Thursday Bible Study

GOD’S WAY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE_   Matthew 5:13-16     There are some people in the world who never open a Bible. Still they are forming impressions about God every time they meet a Christian. It has been said that you may be the only Bible that someone will read!     [Group discussion starter] Who has been like a Bible for you , showing in their life what God is like? What did that person say or do that showed God to you?     What possible influence could the kinds of people described in the Bea titudes have on this world? What lasting good can the poor and the meek do, the mourners and the merciful – those who seek peace and no t war? What can they accomplish – whose only passion is righteousness and whose only weapon is purity of heart?   Jesus expects us to have a profound influence on the world around us...     [Read Matthew 5:13-16]     What positive qualities of salt and light do you think Jesus had in mind as he spoke...

    UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS_   Matthew 5:1-12     A hymn by William Cowper reminds us to look for blessings in unexpected places...   You fearful saints, fresh courage take ;   The clouds you so much dread   Are big with mercy, and shall break   In blessings on your head.     [Group discussion starter] The word “blessed” and the phrase “hashtag-blessed” gets thrown around a lot. How would you define the word “blessed”?   Take some time to write your definition down and then share with the group...     In the Beatitudes we find both the ‘simplicity of word’ and the ‘profundity of thought’ in one place. This section of the gospels has captured the thoughts and imaginations of Christians throughout the generations. The deeper we ‘dig’... the deeper it goes. The more we explore... the more we find there is to explore.     [Read Matthew 5:1-12]     How does our normal description of the “blessed/fortun...