darrylstoner

Q1. (Isaiah 1:2-20) In what way is Judah confused about its identity, according to verses 2-4? What are the consequences when Christians today suffer from such identity confusion? What injustices does God accuse his people of in verses 15-17?�In verses 18-20 God argues that their behavior is "unreasonable." Why is it unreasonable? What does God offer as an alternative? They forgot about God and Who He is and therefore forgot who they were. They were the people of the living God, not some pagan idol they would appease. They looked at being religious instead of being separated from the world and separated unto God. I have seen the same from Christains today. They do the rituals of religion or the motions of being a christain but forgot their first love and church becomes a ritual of going there but not living for God or having a vibrant relationship with Him. God accuses his people of doing evel deeds and wants them to repent and turn back to Him. So if they turn back to Him, He promices to bless their land and them. Q2. (Isaiah 2:1-5) What does this prophecy of the future Jerusalem tell us about God's plan for the Gentiles? About God's plan for the Jews? About spiritual hunger? About peace? God's plan for the Gentile nations is that they too will know the true and living God and want to learn His ways. The center influence will be Jerusalem and His people the Jews. there will be a spirtual hunger for God's word in a time of "true" world peace created and sustained by God.

1 Thessalonians 5:15) What happens to people who seek revenge on those who hurt them? What happens when they neglect to forgive those who have wronged them? What happens in a congregation that has an unloving, superior attitude towards outsiders? How do these attitudes reflect on Christ? How can people or congregations get healthy after have been vengeful, proud, or unforgiving? These christains are like babies who feel that it is them that has to make all wrongs to right instead of God. As far as congregations being unloving or superior, these christains is what drives people out of their churches as well as any church because they feel that this is what christains do to those who are grea sinners. The only way I see churches get back to an healthy state is for christains to be convicted enough to ask for forgiveness of their attitudes toward God and those they have against. I have witnessed this and it is a beautiful experience to see.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13) What happens in a congregation when people don't show respect for their leaders? What happens when the disrespectful spread their disrespect? Will getting rid of the leader fix the problem, or is there something deeper going on here? The church start to have divisions and take up sides when some in the congregation feel that it is "their church" and this leader or leaders are taking the church in a wrong direction. If they can get rid of these leader(s) then everything wuld go back the way they like it. It reminds me of Moses leading Isreal out of Egypt.

(1 Thessalonians 3:3-5) In what ways does persecution discourage Christians from active, open service? In what ways does it mature them? In what ways does it reveal our underlying motives? Why do you think God allows the tempter the ability to tempt us? Why hasn’t he done away with Satan already? We as Christains do not like being labeled as fanatics, made fun of or even saying we are narrow in our thinking, so we resist in being active and open i witnessing. Oh we may be active in our church where we are like-minded with other believers, but without that support, it becomes more difficult. However, being questioned about our faith from non-believers forces us to re-examine our own faith. Am I believing based on what my parents or pastor has said or is this what I really believe from the bible and where is it in the bible that gives evidence of what I do believe. It forces us to mature in our faith. Unfortunately, I have seen many nominal christains follow cultic practices because they doubt their beliefs. I believe God does allow the tempter to tempt us so we do become more mature in our faith.

(2 Thessalonians 3:2-3) Why is Timothy's role to be a strengthener and encourager so important? In what ways was this a sensitive role. How did it help Timothy to be sent on this assignment? How does delegating ministry help the overall enterprise of the Kingdom? Timothy's role as a strengthener and encourager is very important to the Thessinolians becasuse they are so new in the faith. Timothy can strengthgen what Paul has started through God's word and encourage these new converts through God's word. This is a very vernable time for these new converts and they need to be strengthened as well as encouraged. Timothy is being used to help Paul in this area and it spreads the Kingdom further by establishing a strong base for these believers.

(1 Thessalonians 2:19-20) How can we justify a desire for rewards for our labor in light of God’s free gift of salvation and our love for him? What does Christ reward? What doesn’t he reward? Why should showing accountability to our Master bring us pleasure? How does it motivate us? God rewards those who diligently does His will. I believe that Christ rewards us for what we have done or not done after our salvation eperience. As stated these rewards are not connected to earning our way to heaven for there is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation as John points out in John 1:13 and Paul in Ephesians 2:8&9. Christ rewards what we have done according to His will and how we treat the Jewish people stated in Matthew 25:35-40. He does not reward those who are not committed to Him but to the world. We are accountable for what we say, do, and act in the Church as wll as the Jewish people. Our motivation is to be like Christ.

(1 Thessalonians 2:13) What is the role of the Word of God in molding disciples’ lives? Does it have a power of its own? How does that seem to operate? What are the implications for disciplers of this powerful action of the Word? The Word of God is connected to the Spirit of God nd this is what God uses to convict the hearts of sinners and saints alike. Jesus rightfully said, Man will live by "every Word of God". We as disciplers need to make sure we use His Word and not our reasoning to share with those who are without Christ as well as those who are in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12) Why are "fatherly" roles so important to making disciples? How effectively do you think women can adopt these traits These "fatherly " roles are important to understand that we need to live up to God's standards not our own or the world's. Yes we will fail and stumble many times but each time we do and ask God for forgiveness, it brings us closer to spiritual maturity beginning to think like God thinks: hating sin and loving holiness. It is a transformation of what we will become like Romans12:1,2 says. These traits are for all believers.

(1 Thessalonians 2:6b-8) Why are "motherly" nurturing qualities so important to growing disciples? How effectively can male disciplers adopt some of these traits? When I think about motherly nurturing disciples, I am reminded about how patient Jesus was with his disciples even when they would fight among themselves to be on His right and left hand of Jesus in heaven. He was always loving towards them even when He would rebuke them for things they did not understand. I feel that we need to display the same type of temperament. To be patient when others come up with some wrong understanding of the scriptures. It is very important to adopt this type of trait.

Which of the character flaws mentioned in these verses is the greatest problem in the church? Why do you say that? How can you prevent one of these character flaws from overtaking you? I think that we share out of love and that we do things out of genuine love for others. I know the pastor shares how he witnesses and that we need to witness for the right reasons. The church leadership is always looking for opportunities to bring others that do not know Jesus like we had the Lord's living supper where we had our homegrown actors portray the disciples at the last supper trying to answer the question that Jesus said that one of them will betray Him. We also have live streaming every Sunday to have others around the world see our service through this medium. The church is always reaching out to women and men through various weekly bible studies. Reaching out to our youth through AWANA, middle school yout group, high school youth group, college group and the X, Ys group as well as a divoice group and an addictions group. I feel that I have sometimes witness for the wrong reasons in the past. I finally have come to the conclusion through my trial and error in witnessing that I need to have God in control and not myself.

(1 Thessalonians 2:2) Why is personal courage such an important character trait for a disciple -- and for a discipler? How does lack of courage prevent evangelism? How does lack of courage prevent a congregation from being healthy? What is God calling you to do that will require courage on your part? Personal courge is a very important character trait for a disciple and for the discipler in that we are called to present the gospel as Jesus commanded us to do in Matthew 28:18-20. However, I feel that we are either fearful of what others may think about us or that we will ruin witnessing by being too bold like a bull in a china closet. But I know I need to pay more that God will open up opportunities for me to witness more even if it is just saying a word or so to point to the gospel. Lack of courage does prevent presenting the good news that is commanded us to do. This lack of courage affects congregations by not witnessing and growing as a church. I am not sure of what God calling me, but I have been and will continue to pray for courage for witnessing to others.

(1 Thessalonians 1:10) What does verse 10 teach us about the Christian faith? Which of these elements are most important? Which are less important? Which are underemphasized by the church in our day? I believe all of these elements are important. We need to understand that Jesus is God's son. I remember when I was seventeen in Oakland, California looking up at the night sky from my apartment's roof at the stars asking God who He is. I always felt that God existed, but who is He? I remember crying that night in anguish wondering who Go is. I would ask God to reveal himself to me when I was looking up into the night sky and and I was looking at the city's skyline wondering who could tell me. I did have the bible that I won in a fair but it made no sense to me. Finally, when I was nineteen, God answered my anguish prayer when I read John Chapter 1. After reading this chapter, I immediately cried out to Him for salvation. Up to that point, I did not know who God was or Jesus. So it is imperative to understand Jesus in relationship to God. It is also important to know that will return for us. This is the blessed hope we have that He will come again for us just as He did the first time and that He will not leave us in the grave but resurrect our bodies to be joined with our spirit ( Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead.) Finally, there will be a reckoning coming against sin that we will not be part of and an accountability to everyone who will not put their trust in Him. This is a sobering thought and I am sure that it was a sobering thought for Paul. That is why he did anything he could to reach out to those who are blind and deceived by Satan. I pray that I would have such a conviction of heart as Paul did in his time.

