Paul H

Q4. (Matthew 6:12, 14-15) How could praying the Lord

Q1. (Matthew 18:21-22) Jesus says we must forgive 77 times or 490 times. Should we take these numbers literally or figuratively? If figurative, what are they figurative of? They are to be taken figuratively and mean an infinite number of times What does this teach us about God

4. (John 3:16) Why is this verse so famous? It encapsulates everything which God has done, is doing and will do for us. In short, it is the very essence of our faith. What does it teach us about God? That He is all loving and all forgiving What does it teach us about salvation? That it is entirely God given, that we do nothing to earn or deserve it ourselves but it comes from God by His grace. Since

Q3. (John 3:5-7) What does it mean to be

Q2. (John 3:3-5) What does

Q1. (John 3:3, 5) What does Jesus teach here about the nature of the Kingdom of God? He teaches that the Kingdom of God is not of this world and to be given access to this Kingdom, we have to believe and be born of the Spirit. Do you think Nicodemus understands him? Why or why not? I don't know from this passage. Clearly Nicodemus wants to understand, but the final recorded words of Nicodemus in this passage is the question "How can these things be?" Did he understand after Jesus' explanation? It isn't clear, but in light of his involvement later in support of Jesus before the Sanhedrin (John 7, 50) and in the burial of Jesus John (John 19, 39), maybe he did.

Q4. What does Jesus teach us about the value and worth of the Kingdom? He teaches that the Kingdon is of great value and worth giving up everything we have and are to gain. Why are we tempted to value it so little? Because we can't see it or hold it in our hands. What helps us to appreciate its true value? By experiencing it and only by taking a step into the Kingdom by putting our trust in God can we gain this experience. Once experienced though, there can surely be no going back. How might your testimony help a seeking friend to value the Kingdom more? By sharing my experience of the realities here and now of the Kingdom, I pray that that would bring that friend into the same experience.

Q2. (Mark 10:21) Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? Jesus knew that the man's wealth and the status that went with it was a barrier between this man and the Kingdom of Heaven. The wealth and everything that went with it would always come first for this mine and therefore the obvious answer was to get rid of it. I think that great wealth would constitute a similar barrier for most, but not all people. There are other things in our life which can also constiturte a barrier, and as someone else on this forum commented, the amzing thing is that this man had only the one barrier. Sadly though, for the man, it was a barrier which he was not prepared to pull down and he went away unhappy. Why does this trouble us so much? It is a hard truth. We know what the barriers are in our lives, it might be wealth, it might be other things, but letting go can be so hard If there was no other way for the man to be saved, what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? There is no other way to be saved than by putting God at the centre of our lives, by making him our number one priority. If that means that we have to clear out anything else which is going to come before that, then that is the only way we can be saved. I think that is what Jesus was saying when He talked about giving up wealth and possessions and even our families. If these are things which are going to come between us and God as the centre of our lives, then it is better to give them up and gain the riches of the Kingdom than to hold on to them and lose it.

Q1. (Matthew 13:44-46) What do the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and Pearl of Great Price have in common? In both, a person comes across something of great value (the tburied treasure and the pearl). In each case, the person goes away and sells everything he owns to acquire in the one case the treasure and in the other the pearl. What is the main point of these parables? The pearl and the treasure are like the Kingdom of Heaven for which we should rejoice at giving up everything neccesary to acquire it. How should it affect our values? Our lives? First of all, we should realise that the Kingdom of Heaven is the most important thing imaginable. It is more important than anything else we possess or are. We should be prepared, and indeeed be happy, to give up or give away whatever it takes to acquire that treasure. That doesn't neccesarily involve us in giving everything we have to the poor, although in some cases it might. The important point is that we rejoice in giving up whatever it is necessary for us to give up to acquire this all important treasure.

