Bible Study - We Will Learn About Our Faith - 26th October 2021
Matthew 5:43-48;
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jude 1:17-25;
A Call to Persevere
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.[f]
Doxology. 24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Phillipians 1;27- 30;
Life Worthy of the Gospel
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[e] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Hebrews 12:1-3;
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Matthew 17:14-20;
14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [21] [a]
Points to Ponder:
John Wesley spoke of faith being a journey. He emphasised that the Holy Spirit helps us realise our need of, and for God, helps us to come to discover Him, and then to receive the assurance of His acceptance, love and forgiveness. Even this is not the end of our pilgrimage but it is the end of our searching for “the way” as Jesus whom we have found, is the way, the truth and the life.
Questions:
What has helped you to learn more about The Christian Faith?
What has helped you grow in your personal faith?
What is meant by exercising faith.
Our journey of faith is not meant to be a solitary one. We are meant to grow in faith together.
What might help us as a church to grow in our faith?
Conclusion:
Wesley spoke of Christians growing in faith by availing themselves of what he called “ The means of grace”.
He defined these as being : Worship, Prayer, Bible Study, Fellowship and Service.
These all help us to travel the way of Holiness, and to express Christlike love.
Singing The Faith 608
All praise to our redeeming Lord,
Who joins us by His grace,
And bids us, each to each restored,
Together seek His face,
Together seek His face.
2
He bids us build each other up;
And, gathered into one,
To our high calling’s glorious hope,
We hand in hand go on,
We hand in hand go on.
3
The gift which He on one bestows,
We all delight to prove;
The grace through every vessel flows,
In purest streams of love,
In purest streams of love.
4
We all partake the joy of one;
The common peace we feel;
A peace to worldly minds unknown,
A joy unspeakable,
A joy unspeakable.
5
And if our fellowship below
In Christ yet be so sweet,
What height of rapture shall we know,
When round His throne we meet,
When round His throne we meet!
Charles Wesley.