Thursday AM Men's Bible Study
September 29, 2016 Meeting
Join us while we use the "Discovery Bible Study Method" to dig deeper into HIS word each week
How does this work?
- We will pick a specific book from the bible
- Each week I will pick a specific passage with-in that book of the bible
(something short enough for us to go over during Thursday AM group)
- During the week, you will spend some time reading the passage and answering the questions below it
- Thursday AM we will RE-read the passage and go over the questions together as a group
The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly (Ecclesiastes 7:1-29)
7 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
15 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.
24 That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
25 I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. 27 Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—
28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
Summarize:
What does this passage teach me about myself?
What does this passage teach me about Christ?
How will I apply this passage to my life today?
Now commit to sharing this passage outside of this group!
Study Tip's
Be Expectant
The Bible is God’s living Word. As you approach the Bible, pray that God would meet you, so you experience God Himself in His Word; speak to you as a friend to a friend; teach you His truth; surprise you with some new insight or discovery; and transform you over time into the image of Jesus.
Get Honest with God
As you approach God in expectant prayer, take time also to think through what the last few days have been like for you. Share honestly with God what and how you are feeling as you approach your time with Him. Share your struggles and joys. Ask Him to speak, over time, to issues in your life.
Look and Listen Closely
Read and listen to the passage carefully. Write down specifics that you see such as who is there, what is happening, when is it, where it is, and how is it happening.
Circle or write down words, phrases or ideas that connect by repeating, contrasting, being similar, going from the general to the particular, or stating a cause that leads to an effect.
Put yourself into the passage. If it is a narrative, put yourself into the story. What do you see, smell, taste, and feel? Choose one of the characters and become them. If it is a letter or law section, feel what it might have felt to get the letter or hear the law. If it is poetry, let the power of the poem and its images sweep over you.
What questions does the passage raise in your mind? What words, phrases, or concepts don’t you understand? Does the passage turn in any unexpected ways? What intrigues you? Write these questions down.
Meditate
Step back and read the passage a few times again. Read it as if Jesus were standing right there with you (He is!)
Ponder again the points that stand out to you in the passage. What does the passage say or point to about Jesus?
Ask Jesus what He has for you personally in the passage. What area of your life is Jesus speaking to?
Hear from God and Act Boldly
As you ponder this passage, do you sense that God is speaking to any part of your life?
Is there a promise to trust, a command to obey, or an example to follow or avoid?
Is there a deeper insight into God or your experience with God?
What action are you going to take in response to what God is saying to you?
Worship Him
Take the time to worship God and respond to His love for you. Thank Him for speaking to you in His living Word.
The Joy of Community
After you have studied the passage on your own, share it with trusted fellow believers in a Christian community to get their correction, affirmation, and insights.
Thursday AM Men's Group
We are a Band of Brothers at various stages of our lives and our walk. We are bonded through Christ with the common goal to grow into mature disciples. The strong fellowship with our brothers helps us seek, teach and serve together as one unit with focus.
We meet Thursday mornings at 6:30am for about an hour or more in the back room of La Bou (in the Folsom Target parking lot).
Email: ghunton628@comcast.net
Website: http://hopefolsom.org
Location: La Bou, Blue Ravine Road, Folsom, CA, United States
Phone: 916-531-0170