1. A friend comes to you and tells of a report they heard about you being spread among others.  The report is untrue, but is still being spread.  What are some of the things you might want to do?  What do most of us usually do?:
   
   
2. What is it about rumors, gossip, and the like, that makes them so painful when we are their victims?:
   
   
   • Why do you think we seem to enjoy them so much (when we hear them) when they are about others instead of us?
     
     
3. Proverbs 18:21.  According to the Bible, just how important are the words we speak?:
   
   
4. In the following verses from the book of Proverbs are some of the GOOD things that words can be used to accomplish.  See if you can identify at least one GOOD thing in each passage:
   
   
   • Proverbs 12:14
     
   • Proverbs 15:23
     
   • Proverbs 24:(24)25
     
   • Proverbs 15:1(a)
     
     
5. Again from the book of Proverbs:  see if you can identify at least one EVIL thing that words can be used to accomplish:
   
   
   • Proverbs 16:28
     
   • Proverbs 15:4(b)
     
   • Proverbs 11:9(a)
     
   • Proverbs 13:3
     
     
6. Read Proverbs 26:24-28.  What are at least three things that eventually happens to a person who misuses words?:
   
   
   • Proverbs 26:26b
     
   • Proverbs 26:27
     
   • Proverbs 26:28
     
     
7. Read Proverbs 16:24.  What can happen to the person who commits their mouth to speaking only GOOD words?:
   
   
8. This week's focus on care and prayer...
   
   

1. Talk about a time when you "lost your patience."  (Pick an incident about something relatively simple.)  What is it that you "1ost"?  Can you describe it?
   
   
2. The English word patience does not always appear in the Bible passages where the patience of God is described.  What English words are used by modern translators to explain the Hebrew and Greek words for the Lord's patience?
   
   
   • Nahum 1:3
     
   • Jeremiah 15:15 (NIV)
     
   • Acts 13:17-18 (NIV)
     
     
3. In your group, see if you can discover at least one way that the Lord demonstrated patience within the context of the following situations:
   
   
   • With the world population before the flood
     
   • With Moses and the Israelites in the desert
     
   • With the Jews while Jesus was being crucified
     
     
4. Read I Peter 2:18-23.  If we receive some pressure, tribulation or distress that we do not deserve, do we have the right to react strongly to it -- especially in a negative way?
   
   
   • What did Jesus do under similar circumstances?
     
   • What can a person do to respond well to unjust treatment?
     
     
5. Read Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2.  Where does Godly patience come from?:
   
   
   • From what you have learned from this and the other passages studied, how might one go about acquiring true patience?
     
     
6. This week's focus on care and prayer...
   
   Sometimes we are ready to say "Lord I need patience -- and I want it right NOW!"  We laugh at the humor but it reveals that we are all at least a little afraid to ask for patience fearing that it can only come through problems.
   
   Perhaps its time we stopped seeing them as problems and calling them as they really are: opportunities.
   
   Is there an opportunity in your life right now that needs a good dose of patience?  Have you shared your situation with a prayer partner?  Have you asked God for that special ability to see it though?  Why not ask Him for it right now...
   
   

TEXT:  Ephesians 1:15-23

1. For Christian Graces
   
2. For reputation
   
3. For lifestyle
   

1. To receive the Holy Spirit
   
2. For wisdom and revelation
   
3. To know God
   

1. The hope of the believer
   
2. The inheritance of the saints
   
3. The power available to the believer
   
   

1. We have all met individuals that we felt were strong Christians; these were people we admired because they seem to carry with them a little of God himself.  Even some who do not profess to be Christians are able to identify "real" or godly Christians.  List some of the qualities you have noticed in such strong and growing Christians:
   
   
2. What do you think:  The people who act like strong Christians, are they born with these qualities, or do they somehow "earn" the right to them from God, or are they trained to act that way, or do they simply experience a miracle that automatically makes them that way when they become Christians?:
   
   
3. In the following passages, what does the Bible say accounts for the spirit strength and dynamic faith of growing Christians?:
   
