Kingwood Bible Study

Learning from 1 Peter - How Shepherds Should Care for the Flocks

1 Peter 5:1-4 - “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

This passage provides guidelines for pastors and ministers.

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Learning from Hebrews 11 - True Faith

In Hebrews 11:1 it says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Sometimes faith means trusting God for something that we cannot see yet in the material world around us, something that even goes against what we see with our eyes and hear with our hears.  Many people, after praying in faith, conclude by declaring that they completely trusts God to fulfill the promises –  thanking God for something before it even happens.

Many people think of faith merely in terms of a certain feeling, or a strong religious opinion that people hold for a period of time. True faith, by contrast, interacts with the prophetic realm. Faith from eternity connects us to God’s unfolding plan or project of salvation, so faith keeps in step with what God is doing at the moment. Human feelings and opinions (the things that unbelievers think of as “faith”) are merely temporary and do not represent eternal truth.

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Visit from Pr. Rehman Masih

We were blessed this past weekend to have Pr. Rehman Masih, from Pakistan, with us to share from the Word (messages and testimonies about faith) and to help us understand the situation facing the Lord’s Work in Pakistan.  Let’s continue to pray for all the ministries there!

Learning from 1 Chronicles - God’s Promise to David

1 Chronicles 17:1-4 - After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”

Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you.”

That night the word of God came to Nathan, saying: “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in…”

This chapter teaches us important lessons about God’s nature, about our relationship with the Lord, and about how we should pray.

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Learning from Acts - Salvation of the Philippian Jailer

Acts 16:25-28 - About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

Paul was on his second extended missionary journey.  Originally, he planned to revisit the churches in planted on his first tour and assess their progress (Acts 15:36-41).  The churches back then had no means of communicating with each other regularly, and there was no centralized management or control.  Each church had to learn to follow the Holy Spirit’s direction, receiving only occasional visits or letters from Apostles or other leaders.

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Learning from Leviticus - Sprinkle the Altar on All Sides

Leviticus 1:5 - “He is to slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”

This verse describes what they had to do with the blood when they brought a burnt offering – before the burning it, they would drain the blood and sprinkle it on all sides of God’s altar.  In the same way, we need the blood of Jesus to touch EVERY AREA of our lives – all sides.  Everything must be consecrated, every area of sin forgiven, every facet of our lives under its protection.  This is the opening passage of Leviticus, a book entirely about priestly sacrifices and other priestly duties – all of which foreshadow the work of Jesus, our Great High Priest.

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Learning from 2 Samuel 15 - David Flees from Absalom

2 Samuel 15:14 - So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come on!  Let’s escape!  Otherwise, no one will be delivered from Absalom!  Go immediately, or else he will quickly overtake us and bring disaster on us and kill the city’s residents with the sword.”

The kingdom of David in the Old Testament is a prophetic foreshadowing of the spiritual kingdom of Jesus.  David followed God with his whole heart.  He did not exalt himself, but let God raise him to the kingship in due time.  The Scriptures later compared all the other leaders who followed David to him — particularly regarding if they followed God with their whole heart.

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Learning from 1 Kings 22 - Ahab, Jehoshaphat, and Micaiah

1 Kings 22:6-8 - So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”  ”Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”

But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”    The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

“The king should not say that,” Jehoshaphat replied.

This is a lesson about hearing from God and knowing God’s will for our lives.  This story occurs during a period when the Israelites were divided into two kingdoms – a northern kingdom, usually called “Israel” or “Samaria” (Samaria was the capital), and a southern kingdom, called “Judah,” headquartered in Jerusalem.  Sometimes the northern and southern kingdoms were at war, and sometimes they were allies, as in this chapter.  The kings of Judah, the southern kingdom, were physical descendants of David, and a few of them (not the majority) were righteous, godly men.  Jehoshaphat was one of their most godly kings.  The kings of Samaria, the northern kingdom, were all bad, except for a mixed character named Jehu.  Ahab was one of their worst kings.  Jehoshaphat apparently felt intimidated by Ahab, and was willing to do almost anything to forge a deeper alliance between their kingdoms.  During a summit between the two leaders, Ahab proposes that they launch a war against  Aram (a people group from modern-day Syria and Iraq), to retake part of Israel’s territory (Ramoth-Gilead in modern-day Jordan) that the army of Aram had occupied.

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Learning from Psalm 119 - “Open My Eyes That I May See Wonderful Things in Your Law”

Psalm 119:17-19 -

Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word.

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.

Psalm 119 is an extended song about God’s words – his law, his commands, his ongoing revelation in our lives, and the Living Word (Jesus).  Each verse teaches the believer something about how God intended us to interact with his words and assimilate them into our lives.

“Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word.” – Notice how the response to God’s blessing is OBEDIENCE.  Many churches recite the slogan every week that says, “God is good – all the time!”  We cannot stop there, merely reminding ourselves of God’s goodness.  God’s “kindness leads us to repentance” (Romans 2:4).  He extends his mercy with a purpose, to transform our lives.   Continue reading Learning from Psalm 119 - “Open My Eyes That I May See Wonderful Things in Your Law” »

Learning from Isaiah - “He Gently Leads Those Who Have Young”

Isaiah 40:11 - “He gently leads those who have young.”

There are several ways to increase how much we hear God speak to us.  God is never obligated, of course, to any man, but the Bible shows us some circumstances in which people are more likely to receive personal, direct revelation from Him.  This verse describes one of these special circumstances.

The chapter overall declares God’s protection over His people, and the first part of this verse portrays Him as a gentle Shepherd who gathers us in his arms.  “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart…”

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