Lorraine Overstreet

Q5. (1:24-25) What does Joseph accepting Mary as his wife say about his character? What is the significance for prophetic fulfillment of Jesus as a Son of David that Joseph "named" the child "Jesus"? a) Joseph was full of faith and obedient to God. He was a just and merciful man and loved Mary and Jesus. By acception Mary as his wife shows him to be a man who listened to God and acted in total obedience to God's will. When Joseph named Jesus he acknowledged Jesus as his own son, becoming His legal father. As such, Jesus had His father's ancestery as a descendent of David's line and heir to the promises from God to David. (Joseph's ancestor)

Q4. (Matthew 1:23) How did the prophetic concept of the virgin conception and the name "Immanuel" find their fullness in the birth of Jesus to Mary? a) The prophetic concept of the virgin conception and the name "Immanuel" found their fullness in the birth of Jesus from Mary. Jesus -the Saviour and Messiah came and lived with His people and to save them from their sins. "Immanuel" - meaning "God with us". Jesus is the son of God, fully man and fully God. The ultimate fulfillment and completion of this word is found in Christ.

Q3. (Matthew 1:21) What is the significance of the name Jesus? Why do you think the angel gave the name to both Mary (Luke 1:31) and Joseph independently? a) Jesus -meaning of His name- "Yahweh saves" - Jesus was sent to save from eternal death, to save, preserve, rescue man from eternal death. Both Mary and Joseph was given the name of the baby separately so neither would forget who He was. It was important that Joseph was as willing as Mary to do his part in the birth and raising of Jesus. Being told by an Angel insured compliance of Joseph accepting and raising Jesus as his own son.

Q2. (Matthew 1:19) What were Mary's options being pregnant and carrying a baby not her husband's? What kind of character did Joseph exhibit by deciding to divorce Mary quietly and leniently? a) Mary's options were grim. She could be divorced, stoned for adultry, she and her child could be shunned. Also no respectable man would mary her. Mary's only prospect to support herself and Jesus would be maybe a housekeeper in a wealty house, or prostitution. When Joseph decided to divorce Mary he wanted to protect Mary as much as he could. He chose to avoid the accusation of adultry. Joseph was a mature gentle righteous man, not full of himself and he carefully observed the Jewish law. He was a man of high character and Joseph was seeking to do the right thing.

Q1. What would Jesus have learned as the son of a carpenter? What experiences would this have exposed him to? a) Jesus would learn to use the tools of His trade and the value of great work ethics. Dealing with happy and unhappy customers would also prepare Jesus for learning about people amd how to minister and teach them about God. Jesus would be exposed to the public buyers, He would learn to deal with different types of people. Jesus would learn from Joseph the values of the traditional Jewish religious tradition in love of family and God, and dealing with life in His community.

Q4. The Davidic kingdom did end in 587 BC – temporarily. How did God fulfill his promises in the Davidic Covenant? In what ways is it fulfilled in Christ? a. Christ flfilled the covenant by his son Jesus beingborn through the "House of David", but Jesus did not come as a King, but as the Messiah to fulfill Bible prophecy. b. It was fulfilled by Jesus, being born of Mary who was a descendant of the House of David, to die for us on the cross to save us from our sins, How Jesus was placed in a tomb, and rose, and now He lives by God's right hand in heaven. So there is a descendant of David that will rule forever, The Everlasting King.

Q3. (2 Samuel 7:14-16) There is a conditional aspect in the Davidic Covenant – that God will discipline David’s descendants when they sin. How did God discipline David and his descendants? a. God disciplined David for his sins, in the form of family problems and suffering. There was the rape of a daughter, the death of a son, a coup from his son Absalom, his son from Batheshba died. And for his descendants, they eventually lost. They were defeated in battle. Under Rehoboam (solomon's son) the kingdom was split.

Q2. (2 Samuel 7:8-13) What are the main promises of the Davidic Covenant? Are these promises conditional or unconditional? Why does conditionality make a difference? Which of these promises is most important to you as a Christian? a. The Davidic Covenant promised David: 1) a great name 2) a safe/permant place for the people of Israel 3) peace from all your enemies 4) Dynasty for "the House of David" and his descendants. 5) his son to build the temple 6) an everlasting kingdom b. I believe the promises were unconditional in the covenant. Althought God did promise to punish David and his descendants for sinning. c. If the covenant were conditional, there would be items spelled out that would have to be met "before" the promise was filled, and some may not have been filled at all.There is the promise as said above, that God would punish David and his Descendants for sinning, but He did not say anything about David and his descendants loosing the Davidic Covenant if they sinned. d. To me the last promise is the most important (although peace runs a close second). Jesus Christ's death on the cross, was a gift given to you and me that all our sins are paid for. With God's help I will be beside him one day. Praise God!

