In Genesis 12:3, God famously comes to Abram and says, "I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt." In this study, we'll do our best to address some of the controversial questions surrounding Israel, her identity, her relationship to the Church, and what Jesus and His Word have to say about these matters.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

- God chose Israel because she was “the fewest of all peoples”. Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. What has God had to overpower in your life to bring you to salvation and sanctify you (e.g., stubbornness, wrong beliefs, self-centeredness)?

- Why do you think Israel is back in their land today?

- Do we, like Israel, experience blessings for faithfulness to God and curses for unfaithfulness to God, or is our relationship with Him different? How? Why?

- The Jews in Jesus' day rejected Him as their savior because He didn’t meet their expectations and desires (they wanted a militant deliverer). Are there any wrong expectations Christians sometimes have of Jesus today?

- If God knew that Israel was going to be so difficult, why did He choose them to be His nation?

In this study, the Lord begins His work of forming His own special people by calling Abram, a pagan, to leave his home and journey to a new land. We'll also discuss the relationship between revelation and accountability, why Jesus taught in Parables, and the famous apologetics question about "The Man in the Jungle."

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

- If, hypothetically, people are only accountable for the revelation we’ve received, then why does it matter whether we share the Gospel?

- What are “the incalculable riches of Christ” mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 3:8?

- In what ways can Christians “settle in Haran” by partially obeying God’s call on our lives?

- Read Matthew 13:10-16. Have you ever experienced God giving you more revelation after you responded rightly to what He had already given? Or have you ever experienced spiritual numbness or hardness after ignoring a revelation from God?

- Take time to pray for family and friends who have had the Gospel revealed to them but are not yet responding rightly to it.

How are Christians supposed to think about issues related to ethnicity? In this study, we dive into some of the most controversial issues of our day, including immigration, crime, racism, discrimination, and more. And what we'll discover is that the Bible does not divide the world by ethnicity, but by culture. We'll also take some time to delve into the attributes of Yahweh that make Him absolutely unique among all the other gods/elohim.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

- What biblical values do you see most prominently clashing with the culture today?

- Why do societies based on God’s laws and values tend to prosper?

- Are there any specific cycles of brokenness in your family or cultural heritage that God has freed you from?

- When someone is a new or young believer, how can we call and encourage them to obey Christ without overwhelming them with a long list of things that need to change?

- When we were studying Yahweh’s unique attributes, what stuck out to you?