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Q1. (Matthew 13:44-46) What do the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and Pearl of Great Price have in common? What is the main point of these parables? How should it affect our values? Our lives? Mat 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Mat 13:45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, Mat 13:46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. In both of these parables a man has found something of great treasure and has sold everything he owns to gain these treasures. There are somethings which we need to take hold of at any cost to us. These things should be on the top of our list to have and they are worth all we own. Our Salvation is just that. It is beyond price and we will never have enough money to buy it on our own.

Q4. (Luke 17:33-36) What does our passage teach about the separation and judgment that will occur when the Kingdom comes? How should this affect our lives? Our testimony? Our love for our neighbors? Luk 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to gain his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. Luk 17:34 I say unto you, In that night there shall be two men on one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Luk 17:35 There shall be two women grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Luk 17:36 There shall be two men in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. At this time we will be separated according to those "saved" and those "unsaved". To me this just shows how important I live each day for God. How would it be if the day He returns is the day I fall behind on my faith. It also just shows how important it is to share with those we love the gospel and how much we need to pray for the unsaved. I dont want one of my loved ones to be left behind and if they are because of my lack of sharing with them I really wonder how I can face the Lord.

Q3. (Luke 17:24-32) What indications does Jesus give in this passage that he will suddenly come in his Kingdom without further warning? What are the implications of this for our attitude? For our lives? Luk 17:24 for as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall the Son of man be in his day. Luk 17:25 But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. Luk 17:26 And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. Luk 17:27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Luk 17:28 Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; Luk 17:29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: Luk 17:30 after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed. Luk 17:31 In that day, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and let him that is in the field likewise not return back. Luk 17:32 Remember Lot's wife. Jesus reminds us it will be like the day of the flood and the day of destruction of Sodom. Those days began as any other day until ...Once again the world will be taken by surprise. This reminds us that we need to be ready. We need to have our hearts at all times in the right place. There will be no advance warning. When the time does come we are to surrender to the will of God and let our love of Him shine. Do not let the worldly holds on us overcome our feelings...we may have fear but also know that we have life.

Q2. (Luke 17:22-24) What do Jesus

Q1. (Luke 17:21) In what sense was the Kingdom of God present in the Person and ministry of Jesus? In what sense is the Kingdom of God present today? Luk 17:21 neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you. Christ, the very presence of God was among them, walking amidst them. The King Himself was walking with them. Today we as believers and followers of Christ have Him living within each and every one of us therefore He is still among us. The Holy Spirit resides within us and from there we are in the Kingdom of God.

Q4. (Matthew 11:12; Luke 16:16) Admittedly, this is a hard passage to interpret. However, if you take the

Q3. (Matthew 7:7-8) Why is continual asking, seeking, and knocking so essential to our looking forward to the Kingdom? Why do we give up so easily? How do we gain boldness and persistence in prayer? Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Mat 7:8 for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. I believe it is important as it teaches us to be in constant communication with the Lord and to actively look for what the Lord wants for us in our lives. I give up because I lose the confidence that I had or begin to have doubts that God is listening to me or that I am worthy enough to Him to be bothered with. The more we communicate with the Lord, talk to Him, be upfront with Him ...in a word be ourselves with Him the easier it is to come to Him with all our questions and asks for answers. I also believe it is a good thing to keep track of our prayers.

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

Q1. (Matthew 6:24) Jesus seems to make it sound like you can

Q4. (Colossians 3:12-14) Why are Christian virtues so important to Christ? Why are they so important to the church? Why are they so important to non-Christians? Why are they so important in our homes? Col 3:12 You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Col 3:13 Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. Col 3:14 And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. The virtues spoken of is exactly who and what God is. They in their all make up our God. As followers of Christ and believers we want to become "like" Him therefore we need to take these virtues not only on the outside for others to see but deep down within our very beings to become the creations that God wanted us to be from the very beginning. Non-Christians are very good at seeing phonies therefore finding the chink that defaces what we say verses how we live. These virtues foster good and lasting relationship and are the basis on which most relationships are built. We want our family to have these virtues so that we can last and stand strong and grow.

