femaleInside: Womens Bible Cafe™

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Womens Bible Cafe™

Experiencing God Online Bible Study | Week 10

Posted: 01 Jun 2015 10:06 AM PDT

Welcome back to online Bible study at Women's Bible Café! This week we are discussing Unit 10 of Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby – "God's Will and the Church". With this lesson, we enter into the final stretch of Experiencing God. This is where we look beyond ourselves and our personal relationship with Christ to our role in the body of Christ. We talk about being in relationship with other Christians and how we interact with them to play our part in the church.

Our daily lessons this week included the following topics:
– The Church
– Discerning God's Will as a Body
– The Body of Christ, Part I
– The Body of Christ, Part II
– Life in the Body

What does it mean to be a part of the Body of Christ? Each of us is part of a larger entity, the church. The church does not refer to a building or to a congregation. Rather, it describes our relationship with other believers. Blackaby says "perhaps one of the greatest challenges for Christianity in our day is for churches to walk with God so closely that the world comes to know Him though their witness. When a church allows God's presence and activity to be expressed through them, a watching world will be drawn to Him." Thus, one of the greatest challenges for us as individuals is to determine our role within the church. We each must understand "who you are in relation to God and to one another" (p. 200).

Our memory verse for this week is Romans 12:5 – "In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (p. 198). This verse summarizes what our actions need to be. As each member performs his/her role, the church is strengthened and each member of the body grows stronger. As members of the Body of Christ none of us works alone. We all are members of the body. As members of the Body we are related to one another. We are sisters and brothers in Christ. As each member of the body performs his or her assignment, God is glorified as His will is done.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOR THE WEEK:

1) Join a small group for study and fellowship.
2) Complete Week 11 in your Experiencing God workbook.
3) Optional: Watch the Session 11 video or listen to the audio.
4) Record your thoughts in your spiritual journal.

BIBLE STUDY TIP FOR THE WEEK:

This week take a close look at the relationship you currently have with the local church. And kick it up a notch. This means we must assess our current roles in our local church. How do we fit? While it may not seem like it at times, we all fit together. Our roles, our personally, virtually everything we do can be used for "the greater good" within our church body. Likewise, each local church is also part of something larger called the body of Christ. Where does your church fit in this larger picture?
So where do you stand right now? Do you have a church home? If not, what steps are you taking to find one? If you have a church home, how involved are you? Do you feel connected there? Is this church your family? Churches vary tremendously by many factors – denomination, size, "personality". It isn't always easy to know where to fit, especially when you are new. But this week take that next step. Find a way to connect.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK (answer in your small group or post your answers here)

1) What is the difference between the way a church comes to know God's will and the way an individual comes to know God's will? (p. 203).
2) When are some times members of a church body should tell others what they sense God wants the church to be and do?
3) How does your church currently make decisions?
4) How does a church come to know God's will (pp. 206)
5) On pg. 222, we are asked to reread Romans 12 Week 2, p. 219). What do you sense God is saying to you through His word.
See you next week!
Blessings,