Q1. (2 Samuel 7:1-7) Why is Nathan so quick to give David approval to build the temple? What should have Nathan done instead? What is the danger of leaders and followers too quickly approving major spiritual directions without really waiting upon the Lord? David’s heart is partly right about building the temple though. Which part does David have right? a. Nathan knew David was anointed by God and that David spoke with God. So he "assumed" God was with David on building the temple for God. b. Nathan should have waited on his answer for David until he had sought councel from God himself. Nathan was to quick in giving David an answer from the Lord. c. If you act to quick you may not be doing the Lord's will. If you act without asking the Lord's councel then you would be doing your will and it could result in punishment, d. I think David's part in the building of the temple was that David had drawn up the plans for the Temple and he would supply the materials for the temple to be build by soloman.

Q5. (Luke 1:42-43) In what sense are the titles "Blessed Virgin Mary" and "Mother of God" appropriate for Mary? Why are we sometimes hesitant to exalt her as "blessed among women"? a. I think both titles "Blessed Virgin Mary" and "Mother of God" are both right when it comes to Mary, and true. She was a Virgin and she was surely blessed when God chose her to the Mother to Jesus. "mother of God" because she gave a virgin birth to Jesus and was to raise the Lord's son. b. I don't know, maybe because she is fully human. We know she was the chosen vessel to bring fourth Jesus and she should be known and loved for that, But to exault her for that role??

Q4. (Luke 1:38) What is the essence of Mary's positive response to the angel? What can we learn from her response for our own lives? In what sense was Mary's response an "informed consent"? When we respond to God, what do we consent to? a. Mary's response was one of submissiion to the will of God. Mary knew that there could be reactions to doing God's will, like stoning or losing Joseph, but she chose to follow God's will. She had strong faith in God. b. Mary had complete faith in the Lord, she was humble, stating "Iam the Lordd's servant "may it be to me as you have said". We need to learn tobe more humble and do God's will as he tells us. c. Mary was willing to follow God's will, knowing she faced rejection from her family, her betrothed, her townspeople possibally even being stoned for bearing a child out of wedlock. Still she chose to follow God's will, not her own. d. In responding to God, we concent to obedience, openly submit to Him having conrol of our lives. We should trust Him to know what we need. It will not be an easy path, but we have the Lord with us.

Q3. (Luke 1:35) What does the virgin conception teach us about Jesus' nature? How central is the doctrine of the virgin conception to the Christian message? A.The Virgin Conception teaches us that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born into this world without sin by Mary, and is the Son of God, a divine being and he fufilled the Bible's prophecy. b. The doctrine of the Virgin Conception teaches us that Jesus, being born of the Holly Spirit and Mary, was born "into" sin, not "of sin". Jesus was born of Mary and fulfilled the prophecy of living among us wihout sin, to die on the cross to pay for our sins. He came from heaven and returned to heaven. How can you not believe in God, just look around you.

Q4. (2 Samuel 6:16, 20-23) What has happened to Michal that she is so bitter at David? How does her bitterness cause her to misjudge what she sees? Are you bitter towards God about something in your past? What effect might it have on your spiritual life? How can you find healing from the bitterness? What would have happened if David had conformed his worship expression to his wife’s preferences? a. I think Mical was bitter to David for not acting as she thought a King should in his worship/praise of God. She resented being taken from her "second" husband and returned to David. Instead of being first wife to David she was now seventh. She was barren. She had lost her "status" as a King's daughter. Mical also was not humble to the Lord as David was, she thought it was undignified. I believe it was a combination of all these things that caused Mica to become so bitter towards David. b. To Mical, David removing the kingly garbs, wearing the ephod, and in her eyes acting undignified and "uncovering" himself before the servants, was totally wrong. She failed to see his worship for the Lord was from the heart. c. Yes I have been bitter toward God at times. But then I found out when I ASK God for help I on something I always got it. So now I always turn my problems over To God, and try not to worry about it. Like now, we lost our land (Or I should say I) for back taxes, the house is in horrible condition and my cousin (bought the land) is ready for my eyesore of a house to be gone. I have turned it over to God, He will help me do the right thing or help me find a house. (He will provide what He thinks I need) d. This has taught me to trust in God, praise him, try to live my life His way and to turn problems over to him, not try handle it my way. e. I prayed to understand and started reading my Bible again and started to try to do serious bible studies. f. David wouldn't have been true in his worship to God, if he had tried to worship as Mical wanted. I think it would have been more "Lip worship" insead of his worshiping from his Heart. I think this would have David putting Mical first instead of God First.

