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?

Something else MASSIVE happened at the Tower of Babel, and it's not documented in Genesis 11. It's found in Deuteronomy 32, and it takes us on a journey through the Scriptures into the Divine Council, the gods of the nations, Christ's triumph over them on the Cross, and more.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

- How does understanding more of the reality of the spiritual realm affect your perception of prayer and its efficacy?

- God’s desire for His faithful children is that they join Him on the Divine Council. Does the prospect of such eternal rewards affect the way you live day to day? Why or why not?

- Does understanding the reality that there are spiritual forces at work among the nations change the way you perceive political events?

- Read Ephesians 6:12. How should this verse impact how we deal with interpersonal conflict?

- Read Colossians 2:15. What are the implications of Christ disarming and disgracing the rulers and authorities at the Cross? How does this victory impact your daily spiritual battles?

In this study, we'll continue peeling back the layers surrounding events at the Tower of Babel, including what the Bible says about "gods," the parallels between Nimrod and the coming antichrist, one-world government, and God's good plans to bless His children.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

- Read Jesus’ Great High Priestly Prayer in John 17:20-26. What kind of things does Jesus want believers to be united around? What types of things should divide professing Christians?

- Does the knowledge that those who are saved are temples of God’s Spirit change the way you think about God’s presence in your life? How?

- How can patience and remembering God’s promises help us in our struggle against sin?

- Does thinking about things like the New Jerusalem—the city God has prepared for His people—cause you to “check out” in this present life, or does it make you more engaged in living for Christ? Why?

- When you look at current global unification efforts (i.e., attempts to create a “borderless world”), do you see good or bad fruit?

At the Tower of Babel, God divided humanity into languages, creating different cultures and ethnicities. But why was God's reaction to a city and a tower so weighty? What was the big deal? In this study, we'll sift through the clues in Scripture and history to discover the disturbing picture that emerges.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

- Why do you think humanity was so quick to rebel against God after witnessing the devastating judgment of the Flood just a century or two earlier?

- Do you know anyone who has “deconstructed” their Christian faith? What did you notice about their process, motivations, actions, etc.?

- Do you see any parallels between our world today and the events at the Tower of Babel?

- What do you think determines the spiritual “atmosphere” in a location? How about in your own home?

- Jeff suggested that our flesh is the most dangerous false teacher we encounter. What specific areas of Scripture do you find yourself most tempted to reinterpret to accommodate your desires?

In this chapter, we see how Noah's prophetic words spoken over his 3 sons played out over the subsequent centuries. We're also given a few insights into a strange character named Nimrod, who will play a key role in events at the Tower of Babel in Chapter 11.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

- Can you think of any present-day examples of how charismatic leaders can, like Nimrod, draw people away from God?

- Do you feel the natural draw of the flesh to forget and neglect because of the busyness of life? What practices and disciplines have you found helpful in fighting against this natural tendency?

- Even Christians can fall prey to false teachers. In fact, we see repeated warnings about this in the New Testament. How can Christians avoid being deceived by "Christian" false teachers?

- Read and discuss Romans 16:17-18, Galatians 1:6-9, Colossians 2:8, and Revelation 2:2.

- Read 1 John 4:1. What does it mean to "test the spirits"?

Strange behavior by Noah leads to dishonorable behavior by his son, Ham, and honorable behavior by his sons, Shem and Japheth. This bizarre incident reveals principles about the relationship between children and parents, the dangers of abusing alcohol, and the nature of generational curses.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

- As an adult, what does it mean to honor your parents? What does it look like practically?

- Why do you think that in the Mosaic Law God places such severe consequences on dishonoring parents?

- Romans 14 addresses Christian freedom, honoring weaker brothers and sisters, and the heart attitude we should have toward one another in these things. Read the chapter together and share what sticks out to you.

- Have you ever had to make a conscious choice to walk in a different direction from how you were raised, in order to break a cycle of sin or brokenness in your family?

- What “seeds” have you sown in life that have borne the best fruit?