February 10-16, 3013

February 10 – 16 2013

Old Testament, Leviticus 1-14

Leviticus is not the easiest book of the Bible to read.  It includes rules for offering sacrifices that were required under Old Testament Law and the New Testament teaches us that we are no longer under the Law.  But don’t skip Leviticus.  In it you will learn things about the character of God and his relationship with us. Why would God give specific instructions on how to offer animal sacrifices?  Shouldn’t a pure heart make anything a person offers to God acceptable? Chapter 2 explains how to bring a grain offering.  What is the point of a grain offering when Leviticus later says, “it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Leviticus 17:11)? Why were there different requirements in chapter 4 for offerings for sin for a priest, the whole community, a leader, or a member of the community? What was the penalty (in chapter 6) for cheating your neighbor out of something? Why do you think God told people they could not eat fat or blood? What was the significance of the glory and fire mentioned in Leviticus 9:23-24? What was wrong with what Nadab and Abihu did in chapter 10?  Why do you think they did it? What kinds of animals were people not permitted to eat under the Law? Why were the rules regarding infectious skin diseases so stringent?

Psalms 19-20

How do the heavens declare the glory of God? Psalm 19:14 is a prayer with a specific request from God.  How would asking God to do this in you change your life? Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”  What might you be tempted to trust in that would be like trusting in horses and chariots?

New Testament, John 20-21

When Peter and John got to the tomb, why was Jesus gone, but His burial clothes still there? Why didn’t Thomas believe it when the other disciples told him they had seen Jesus? According to John 20:31, what is the purpose of the book of John? Jesus told his disciples to make a simple change, using what they already had in hand, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”  The results were amazing.  What other Biblical examples can you think of where God gave simple directions that had amazing results?  What do these examples mean to the way you approach prayer and obedience? Why did Jesus tell Peter that if he loved Jesus, he should feed His sheep? In verse 23, Jesus asked Peter, “what is that to you?”  What benefit will you get from obeying the Lord without worrying if others have to do the same thing you are doing?