Anyways, this is what I had promised
Anne did an interactive verse-by-verse study on Luke 9:10-17. FASCINATING. But you'll have to wait till tomorrow for that as I"m on my mom's dial up computer and she wants to go to bed! :) So I have to post this and I'll write more tomorrow.Anne had us a do a verse by verse study of this chapter. I have to admit, that verse by verse is a good way to teach people to look at things in the bible, without overwhelming them, but is NOT the only way to study the bible. BUT for many people who have never studied the bible before, it's a really good place to start.
I had some people in my small group who it was quite obvious, had not studied the bible before, for themselves. It was neat seeing that look of "I can do this too!" coming over their faces. I really hope, and have prayed, that dawning of awareness that they too can study the bible, has remained with them.
So let's walk through this shall we?
Luke 9:10-17 says
10On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. 12Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, "Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place." 13But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish--unless we are to go and buy food for all these people." 14For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." 15And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.What do we see when we read these verses? (Observation)
10 - The apostles returned, made a report, Jesus took them to a quiet town. the town was called bethsaida.
11 - the crowds followed them. jesus welcomed, preached and healed.
12 - Day got late. Disciples wanted to send everyone away because it was a desolate place and people would need housing and food.
13 - Jesus said "feed them". Disciples said "with what?" The food we have is not enough, unless you want us to buy food.
14 - Jesus said have these 5, 000 men sit in groups of 50
15 - Disciples did as Jesus told.
16 - Jesus took what was available, blessed it, and the crowd was fed.
17 - People ate enough to be satisfied, 12 basketfuls leftovers
What lessons can we learn from this? (interpretation)
10 - Disciples returned to Jesus, showed accountability
- God wants to hear from us
- we need to be accountable
11 - even though Jesus wanted to be alone, he still welcomed people and did ministry
- People and their needs should not be seen as an interruption
- Jesus' priority was on the Kingdom of God
12 - Disciples cared, wanted the people to have time to get what they needed
- Disciples were selfish, and wanted to turn people away
- sometimes it is too easy to jump to the wrong solution to a problem.
13 - Questioned - how do we do this? Not wrong to ask questions.
- Jesus answers our problems.
- We often only see what we bring to the equation, and fail to see what God brings.
14 - Jesus had a plan.
- Jesus broke the problem down for them.
- We have to do our part so that things can happen.
15 - Disciples obeyed, the crowds obeyed, despite their lack of knowledge, this showed trust.
- People had faith that something would happen.
16 - Importance of giving thanks.
- Disciples faith and courage.
- God can take something small and he can still use it.
- Gives thanks because God blesses it.
17 - Satisfied and had leftovers. God gives us more than we need and leaves us satisfied.
- God didn't waste a thing. 12 baskets of leftovers
- God encouraged their faith.
- God meets our needs and we are satisfied.
- We need to help pick up the pieces and help people to be satisfied.
Then we were told to ask... what does this mean to me? (application)
10 - How do I show accountability to God?
- Do I see his concern for my actions?
11 - Who intrudes upon my life?
- Do I amke the most of opportunities?
- How do I handle interruptions?
12 - Do I often short-cut solutions?
- Do I jump ahead of Jesus instead of seeking his counsel?
13 - What part do I have to do?
- Am I open to doing something small?
- Do I see that little is much when God is in it?
- Am I willing to give my little bit to God?
14 - Where is my faith?
- Do I trust that Jesus Christ has bigger plan?
15 - Do I obey without question?
- Do I expect Christ to act?
- When God asks me to sit, do I obey and wait quietly?
16 - Do I thank God for teh stuff he can do and does do?
- What do I do with the stuff Jesus gives me?
- Am I willing to be broken for God's people?
17 - How does God satisfy my needs?
- Where am I most satisfied serving God?
Why did I like this study so much?
1. Seeing other women realize that they too can study God's word and Have it be meaningful to them.
2. It was fascinating seeing the things that women pulled out of this very familiar passage
3. I learned something! and I love learning things. :)
4. I was able to gently prod a reluctant woman into speaking what she thought, and finding herself pleased and surprised, that her thoughts were valid and fit with scripture. FUN FUN! Just seeing the look in her eyes, it was WAY COOL! I live for moments like these! :) \
Now...do I agree with everything everyone came up with? No. Some answers I didn't list because they were WAY out there, and though most were biblical, some had NOTHING to do with this passage and I had NO idea how they even got there. :)
Did Anne push the idea of seeing everything in the light of totality of scripture, and of seeing what was meant to be said at that time and at that place? No. This was meant to just be a very practical look at how people can study the bible.
Did she list all the different ways to study the bible? No. Not that she had all the time in the world to do that either. I really hope this area was followed up in her 6-8 week follow-up bible study series.
BUT she gave women a place to start. and for two of the women in my small group of five, it was what they needed. You could just see it in their eyes, in their questions, and the sounds in their voices when they realized that they could do this too. Just way cool! :)
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