Q3. (2 Samuel 6:14, 22) How would you describe David’s approach to worship? What does his dancing here teach us? What do we learn about praise from the psalms he wrote? Does what others might think affect your ability to worship? How has God been working in your life to teach you to worship him in spirit and in truth? a. David's approach to worship was joyful and came from his heart. David removed his Kingly clothes and wore a linen ephod and danced in joyful worship to God.He worships God with his whole body and doesn't seem to care it might be undignified to a king from some people. He was totally involved in his worship of God. b. David gave his God his all in his worship. He didn't care what others thought, he was praising his God. c. Praise is for God, how we choose to praise him is not for other's to worry about. I learned God wants my praise from the heart. As someone here said: "We should praise His name with dancing, tambouriines and harps and with strings and the flute. So the Psalms state to worship and praise God with dancing and music. d. I was in a Baptist Church, so it did affect my worship of the Lord. I am trying to open up more in my worship and in life, with God's help. e. God wants Praise from the "Heart." To do this we have to let go of the worry of what others think. After all it IS God we are praising, not them.

Q2. (2 Samuel 6:11-13) How should the ark have been transported? How are Uzzah and David responsible if they don’t know the provisions of the Mosaic Law? What does David’s mistake in this incident teach us about seeking to do God’s will? a. No one but the Levites may carry the Ark of God, because God chose the Levites. b. They were responsible because they should have inquired of the Lord on the correct procedure in transporting the Ark. c. It teaches us to consult with God and know the word of God. That we should always do Gods will, not our own.

Q1. (2 Samuel 6:1-10) Why does God strike Uzzah? Why is David so angry? a. David did not consult with the Lord God on how to transport the Ark of God. So it was in the open, uncovered. When Uzzah touched the Ark to steady it The Lord Struck Uzzah down. b. David was angry because he had moved the Ark with the best of intentions. He loved the Lord and wanted God worshipped. David was pubically humiliated in front of 30,000 people. The celebration ended in disaster.

Q3. (2 Samuel 5:17-25) Why does David inquire of the Lord before he attacks the Philistines the first time? What would have happened if he thought he knew how to attack the Philistines, and didn’t inquire of the Lord the second time? Why do we often want to figure out the process so we can act independently, rather than wait on God as a way of life? What does that say about God? What does that say about us? a. To be sure that God was with him in this battle. David wanted to do God's will, to be guided by the Lord and to know what his place would be in the battle to come. b. It would be like David wanting to kill Nabal, doing before asking God how to handle the problem. In this battle David may very well have lost without asking God first. c. We are human, most raised to be self reliant. If we are not lucky enough to be raised in a Christian home, we learn to trust and obey God through teaching and reading the Bible. Then we learn to turn to God and turn our problems over to Him. This way we do not fail in dealing with lilfe. d. God is fair and just. We may not get what we want, but we do get what God wants us to have. He wants to be involved in our lives, protect us and care /love us. e. We all need God in our lives. We need to turn all over to God and ask for him to be in our lives and help us every day.

Q2. (2 Samuel 5:1-5) Approximately how long has it been since David had been anointed king by Samuel? (See Appendix 4. Chronology of the Life of David). Why did the fulfillment of God’s word take so long? How would you evaluate David’s patience concerning this prophecy that he would be king? How would you measure your own patience concerning what you believe God has promised you? a. It was about 15 years since David was anointed by Soloman. b. David needed to learn how to rule a nation and Israel needed to see a Bad King before they could see a Good King. David needed to see how NOT to turn from God. He could see what that had done to Saul. David also needed to become a strong leader. I think God was testing David in faith, devotion, and strength to lead. c. I believe David was very patient, but he knew Saul had been anointed and that God would fulfill his prophecy when God was ready to do so. I believed God used this time to get David ready for being the King of Israel. e. My patience? I pray for God to help me learn more patience.

