Women's Bible Study - October 19th, 2022

In one paragraph

This teaching, given by Deborah at a women's Bible study at First B Jackson, drew from Genesis 29, Mark 5, and 1 Peter 5 to show how praise, humility, and a decision to thrive can carry a person through circumstances that are not going to change. It was the final session of a multi-week study built around the acronym THRIVE. Deborah wove together scripture, personal stories, and a friend's grief...

Read together

1. Genesis 12:3 God's promise to Abraham to bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him, and that all families of the earth will be blessed through him
2. Genesis 29 Leah's story, naming her sons Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, used to illustrate the breakthrough that comes from praise
3. Revelation the savior of the world is the lion from the tribe of Judah
4. Song of Solomon one glance of our eyes ravishes God's heart, used to encourage hope for loved ones who have not yet turned to the Lord
5. 1 Peter 5 clothe yourself with humility, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, cast your care on him, resist the devil who prowls like a roaring lion
6. Philippians 2:8 Jesus humbled himself and was obedient to death, used as the example for obeying God in hard circumstances
7. Matthew 26 Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, face to the ground, praying that the cup would pass but surrendering to the Father's will
8. Ecclesiastes 4:10 if one person falls the other can reach out and help, but someone who falls alone is in real trouble, used to emphasize the need for community
9. Mark 5 the bleeding woman who touched Jesus's cloak and was healed, used as the central illustration for deciding to thrive
10. Isaiah 26:3-4 God keeps in perfect peace those whose thoughts are fixed on him, shared as encouragement for a friend losing sleep over a son who is using again
11. Psalm 139:23 search me O God and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts, opened unexpectedly on a phone during a sleepless night
12. Philippians 1 God began a good work in you and will carry it to completion until the day of Christ's return
13. Philippians 1:9-11 prayer that love will overflow, growing in knowledge and understanding, filled with the fruit of salvation, bringing glory and praise to God

Talk about it

1. Deborah talked about how Leah moved from depression to praising God, and how that shift changed something in her even though her circumstances stayed the same. Has there been a time when you chose to praise God in the middle of a hard situation, and what did that do for you?
2. Deborah shared that when she was deeply hurt by someone she had invested in, the Lord asked her, 'Are we gonna do it your way or my way?' What does it actually cost you, in a practical sense, to lay down your defense and humble yourself the way 1 Peter 5 describes?
3. Peter compares the enemy to a lion that watches its prey's behavior and habits before it moves, and that typically attacks the weak and isolated. Where in your own life do you notice you are most vulnerable to that kind of attack?
4. The bleeding woman made a decision, made a plan, and then moved, even though every one of those steps put her at serious risk. What is one thing that is keeping you from making a similar move toward Jesus right now?
5. Deborah and Natalie both talked about how community kept them from getting picked off, and several women in the room shared how someone praying for them made a real difference. Who in your life right now needs you to reach out, and what is one concrete step you could take this week to do that?