   
   • Acts 20:32
     
   • I Peter 2:1-3
     
   • Ephesians 4:11-16
     
   • II Peter 3:17,18
     
   • Job 17:9
     
   • Hebrews 6:1
     
   • I Thessalonians 3:9-10
     
     
4. Consider the examples of growing spiritual strength and faith in each of the following.  What things do you think were going on in their lives that explain why they were growing:
   
   
   • Luke 1:80
     
   • Luke 2:40
     
   • II Thessalonians 1:3
     
     
5. Read Ephesians 3:17-19.  What is the role of love (i.e., agape love, the love that flows from God, love that has no limits or conditions) to the whole process of becoming stronger Christians?
   
   
6. Read I John 2:27-29 (NW).  What is the role of the filling of God's presence (i.e., the filling of His Spirit or the abiding presence of Christ within a person) in the life of the growing, strong Christian?

1. There are many voices in our world calling out for the position of "boss" of our life.  Some of these voices are obvious, even blatant.  Others are hidden and not very obvious at all.  In your group, see how many different kinds of "bosses" you can come up with -- especially some of the hidden ones:
   
   
2. The word "Lord" means different things to different people.  For some it Is a negative thing, for others It has a very positive and constructive meaning.  When you see the word used in the Bible or see it associated with Jesus Christ, what does It mean to you personally?:
   
   
3. When the Bible speaks directly or indirectly about Lordship of Jesus, what are some of the things it Is referring to?:
   
   
   • Revelation 5:12
     
   • Matthew 28:18
     
   • Philippians 2:10
     
   • Romans 14:9
     
   • John 20:26-29
     
   • I Corinthians 11:27
     
   • Acts 7:59-60
     
     
4. Read I Corinthians 15:27-28.  What is to be the future for the "Lordship of Christ"?  Will it last?  Will it eventually win out over the various alternatives to His lordship?

1. The Bible says that "the love of money is the root of all types (or kinds) of evil."  In what way does the love of money assist in certain kinds of evil coming out in our lives and in society?:
   
   
2. If it is true that the love of money aids in the production of certain evils, does it always lead to these evils?  Can the right attitude toward it do good as well?  Think of an example of money leading to good:
   
   
3. According to the following scriptures, where does the money we have come from?:
   
   
   • Ecclesiastes 5:19 (NIV)
     
   • I Chronicles 29:12 (NIV)
     
   • Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV)
     
     
4. What are some of the specific dangers that the gift of money and possessions can present to us humans?:
   
   
   • I Timothy 6:9
     
   • Matthew 19:23
     
   • Mark 4:19
     
     
5. Read Hebrews 11:6 and Deuteronomy 8:13,14.  What do you think:  is "faith" something we are to use specifically in the process of accumulation and distribution of money?
   
   What do you think might happen if we ignored "faith" in the way we collected and spent money?
   
   
6. Let us assume for a moment that faith means something on the order of "trusting as true what God has said about man and his condition" or "the statements from God about heaven and earth are accurate and we should live by them."  According to the following verses, what truth is God asking us to believe In or have faith in?:
   
   
   • Matthew 6:19-20
     
   • Luke 12:29-34
     
   • I Timothy 6:17-19

1. We have all come to a traffic sign (even as a youngster) and had the strong urge to pass the sign without stopping to "save time".  Yes, it would have been breaking the law and might have gotten us a ticket, yet there remains a strange and perverse little urge deep within us that still says "Go ahead!  Do it!"  We call it rebellion, but rebellion is really a part of a bigger problem disobedience.
   
