What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? What is the purpose of water baptism? How do we access the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Are there requirements to experiencing the Holy Spirit baptism? What evidences in a person’s life demonstrate being filled with the Spirit? Is it a one time event? Is God really willing to give us the Holy Spirit today?
Is the Holy Spirit truly a person? Is He a distinct personality from the Father and the Son? What are the characteristics of a person? Does the Holy Spirit meet these characteristics? Is He self-aware? Does He have a will? Does He do things we would only attribute to a person? Is it really fair to say the Trinity is pagan? Or have anti-Trinitarians been misleading in this argument.
Is the Holy Spirit truly Divine? How can we know for sure? What hints does scripture give us? Is the Holy Spirit on the same level with Jesus and the Father as God? Does the Holy Spirit have the attributes of God, such as omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and eternal life? This week we focus on the Divinity of the Holy Spirit.
What is the work of the Holy Spirit? How was the Holy Spirit at work in the work building of the sanctuary, the incarnation of Jesus, and in the transforming the lives of people? What did the Holy Spirit do in the work of Creation? How does the Holy Spirit continue the work of Jesus on Earth? How much can we understand and know about the Holy Spirit? Why does He seem to work behind the scenes?
Does the Bible originate with men or from a divine source? Can we trust that the Bible is really God’s Word? What role did the Holy Spirit play in the writing of the Bible? How are we to understand revelation and inspiration? Was the Holy Spirit only active in ancient times or does He still have an active role today in helping us to understand truth? Can the leading of the Spirit ever contradict the Word of God? How are we to understand the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God?
What kind of person was Job? How did he relate both to God and to the people around him? How was Job’s faith demonstrated in his works? Did Job sin in thought? Did Job’s wealth diminish the quality of his relationship with God? How did Job learn to be faithful to God? Was he born special or with some kind of advantage? Can people be blameless and upright in today’s world as Job was in his time? This week we study the character of Job.
Jeremiah's words had come to pass. The Babylonians had invaded and taken captives of the people of Judah. A remnant remained and new challenges arose for the nation. The people asked Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord for them. What words of warning did the prophet have for the people? How did they respond? What lessons can we learn from them today? Why was it wrong to seek safety in Egypt? In what ways do we tend to go back to Egypt today? What do these stories teach us about how we should relate to God's Word?
Job knew his Redeemer lived! How can we share in this hope today? What were the parallels between the suffering of Job and the suffering of Christ? What critique did Job make against God? How was this question answered in the person of Jesus Christ? When we don’t have all the answers here and now, how can we place our faith in God? In what way was Christ’s suffering different from that of Job?
God answers Job after his long speech and asks a series of questions. What is the purpose to God’s questions? When we pray should we expect God to answer back? What did Job learn from God’s response? Can we ever truly accuse God of wrong doing when things in life are not as we might want them? Job learns that God is awesome and that there is so much he doesn’t know. How might this story be a lesson for us when we go through times of hardship and we think God is unfair?
After Job’s friends attempt to comfort him, Elihu jumps into the conversation. Was Job guilty of justifying himself rather than God? How can God be righteous if good people suffer and God permits it? Does God have a purpose in human suffering? Was Job really just and upright? Why did God respond to Satan’s challenge? What does this mean for us today? How is God’s perspective different from the human perspective? Can suffering ever be a good thing?
How do Job’s 3 friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar attempt to comfort him? What kind of advice to they give? What can we learn from their experience about comforting those who go through tragedy? Is sin always the reason for bad things that happen? Do we always know why people go through difficult experiences? Does God always punish sin? Are there Biblical examples of divine retribution? Is there a point at which people have gone too far?
Why does God allow human suffering? Does human suffering really disprove the existence of an almighty and all powerful God? What does the Bible have to say about human suffering? Why does God permit it? Did Job still believe in God even when he went through times of hardship? How do the cosmological argument, theodicy, and the great controversy help us to understand the question of human suffering and the existence of an all-powerful God?