LIVING
Week Four – Redemption
Week Four: Redemption
This week we’ll be reading Scripture which reminds us that God is
faithful to forgive us if we turn our hearts to Him. God can change our
lives from the inside out!
Monday: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Personal Reflection:
1.) This story reflects God’s patience with His people. After King
Saul had sinned and failed as King, God could have abandoned
the Israelites. After all, it was the Israelites who had demanded
a King in the first place. But here, instead of abandoning the
people, God tells Samuel to move forward. When is a time that
God has continued to call you forward in life when He could
have abandoned you?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
2.) Why do you think that God chose David, the youngest and
smallest, to continue the legacy of Israel?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Discussion:
--Why doesn’t God give up on us? Would you say it has more
to do with His love for us, or His plans for the world?
--What does this story tell us about God’s forgiveness? Discuss
the ways that forgiveness are at work here.
Tuesday: Psalm 32
Personal Reflection:
1.) Shame and guilt are not feelings we think of as good things. But
here, the Psalmist celebrates shame saying, “Blessed is the
one…in whose spirit is no deceit.” Why is it a blessing to have
an honest and guilty conscience?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
2.) Don’t write this one down, but spend some time seeking God,
and reflect on where there may be deceit in your conscience.
God is faithful to forgive, and will relieve you of guilt and shame.
But we must confess. Search yourself and be honest with God.
Discussion:
-- We are warned in this Psalm not to be like a stubborn mule.
The Bible is full of warnings against hardening our hearts against
the conviction and call of God. What are ways we can continue to
be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts and lives?
Wednesday: Joshua 5:9-12
Personal Reflection:
1.) This passage is a great moment in the life of Israel. Here, after
40 years of being lost in the wilderness, they are delivered in
to the land that was promised to them. God’s forgiveness is
complete and they are restored. Describe what that must
have felt like for these weary travelers:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
2.) This moment for Israel parallels the ultimate deliverance God
promises to us. Many Christians are in the habit of saying, “I
am saved.” And yet we are still in a sinful world, and we still
find ourselves trapped by sin. We, like the weary Israelites,
look toward a day of complete deliverance – the promise of
eternal life in a New Heaven and New Earth. What will God
ultimately save us from in Heaven? (Reflect on your own
thoughts, and reference Rev. 21:1-5 for Biblical description)
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Discussion:
-- The Israelites celebrated Passover upon hearing of their final
deliverance from their wanderings. It was a symbolic
representation of the Spiritual reality of God’s forgiveness. What
symbolic actions do we Christians use to remind us of God’s
forgiveness? What is the importance of these actions?
-- You can likely imagine that it wasn’t long before the Israelites
were once again disobeying God. That is the cycle in their life, and
in ours – forgiveness, sin, consequences, repentance, forgiveness,
etc. We know that it is God who gives us all good things – who
delivers us! – but this is not enough to keep us from disobeying
Him. Why is this? What pulls us away from complete trust and
obedience?
Thursday: Psalm 107:1-3,17-22
Personal Reflection:
1.) What is your story of being redeemed by God? Write here
briefly about your journey of coming to faith, being saved, and
living for Jesus:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Discussion:
--Share your stories with each other.
--Our stories of salvation are powerful. They encourage fellow
believers, and they are a great way to share the Gospel with
others! How can we make more room in our church for
sharing our stories with one another?
Friday: Psalm 23
Personal Reflection:
1.) When we think of being saved, we sometimes imagine that we
ought not end up in a place like “the valley of the shadow of
death.” We think we should be saved from that kind of
difficulty or suffering. But we are not. Instead, we are
redeemed in the midst of both the difficulties and joys of life.
Where is your life like a “valley of the shadow of death?”
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
How is God saving you, even in that place?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
2.) It can be almost as hard to remember that God is saving us
when things are great as well. We can get lost in the joys of
good things in life and forget that we continue to need our
redeemer. Where in your life is like a green pasture?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
How can you remember to lean on God even in this good place
of life?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Discussion:
-- When we reach a difficult time, we want to have absolute
faith like the Psalmist in Psalm 23. But that doesn’t happen on
it’s own. How can we develop that kind of faith and trust in
God?
-- When we think about our “cup flowing over” our mind can
quickly go to material wealth. But what overflowing blessing
might God want us to have other than wealth?
Saturday: Ephesians 5:8-14
Personal Reflection:
1.) This passage speaks of life after redemption. It answers the
important question, “Now that we’ve been redeemed, how
should we live?” Jesus calls this redeemed life freedom, but
many people see the Christian life as binding and burdensome.
What do you think, does the life described here sound freeing
or burdensome?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
2.) How do you interpret the last sentence of this passage, “Wake
up sleeper…”? What do you think Paul is trying to
communicate?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Discussion:
-- It can feel like evil people get away with their evil all the time.
It gets frustrating! But here Paul says that eventually all things
come to light. Does this really seem true to you? How can this
passage be true when people get away with so much?
Sunday: John 9:1-41
On Sundays, simply read and reflect on the reading of the day (this will
be the longest reading of the week) and participate fully in the Lenten
services/discussion at church on Sunday morning. This is a day of
encountering God in worship and fellowship.
Living Lent:
At the end of each weekly study, you’ll be challenged to take on a
“Living Lent” project or activity. These activities can be done
individually, but are designed to be done with family or friends. These
activities will provide chances to share your faith with your children,
spouse, neighbors, etc.
Week Four: Unshackled
This week find some time to go to the Lent page on our website
(www.perufirstbaptist.org) and find the “Unshackled Story” link on the
right side of the page. This link will let you listen to a 30 minute
dramatized story of redemption from the radio program Unshackled.
The story deals with real life problems and might be difficult for very
little children, but older children and teens should have no problem
with the content of the story.
This program tells true stories of God’s redemption at work in the life of
people who submit their stories. The most recent story of Lynn Miller is
a powerful tale of redemption. Listen to this story this week, and reflect
on the incredible power of God to redeem anyone who turns to Christ.