Q1. (2 Samuel 3:22-39) Why does Joab slay Abner? Is he justified in doing so? How does this affect his king’s unification plans? Why do you think Joab is so blind? How can our spiritual blindness get in the way of God working out His plan in our lives? a. Revenge for his brother Asahel's death. this was murder b. No and David pronounced a curse on Joab and his decendants. c. David displayed public remorse at Abner's death. He lead the funeral procession to Abner's tomb. David wept publically following Abner's procession and he composed a special song for the occasion, an lament. By these actions all the people of Israel knew the King had no part in Abner's murder. d. Joab was more concerned with revenge instead of the Lord's plans. Joab did not ask God for help or guidance or think about the crowning of David and fulfilling God's prophecy, he was "spiritually blind." To avoid Spiritual Blindness we should turn to God first for His help and guidence. We should not let our anger rule us to the point of forgetting to ask God for help.

Q2. (Luke 1:34) In what way does Mary's "How?" question (1:34) to the angel's declaration differ from Zechariah's "How?" question (1:18)? Why was Mary rewarded and Zechariah disciplined? a. Mary's question was one of faith, not doubt of the announcement but as to how this could happen since she was a virgin. Zechariah's question was full of doubt, wanting to know how this promise of a child this late in his life could be. b. Mary was rewarded for her faith and aceptance in the Lord's promise Zechariah was punished for his doubt at the angel's message.

Q1. (Luke 1:31-34) What did the angel's announcement say about who Mary's Child was and who he was to become? a. Mary would give birth to a boy, and his name was to be Jesus. He would be a great person and have the name of "Son of the most High" The Lord God would give Him the throne of David. He would rule ove the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will never end. He was also called "The Son Of God"

Q3. (2 Samuel 1:19-27; 1 Chronicles 10:13-14) David is gracious in his memorial psalm. How does he remember Saul’s life? How does the Chronicler remember Saul’s life? How do you think God evaluates Saul’s life? What do we learn from this? a. David remembers the good about Saul. How he was anointed by God. He looks at Saul's greatness as a King and a warrior. b. The chronicler said Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and not keeping the word of the Lord. He saw Saul as selfish and having turned his back on God, doing his own will instead of God's will. c. God would evaulate Saul by his faithfulness and trust in Him, his repenting and of his sins. Saul onl had to repent and ask God's forgiveness, but he did not. d. We all sin, but when we repent and mean it, God forgives us. We should try our best to live for God, to be in close fellowship with God. We should try not to let wrong's done to us hinder our path with God.

Q2. (1 Samuel 30:6) From the Psalms of David, how does David seem to strengthen himself in the Lord when things are going bad? What devotional exercises does he adopt? What is the focus of his faith? a. David goes to God in prayer. He acknowledges that God is the source of hope, he cries for help and comfort "For the Lord is my light and salvation" b. David extols his faith and love in God and praises God in all situations. He draws strength from his experiences with God, he has seen the results in trusting God and knows God is with him. David is alwas actively searching for God and turns his problems over to God. David finds rest and peace in God, even if he is afraid. "I will trust in you, My salvation comes from Him." c.So David's focus is in his belief in God. He searches for his answers and needs only from God.

Q1. (1 Samuel 30:1-6) Why do the men blame David? Why is the situation so explosive at this point. What does David do in the situation? What is David feeling? Why doesn’t he act immediately? a. David's men felt he was to blame because he made the men go fight Israel and he left the camp without defense. So the enemies were free to walk into the camp and take all the people. b. Because David's men felt they has lost their families. They knew Israel was under attack and they knew the other leaders did not trust them. c. He was in the corner praying to God, seeking God. David has to do God's will concerning their families. He consulted with the Priest asking God's will. d. David was in the corner crying and praying, drawing strength from God, asking God for guidance in finding their families e. Because of the way he acted on his own with Nabal, David knew not to act without God. So he sought God's guidance on what to do first,

Q4. (1 Samuel 28:7-14) Why do you think God condemns occult practices of communi-cating with the dead and channeling spirits of the dead? How might such practices open Christians to victimization and oppression by evil spirits? What should you do if you’ve been involved in such practices in the past? a. We are to worship God with all we are: heart, mind, body and soul. It is to easy for satan to try and destroy our love and trust in God. Why consult with the dead when you can ask God to help and guide you. b. How do we know that the spirit we seek is not the devil? Seeking the dead spiritis is going against God's will. The devil can step in and feed you what ever you want to hear and then he can get a stronger hold on your will, making it easier for him to lead you astray. c. Trust in God, repent and ask for forgivness. Ask God to cleanse thse evil spirit from you. And stay away from the occult!