Tag: Alden Thompson

Confession and Repentance: The Conditions of Revival

• Lesson 6 for the week of August 3 to August 10

Leading Question: How should we consider confession and repentance: As duties or responsibilities? As requirements or conditions for salvation? Or as gifts of God? What happens to one of God’s children who really wants to confess,...

Continue reading →

Obedience: the Fruit of Revival

• Lesson 5 for the week of July 27 to August 3

Leading Question: How does the believer know if it is God’s voice that is asking him or her to do something? The official Study Guide lists several biblical experiences which illustrate obedience or the lack of...

Continue reading →

Witness and Service: The Fruit of Revival

• Lesson 4 for the week of July 20 to July 27

Leading Question: When we witness to the love of God, should we expect positive results, negative results, or is the result entirely unpredictable? Under the heading of “fruit of revival,” the official Study Guide includes two...

Continue reading →

The Word: The Foundation of Revival

• Lesson 3 for the week of July 13 to July 20

Leading Question: If one turns to the Word of God to find the “how” of reformation and revival, where would we turn? As we noted in last week’s study, the Bible gives us very little by...

Continue reading →

The Heartbeat of Revival

• Lesson 2 for the week of July 6 to July 13

Leading Question: In the context of our desire for revival and reformation, what is the role of prayer? In terms of teaching us how to pray, Scripture is remarkably thin. Luke 11:1 records the disciples’ request to Jesus:...

Continue reading →

Revival: Our Great Need

• Lesson 1 for the week of June 29 to July 6

Leading Question: Which is more likely to spark a revival, thumping those who need it, or celebrating those who are already experiencing it? 1. Coming down hard on the Laodiceans. In the letter to the Laodiceans (Rev....

Continue reading →

Lest We Forget (Malachi)

• Lesson 13 for the week of June 22 to June 29

Leading Question: What does Malachi tell us that we need to know today? Note: Three issues/passages stand out as particularly significant for believers today: the predestinarian perspective on Jacob and Esau (1:2-3), tithing (3:10), Elijah the prophet...

Continue reading →

Heaven’s Best Gift (Zechariah)

• Lesson 12 for the week of June 15 to June 22

Leading Question: When times change, can the hope be the same? The crucial issue in this second lesson on Zechariah is last day events (eschatology), for the end-time picture portrayed in Zechariah 14, the last chapter...

Continue reading →

Visions of Hope (Zechariah)

• Lesson 11 for the week of June 8 to June 15

Theme: Visions of hope Leading Question: How can an intercessor be helpful as we stand before God? The study guides for the two lessons on Zechariah will focus on two significant passages, the story of Joshua and...

Continue reading →

First Things First (Haggai)

• Lesson 10 for the week of June 1 to June 8

Theme: First things first Leading question: To what extent should we take the initiative to do something instead of waiting for the Lord to do it for us or to prompt us to action? Haggai and Zechariah...

Continue reading →

The Day of the Lord (Zephaniah)

• Lesson 9 for the week of May 25 to June 1

Theme: The Day of the Lord Leading Question: What was happening in Jerusalem that made Zephaniah’s warning of the coming “Day of the Lord” so urgent? Zephaniah’s Day. The first verse of Zephaniah identifies the reign of Josiah...

Continue reading →

Trusting God’s Goodness (Habakkuk)

• Lesson 8 for the week of May 18 to May 25

Theme: Trusting God’s Goodness Leading Question: Does Habakkuk teach us how to ask questions, find answers or simply to trust? The opening paragraph of J. P. Hyatt’s commentary on Habakkuk in Peake’s Commentary on the Bible (1962) is a...

Continue reading →

God’s Special People (Micah)

• Lesson 7 for the week of May 11 to May 18

Theme: God’s Special People Leading Question: What kind of messiah would one expect if one only had the book of Micah? Introductory note: Micah’s ministry spanned some four eventful decades, years that witnessed the end of the Samaria...

Continue reading →

Eager to Forgive (Jonah)

• Lesson 6 for the week of May 4 to May 11

Leading Question: When Jonah threatened Ninevah with destruction in 40 days, did he do that on his own nickel or at the direction of the Lord? Note: Three of the minor prophets are especially important for exploring...

Continue reading →