1 Thessalonians 1:5b-6a) How important is imitation in the formation of a new Christian's spiritual life? What kinds of ministry are most conducive to imitation? Why is the character of the mentor or leader so important to the health of the church? How well do people grow in Christ who aren't part of a Christian community? In what way is your character important to your family and spiritual children? Remembering back to many years about my new alvation experience, I was very confused about many things from the world's philosophy in comparison to God's Word. My pastor became my spiritual mentor ( dad) and helped me tremendosly with my spirtual growth. I wanted to be like him. He was patient, kind, and very knowledgeable about the bible. He was a freat bible teacher nd I wanted to be the same. Not only did he teach me many biblical lessons but how to teach others. I remember one time when there was a cul trying to persuade me to follow them and not true christianity. Their christainanity was perverted in mny ways. However, being new, I couldn't discern between their beliefs and the bible beliefs. So I asked my pastor. Instead of giving me an answer that would have answered the question. He said for me to pray that God would reveal the truth to me as well as continue to read the bible. My answer came up within three months later when I saw the difference between what this Christin cult was saying and what God's word was saying. I must have grown five years that day spiritually speaking. Yes, Godly imitation's are very important especially in today's culture.

Q2. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5) Why is the Holy Spirit’s working so necessary to effective ministry? What happens when the main power behind our ministry is will-power? What is the role of miracles in Paul’s evangelism? What would happen if we saw miracles in evangelism in our day? What is hindering this? It is the Holy Spirit that has to be working not us beause we can not save others only plant, seed, water and sometimes harvest from God's word. It is the Holy Spirit that can convict down into thedeepest part of our souls. We are only messagers of the Word. I think that many times, there is human will power instead of God's power. It may be from good intentions but without God interaction, it will fail. The role of miracles in Paul's evangelistic outreach is to demonstrate what Paul says from God's word is authentic.Going back what you shared Dr. Wilson about prayer preparation. I rememberreading about D.L. Moody and others about praying at length for a revival and God honored that with a great American Revival and an successful evangelistic outreach many times over. We need to do the same right now. To pray for such an revival today because of what is happening to our country, freedoms and families. I know I need to get more serious in this area. I believe what is hindering such a revival is fervent praying over our nation and our neighbors. I pray that God will continually convict me to pray more fervantly than I do.

Why do you think there was so much strong opposition to Paul's ministry in Thessalonica? Why do you think Paul keeps preaching the gospel, even though there is often a violent reaction against him? Does a violent reaction to our ministry necessarily mean we should stop? From my understanding of the Jewish thinking of the time, I believe that the Jewish leaders felt that they had the only truth and everyone didn't including Paul that used the scriptures to support his view. However, the Jewish leaders were not following Biblical Judeism at that time. They were following the Rabbinic teachings that would interpret the scriptures from the Talmid. This was being used many years before Jesus came on the scene. Probebly coming out of the Maccadonian Jewish conflict where you start to see the formation of the Pharisees and Sadduccees. The Pharasee Rabbis opposed Jesus many times by looking at their interpretation of the scriptures and not at the scriptures itself. Things like healing on the Sabboth, eating with sinners etc. Paul was in the same type of situation. Paul continued to preach the gospel because of his great burden to his Jewish breathern. he wanted to get the truth out no matter if it cost him his own life. This is a great conviction of his heart. I wish I had this type of strong conviction of heart. Pray that I would. The strong violent reaction to our ministry should encourge us if we ae truly sharing God's word and not man's wisdom.