   This is, perhaps, a rather bold question to ask, but it will help us get started thinking about today's subject in a practical way:  share with the group one area in which you have a problem being obedient:
   
   
2. What does the Bible say about the importance of being obedient?  Summarize the point made in each of these passages:
   
   
   • 1 Samuel 15:22
     
   • Jeremiah 7:23
     
   • Acts 5:29
     
   • Ephesians 5:6
     
     
3. What are some of the benefits of being obedient to God?  What promises does God make to those who obey Him?:
   
   
   • John 14:23
     
   • I John 2:17
     
   • Deuteronomy 11:13-15
     
   • Deuteronomy 11:26-28
     
   • Luke 11:28
     
     
4. Read I Peter 1:13,14,22 and Acts 5:30-32 and II Corinthians 2:9.  Some have said that since those who follow Christ are "no longer under the law", as Paul puts it, we no longer have to obey any laws.  Is this a correct conclusion as to what "no longer under the law" means?  Are we required to be obedient to God and His commands during this age?:

1. A major chewing gum manufacturer advertises that one of their products provides "pure chewing satisfaction."  If "to be satisfied" with something means "to have had enough" or "to need no more", could we rightly conclude that once we chewed their gum, we would not want any more of It?
   
   There are many things that give temporary, often VERY temporary satisfaction.  The real question, of course, Is what gives satisfaction that lasts:  "What are at least two things that really do satisfy us in this life?
   
   
2. What are some of the things that discourage contentment In our lives today?
   
   
3. According to the following passages, what kinds of things or situations should help us achieve contentment?:
   
   
   • I Timothy 6:8
     
   • Hebrews 13:5
     
   • Luke 3:4
     
   • Job 36:11 (NIV)
     
   • Proverbs 19:23 (NIV)
     
     
4. Read Philippians 4:10-13.  See if you can identify the following:
   
   
   • Through what kind of circumstances does one learn how to be contented?
     
   • According to the Word of God, where does the ability to be contented come from?
     
   • In what kind of circumstances is it possible to be contented?
     
   • Is contentment something you can figure out and achieve on your own?
     
     
5. Read (in the NIV) Daniel 4:4-8,25-27,28-32,34.  From this slice of history from the life of a great king (Nebuchadnezzar), see if you can discover some answers to some age old questions on contentment:
   
   
   • What kind of "contentment" do you think he had as mentioned at the start of this story?
     
   • What did God do to teach this man the meaning of the word?
     
   • Where did he finally have to look in order to find the peace of real contentment?
     
     

1. The Bible shines with many examples of a very special kind of peace that God says He can and will provide.  In Luke 2:13,14 we read:  "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'"  What was the event that encouraged this proclamation?:
   
   
   • According to this passage, what was the basis for a person claming the peace that comes from God?
     
     
2. Share with the group some of the things that characterize peace:  when you have had real peace, what was it like?
   
   
3. According to the following passages, what are some of the basic sources of peace?  If we were to seek peace, where might we find it?:
   
   
   • Psalms 119:165
     
   • Isaiah 48:18
     
   • John 16:33
     
   • Galatians 5:22
     
     
4. Is peace something automatic that one receives from God on a permanent, once-and-for-all basis or does it come and go?  Must we go after it and then must we maintain it once it has arrived?:
   
   
   • Isaiah 27:5
     
   • Psalms 34:14
     
   • Colossians 3:15
     
   • I Peter 3:10-12
     
     
5. Read Isaiah 53:5, and Colossians 1:20 and respond to the following questions about peace:
   
   
   • Who obtained our peace with God and how was it done?
     
     
   • What did it cost?  What price had to be paid to acquire our peace?
     
     
   • What would it take for a person to acquire that peace for them selves?

1. All of us have done some deed or had an experience that deserved some honest praise from friends, family or the public.  Although most of us get at least a little embarrassed by the expressions of deserved praise - we may blush or even cry, we all have some strong reactions and feelings about it.  Describe some of the things that happen within you when you receive appropriate praise.  What are some of the good things that proper praise does in your life?
   
   
2. When God receives praise from His creation, what kinds of thoughts and feelings do you think He might have concerning it?  What do you think is His inner response to praise?
   
   
   • What might be His feelings about a particular portion of His creation that did not praise Him?  How might He respond?  What might He do to it?
     
