Faith Benzonia

4 Steps God Uses to Move Me From Fear to Obedience Exodus 4:1-18 1. God demonstrates that He is able to produce dramatic change. vs 1-9 2. God is able to help me in my perceived weakness. vs 10-12 3. God can provide encouragement even in my rebellion. vs 13-17 4. Sometimes my first steps to obedience are quite simple. vs 18

My God is Self-Existent Exodus 3:13-22 1. My God keeps His promises. vs 13-15 2. My God knows the details of my future. vs 16-22

God Loves Me Too Much to Let Me Stay the Way I Am Exodus 3:1-12 1. Sometimes God uses unusual experiences to grab my attention. vs 1-3 2. God wants to change my understanding of who He is. vs 4-10 3. God’s presence should give me confidence for obedience. vs 11-12

How can I respond to brokenness? Exodus 2:11-25 1. I can be confident that some efforts to address brokenness will be failures. vs 11-15 2. Past failures should not lead to future apathy when encountering brokenness. vs 16-22 3. I can be confident that God does see brokenness. vs 23-25

God is able to act even when all is considered hopeless. Exodus 2:1-10 1. God can produce recognizable good in the presence of evil. vs. 1-2 2. Faith acts creatively when fear could easily immobilize. vs. 3-4 3. God can bring along the most surprising people to help accomplish His plans. vs. 5-10

When evil men grow more powerful, God still works to counteract their evil. Exodus 1:8-22 1. Man’s fear leads to the abuse of those different than him. 2. Man’s abuse of those different than them leads to violence against them. 3. Man’s actions do not stop God’s benevolence.

4 Encouraging Concepts About God to Consider When Things Seem Dark for Me Exodus 1:1-7 1. God keeps His promises, no matter what happens in history. 2. God’s silence does not mean He is absent. 3. Just because God’s work appears small doesn’t mean He is finished. 4. God is determined to make a people for Himself.

4 Big Perspectives Regarding God’s Faithfulness and My Obedience Ruth 4:18-22 1. God keeps his promises throughout generations. 2. God works His grand plans through the normal affairs of my life. 3. My obedience can change the course of my family’s history. 4. The fruit of my obedience can easily extend beyond my lifetime.

What do we know about Jesus of Nazareth? John 1:10-14 1. Jesus is not recognized by the world as valuable. vs 10-11 2. Jesus is the only way to become a child of God. vs 12-13 3. Jesus is the manifestation of God in the flesh. vs 14

How Can I Endure in the Midst of Difficulty? James 5:7-12 1. I can observe the example of farming. vs 7-8 2. I need to pay attention to my own attitude. vs 9 3. I can observe examples from Scripture. vs 10-11 4. I need to be a person of integrity. vs 12

What characterizes ungodly examples of wealth management? James 5:1-6 1. They will experience judgement while gathering worthless items. vs 1-3 2. They use people to build wealth rather than using wealth to build people. vs 4-5 3. They will be judged for destroying vulnerable people. vs 6

Luke 24 John 21

How is a Lack of Humility Displayed? James 4:11-17 1. Arrogance is comfortable judging others. vs 11-12 2. Arrogance claims control of the future. vs 13-17

What is the Cause and Cure for Chaos in My Relationships? James 4:1-10 1. Selfish choices result in chaos in my relationships. vs 1-3 2. I need to take a different path to experience healthy relationships. vs 4-10

How Can I Make Good Decisions? James 3:13-18 1. God’s wisdom is displayed in my actions. vs 13 2. Worldly wisdom leads to chaos in my relationships. vs 14-16 3. Godly wisdom results in healthy relationships. vs 17-18

My Speech Reveals My Heart James 3:1-12 1. I need to be cautious in the use of my speech. vs 1-2 2. With little effort, my speech can have dramatic results. vs 3-8 3. It is easy to be hypocritical with my speech. vs 9-12

What Kind of Faith Saves a Person? James 2:14-26 1. Dead faith can't save me. vs 14-20 2. Active faith does save. vs 21-26

How Can I Avoid Religious Hypocrisy? James 2:8-13 1. I am to love my neighbor. vs 8 2. If I show partiality, I sin against God. vs 9-11 3. Mercy is evidence of obedience to God. vs 12-13

True Religion Acts Without Partiality Toward Others James 2:1-7 ​ God is not happy when I evaluate others based on appearances. vs 1-4 ​ Most people chosen by God fail outward appearance tests. vs 5-7

How Can I Gain Godly Wisdom for Trials? James 1:19-27 1. God tells me how I can access godly wisdom. vs 19-21 2. I need to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. vs 22-25 3. God gives me 3 traits of positive role models of godly wisdom. vs 26-27

Difficult Experiences Can Negatively Shape My View of God 1. God is good even in times of trouble. vs 12 2. Bad things happen when I doubt God’s goodness. vs 13-15 3. What does God’s goodness look like? vs 16-18

How do I successfully respond to trials? James 1:1-11 1. I need to remember my identity. 2. I need to remember the process. 3. I need to ask God for wisdom. R. I can gain perspective based on my financial situation.

3 Insights to Help Me Obey When Obedience Doesn’t Make Sense Hebrews 12:1-3 1. I need to look at people who have done faith well. vs 1a 2. I need to set myself up for success in obeying God. vs 1b 3. I need to look to Jesus as my ultimate example. vs 2-3

Personal Failures I Need to Avoid If I Want to Finish My Faith Life Well Judges 8:22-35 Failure 1 - Abandoning opportunities to influence others for godliness. Failure 2 - Lack of awareness of God’s well designed plans. Failure 3 - Not thinking through the potential of my action’s consequences.

3 Responses That Keep Me From Being Sidetracked as I Live Out My Faith Judges 8:1-21 1. I respond to interpersonal conflict with wisdom. vs 1-3 2. I choose not to be disappointed by lack of support. vs 4-9 3. I am open to God shifting my motivation. vs 10-21