Thursday Bible Study

  {Disciples} JAMES_   Hating our enemies     Nicknames can be fun or cruel.   Jesus gave two of his disciples a nickname. He called James and John “sons of thunder” - a reflection of their passionate, zealous, sometimes ‘stormy’ personalities...     [Group discussion starter] Have you ever had a nickname? Did it accurately reflect anything about you?     Even though James was one of the three disciples in Jesus’ inner circle, he’s one of the least familiar of the twelve. James never appears alone in the Gospels. He is always linked with his better-known brother, John.   We get a glimpse of why James was a “son of thunder” in this account of a journey Jesus and his followers took through Samaria. Jesus sent some of them ahead to find lodging in a Samaritan village...     [Read Luke 9:51-56]     Where was Jesus going and what significant events were on the horizon of his life?     The Jews and the Samarita...

  {Disciples} MATTHEW_   Drawing in the outcast     Matthew was probably the most notorious sinner in Jesus’ band!   His occupation was collecting taxes for the hated Roman overlords.   Tax collectors worked for Rome in oppressing and exploiting their own people.   In Jesus’ day, employees of the ‘Roman Inland Revenue’ were viewed as traitors, cheaters and thieves. They were the lowest of the low.     [Group discussion starter] In your opinion, what are some less-than-respectable jobs for Christians to pursue?     In Mark 2:14, Matthew is called by his Jewish name, “Levi son of Alphaeus.” In Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13 he is called Matthew. He is the author of the first Gospel in our New Testament, but he only mentions himself twice by name – in Matthew 9 and in the list of the apostles in Matthew 10: 3.     [Read Matthew 9:9-13]     Which is most surprising to you about this encounter between Jesus and Matthew: t...