Pathways Bible Study
Pathways Bible Study
Pathways Bible Study
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
PG 3 Getting Started: How to Use this Resource
PG 28 Next Steps
GETTING STARTED:
HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE
Living on the Edge creates Bible-based teachings and tools that challenge
and equip spiritually hungry Christians to become mature disciples of Jesus.
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DAY ONE:
THE PATH OF PRAYER
f. Do you feel that you know how to pray and what to pray for?
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THE PATH OF PRAYER
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray
to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is
done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on
babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of
their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what
you need before you ask him.
What is the main point Jesus is making about a person’s prayer life and
authentic spirituality?
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In your opinion, how does God reward those who pray “in secret”?
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Since God knows what we need before we ask Him (verse 8), why is it
important to pray?
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THE PATH OF PRAYER
“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He
will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and
compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your
youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Make a list of the good things God has done in your life and spend
some time in prayer thanking Him.
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THE PATH OF PRAYER
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who
asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks,
the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for
a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will
give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
WRAP UP
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DAY TWO:
THE PATH OF SCRIPTURE
b. Do you feel that you read the Bible often enough? ______________
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f. Do you feel that you know how to read and understand the Bible?
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THE PATH OF SCRIPTURE
When you step back from the details, what do you believe is the
primary theme behind these actions?
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THE PATH OF SCRIPTURE
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who
knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In
the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit
of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has
freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by
human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual
realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does
not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers
them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are
discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes
judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to
merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
According to this passage, what is the role of the Holy Spirit? What
words or phrases from the text support your answer?
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How does God’s Word give a person better judgment? Do you have an
example in your own life?
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THE PATH OF SCRIPTURE
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-
edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
When was the last time that God’s Word penetrated deeply, judging
the thoughts and attitudes of your heart? What happened?
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Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but
on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' (Matthew 4:4, NIV)
RAIN
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return
to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so
that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my
word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I
sent it. (Isaiah 55:11-12, NIV)
MIRROR
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like
a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself,
goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man
who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and
continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--
he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:23-25, NIV)
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THE PATH OF SCRIPTURE
SEED
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of
imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter
1:23; See also Mark 4:1-20, NIV)
LAMP
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm
119:105, NIV)
SWORD
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-
edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews
4:12, NIV)
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God. (Ephesians 6:17, NIV)
Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that
breaks a rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29, NIV)
WRAP UP
Way to go! You finished the second lesson! It’s our hope that
your personal reflections lead you to a deeper understanding
and appreciation for God’s Word. It can be tough to understand
the Bible, let alone make the time to read it. But be encouraged:
God will speak to you through His Word!
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DAY THREE:
THE PATH OF REMEMBRANCE
1. Life’s struggles can cause all of us to drift away from our most
important relationships. Describe a time when this happened to you.
What caused it? What made you aware of the separation? What did
you do next?
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I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know
that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those
who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and
have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken
the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent
and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to
you and remove your lampstand from its place.
In the current season of your spiritual life, do you feel that you have
“forsaken the love you had at first”? What did that “first love” look like?
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THE PATH OF REMEMBRANCE
For you personally, what were the “first things” you did when you
became a Christian? How would you describe the “love you had at first”?
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Are there any specific steps you need to take to “restore your first
love” with Jesus? If so, what could you do this week?
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For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord
Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had
given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you;
do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he
took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do
this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever
you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death
until he comes.
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THE PATH OF REMEMBRANCE
Describe a time when the Lord’s Supper was especially meaningful for
you personally.
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What steps can you take to keep the Lord’s Supper from becoming a
meaningless ritual?
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When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God
for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget
the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and
his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat
and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and
when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold
increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become
proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out
of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
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THE PATH OF REMEMBRANCE
How can blessings cause us to think less about God? Has this ever
happened to you? According to this scripture, how can we guard
against forgetting God?
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So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in
an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and
blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before
they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive
themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take
pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone
else, for each one should carry their own load. (Galatians 6:3-5)
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THE PATH OF REMEMBRANCE
WRAP UP
The third lesson is in the bag! You’re more than halfway through
this Bible Study! Perhaps you’ve been celebrating Communion,
or the Lord’s Supper for a long time, and like anything we repeat,
it can lose meaning. But a relationship with God is so much more
than observing rituals that lack meaning! The time we spend
remembering Jesus - His sacrifice on the cross and defeating
death through the resurrection - is time well spent.
