Numbers - Women's Bible Study Participant Workbook: Learning Contentment in a Culture of More - Softcover

Spoelstra, Melissa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501801740 ISBN 13: 9781501801747

Verlag: Abingdon Press, 2017

Inhaltsangabe

Something in us aches for more--more hope, more joy, more freedom. All around us people are dancing to the steps of bigger, better, and faster, and we can easily join in without even realizing it. Before long complaining and comparing accompany our desire for more, yet we're not any closer to filling the ache inside. God offers us another way. In this study of the Book of Numbers, we'll find a group of people that wandered in the desert for forty years, unable to enter the Promised Land because of their complaining, grumbling, and lack of faith. The New Testament tells us that their story was written to warn us (1 Corinthians 10:6) so that we would not make the same mistakes and suffer the same consequences. God sent his only Son to die to buy our freedom from the sin that leads to discontentment, and we find our own promised land of peace and contentment in the life he gives us. By exploring Numbers we can come to identify the reasons for our complaining, learn contentment while being authentic about the difficulties of life, accept short-term hardship in light of the greater good of God's ultimate deliverance, recognize the relationship between complaining and worry, and discover how to realign with God's character and promises. Together we will learn contentment as we discover more of our incredible God who truly is more than enough. Only God can fill that ache inside and help us focus on his provision and purpose in the midst of life's joys and pains. The participant workbook includes five days of lessons for each week, combining study of Scripture with personal reflection, application, and prayer. Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Leader Guide, DVD with six 20-25 minute sessions, and boxed Leader Kit (an all-inclusive box containing one copy of each of the Bible study's components).

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Melissa Spoelstra is a popular women's conference speaker (including the Aspire Women's Events), Bible teacher, and author who is madly in love with Jesus and passionate about helping others to seek Christ and know Him more intimately. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible Theology and enjoys teaching God's Word to diverse groups and churches within the body of Christ. She is a contributor to Girlfriends in God online devotional as well as Proverbs 31 ministries First Five app. She is the author of eight Bible studies (Acts, The Names of God, Romans, Elijah, Numbers, First Corinthians, Joseph, and Jeremiah) and four books (Total Family Makeover, Total Christmas Makeover, 30 Days of Prayer for Spiritual Stamina, and Dare to Hope). Melissa makes her home in Pickerington, Ohio, with her pastor husband and four kids.

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Numbers - Women's Bible Study Participant Workbook

Learning Contentment in a Culture of More

By Melissa Spoelstra

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2017 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5018-0174-7

Contents

About the Author, 
Introduction, 
Week 1: Content in Deliverance Exodus 1-15, 
Week 2: Content in Preparation Numbers 1-10, 
Week 3: Content in Uncertainty Numbers 11-14, 
Week 4: Content in Obedience Numbers 15-20, 
Week 5: Content in Opposition Numbers 21-26, 
Week 6: Content in Blessings Numbers 27-36, 
Video Viewer Guide Answers, 
Digging Deeper Week 1 Preview, 
Notes, 

CHAPTER 1

Week 1

CONTENT IN DELIVERANCE

Exodus 1-15

Memory Verse

The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise him —
my father's God, and I
will exalt him!

(Exodus 15:2)

Weekly Reading Plan

Numbers 1-12

DAY 1: ACCUSTOMED TO SLAVERY

Today's Scripture Focus

Exodus 1 and 3

Have you ever been so accustomed to something difficult in your life that it became the norm for you? I have friends who can't imagine life without migraines or back pain. Others have miserable marriages or children who are addicted to drugs. Life is hard for all of us. Certainly the Israelites were not immune to hardship.

Before we begin our study in the Book of Numbers, we need some background from the Book of Exodus to understand why the people of Israel ended up complaining in the wilderness. In the coming weeks we will relate with these men, women, and children who were struggling to learn contentment. So, who were they? Where did they come from? Why were they longing to go back to slavery?

