Missio Dei Communities

Intro
I (Chris) have been hearing a recurring theme from a lot of people in Missio Dei and outside the last few weeks.  It goes something like this:

•    “I know I ought to read my Bible, but I don’t know where to start.”
•    “I get lost, it is so big and I don’t understand the background.”
•    “Its just a bunch of words on a page.”
•    “Me and the Bible just haven’t been very close friends of late.”

Do you identify with any of these?  I hear this from people who have been believers for decades and are supposed to be the “super-steady-spiritual” types.  I hear this from brand new believers confounded with where to begin.

I’m going to try to make this study guide something you can use over 5 days this week to get into the bible.  I’ll try to make this something you can do in 15 minutes a day.  Now, I’m not saying you need to limit yourself to that.  But, let’s start there!

You up for it?  Will you make it a rhythm of your week?  Tell someone else if you are.  A little accountability never hurt anyone!


Monday:  Overview of Luke 18
 1.  Pray.  Start out by asking the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to what he wants to show you today.  Sit in silence for a minute or two.  

2.  Read the Chapter.  That’s the main thing I want you to do today.  Get comfortable, grab some coffee, take a deep breath and…

    A.  Read through the chapter in your bible.
What jumped out at you?  Write down what stood out, what you want to come back to later this week.





B.  Read the entire chapter… again… out loud!
Really, do it.  Read through the entire chapter out loud.  Its okay if your family or roommates hear you.  Now write down anything else that stood out to you.



C.  Listen to the entire chapter.  Here are two resources we have found really helpful.
1.  Go to www.esv.org.  Type in “Luke 18”.  In the top left corner click “Listen”.  
2.  Go to www.FaithComesByHearing.com and download a sweet English (British) audio version of the entire NT dramatically read in mp3 form.  I love this resource!



3.  That’s it for today.  You just read an entire chapter 3 times.  Don’t worry that you didn’t tie everything together just yet.  Don’t worry that you have questions unanswered.  Allow those questions and the words of Jesus to drift through your mind today.



Tuesday:  Luke 18:1-8
1.  Pray.

2.  Read Luke 18:1-8

3.  Most commentators think that this section is the ending to the previous section.  In other words, this parable of the persistent widow is a closing illustration to the teaching Jesus just gave in Luke 17.  Jesus was talking about the coming of the Kingdom.  He wanted to make sure His disciples lived in such a way that they were ready for the Kingdom to come.  Luke 18:1-8 then is an illustration about longing for justice in light of the coming Kingdom.  

4.  The unrighteous judge gives justice.  How much more will God give justice?  What are areas of injustice that you see in your world or have experienced in your life?  How does this parable speak to these issues?








5.  Take a few minutes and ask God to “give justice to them speedily.”  







Wednesday:  Luke 18:9-14
1.  Pray.  Yes, take a few moments and ask God to center your heart on Him.

2.  Read Luke 18:9-14.

3.  Listen to Luke 18:9-14

4.  As Luke tells this story, he sets the two main characters up in parallel to each other.  Compare and contrast what Jesus tells us about each character:

Pharisee                Tax Collector

Stood by himself (18:11)        Stood far off (18:13)







5.  What do you think it means that “this man went down to his house justified”?



6.  How do you see the contrasting heart attitudes of the Pharisee and Tax Collector come out in our day?


7.  Memorize the Tax Collector’s prayer.  “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”  Let this be a prayer that you repeat to yourself throughout the day today.  What can you do to remind yourself to say it.  













Thursday:  Luke 18:18-30
1.  How did it go yesterday with the prayer?  Did you say it throughout the day?  Did you find it confronting you and reminding you to have a humble spirit towards God?  Write some thoughts about that here:






2.  Pray.

3.  Read the passage.

4.  I thought that all Jesus required to “inherit eternal life” was for us to place our faith in him.  It is not by works.  So, why does he require this rich man to sell all of his possessions?  Isn’t this works-righteousness?  

Wrestle with this.  Don’t just give a trite answer.  Spend a few minutes digging into the passage.  Why would Jesus require this of the man?  What is Jesus getting at?  





Friday:  Luke 18:31-34

1.  Pray.  No, really, stop and pray.  Pray about some of what you have learned thus far this week from Luke 18.  Ask God to give you wisdom.  Ask for boldness to obey what He shows you in the Word today.

2.  Read this short section where Jesus foretells His death for a third time.

3.  This is the third time Jesus has told the disciples of his impending death in Luke (9:21-22, 43-45).  Read the other two instances.  Why do you think Luke puts in all three times that Jesus foretold His death?


4.  The disciples did not get it here.  It was hidden from them.  They did not grasp what was said.  What did they need to be able to grasp it?  More information?  Better religious obedience?  Better morality?  Better education?  Better genetics?   

Now flip it:  Why have your eyes been opened?  How does this produce humility in you?