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DAY FOUR:
THE PATH OF FELLOWSHIP
1. 1 John 1:7 (NIV) says: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another…”
We are to:
• belong to one another (Romans 7:4)
• be devoted to and honor one another (Romans 12:10)
• live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)
• love one another (Romans 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 2
Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 13:1; 1 Peter 1:22, 3:8; 1 John 3:23, 4:7, 11,
12; 2 John 5)
• accept one another (Romans 15:7)
• instruct one another (Romans 15:14, Colossians 3:16)
• agree with one another (1 Corinthians 1:10)
• serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
• bear with one another (Ephesians 4:2)
• forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32)
• encourage one another (Ephesians 5:19; 1 Thessalonians 4:18, 5:11;
Hebrews 3:13, 10:24)
• submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21)
• meet with one another (Hebrews 10:25)
• offer hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
• be humble to one another (1 Peter 5:5)
We are NOT to:
• judge one another or cause others to stumble (Romans 14:13)
• slander one another (James 4:11)
• grumble against one another (James 5:9)
2. Based on this list, identify your strengths and weaknesses. Pick two
actions that come easily for you and two areas where you struggle.
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THE PATH OF FELLOWSHIP
Pick three of the statements above and explain why you answered the
way you did.
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In this scripture, we get a peek into the life of the early Church. What are
some key words from this passage that stand out to you about fellowship?
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THE PATH OF FELLOWSHIP
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes
them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There
are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it
is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through
the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge
by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to
another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous
powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between
spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, r and to still
another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one
and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he
determines. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
WRAP UP
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DAY FIVE:
THE PATH OF PARADOX
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their
life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:26)
Life is a gift from God, so why shouldn’t we love it? Why is Jesus telling
us to hate our lives? What does it mean to love our lives too much?
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THE PATH OF PARADOX
Personalize this scripture: What does it look like for you to deny
yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus?
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Since Jesus will reward people for what they have done, is salvation
based on works (what we do) and not faith? Explore why you feel the
way you do.
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In your own words, what does it mean to “lose your life” for Jesus?
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As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees
before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit
eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one
is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall
not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you
shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father
and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was
a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he
said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face
fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
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THE PATH OF PARADOX
If the man believed Jesus was good, why didn’t he follow Him?
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From the time he was a young boy, the man had followed all of the
commandments. Why, then, did Jesus tell him he needed to do more?
Hadn’t he already done enough?
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Since Jesus asked this man to sell everything, does this mean all
Christians should sell everything? Explore why you feel the way you do.
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In your own life, how can you tell when you love your stuff too much?
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THE PATH OF PARADOX
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise
authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to
become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants
to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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THE PATH OF PARADOX
Why isn’t it easy to be a servant? For you personally, what gets in the
way of serving others?
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People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands
on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus
called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come
to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs
to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the
kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Why do you think the disciples were against the children coming to Jesus?
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What childlike qualities do you think Jesus is looking for in His followers?
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THE PATH OF PARADOX
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I
tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of
these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here
today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he
clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you
will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs
after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But
seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
WRAP UP
You made it to the finish line! In many ways, this last lesson was a
“heavy hitter.” We trust that Jesus’s teaching turned your life upside
down! It’s human nature to be focused on ourselves, and the more
we walk with Jesus, the more we learn how to serve others.
While this is the end of this Bible Study, it is our hope that this
really just the beginning of your journey to greater intimacy with
God. The next page has a few ideas for how you can keep
growing in your spiritual life it is our hope that this is only the
beginning.
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CONGRATULATIONS!
Now that you’ve finished, what’s next? Here are a few ideas:
2. We’d love to hear from you! Let us know how this resource benefited you
and we’ll throw a mini-party in your honor. If you have suggestions for how
we can make it better, we’d love to hear those, too! Email us at [email protected].
3. Share this resource with a friend. If you know someone who could benefit
from this resource, email it to them as a way to encourage their faith. Tell
them what you liked about it to help motivate them to check it out.
4. Determine what’s next for your personal devotional life. Pick a book from
the Bible and read it systematically or head over to livingontheedge.org to
find a new tool designed to help you grow.
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