The story of the Israelites began with a family that included Abraham and his son Isaac. Isaac had twin boys, and one of them was named Jacob. After Jacob wrestled with God one night, God changed his name to Israel (Genesis 32:28). The twelve tribes of Israel descended from this family had settled in the land of Canaan. When a famine ravaged the land, God had already divinely prepared a place for them in the land of Egypt through Jacob's son Joseph. The Book of Genesis ends with God's rescue of His people, who were then living in the land of Goshen in Egypt with the favor and support of Pharaoh.

However, it didn't take long before things began to change for the Israelites.

Read Exodus 1:6-14 and answer the following questions: What changes took place in Egypt after Joseph died?

What were the concerns of the new Egyptian king regarding the Israelites?

What became the daily realities for the people of Israel?

If we were to keep reading in Exodus, we would find that a later pharaoh not only enslaved the people but even ordered that all newborn boys be killed in attempt to quell the Israelite population (1:15-22). When we begin digging into the Book of Numbers, we will find a man named Moses leading the people in the wilderness after having brought them out of slavery in Egypt. But long before he became a leader, his mother hid him in a basket as a baby in order to save him from execution.

As a mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, or friend, can you imagine the hardship and stress that every pregnant Israelite woman must have experienced? If she delivered a girl, the baby would live. Otherwise, the child that had grown in her womb for nine months would be killed. These were dark times for God's people.

According to Exodus 12:40-41, the Israelites had lived in Egypt for over four hundred years (though there are disagreements about the exact time frame in other biblical passages). Nevertheless, a world of slavery was all they were accustomed to when Moses returned to lead them out of bondage. We need to remember this history as we see the Israelites complain about God's deliverance. Getting out from under slavery would shake the status quo. It would mean venturing out into the unknown.

Like them, sometimes we must learn to accept difficult circumstances. However, when God intervenes for our rescue, we then must learn to respond with faith rather than discontent.

If you could cry out to God to deliver you from one thing or circumstance right now, what would it be?

If you were in charge of your own rescue, how would you want God to bring this deliverance?

What can be difficult for us is that often we aren't sure of what God's plan is. Is God calling us to accept tough times and learn through them, or does He want us to follow Him in faith as He makes big changes in our lives? This challenging question can foster discontentment. If God wants us to learn through our trials, we will be tempted to complain about the need to persevere. And if God says it is time for our deliverance, we may not like the changes and risks that will accompany it.

Contentment comes as we learn to listen for God's instructions and follow them because we believe He has our best interests in mind.

Contentment comes as we learn to listen for God's instructions and follow them because we believe He has our best interests in mind. Sometimes it's hard to reconcile that the best thing might be a wrecked car, autoimmune disorders, concussions, and fighting kids. These are the things that have hit home for me in the last few months. So, how can we know whether to sit tight and accept our circumstances or to get moving and pursue change? To help answer that, let's see how the people of Israel transitioned out of Egyptian oppression.

Read Exodus 3:1-15, and choose one of the two options below:

Draw a picture of the scene here, using speech bubbles to sum up what Moses and God said to each other:

[ILLUSTRATION OMIITED]

OR

Summarize the gist of this passage in 3-4 sentences:

God communicated with Moses in a burning bush. Boy, do I sometimes wish God would be that dramatic in giving me instruction! But for most of us, the bush doesn't burn. Even though God's instructions were difficult and Moses didn't feel qualified or excited to lead God's people, he knew what God was asking him to do. God said to him, "I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey — the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live" (Exodus 3:17). It would be a long, difficult journey, but the instructions were pretty clear.

I desire that burning bush clarity, but I can easily forget what is available to help me discern God's directions. God has not changed. He is still "I AM WHO I AM." God said to Moses, "This is my eternal name, / my name to remember for all generations" (Exodus 3:15). That includes our generation! God heard the cries of His people in Egypt, and He hears our cries as well. God still speaks to us today.

When I was in high school, I worried that I would not find God's will. What if I went to the wrong college or married the wrong person? My pastor at the time shared this statement that greatly helped me as I sought to listen for God's voice:

"If you do God's will, you can't help but find His will."

He explained that the Bible is full of instructions and examples of things we know are God's will for us to do:

• pray

• listen

• study His Word

• seek the Holy Spirit's help in applying God's...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Abingdon Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2017
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1501801740
• ISBN 13: 9781501801747
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 210
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland