Skip to main content

Finding God Questions: Obadiah

Why do you think America's Funniest Home Videos is such a popular show?

When have you recently laughed at someone else's misfortune? Talk about a time you did something which caused people to laugh at you.

Today you'll be looking at the book of Obadiah. Obadiah is a unique prophetic book because it was not written to Israel or Judah. Rather it was written to Judah's southern neighbor, Edom.

Read Obadiah 10,11. What do you think it means that Edom "stood aloof"?

What factors sometimes cause us to be unmotivated to help someone who is in a difficult time? Why do you think Edom was unmotivated to help Israel?

Read verse 12. How are people sometimes judgmental and dismissive toward those who are suffering misfortune?

Read verses 13-14. How do you think the people of Jerusalem felt about the Edomites? What do you think they wanted God to do to the Edomites?

What was God's plan for Edom (read verses 18 and 21)?

How should the fate of Edom serve as a warning for us?

Sometimes God's timing is not ours. He always acts justly, and He always acts on the behalf of His people; but He doesn't always do it in our time or in our way. Edom was eventually judged for their abuse of God's people.

What are you waiting for God to make right in your life? How do you think he wants you live while you wait?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Discussion Questions for Easter

Have several people ask the question, “What’s the most important thing you’ve ever done?” Ask other people, “What do you hope to accomplish in the next several years of your life?” Tell your class that today you’ll be talking about “life mission” or the one most important thing you do that drives everything else. Tell them that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the defining moment in history, so it should be the defining moment in our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. How does the resurrection impact some of the crucial beliefs of Christianity?  How would Christianity be different if there was no resurrection? How would you be different without the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. What are some specific ways that the resurrection gives us hope? If you had been a friend of Jesus when he was on earth, how would the resurrection have impacted your life?  How do you think his followers then were effected by the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthian...

FIGHT CLUB! (iron sharpening iron)

Our youth pastor, Keith Sandison, has implemented "Fight Clubs" with the young men of our church. While these teenagers and young adults aren't actually pummeling each other physically, they are using the opportunity to aggressively challenge one another to be more attentive to their spiritual formation. Right now my son is participating in a fight club focusing on Proverbs. I love it. Keith has created a handout he uses for the fight clubs which lists seven different methods of "generic Bible study". I think the idea started with this post a few years ago, but as he often does; Keith took my thoughts and made them immensely more substantive and beneficial. Check out his system below:

Community Killers: Crisis

Here is Part Two in my series on dealing with "Community Killers". Today the topic is "Crisis". Every group experiences crisis at some point. Death, illness, divorce, and financial ruin are just some of the issues that can threaten to destroy a group. These crisis, however, are not to be feared. Rather, they should be embraced as an opportunity for the group to care for one another in unique and deeply meaningful ways. The following are five suggestions (certainly not an exhaustive list) which can help a group handle crisis successfully: Openness. The first step in a group’s efforts to deal with crisis is simply knowing about and understanding the crisis. If a member does not feel comfortable sharing the crisis issues in their life, the group cannot come to their aid. A willingness to share not only the crisis situation, but also the details can significantly impact the degree to which the group can offer assistance. The role of the leader sometimes requires a per...