral standards and no obedience expected of Christians then there is no power and no movement of the Holy Spirit. The church is ineffective and doing nothing for the kingdom of God.

Q3. (Psalm 95:1-7) How many names, titles, and metaphors of God can you find in this passage, both explicit and implicit? What does the Psalmist call on us to do in response to God revealed in his Names? Why are these actions appropriate? Names, titles, and metaphors in this passage include: Lord; Rock; Salvation; Great God; Great King; Creator; Maker; and Shepherd. The Psalmist calls on us to bow down in worship and let us kneel before the Lord our Maker and not to harden our hearts toward Him. God is worthy of all praise and worship because He is our Creator and has allowed us to participate in creation.

Q2. What inherent rights does a Potter, Creator, or Maker have over what he has created? How should that effect our lives, our self-image, our sense of purpose? The Creator has the right to set the standards over His creation. If we are interested in having a relationship with our Creator then we will find out His standards and procedures for doing so and then implement them into our lives.

Q1. (Isaiah 45:9-12) Why is it ridiculous for a pot to second-guess the Potter? How do we Christians do this? What is a better attitude and behavior before our Creator? The pot has no control over the potter and doesn't see the big picture. True Christians permit God, our potter, to mold, shape, and form us into the image of Son, Jesus Christ. We need to have a positive, open, and willing attitude toward God while He is shaping us into the image of Son. This is a good thing! We need to submit our wills to Him and abandon ourselves to Him.

Q4. (1 Samuel 17:26, 36; Hebrews 10:31) How do you think David's understanding of the Living God enabled him to challenge Goliath? Read Hebrews 10:31 in context. Why should the Living God inspire fear and dread? David believed in the overwhelming power of the Living God -- the Most God, Creator of heaven and earth. It is a very bad thing to do in mocking God. God will punish His people to discipline them and truly to fall into the hands of the Living God -- the God that Has all power in hands -- is a fearful thing.

Q3. (Isaiah 44:6; Revelation 1:8) What does the idea of "first" and "last" tell you about God? How does Revelation 1:8 relate to God's revelation to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM"? The idea of "first" and "last" tells me that God is eternal -- existing in the past, present, and future. The Lord God said that he is "the Alpha and the Omega ... who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." God, in revealing Himself to Moses said, "I AM THAT I AM" -- the eternal one, one who has always existed -- past, present, and future. The Holy Scripture is consistent from Genesis to Revelation on this point as it is every point.

Q2. (Isaiah 57:15) What do you think it is like to "inhabit eternity"? What will it be like when you inhabit eternity with the Eternal God, seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places? What emotions does this inspire in you? I think a part of inhabiting eternity will include relief, joy, love, expectation and excitement. To be in the presence of the Eternal God, seated with Christ Jesus can only be awesome, wonderous, amazing and will generate a lot of thanksgiving, praise and worship.

Q1. (Exodus 3:1-15) What does God's name Yahweh reveal about his person and his power? How would an understanding of Yahweh's name contrast him with the idols worshipped by the Egyptians? The name Yahweh reveals to us the eternal nature and existence of God. The name reveals God's power over death or non-existence. The idols worshipped by the Egyptians were created by human-beings or by Satan -- a product of God's creation.

Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Abraham refuses to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him because the king is evil. Abraham has aligned himself with the King of Salem. A king of righteousness and a High Priest of Yahew. This act reveals the righteousness of Abraham. The lesson here is not to compromise with evil.

Q3. (14:20) What is the significance of Abraham giving one tenth of the spoils of war to Melchizedek? Does tithing today represent the same kind of worship? Why should we tithe to God first (like Abraham did) before dividing up our paychecks to pay our bills? Abraham is tithing a tenth of the spoils of war to God via His High Priest Melchizedek. I think tithing today represents the same kind of worship. It honors God with our first fruits. Giving is essential in having a relationship with God.

Q2. (14:13-16) What does Abraham's military expedition to rescue Lot from the Mesopotamian kings tell us about his character? About his abilities? About the way he deals with neighbors? What is here for us to emulate? This expedition tells me that Abraham is honorable and brave. He takes seriously his convenant obligation to watch over, care for, protect, and come to the aide of his dead brother's son Lot. Apparently Lot had great tactical warfare skills and could connect well with his neigbors as evidenced by gaining them as his allies in going to rescue his nephew. Be bold, trust in God and then let God be our God. Abraham was a man of action, we should be the same.

Q1. (13:2) Does Abraham's material wealth reflect God's blessing on him? Does material wealth always reflect God's blessing? Does physical poverty always reflect God's curse? The scripture tells us that Abraham's wealth was a blessing from God. Material wealth is a blessing from God depending upon the mission God has for each person in this world. However, God may purpose other people for assignments/calls in this world where material wealth isn't required or desired. Material wealth can be curse for some. Where material poverty can be a blessing. The bottomline is, material wealth doesn't always reflect God's blessing. Look at the life of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and Paul -- read Hebrews 11. Additionally, materialism is only one dimension of a person's life. Total blessings and prosperity from God affect the total quality of life of a person. Physical poverty can reflect God's curse in some cases. Poverty has many causes and purposes. Not all proverty is bad.

Q2. (Matthew 5:21-22) Why does Jesus treat calling someone a fool in the same classification as murder? Does this mean that murder is no worse than an angry insult in God's eyes? How would we act differently if we actually believed that angry attitudes towards others are viewed by God as murder? Anger and murder come from the root. Murder and tearing people down both destroy people. I think both murder and angery insult express the same feeling with different physical results. The spirit is same and in reality are no different. If we really wraped our minds around this issue, we would change our attitudes towards others. We would treat our angry behavior towards like murder and be more careful and prayerful in our dealings with others. Everything is about the spirit and the spirit behind what we say and do.

Q1. (Matthew 5:17-20) Can you see any tendencies in the church today to effectively "abolish" the Old Testament from our Christian faith? What does a "Christian" legalism look like in a church? What does it look like in a church where there are no moral standards and no obedience expected of Christians? The tendencies I see is a lack of preaching from the Old Testament. A focus totally on grace, with little focus on personal holiness because we are "under grace." Being under grace doesn't mean that we as Christians don't reflect the morality and holiness of the Living God. Christian legalism in church looks alot like judgmentalism regarding rules for dress and overall appearance, i.e. length of hair, tattoes, etc.; church attendance; loyalty only to a given church -- no outside ministries permitted. A Christian can only listen to a certain kind of Christian or Gospel music. Christians can only minister to a certain class of people. Really, this can go and go. Christian legalism really has to do with things that are exterior and have nothing to do with the interior of the Christian and the discipleship of the believer or the lordship of Jesus Christ in the believers life. Often-times it's individual legalism vice the teachings of Jesus Christ that are the underlying currents in alot of churches. Many times Christians stop going to those churches. A church without moral standards and no obedience expected of Christians is a worldly church where anything goes. Can you really call this a church? It is more like a religious club.

Q5. (Judges 8:28-31) How does Gideon influence Israel during his life? What is the positive continuing effect of his leadership as judge? As a result of the victory over Midian, Israel enjoyed forty years of peace and they stayed focused on Yaweh. His leadership keeps Israel strong enough both spiritually and militarily that they are not troubled by invaders during his lifetime.