Welcome to Thursday Night Online
Phone in: 1-312-626-6799
Meeting ID: 318-485-688
Memory Verse
Matthew 5:34-35 (CSB)
34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.
Memory Section – Matthew 5:33–37 (CSB)
Matthew 5:33–37 (CSB)
TELL THE TRUTH
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.
Read and Journal – 2 Corinthians 6-7
Pick 1-3 sections of scripture that get your attention. In other words, what do you notice as you read the text, i.e. certain words, phrases, images, persons, the storyline?
2 Corinthians 6
2 Corinthians 6:1-18 (CSBBible)
1 Working together with him, we also appeal to you, “Don’t receive the grace of God in vain.” 2 For he says:
At an acceptable time I listened to you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.
See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation!
3 We are not giving anyone an occasion for offense, so that the ministry will not be blamed. 4 Instead, as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything: by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardships, by difficulties, 5 by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger, 6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God; through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and good report; regarded as deceivers, yet true; 9 as unknown, yet recognized; as dying, yet see—we live; as being disciplined, yet not killed; 10 as grieving, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. 11 We have spoken openly to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide. 12 We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. 13 I speak as to my children; as a proper response, open your heart to us.
14 Don’t become partners with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15 What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said:
I will dwell
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.17
Therefore, come out from among them
and be separate, says the Lord;
do not touch any unclean thing,
and I will welcome you.18
And I will be a Father to you,
and you will be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 7
2 Corinthians 7:1-16 (CSBBible)
1 So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, taken advantage of no one. 3 I don’t say this to condemn you, since I have already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am very frank with you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overflowing with joy in all our afflictions.
5 In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, 7 and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. 8 For even if I grieved you with my letter, I don’t regret it. And if I regretted it—since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a while— 9 I now rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death. 11 For consider how much diligence this very thing—this grieving as God wills—has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter. 12 So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your devotion to us might be made plain to you in the sight of God. 13 For this reason we have been comforted.
In addition to our own comfort, we rejoiced even more over the joy Titus had, because his spirit was refreshed by all of you. 14 For if I have made any boast to him about you, I have not been disappointed; but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, so our boasting to Titus has also turned out to be the truth. 15 And his affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.
Uncover what God is telling you through His word.
- Read each of the sections you chose 2-3 times (maybe in different versions).
- What is the passage about?
- What do you learn about God? What has He done?
- What do you learn about people? Yourself?
- How are you going to obey this passage (“I will…”)?
- Who is a Person of Peace (POP) God is putting on your heart to share this with?
- What do you need from God to move forward with what you have learned (i.e. repentance, boldness, forgiveness, provision, guidance, etc.)? Ask in prayer…
As I was reading here are some high-level things I saw in chapter 6.
2 Cor 6:1-2 We are to be working with God in the ministry of reconciliation. When? Today!
2 Cor 6:3-10 How should we be doing it? With endurance and consistency. Regardless of the circumstances, we overcome through the power of God working through us.
2 Cor 6:16 We are the temple of God. We are His people and He has commanded us to come out from among them and be separate.
2 Corinthians 7:5–7 (CSB)
5 In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears within.
[How often do we experience these same things? What is outside of us affects our thoughts. The circumstances we face in the world, we cannot control. What we can control are our actions. We must learn to trust God and respond in His way to the things about us.]
6 But God,
[I love this statement. When there is no way there is God.]
who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, 7 and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
[God uses us in the lives of others if we let Him. We can bring good news and support each other.]