Memorize 1 John 4:4

Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them;
for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (NRSV).

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them,
because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (NIV).

Reflect on 1 John 4:4

• For context read 1 John 4 in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• Who are the three players in this verse?
• Because we are God's children we have overcome "them."  Who are they?
• Who is the one in you?  Who is the one who is in the world?  Who is greater?  More importantly, what does this mean for your life?

Memorize Jeremiah 17:7

Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD (NRSV).

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him (NIV).

Reflect on Jeremiah 17:7

• Read Jeremiah 17:5-18 for context in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• What does it mean for your to consider yourself blessed?
• What does it mean for you to trust God?
• Think about a person in whom you have confidence.  What actions gave you confidence in that person?  What actions give you confidence in the LORD?

Memorize Psalm 32:8

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you (NRSV).

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you (NIV).

Reflect on Psalm 32:8

• Pray to god using Psalm 32 in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• As you pray the psalm consider the following questions:
  • Who are the happy / blessed / lucky ones (verses 1-2)?
  • When I offer my sin and failures to God what happens (verse 5)?
  • The psalmist trusts that God is a ________ (verse 7)?
• The psalmist promises that God's hesed (steadfast love) surrounds those who trust in him.  Where have you experienced this in your life?

Memorize Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (NRSV).

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (NIV).

Reflect on Proverbs 3:5-6

• Read Proverbs 3 in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• Who are we to trust?  How are we to trust?
• When I am not trusting God, who/what am I trusting?
• Reflect on the following quote:
  The mission is God's.  We are joining in with God's activity, not God with ours … .  To forget this is make our practices an idol. God becomes controlled by our programs and expectations and thus no god at all (Pete Ward, God at the Mall: Youth Ministry that Meets Kids Where They're At, [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999], page 99).

Memorize 1 John 2:17

The world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever (NRSV).

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (NIV).

Reflect on 1 John 2:17

• Read 1 John 2:7-17 from the NRSV, the NIV , or The MESSAGE.
• When the Bible talks about "the world" to what is it referring?
• How are you influenced by "the world?"
• Do you remember the bumber sticker which said, "The one who dies with the most toys wins!"  Is this in line with John's word about who finds eteranl life?

Memorize John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life (NRSV).

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (NIV).

Reflect on John 3:16

• Read of Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus in John 3:1-21 in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• God gave his only Son for you and for me.  How does that make you feel?
• What gift does God offer for our belief in Jesus?
• John restates this understanding this way, "God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9-10, NRSV).  What new insights do you receive from this passage?

Memorize Hebrews 2:14-15

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death (NRSV).

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (NIV).

Reflect on Hebrew 2:14-15

• Read the second chapter of Hebrews from the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• What do you learn from reading verses 10 and 11 about Jesus' role in our salvation?
• Who/what does Jesus conquer by his sharing in our humanity?
• Today's verses remind us that Jesus triumphs over our slavery to the fear of death?  What else in your life holds you captive?
• Henri Nouwen observed, "I am increasingly aware that conversion is individual version of revolution."  What does that mean for you?

Memorize 1 John 5:11-12

This is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (NRSV).

This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (NIV).

Reflect on 1 John 5:11-12

• Read chapter 5 in John's first letter from the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• The opening verses this chapter teach us about our journey of faith.  What do you learn about the stages of that journey in verse 2, verses 4-5, verse 9, and verse 10?
• Who gives eternal life?  How do we find eternal life?  Reflect on the following exchange from the movie Forrest Gump:

Lieutenant Dan: "Have you found God yet, Gump?"
Gump: "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him."

• John lays a dividing line before us today between those who have the Son (Jesus Christ) and those who do not. What does that mean for you? Your family? Your friends? Your co-workers?

Memorize 1 John 5:14

And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us (NRSV).

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us (NIV).

Reflect on 1 John 5:14

• Read chapter 5 in John's first letter from the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• Someone has suggested that God answers our prayers with a "yes," or a "no," or just "slow."  My hunch is that God is probably not limited to our human conceptions, but how do these three answers align us with what is according to God's will?
• Can you point to moments in your life when you received each of the above answers?  (Note:  even if you were not a "praying" person our very beings seem to know to call upon the Lord.)  Take a few moments to describe on paper those God moments.  See if God provides you an opportunity to share your wisdom with another person this week.

Memorize Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known (NRSV).

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know (NIV).

Reflect on Jeremiah 33:3

• Read chapter 33 in Jeremiah in the NRSV, the NIV, or The MESSAGE.
• Who is the speaker in verse 3 above?
• God promises to _____________ when we call him.  What will God tell us?
• What things are you seeking for that God might provide a greater answer to?