     
3. Read I Peter 2:9.  In this passage are listed five reasons to praise God.  Identify each of the five and see if you can define them in your own words:
   
   
   • Reason #1
     
   • Reason #2
     
   • Reason #3
     
   • Reason #4
     
   • Reason #5
     
     
   • Summary: Why is it proper to praise God for the items listed above?  Why should God alone receive praise for them?
     
     
4. In the following passages are listed some of the ways and means for praising God:
   
   
   • Psalms 9:11
     
   • Psalms 33:2
     
   • Psalms 52:9
     
   • Isaiah 42:10-12
     
   • Hebrews 13:15
     
   • Luke 19:37

1. Think of a time when you didn't get what you deserved in the way of a punishment.  Out of an act of charity or compassion, someone took pity on you and kept you from getting a traffic ticket, a bad grade, a "poor work slip", prevented you from getting fired or (you fill in the blank).  In your group, discuss the following questions (please read both questions first before you respond):
   
   
   • What was your overall emotional reaction to the compassion offered you?  What kind of response did you have inwardly?
     
     
   • How did you feel about the person who offered the forgiveness; how did you respond to them?
     
     
2. Defining FORGIVENESS:  Because hurt is inevitable In a fallen world - everyone will fail or hurt someone else eventually, God offers us forgiveness so that no deed done could ever have to hinder our communion with Him or with each other.  Various dictionaries and lexicons define forgiveness in various ways:  "l) A benevolent act of superior generosity,  2) a sacrificial act of one-way absorbing of the other's debt,  3) an obedient act of unconditional acceptance."
   
   Match the following passages with the definition that comes closest to explaining the aspect of forgiveness revealed (this will not be an easy assignment but it will show us Important things to consider when we offer forgiveness):
   
   a.  Acts 7:60
   b.  II Samuel 12:13
   c.  Luke 7:45-47
   d.  Ephesians 4:32
   
   
3. Which do you think brings the greater joy: seeing the results of forgiveness given in the life of the one to whom you gave it or experiencing forgiveness received from another for something you have done?  Why?
   
   
4. Read Psalm 103:8-18.  List the characteristics in this passage that describe, confirm or illustrate the fact that God is forgiving:
   
   
5. Read Matthew 6:12-15, Romans 12:14 and Colossians 3:13.  How important is the concept of forgiveness toward others in the life of the believer?  List some of the things that can happen to the person that uses it, that does NOT use it:
   
   
6. For our time of prayer and sharing.
   

1. Swimming or scuba diving alone: they say that it's a dangerous thing to do.  Why?  If you get into trouble, who will be there to help you?  There are many activities or events that we should not try to do by ourselves.  Take a few moments to list some situations in which it is impossible to proceed alone:
   
   a.  Describe some of the things that happen to us - inwardly -when we take a fall and find ourselves alone?
   
   b.  Read Hebrews 10:24,25.  Does God want us to voluntarily avoid people when we are having spiritual challenges in our life?
   
   
2. What are some of the things we can do to help another person deal with a spiritual challenge in their life?  (The following are just a very brief sampling of many such passages):
   
   a.  Romans 15:1-6
   b.  I Thessalonians 5:11
   c.  Acts 12:5
   d.  Ephesians 6:18-20
   
   
3. Read Romans 10:1.  In the last passage mentioned above, we are told to pray for the church.  But, does the Bible have anything to say about praying for hurting people that are not part of the church?
   
   
4. Read I Timothy 2:1-8.  In this passage Paul teaches us important things we can do to help those around us take another step for Jesus.  He also tells us something about the Lord's purpose and role in these steps:
   
   a.  What are some of the important things Paul exhorts us to pray for according to this passage?
   
   b.  What will be the practical result of the prayers offered for those in our community - especially the leaders (see verse 2b)?
   
   c.  If Christians have the opportunity to live a peaceful and godly life, what will be one of the significant impacts on the community of people around them (see verse 4)?
   
   
5. Based on our study, does God want us to pray for non-Christians?  What can we expect will be the result of our prayer?  Will everyone we pray for become a Christian?:
   
   
6. For our time of prayer and sharing: