Friday, August 31, 2012

Concerned for Daughter


When your daughter comes home from college for the summer, you notice some signs that she might have an eating disorder.

*How can you with love and concern approach your daughter about your suspicion?

*If your suspicion is correct, what biblical principles could you use to talk about this situation with?

*How can you encourage your daughter as she (Lord willing) decides to change her eating habits to glorify God?


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Hospitality to Others

This week we have looked at how Priscilla showed hospitality to Paul and how others have shown hospitality to us. Join us today as we discuss ways that we can we show hospitality and God's love to others that are not our good friends.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Hospitality to Strangers

Yesterday we looked at how Priscilla showed hospitality to a stranger, Paul. Have strangers ever shown hospitality to you? What did it look like and how did it affect you? Join us today as we share personal stories of strangers showing us hospitality and God's love.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Hospitality to Paul

How would you react if you recently had to leave your country and settle some other place and a stranger want to stay with you? This is exactly what Priscilla faced. Yet, she did not complain. She welcomed Paul into her home and made him comfortable enough to stay there for eighteen months.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Priscilla

Now in Corinth, Paul meets Priscilla & Aquila. Throughout chapter 18, we learn about this strong woman, Priscilla, who endured and triumphed because of her faith in Christ. As we go through this study in the next several days, we are going to learn how God used this woman to impact many people for Christ. 

Friday, August 24, 2012

Real Life - Real Answers: Willing to Ask the Tough Questions


You notice that for the last several weeks your friend has been constantly texting when you
see her. You also know her husband rarely texts because he prefers to call her. One weekend
afternoon you are out shopping with your friend and notice how often she is texting and
smiling while at it. You finally ask her who she has been constantly texting during your time
together. She gets embarrassed right away and shrugs it off as no one important, but your
sense is that she is not giving you the whole truth. After pressing her on the issue further,
you find out she is texting a male co-worker she is friends with. Certainly being friends with
a co-worker isn’t wrong, but you decide to ask the tough questions.

*What sort of heart-probing questions could you ask to help your friend determine if
she is developing an emotional attachment to this co-worker?

*What are the dangers of developing a “close friendship” relationship with a co-worker
(especially if you are married)?

*What might you encourage your friend to do in her marriage with her husband to
strengthen her relationship with him?

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Oppose Your Culture & Follow Christ


Athens is not the only culture that is opposed to Christ! Are you willing to go against your culture in order to follow Christ? Are there any ways in which you are allowing culture to tell you what to do rather than God’s Word? If so, what? What should be done about it? Can you share examples of women today who are choosing to follow Christ and go against the flow of their culture also?

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The "Know-It-Alls" React


So how did the pompous people of Athens react when they heard Paul share the Gospel with them? Today on Women in the Word, we will discuss their reactions and the few people that were mentioned to be believers. Although we do not know all the details of these people, we do know that we are all equal and all accepted in Christ.  

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Sharing the Gospel with a "Know-It-All"


Have you ever tried to share the Gospel with people that think they know everything? In Acts 17, we find Paul doing just that. Join us today as we look at Paul’s approach and those who believed. 

Monday, August 20, 2012

Foundation to Finished Product


When you are reading a book, do you ever get so curious that you have to speed ahead to the end to find out what happens? Well today we are fast forwarding to the see how the God used these first believers in Acts 17 to build the church of Thessalonica. God used these people to imitators of the Lord and an example to all believers. 

Friday, August 17, 2012

Real Life - Real Answers: Doing Right When You Think No One Knows

Diane is a college student away from home in her freshman year. No longer under the
watchful eyes of her parents, she suddenly feels some freedom in her life. Diane is tempted
to “go with the crowd” and does some things that she knows her parents wouldn’t approve
of. “They will never know anyway,” she thinks.

*If you could talk with Diane, what are some Biblical principles of Christian living you
would share with her?

*What are some practical things that Diane could do to stay in God’s Word and make
right choices on her own?

Thursday, August 16, 2012

How Do You Use Your Influence?