Q4. (Luke 17:33-36) What does our passage teach about the separation and judgment that will occur when the Kingdom comes? It teaches that those who believe will be separated from those who reject the message of the Kingdom of God. It doesn't make it clear how they will be separated, but it does make it clear that there will be separation. The passage is also not clear about any judgement. By alluding to what happened to the people who remained behind in Sodom or to those who didn't join Noah in the ark, Jesus seems to be suggesting that those who are left will be destroyed. It doesn't actually say that, but it suggests it. How should this affect our lives? Our testimony? Our love for our neighbors? In living our life, we should assume that Jesus will return at any given moment. From our own perspective, that obviously means that we should be continually prepared as if this moment is the last before His return. From the perspective of our friends and neighbours, we should make the same assumption and imagine where they would be at that moment. Think of it this way. Your friend is standing on a train track with his back to the oncoming trains. You don't know the times of the trains but know that trains regularly come down that track. Do you (1) do nothing and wait for the train to hit him; (2) tell him that there is a vague possibility that at some time in the future it is just possible that a train might come down the track and he might not have time to get off the track in time (3) do everything possible to get him off the track? Our lives should be a constant witness to all those around us and we should testify to the love of Christ and His all saving power.

Q3. (Luke 17:24-32) What indications does Jesus give in this passage that he will suddenly come in his Kingdom without further warning? Jesus makes it clear, throughout this passage that His return will be sudden, unexpected and without warning. He says that just as in the days of Noah and at the time of Lot, people will be living their lives as they have always lived them - eating, drinking, marrying, sleeping in bed, grinding corn... going to work, watching TV, surfing the internet and bang, He will return and it will be too late to change anything. In Noah's time, Noah and his family heeded the message and when the unthinkable happened, they were saved. Lot and his family also heeded the messengers and fled and were saved, except for Lot's wife who hesitated hankering back to the things of her life, and she was lost. To be saved we have to continually heed the message and be prepared for His return at any time What are the implications of this for our attitude? For our lives? At any given time, we must assume that Jesus will return. We cannot let our guard down and become embroiled in the things of the World because He may come when our guard is down and we will be lost. Christ therefore needs to be at the centre of everything which we do and everything which we are. In fact, Christ is already here within us. He is all around us. If we keep that in mind throughout our lives, we will be ready.

Q1. (Luke 17:21) In what sense was the Kingdom of God present in the Person and ministry of Jesus? The Kingdom was present because God incarnate in Jesus was Himself present at that time In what sense is the Kingdom of God present today? The kingdom is present today through the presense of God in the form of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Q3. (Matthew 7:7-8) Why is continual asking, seeking, and knocking so essential to our looking forward to the Kingdom? It keeps us in constant contact with God which is essential to our growth and hence to the furtherence of His kingdom within us Why do we give up so easily? It is human nature. We expect instant results, especially in our modern instant gratification society. So we adopt the atitude if at first you don't succeed, give up. This is wrong. Jesus tells us that we must be persistant in our seeking and we will find. How do we gain boldness and persistence in prayer? By reading and absorbing the words of Jesus on this and by experience.

Q2. (Matthew 6:33) What does it mean in verse 33 to

Understanding the message of the Kingdom is the key to a good harvest. Without a proper understanding of the message which we are delivering how can we deliver that message effectively? Well; the answer is we can't. So how can we develop that understanding? By seeking God in prayer and by studying His word. The more we develop our understanding and knowledge of the message, the more effective will be our delivery of that message and the harvest which will be reaped.

They can be equally dangerous as each can lead to the same choking off of our relationship with God.

Q4. Why is repentance so central to the Kingdom of God? Without repentance we cannot be a part of the Kingdom of God. Without it, God can never work in us through His Spirit. Why is baptism important to converts to the King? Baptism, if we are talking about water baptism rather than baptism in the Holy Spirit, is important for many reasons and is symbolic in many ways. In this context, it is important as a symbol and public statement of our death to sin and to our old selves and a rising again in the righteousness of Christ. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is also important, but in more than a symbolic way. It is what empowers us to work for God's Kingdom. Can Christ reign in an unrepentant heart? No.