Q4. What did Jesus intend the Parable of the Soils to teach us about the

Q3. (Colossians 3:8) Why are sins of the tongue so easy to slip into? In what ways do they damage us and others? How can we break free of sins of the tongue? Col 3:8 But now you must also get rid of anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene language from your mouth, and all such sins. To begin with I am going to ask for personal prayer. This is an area in my life that I battle with. For the first years of my life I lived a extremely worldly life. I took pride in being a tough player. Nothing could hurt me or at least make me show my hurting. To show this my language was salted with expressions that would "curl your hair". This was me. Now that I see me for who I really am I have to really concentrate on my language. This might seem hard for some to understand but like any habit it is hard to break. For many years I punctuated my speech with unflattering words. Speaking in anger is also something which since dealing with emotions is easy to fall into. It is done usually at a time of high intensive stress. To break ourselves of these destructive habits we again need to focus on heavenly things. With the help of the Holy Spirit all habits can be broken. If we do fall back into our old ways it is important to acknowledge our mistakes ask for forgiveness from the Lord any we have wronged and move on. Dont hold onto the guilt as it can be as damaging as the act itself.

After reading many of the answers to this question something hit me. We need to redefine in our minds and hearts what exactly love is. By knowing the true meaning...the love that God has for us...the love that He wants us to have for ourselves and others we finally will know that sexual **** is not the true love that many believe it is. And we also live in a society that is ill...sick...purged with delight in evil. The numbers of children whom have been abused is beyond belief and unless we change this the world will continue down its ugly path.

Q2. (Colossians 3:5) Why is sexual l u s t so difficult for people, especially males? Though we cannot deny that we are sexual beings, how can we keep sexual desire from controlling us and causing us to sin? Col 3:5 So put to death your worldly impulses: sexual sin, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). We live in a time when the world considers that what makes us feel good is what we should aim for and that denial of any of this is wrong. Our society is a "me" society where we are first to take care of our needs and our desires. Men are known for their sexual conquests. If they do not show an interest in these areas society says something is wrong with them. In some ways I feel that society is changing this area too, making it almost a must for a woman to prove herself sexually to become a better women. Virginity is not something that is looked upon as being a good thing but something to be made fun of instead. Ours schools even teach that it is ok to be a virgin but is not something which a normal healthy teenager is and that family's should not teach abstinence but rather "safe-sex"The main way of controlling our desires is to keep our mind on non-worldly, heavenly issues. We need to watch what we read, watch on tv, songs we listen to. What we put into our minds is what will be the controlling factor.

amen ...we have to admit that the Lord is in control of everything and that includes where He will use us and in what way...when we finally realize that and let God lead our lives is when our fruits will be seen.

Q3. (Matthew 13:23) Even good soil can have factors that hinder growth in various parts of the field, or make some areas grow taller and fuller wheat. What factors make a disciple especially good soil for the growth of the word or message of the Kingdom? What might be the reasons for 30-fold, 60-fold, and 100-fold growth? Mat 13:23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word, understands it, and produces a crop that yields a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown." Understanding of the Word is the key to growth.To produce fruit you understand not only the sense and meaning of the Word, but your own concern in it; you understand it as a man of business understands his business. It is unfruitful in many because they are careless, inattentive, and worldly-minded. Each and everyone of us have different gifts and we may be gifted to prepare and awaken hearts for others to deliver the message of Christ. Many of us have hidden fruits which we will not learn about until the end. At times this may be difficult to live with because as man we want to see action immediately. But those with those gifts are as needed as any other. Each of us are at a different level of spiritual maturity also...when you step beyond what you can do with competence then you only hinder yourself so we need to work at the level we are at.