How do you use your influence? Do you encourage others around you to do good or are you the one that pokes holes in other’s ideas and complains about what you must do? Today we begin looking at the prominent women in Acts 17. Join us today to hear how they used their influence in their society.  

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

How Do You Respond To Difficulty?


As we close our study of the slave girl in Acts 16 we discuss how we react when we encounter difficulty. Are you surprised when you encounter trials? Are you a help or a hindrance to the Gospel? What should you be doing to show that the Gospel is lovely? What are you doing to display God’s character? Join us today as we look at these probing questions. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

God Always Gets the Glory

As we continue to look at the slave girl in Acts 16, we discuss God using unpleasant circumstances for His Glory. Through God’s mercy, he heals this girl and uses her to spread the Gospel. The immediate result does not seem good, for Paul is thrown in jail, yet even through this, God is glorified in great ways.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Real Life~Real Answers: Unfair Treatment


Your husband always wants to visit his family at holidays, but always argues with you when you ask about visiting your own family for Christmas or Thanksgiving.  He has never seemed to take interest in getting to know your family and it has been 2 years since you have been able to see your family who lives out of state.

*What must you “think” in order to maintain a godly perspective on this situation?
*How can you be submissive to your husband’s wishes while appealing to him about your desires?
*How can you pray for you and your husband in this situation?


Thursday, August 9, 2012

A Slave Girl

As the church took root in Philippi, Satan again tries to attack it. After Lydia's conversion, we read how a young slave girl is possessed by demons in chapter 16:16-24. This girl has owners who used her for their own personal profit. This girl had the ability to tell the future.  Satan tried to use this girl to thwart the efforts of Paul and his team in sharing the Gospel. As we read, we know that this young girl follows Paul day after day proclaiming that the men were servants of the Most High God who proclaim the way of salvation. Finally, Paul commands the demon to come out of her.  Although the girl was telling the truth, Paul did not want His ministry to be confused with the work of Satan. Nor did he want the term "Most High God" to be confused with the identification of the culture's false god, Zeus.  This girl was not giving testimony to God, but rather with the demonic. As we continue studying about this young girl we are going to talk about the reaction of her owners and what happened to Paul and Silas as a result of her cleansing.  We also are going to spend some time talking about how we care more about personal possessions than life itself. We hope you take some time to prayerfully consider what you can learn through this passage.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Hospitality in Action

After Lydia's conversion, she was baptized along with others in her family who accepted Christ.  She then presses for the missionary team to stay with them in her home.....Hospitality in action!  Here we see the fruit of salvation already evident in Lydia's life. She seeks to show love to her brothers in Christ by offering them a place to stay.  Hospitality is required of all Christians. Scripture is clear that God desires for His children to use what God has given them for the good of others (see Romans 12:13, 1 Peter 4:9, John 13:35).  In what ways do you struggle to show hospitality. How can you better be obedient to this command?

Friday, August 3, 2012

Real Life~Real Answers: Alone & Lonely


There is an older widow woman in your church who was moved into a nursing home a year ago. Her only family is out of state and they are not able to care for her as she has some health problems that need daily monitoring.  You recently visited this woman and she confides in you how lonely she is there. Her family rarely calls and she is struggling to be content in the nursing home. She secretly wishes her life would just end.

*What could you say to her to encourage her from God’s Word?

*What should this older woman “put on” to live her live in a godly and content way?

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The Work of God in Salvation

As we talk about salvation today, we know that God does the work in some one's life for them to accept Christ as their Savior.  It is not man's doing, but God's. God opened Lydia's heart to accept the Gospel and so He will also do for others.  The connotations of the terms "soul-winning" and "getting people saved" are dangerous to use as this places the emphasis on man's work in salvation. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:1-4 that he "did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom...my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."  The WAY the Gospel is presented is not the emphasis...it is the Gospel.  For God is the one who opens hearts for salvation and faithful Christians who share the Gospel can trust God's plan.  1 Corinthians 3:6-7 shares how some plant, some water, but God gives growth. May we remember this truth as we share Christ with the lost and trust Him with the results.