Men's Bible Study - RLC

Genesis 27:42-28:12 - We examined Esau's plan to kill Jacob, Isaac and Rebekah's plan to get Jacob to safety, Esau's recognition that he had been a disappointment, and Jacob's dream of the stairway to heaven.

David examined another apologetics nugget - why should we believe the Bible? Genesis 27:31-41 - We discussed Esau's relentless pursuit of a blessing from his father, Isaac. He ultimately got what he asked for, though it seemed more like cursing - except for one important part.

We enjoyed a great apologetics 'nugget' from David - the hypostatic union. Genesis 27.8-27.30 - We looked carefully at Isaac, Rebekah, and Jacob's behavior in the midst of 'the stealing of the blessing'.

John 5:24 - We looked more deeply at the meaning of the words hear, believe, and judgment. Genesis 26.26-27.7 - We looked at Isaac's treaty with Abimelech, the setup for the 'stealing the blessing' story as being about Esau, and the beginning of the 'stealing the blessing' story.

Genesis 26:15-25 - We follow through some more details of Isaac's life - God's blessing, cultural tensions, moving about - and we see Isaac's personality and trust in God (more like Jacob than Esau). We also witness, what appears to be, Isaac's gradual personal change from serving his father's God to serving his own God (same God, of course).

James 5:13-20 - We finish the book of James with a look at the surprising power of combining righteousness with fervent prayer. Genesis 26:12-14 - We looked briefly at God's continual blessing of Isaac (like Abraham, but in addition to) and noted that the wealth was not measured in gold or diamonds, but in animals and people.

James 5:7-12 - We looked deeper into James' appeal to be patient as we wait for the Lord's return. James' emphasis was on standing fast in the truth and in His promises. Genesis 26:1-11 - We started our study of Isaac's life. We see explicit carry over of the covenant God started with Abraham, new requirements for Isaac, and that Isaac really was a chip off the old block...

James 5:1-6 - We examined James rebuke to the rich and the ties to Abel, Sodom, and Judgment Day. Genesis 25:27-34 - We take a much closer look at Jacob and Esau and question some of the common assumptions and stereotypes of these two men.

James 4:13-17 - We discussed James' idea that God is in control and that we must live accordingly in the moment. James repeats his solution for everything - obey God's will, do what you know to be right. Genesis 25:19-26 - We begin the story of Isaac and Rebekah and the birth of their twin boys. We intend to reexamine the typical view of Jacob - should we view him more favorably than we of...

James 4:7-12 - We discussed James' solution to being driven by desires and passions - being an enemy of God. James calls for submission to God's will and obedience to all of the instruction He gives through the scriptures. Genesis 25:9-18 - We learn more of Abraham's life and death and more about Ishmael's clan.

James 4:1-6 - We discussed how our own passions and desires lead us to hostility toward God. We also examined what God's jealousy toward us is. Genesis 25:8 - we never actually made here (again)

James 3:13-18 - We discussed James' contrast between wisdom demonstrated in works (i.e. following His instructions) and jealousy and ambition (unintuitive opposites). Wisdom leads to peace, false wisdom does not. Genesis 25:1-8 - We discuss some summary information about Abraham's (and Isaac's) life.

James 3:1-12 - We talked about the power of the tongue - for both good and evil. We also discussed how James highlights our role and responsibility in our relationship with God. Genesis 25 - We didn't get here (again).

James 2:14-26 - We examine James' classic perspective on faith, i.e. faith without works is dead. We try to answer the questions: What is faith? What is works? What is dead?

James 2:8-13 - We continued with James' discussion about partiality and his move to going beyond mere rule-keeping. If we pursue the true aim and goal of the commandments, we will understand mercy, show mercy, and receive mercy - a win, win, win. Genesis 24:66-67 - We wrap up the story of Abraham's servant pursuit of a wife for Isaac.

James 2:1-7 - We must not show partiality toward one another based on external appearances. We must judge rightly, taking all things into account. As Christians who bear His name, we must be impartial so we do not dishonor His name. Genesis 24:59-65 - Abraham's servant's travels back to Isaac - with Rebekah. We begin to discover evidence that Abraham has died sometime between when he sent...

James 1:16-27 - Contrary to temptation and sin, God is the author and provider of continual good gifts and gifts that truly fulfill us. However, for our part, we must militantly guard our tongues/speech and must turn our thinking/believing/knowledge into practical action. Genesis 24:54-58 - Abraham's servant's speech finally ends and everyone eats, drinks, and sleeps. The servant wishes to...

James 1:9-15 We discuss sincere praise regardless of circumstance and God's form of social justice. We also highlighted the difference between tempting and testing. Genesis 24:42-53 We examine the remainder of Abraham's servant's speech before they have a meal - both worship and negotiation? We noted the strange treatment of Bethuel in the text.

James 1:1-8 We identify who is writing, to whom he is writing, and when. We discuss what it is to have joy in tribulation and asking for wisdom without doubting. Genesis 24:34-41 We examine the first part of Abraham's servant's speech before they have a meal.

We look briefly at Laban inviting in Abraham's servant (and his men). We spend most of our time discussing Jesus' statement regarding His second coming and how it would be like the days of Noah - some are taken, some are left behind, but which is which?

We examine Rebekah's behavior toward Abraham's servant and we discuss the servant's hesitancy to consider his prayer answered! We also finish up our shallow dive into Paul and his Judaism. David gave another brief talk on Apologetics - is religion only a product of culture?

We examine Abraham's servant's preparations, his strategic planning and preparation, and his prayer to God. We saw how all of those worked together in our introduction to Rebekah. We also continue our look at Paul and his relationship with Judaism as the leaders in Jerusalem claim that he 'live[s] in observance of the law'.

We examine the details of Abraham sending his most trusted servant on a mission to find a wife for his son, Isaac. We also looked at Paul's circumcision of Timothy - why and the consequences and meaning. We also had a member of our group provide an intro to apologetics.

Though this talk was not a part of Men's Bible Study, it is included here in case there is any interest or curiosity. This talk was given as one session of the 'Committed' classes at RLC. The presentation and character attribute list can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mMt9VDO57NAjhsP85GPHKOav5SoGzumW/view?usp=sharing

We look at the death and burial of Sarah - including Abraham's negotiation for the Cave at Machpelah. We also examined the council at Jerusalem in Acts 15 and asked ourselves under what circumstances having that meeting would actually make sense.