In The Journey of Faith We Only See The Back Side. Only HE sees the front. A four week study
It is a big, complicated world. Have current events caught God off guard? Can we trust ourselves to His hands? Are you ready to put yourself in the hands of the Master Tapestry Weaver? If not Him, whom will you trust?
“I am telling you the truth; whoever believes in me will do what I do — yes, he will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12
Week 1
John 5:19-20
When the visitors from the planet Oz stepped into the large performance hall, all they could see were two people on the stage, moving in a circle of light. As the people moved, the light moved with them. Or, was it the other way around? “Is this some sort of game?” one of the Ozians said to the other? The Tschaikowsky, Sleeping Beauty pax de deux, familiar to most in the audience, was a strange sight to the visitors.
- Is “walking in the light” a game or something of much greater significance?
- If significant, why?
- How do we find the circle of light?
- How do we stay in the circle of light?
Week 2
John 4:35-38
The very successful woman was nursing her depression with a glass of whiskey and the TV remote control — surfing the channels — absent mindedly looking for — she didn’t know what. Suddenly there was Billy Graham on the screen, preaching. For some reason, she stayed with him and when he said, “You can say this prayer,” she did. Years before a Godly aunt had regularly taken her to Sunday School weekly and prayed for her daily. In front of her television, the woman prayed the prayer and her life was transformed.
- Who was the “evangelist?”
- When walking in the light, what’s the difference between “success” and “faithfulness?”
- Can the Tapestry Weaver be trusted with the “success” if we are faithful?
Week 3
Luke 19:11-27
As Jack tried to explain his action he seemed to struggle. “I really thought it was the right thing to play it safe. After all, there are so many variables and I have such a sense of responsibility to my boss. He is one tough guy. Let somebody else take the risks.” So was it fear of his own inability to perform? Was it fear of the boss? Or, did he completely misread the boss’ intentions?
- To what extent was Jack’s decision driven by trying to see the front side of the tapestry?
- How do highest possible performance and faith intersect?
Week 4
Hebrews 11, 35b–39
It was a hundred years ago the 50 people in the missionary families of men, women, and children were caught in China’s Boxer Rebellion. Their dream had been to take the Good News to those over the border in Mongolia. Half were forced marched across the desert. All died before they reached sanctuary. The women in the group that remained were thrown down dry wells where they died for lack of water and food. And the men had their feet nailed to boards and were driven with whips through neighboring villages till they died of loss of blood and shock. Today, tens of thousands of believers fill hundreds of flourishing churches in Mongolia that are led by national believers.
- As we live looking at the back side of the tapestry where do risk and obedience meet?
- What are our rewards? — here and in eternity?
- What’s the correlation between rewards, faithfulness, and trust?