Q1. (Colossians 3:1-2) What does it mean to

Q2. (Matthew 13:22; Luke 8:14) Which of the thorns that Jesus mentions do you think is the most dangerous: Riches, worries/cares, or pleasures? Why do you think so? Mat 13:22 As for what was sown among the thornbushes, this is the person who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of wealth choke the word so that it can't produce a crop. Luk 8:14 The ones that fell among the thornbushes are the people who listen, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, wealth, and pleasures of life, and their fruit doesn't mature. This to begin with will be a very personal answer for I believe what is most tempting to us is what will be the most dangerous. Of course I would like to be rich but it is not my life goal and pleasure is something everyone wants but for me worries and cares are the weeds in my life. It is as if I thrive on worries and have a very difficult time letting them go. Do I want them...NO...but also they seem to control my life. I struggle daily with giving my worries and fears to the Lord and then taking them back. I know part of it for me is a control issue. I want to be in control and no one can do it better than I can is my mindset. Worries can take over your life and fixating on them can take you further and further away from the relationship you have with the Lord. They begin to occupy all your time and steal your energy and rest. They steal any pleasure that the Lord may give to you. For me worry can be a crippling addiction...one that sneaks up on you.

Q1. (Matthew 13:20-21) Why, according to Jesus

Q4. (Colossians 2:20-23) Why are legalism and asceticism unable to restrain the sinful nature? What alternative to legalism does Paul offer in Colossians 2? Col 2:20 If you have died with Christ to the basic principles of the world, why are you submitting to its decrees as though you still lived in the world? Col 2:21 "Don't handle this! Don't taste or touch that!" Col 2:22 All of these things will be destroyed through use because they are based on human commands and teachings. Col 2:23 These things have the appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion, humility, and harsh treatment of the body, but they have no value against self-indulgence. All the rules in legalism are man made not divine by nature. Man does not have the right to appoint how God is to be worshiped, the Lord Himself has told us what is to be done. Christ has appointed a few ordinances of religion - and they are enough. They are simple, easily observed, and all adapted to promote piety. He knew how ready men would be to rely on them rather than on the merits of the great Sacrifice, and hence he appointed no ordinance where that danger could exist. Self-imposed ordinances gratify the flesh (namely, self-righteousness), though seeming to mortify it. They indulge our corrupt nature, our self - will, pride, and desire of being distinguished from others. Paul reminds us that Christ is all we need. A complete and total relationship with Jesus will fill us completely. Nothing else is needed or should be desired.

Q3. (Colossians 2:13-15) How did forgiveness free us from the Law? What is the significance of nailing the Law to the cross? What does this symbolize? How did the cross bring triumph over evil spiritual forces? Col 2:13 Even when you were dead because of your offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with him when he forgave us all of our offenses, Col 2:14 having erased the charges that were brought against us with their decrees that were hostile to us. He took those charges away when he nailed them to the cross. Col 2:15 And when he had disarmed the rulers and the authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross. Christ came and followed the law, He then died for us, in our place and was the sacrifice which defeated death...because of that we are freed from the law. That does not mean that we can do as we please, we are to do what is pleasing to Christ which in fact is even more that what the law implies but with freedom from the law we realize that it is through Christ and Christ alone there is salvation and nothing of our own doing will bring it about. Nailing the Law to the cross reminds us that it was all fulfilled and finished by the death of Christ on the cross with His burial and Resurrection. With the cross the final battle against death was won. Satan still is here and still will attempt to persuade us but we have the victory in Christ. We know that in the end he will be banished.

Q2. (Colossians 2:9-10) What does verse 9 teach about Christ

Q1. (Colossians 2:8) Philosophy refers to a prevailing belief system. How can a belief system be empty and false? Have you ever personally experienced being captivated by a belief system only to find it deceptive and hollow? Col 2:8 See to it that no one enslaves you through philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Belief systems are based on traditions and many times lies from the enemy therefore erasing or hiding the Truth that has been given us. I myself have fought hard to overcome some of the belief systems that were given to me from an early age. Without the presence and help of the Lord I would be still lost. In my lifetime I have been fooled by everything from Scientology to the occult...each hiding the dark side with promises of power...all deadly lies

Q4. (Colossians 2:2-3) In what sense are

Q3. (Colossians 1:28-2:1) What is the purpose of Paul