| Trigger |
Topic |
|---|
| Observation |
|---|
| Practical Response |
|---|
| 101 |
Seek God and find Him. |
| This study launches the Jesus Experiment Set; the focal verses include an "If... Then" type statement, e.g., in Jer. 29:13, "(if) you seek me…(then) The "if" condition describes a "seeking after God experience" kind of experience which, when applied, "then" results in an experience of finding Him." In some of the verses the "If …then" is implied only and you will have to find it. |
| Examine your own mind and heart to determine an answer to this question: if you could really know God, would you want to? How much would you want to? Answer this question: Will you enter an experiment in which you seek God and, in the process, see if you will find Him? Read and ponder Mark 8:34-37. |
| 102 |
Seek and find God in His creative works. |
| If the disciple will seek God in His creative works, he will be able to find God. This lesson will direct an emerging disciple into an experiment in which he can discover the reality of God in what God has made. |
| Consider the intricacies of some object in nature, e.g., a flower; ask yourself what these intricacies say about the origin of the object. Each day consider another object in nature thinking of how it came to be and how it is possible. Read Psalm 104:1-24. |
| 103 |
Seek and find God in His moral excellence. |
| If the disciple will seek God in His moral excellence, he will be able to find God. This lesson will direct an emerging disciple into an experiment in which he can discover the reality of God in the moral order. |
| Consider the derivation of any moral standard around the world. Ask yourself, "where did it come from? On what basis was "good" first determined?" List and examine God's moral attributes described in these verses and then attempt to live an entire week up to the standard they set forth; take note of experiences; and consider the high moral ground Jesus established by identifying someone that you might call an enemy and loving them like He said to do. |
| 104 |
Seek and find God in His unsearchable wisdom. |
| If the disciple will seek God in His unsearchable wisdom, he will be able to find God. This lesson will direct an emerging disciple into an experiment in which he can discover the reality of God in the magnificence of His wisdom. |
| Webster says that science is "systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, etc." Consider what still remains unknown. Ponder: "What do the untapped fields of knowledge and man's relentless search for information tell you about a higher wisdom than man possesses?" Explain to God what it is like to lack so much of the wisdom he possesses. Read Psalm 139:14; pondering your own body, consider the amazing dimension of (God's) wisdom that is behind it. |
| 105 |
Seek and find God in His written communications. |
| If the disciple will seek God in His written communications, he will be able to find God. This lesson will direct an emerging disciple into an experiment in which he can discover the reality of God in the Bible. |
| As you read your Bible this week, pick out a couple of verses that stand out to you. Meditate on the thoughts in them in such a way to genuinely "hear" what is being communicated in the words of the page. Write down your thoughts and conclusions. |
| 106 |
Seek and find God in His redemptive plan. |
| If the disciple will seek God in His saving plan, he will be able to find God. This lesson will direct an emerging disciple into an experiment in which he can discover the reality of God in the saving plan of God. |
| Read the focus texts again to draft a description of man's condition without God in His life. Ponder how that description matches up with what you see of mankind in the world around you. Consider the significance of God stepping in for man to save him. |
| 107 |
Seek and find God in His loving initiative. |
| If the disciple will seek God in His loving intiative, he will be able to find God. This lesson will direct an emerging disciple into an experiment in which he can discover the reality of God in his experience of love in the world. |
| Ask yourself, "where does the love I experience come from? i.e., how does a bundle of flesh, bones, and blood ever engage in this thing we call love?" Can a box of twigs also learn to love? What does this say about an original spark of love in humanity? Create an analogy of God's loving initiative --- one in which your passion and action for a broken down and ineffective object tranforms that object into a valued treasure. Consider for a moment what it means that a man should actually be loved by God. How does that change things for man? |
| 109 |
Seek and find God in His exact representation (i.e., Jesus). |
| If the disciple will seek God in His exact representation (Jesus), he will be able to find God. This lesson will direct an emerging disciple into an experiment in which he can discover the reality of God in Jesus. |
| Review the miracles of Jesus and read John 3:2 and John 20:31. Ask yourself, "what do the miracles of Jesus lead you to conclude about Jesus?" Ask God to reveal to you the reality of God in Jesus. |
