IBC Richmond

Application Questions: What do you learn about family relationships and friendships from Ezra 8:1-20? What relational values do you miss during the COVID-19 pandemic and long to see restored? What does God’s blessing look like to a Christian? Is it the same as God’s blessing on Ezra? How do you discern and enjoy God’s blessings in your life? Why did Levites matter to Ezra’s journey? What principle...

Read Artaxerxes’ entire letter (Ezra 7:12-26). What surprising ways does God work behind the scenes to accomplish his will? Why did King Artaxerxes act favorably toward Ezra and the Jews? What insight can you learn from this as a citizen of a secular government? Where does courage come from in the Christian life? Do you need courage? Where did Ezra find the courage to lead? What type of team minis...

Application Questions: What credibility did Ezra have to lead? Where did his authority rest? How well do you know the Bible? What influence does the Bible have in your day-to-day living? Do you have a biblical mentor like Ezra? Does your biblical mentor know you personally? How often do you learn from them? What does it mean that “the good hand of his God was on him" (Ezra 7:6, 9)? How is God’s ha...

Application Questions: What difference does dying with Christ make to your sense of identity? Must Christians be 100% certain of their salvation to act on Romans 6:5-10? Is sin avoidable as a Christian? What repetitive sins have you tolerated for too long? If you are alive to God, what desires, goals, and convictions guide your new life in Christ?

Was the temple necessary for the Passover celebration? Why wait? Who could participate in Passover? What two steps were required? Are these requirements represented in receiving the Gospel today? What did the renewed Passover celebration signify for the repatriated exiles? What gave people joy in the Passover? What should a Christian do if they don’t feel joyful in God’s work?

Application Questions: What were the similarities and differences between this temple (Ezra 6:13-18) and Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:62-66)? Why are the people full of joy at the temple’s dedication? What was restored that had been previously lost? What did the 12 sin offerings signify? Should Christians remember sin in public worship today? How can this be done? Where is God’s sovereign in the st...

]Application Questions: What ordinary means did God use in Ezra 6 to provide for the construction of the temple in Jerusalem? Can man accomplish God’s plan without God’s providence? Why or why not? Learning from this story, what are the blessings of a properly functioning government? How does this inform submission to government? Providence is God working independently of you to accomplish his wil...

Application Questions: Was the letter and its requests legitimate? How accountable are God’s people to governing authorities? Is there a place for civil disobedience? Were the Jewish leaders honest about their past? What can be learned from their self-evaluation? How has your past and your family history shaped who you are? Did the Jews have a legal right to rebuild the Temple? One commentator wro...

Application Questions: What exaggerations accompany false accusations? Find examples of these in Ezra 4 and your personal experience. Should a Christian defend themselves when wrongly accused? How will you respond if there is no recourse to speak in your defense? How did Jesus respond to false accusations, particularly before his crucifixion? How much faith and effort should a Christian or a churc...

Application Questions: What spiritual realities about opposition in Ezra 4 apply to God’s work in the church today? Have you quit a spiritual task because you were afraid or frustrated? List pros and cons of starting over and trying again. What will keep you faithful under an onslaught of discouragement, fear, frustration, and opposition? How long did the construction for the temple end? How will...

APPLICATION QUESTIONS: What does it mean that “the people gathered as one man” (vs. 1)? How does gathering express agreement, strength, and community? What caused fear for the returning exiles? What fears do you face as a disciple of Jesus in a culture that does not honor Jesus? What was the Feast of Booths? What did it symbolize for Israel and for future generations? What guided the exiles’ decis...

Application Questions: How are the 42,000 returning exiles in Ezra 2 grouped? What significance can be found in these categories? What do Old Testament genealogies teach about God? Why were 652 exiles excluded from service in the priesthood and eating the holy food? How would their exclusion be resolved? Does worship of the Living God occupy the same interest in your life as it did for the returni...

Application Questions: What in the book of Ezra reveals God’s sovereignty? Does that change the way you believe? Does influence the way you pray? How does Scripture change the Jewish expatriates? Is God’s Word alone sufficient to revive a church today? Why and how? What is repentance? Do Christians repent? What was the last sin you confessed? Why are there no miracles in 100 years of history in Ez...

Application Questions: Scripture calls for self-examination “so see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). How do you test your faith? How should you pray for someone you love who persists in sin while professing their salvation? Of the final five commands given by Paul in 2 Corinthians 13:11, pick the most needed and most difficult for you now. What does your obedience to these revea...

Application Questions: What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh? What applications can be made to your own weakness and troubles? Considering your own limitations, how has God taught you to be content in weakness? In what sense is God's grace sufficient for you? How does grace change the way you view your limitations? What is God’s purpose when he answers “no” to your prayer?

Application Questions: What does it mean to “put on airs”? How do Christians unwittingly do this before unbelievers? After reading through the Apostle Paul’s list of troubles (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), list your own series of afflictions. What has God taught you that could only be learned through difficulty? Do you suffer from insomnia or anxiety? What can be learned from Paul’s experience about ho...

How does a Christian who is sincerely and purely devoted to Christ live? Give characteristics, spiritual disciplines, and life habits. Be specific. In what way are you susceptible to being deceived like Eve (see Genesis 3:1-7)? What terms does the Apostle Paul use for false teachers in 2 Corinthians 11? How do these descriptive titles help you identify false teaching today? Can deceived people dis...

Think of a circumstance in which you have been unfairly and publicly criticized. How was the Apostle Paul being treated this way in Corinth? Was there a difference between the way Paul spoke and wrote? Are you more likely to share criticism face-to-face, online, or by email? Should your words and tone be the same in all circumstances? Does Paul use sarcasm in 2 Corinthians 10:1, 12? Is sarcasm app...

Why does Paul insist that Christians must give willingly, not as a tax or paying dues? What is the false prosperity Gospel? How does the sowing and reaping principle in 2 Corinthians 9:6 not lead to a prosperity Gospel? What will increase your joy in giving? 2 Corinthians 9 ends with a generous God (2 Corinthians 9:15). How does God’s giving inform your giving?

Application Questions: What offering does Paul challenge the church to give towards? What comparable gifts should churches give today? What motivates generous Christians in 2 Corinthians 8? Make a list and determine if these influences compel your giving. What does it mean to be generous? What principles guide your giving to church, to organizations, and to the needy? How can a person give generou...

Application Questions: What is the difference between godly grief and worldly grief? What does each type of grief produce? Have you every written a letter like the Apostle Paul’s severe letter (2 Corinthians 7:8-9, 12)? How can rebuke be communicated clearly? What role did Titus play between Paul and the Corinthians? What principles of sharing or withholding information can be learned from this st...

Application Questions: What hinders moral and spiritual purity? How can a Christian cultivate holiness in the fear of the Lord as 2 Corinthians 7:1 commands? What stood in the way between Paul and the Corinthian believers? How can you make room for someone in your heart? Who is the next person you need room to accept? Describe Paul’s friendship with Titus. How did Titus encourage Paul? How can you...

Application Questions: What is the danger of receiving the grace of God in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1)? How can this danger be avoided? How should a Christian or Christian leader respond to opposition? How does the text address misrepresentations? Is it comforting to know that spiritual leaders like Paul experience conflict, stress, and sleepless nights? What spiritual disciplines will sustain you th...