hanks

Q3. (Genesis 31:17-36) Why did Jacob and his family leave without saying good-bye to Laban? In what sense did they "deceive" Laban? (31:20, 27). Was anything they did unjust or unrighteous? If so, how? God told them to leave and knowing what Laban

Q2. (21:8-10) What motivates Sarah to demand Ishmael's expulsion from Abraham's family encampment? Is she righteous in this? Have you ever tried to force your spouse to act against his or her principles? Have you ever been forced yourself? Sarah was correct in the expulsion of Ishmael. I think she was getting rid of any possible threat to Isaac

Q2. (Genesis 30:25-43) At what point do you think Jacob realizes that his breeding techniques are not the cause of his growing wealth? According to Deuteronomy 8:17-18, what danger are we in when our income and assets begin to increase? Jacob sees that even with Laban changing the conditions of the deal, his own flocks are increasing; he now knows God is in control, and keeping His promises as Jacob begins to prosper. The biggest danger we face is that when we begin to prosper we often take the credit for it; forgetting that everything we have and even every breath we take all comes from our Heavenly Father. We push God into the background and never realize that we are only His stewards.

Q1. (21:5-7) The name Isaac means "he laughs." What Sarah

Q1. (21:5-7) The name Isaac means "he laughs." What Sarah

Q1. (Genesis 29) Why do you think God allows Jacob to be tricked into 14 years of labour for two wives? What purposes do you think God is working out through these circumstances? We see how God is keeping His promise by blessing Jacob with many descendants. We also see how God is disciplining Jacob and doing some character building on him, by teaching him patience.

Q4. (Genesis 28:22) What does Jacob's promise to tithe indicate about his commitment? Presumably, Jacob has been a believer in Yahweh all his life. In what sense is this incident at Bethel a conversion experience for him? What is the relationship of tithing to conversion? Jacob

Q3. (Genesis 28:18-21) What did it mean to Jacob to set up the stone? What did anointing the stone mean to him? Why does he do these things? What does he promise God in his vow? It was a pillar to commemorate his meeting with God. Anointing the stone was an act of worship; dedicating and cleansing himself apart for God. Jacob had just personally met God and was in awe of our great God. So he made a vow as a formal response to God

Q2. (Genesis 28:12-15) What did Jacob's dream of the angels ascending and descending from heaven signify to Jacob? What did God's blessing mean to him? In what way was this a conversion experience for him? He must have thought this is a holy place, not realizing God

Q1. (Genesis 28:3-4) Why does Isaac bless Jacob, especially after Jacob's deception? How does this blessing compare to other blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? What are the main elements of Isaac's blessing? Isaac must have realised that God

Q4. (19:30-38) Why did Lot's daughters turn to incest? What does this tell us about their values? About their faith? Why does Lot turn to intoxication? What does this incident tell us about his faith? His hope? His influence? His choice of residence? What lessons should we learn from this story? The whole family had been living a life of low morals. It was only natural for them to think of sex, even incest. Living such an ungodly life, there is no time or need (at least, they thought so) to turn to God, so there was no need for faith in our Lord. Lot had made the wrong choices in life, and participated in the evil life of Sodom. Lot now tries to

Q3. (19:26) After being nearly delivered, why did Lot's wife stop and gaze rather than escaping? What was in her heart? Have you ever struggled with this in your heart? What lesson does Jesus draw from Lot's wife in Luke 17:31-33? Lot

Q2. (19:15-16) Why did Lot and his family hesitate? Have you ever hesitated when you should have been fleeing a danger? What is the lesson for us? They must have felt comfortable with the life they were living and in no hurry to abandon their sinful life. They were only saved because of being related to Abraham. I see it as a warning to us to flee from any evil before it

Q1. (19:4-11) How can Christians keep balance on the issue of homosexuality in our day? Is it really possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals at the same time as you condemn the sin? Should the church be silent about homosexuality? If not, what should we be saying? Where should we be saying it? (Be gentle and loving as you discuss this subject -- please!) The Bible is our only source of absolute truth and the only natural sexual relationship the Bible recognizes is a heterosexual one within marriage (Gen 2:21-24; Mat 19:4-6). All homosexual relations constitute sexual perversion and are subject to God

Q5. (Genesis 25:28) What happens when your children sense that you love one child more than another? Did such discrimination happen to you when you were growing up? If so, how are you finding healing? How can we as parents love our children equally but differently? Being a parent is not the easiest task in the world. Even the godliest parents are imperfect. While there are solid principles for parents in the Bible, it requires a lot of wisdom and prayer. The one thing never to do is show favouritism to any child. We must love each child equally, but this does not mean we treat each one identically. As a father to three sons, I know that each one of my sons is different and therefore are treated with love differently. We are to study each child and bring out the best in each one; and ultimately help each one to get to know our Lord Jesus. Fortunately I never experienced any discrimination when growing up. Being the eldest I was out of the home first.

Q4. On what ground does Abraham so boldly address God? Do you think God desires us to do the same? Why or why not? Why do you think Abraham's intercession pleased God? What will it take for us to please him in our prayers? Abraham wanted to save his nephew Lot who was in Sodom. Yes, I think God desires that we be bold and persistent in our prayers. We are to mirror God

Q4. (Genesis 27:33) Why couldn't Isaac reverse his blessing once he discovers Jacob's trickery? What is Isaac's role in this blessing? What is God's role in it? Unlike today, a person

Q3. (18:19) In your own words, describe what a lifestyle of "keeping the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just" looks like in the twenty-first century. In what ways is this difficult? In what ways is this easy? What are the special challenges? In answering this question I am reminded of what Jesus said in Matt 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.

Q3. (Genesis 27:6-29) God had told Rebekah that Jacob is supposed to rule over Esau (Genesis 25:23). To what extent does this excuse her plan to deceive her husband Isaac? How much responsibility does Jacob bear in the deception? Rebekah knew of God

Q2. Was Rebekah a spiritual woman, that is, interested in spiritual things? Was Isaac a spiritual man? Which do you think was the more spiritually sensitive? What evidence of spirituality do you see in Jacob? In Esau? Yes, I would say that all the members of the family were spiritual in that they attached importance to things spiritual, but they erred in trying to do things in their own way. God had promised Rebekah that Esau would serve Jacob. Everyone knew about this. God expects His servants to carry out their spiritual responsibilities by faith. They acted without faith, which only complicated matters. Jacob gets the blessing of his father Isaac through deception and only results in fragmenting the family. Each member of the family was at fault. Isaac knew that the elder would serve the younger; yet he set out to prevent it by blessing Esau. Esau, agreeing to the plan, broke the oath he had made with Jacob earlier. Rebekah and Jacob, with a just cause, each tried to achieve God

Q1. Why does the New Testament condemn Esau for selling his birthright? (Hebrews 12:16-17) What did selling the birthright represent? What does this transaction say about Esau's character and values? What does it reveal about Jacob's character and values? The NT describes Esau as a godless person. He traded the lasting benefits of his birthright for the immediate pleasure of food. Obviously he did not think about what he was doing, and acted on impulse. By selling his birthright Esau shows that he had no regard for God

Q2. (18:16-19) How can fathers and husbands strike the right balance - of being godly, caring leaders without being dictators? How can mothers and wives strike the right balance - of being submissive and at the same time being open about their needs and desires? (I know of no Christian cookie-cutter answer to this. It must be conscientiously worked out within the crucible of marriage.) It is very difficult in today

Q1. (18:14) How can we tell if we really believe in God's present willingness to do miracles in our day? Is there any indication in Scripture that God will stop doing miracles? Is there any indication that God continues to do miracles? How can we regain an active faith in the God of miracles? God is continually and actively involved in His creation, Heaven and earth - all creation. To preserve, control and govern all things on a continual basis, shows that God is continually performing miracles. When I stop and look at the latest pictures of galaxies and then see pictures taken by electron microscopes

Q4. In your own words, how would you explain why circumcision is now obsolete for Christians and that baptism is now sign of the covenant? The way I understand circumcision is that under the Old Covenant, Jews were under the Law and were circumcised to remind them of their covenant with God. It was a symbolic physical act which did not soften their hearts. The history of the Jews showed that they continually shunned God and looked to pagan gods. Jesus came and earned our salvation when He died on the cross. We are now saved by grace. We repent of our sins and believe and trust in Jesus as our Saviour. We are born again; a new creature! We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the new nature of God. I

Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? Circumcision was a sign of being under God