LESSON 6: WHEN GOD’S REIGN BECOMES REAL

1. After the temptations, Jesus begins his ministry. Read Mark 1: 14-15

--Started ministry in Galilee

--The kingdom of God is near, repent and believe

Same timeframe, account of Matthew 4: 12-17

--Capernaum, town on Galilee, Peter’s house was base of operations for Jesus

while he ministered in Galilee.

--”Land of Zebulum and land of Naphali” north end of Galilee. Prophecy of Isaiah

fulfilled by Jesus.

--”Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Repent, because the Kingdom of God

is near, in the form of Jesus Christ. Not feeling sorry for one’s sins but a radical and

deliberate turning from old life to a new life serving God.

2. How to pray--The Lord’s Prayer, Read Matt. 6: 9-15, Verse 15: “But if you do not

forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Lord’s Prayer was a

Bible study by itself that I taught in Jan-Feb. 2008. We analyzed each line. See

summary of this study--white board.

3. The Kingdom of God, read Luke 17: 20-21

--The Kingdom of God is within you--spiritual rather than a physical place.

4. OT discussions of the Kingdom of God:

Read 1 Samuel 8: An earthly king is not the answer.

Read Psalm 95: God is the real King over all the earth.

Read Psalm 97: Celebration of the Lord’s reign

Read Isaiah 44: 6-8: There is only one God

5. Jesus teaches about how to enter the Kingdom of God: Read John 3: 1-16 Must be

born again, verse 4 Born of water and spirit, verse 6, everyone who believes in Jesus

will have eternal life, verse 15, God loves us, verse 16.

6. Description of the resurrection: Read 1 Cor. 15: 35-55 The spiritual body, read NIV

Note 15:42-44.

7. Contrasting lives: sinful verses spiritual: Read Gal 5: 16-26. Contrast sinful nature,

Verses 19-21 vs. Spirit nature Verse 22.

8. Parables about the Kingdom of God, Mark 4: 1-34

Lesson 6 Continued, page 2

--Discuss Jesus’ use of parables as a method of teaching. Parables that generally begin

With: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”

Parable of the Sower 4: 1-20 (Power of the soil and harvest) Compare with Matt.

13: 1-23, Luke 8: 1-15

Lamb on a Stand 4: 21-25 (Don’t hide your faith) Compare with Luke 8: 16-18

Parable of the Growing Seed 4: 26-29. Power of the seed (the Gospel message)

Parable of the Mustard Seed 4: 27-34 Kingdom of God comes from humble and

ordinary people, will spread throughout the world. Compare with Matt. 13: 31-33

Parable of the Weeds Matt. 13: 24-30, 36-43. Faithful people live side-by-side with

sinful people.

Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard Matt. 20: 1-16 Bill Bryant did a sermon on

this.

9. Passages about how to enter the Kingdom of God: Read Mark 10: 13-31, Matt 19:

13-30. Both about little children and the rich man.

Little Children: Kingdom belongs to those who receive it as a gift of God, not human

effort. Children are more receptive, have less pride and know they are unable to

achieve entry themselves.

Rich Man: Role of the Commandments (demonstrate faith, not earn salvation). Wealth

can be and obstacle to faith--not for everyone.

LESSON #5: TEMPTATION OF JESUS, BEGINNING OF MINISTRY

1. Introduction: Two accounts of the temptation of Jesus: Luke 4: 1-13 and Matt.

4: 1-11. Both very similar, will read the Matthew account in class. However, will

start with two OT readings that play out in the temptation that occurs immediately

after the baptism of Jesus.

--Read Isa. 42: 1-9: Servant of the Lord. Jesus is Israel in the ideal form. Nation was

to be a kingdom of priests, the Messiah would be the High Priest who would atone

for the sins of the world. See verse 4: “he will not falter or be discouraged until he

establishes justice on earth.”

--Deut. 8: 1-19: Follow the Lord, source of all that we have, do not worship other gods.

Verse 3: “Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the

Mouth of the Lord.”

2. Read Matt: 4: 1-4 From NIV notes:

--Temptation was divinely intended, just like Israelites in the desert for 40 years.

--Israel failed the test, Jesus didn’t.

--Read Note 4: 1

--Reply on God for spiritual feeding

3. Read Matt: 4: 5-7 Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

4. Read Matt: 4: 8-11 Worship God only.

5. Read Study Guide page 44: Nature of Temptations

6. Discuss the three temptations, how do they apply today?

7. Read Hebrews 2: 14-18, 4: 14-16, 12: 5-11 Discuss

8. Genealogy of Jesus by Luke: 3: 23-38 (Contrast with Matthew)

--Traces genealogy all the way back to Adam, to show that Jesus is the son of God,

Just as Adam was.

--Jesus is descended from Nathan, Son of David rather than Solomon.

LESSON #2 WHEN WORDS BECOME EVENTS

Discussion 1: Matthew 1-2

Look for use of the word “fulfill”.

Discussion 2: Readings based on the four women in genealogy of Jesus. Read based

on assignments given in class.

Tamar: Genesis 38

Ruth: Ruth 1:1-2:13; 4:13-22

Rahab: Joshua 2, 6:1-25

Bathsheba: 2 Samuel 11: 1-12:25

Discussion 3: Isaiah 7: 1-17; Jeremiah 31:15, Hosea 11:1-9, Micah 5:1-4, 2 Samuel 7:1-16, Psalms 89: 1-4, 19-37, 132: 11-18, Jeremiah 23: 5-6

Look for how Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophesies.

Discussion based on pages 18-21 “When Words Became Events”

JESUS IN THE GOSPELS

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

The subject matter is Jesus, not just the man himself, nor what he did, but the meaning of the whole event whose center is Jesus:

--This includes Jesus’ relation to the Jewish religion he inherited.

--To the circle of disciples around him.

--To the early Christians who believed in him after his death and resurrection.

--And, especially the four portraits of Jesus contained in the Gospels.

The purpose of the Gospels: To form their readers by the way they inform them about the subject matter. They achieve their purpose when we grasp enough of what they tell us about Jesus that we can be grasped by him.

This study is based on detailed study (looking for observations and details in the

scripture you may not have found before), comparison of the four Gospels when all or some of them report the same event or teaching of Jesus differently, and gaining a better understanding of Jesus by looking at how he is portrayed in the Bible as a whole.

Each week contains scripture readings, many times from both the Old and New Testament. We will not be reading straight through each Gospel. We will discuss each set of readings, looking for new details and understanding. Additionally, each week’s scriptural readings will be supplemented by materials contained in the Study Manual, (and DVD if we have it).

The study normally requires 45-60 minutes of daily study by the student, followed by a 2 hour weekly discussion meeting for 30 weeks. We will go at a much slower pace and with much less advanced reading requirements (helpful to read in advance, but not required). It may take us two years to complete the entire study.

What have we learned about Jesus that we want to hand on to others, especially to those who come after us?