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The Studies Stream offers easy access to all the existing Growing Disciples video resources. This stream also features new ‘Deep Dive’ studies on selected books and important themes of the Bible. Frequently Asked Questions will also be answered in written articles. New resources will be added each month.
The title of Mark’s gospel makes clear that it’s all about Jesus, who is the Messiah, the Son of God. Mark presents this message in an economical and direct manner that will be useful for the persecuted 1st century Christians of Rome. Mark’s economic use of language should never be thought simplistic. Instead, he invites the reader’s inquiry into Jesus’ claim to be the kind of suffering servant saviour Messiah described in the latter writings of the prophet Messiah.
Genesis 22 is not about the sacrifice that we must provide for God. Instead, we are to know that God provides the sacrifice for us. That's the punchline, that's what Abraham demonstrated, and the narrator ensures that we grasp this truth.
Babel is another case of God intervening with an act judgment, although perhaps it is more of a preventative judgment. And yet, we can also discern his gracious purpose within that judgment. Humanity will flourish, in diversity, even though fallen. Stuart Holman leads this Devotional for growingdisciples.net.au
Instead of immediate death, Adam and Eve are placed under God's curse and expelled from the Garden, removed from the presence of God. This devotional explores the consequences of humanity's sin, providing an explanation for the world as we experience it, along with an unexpected hope.
Unlike the Babylonian account, the conclusion of the Bible's account of the flood, there is assurance and blessing. God promises Noah that he will never again destroy the world by flood, offering the rainbow as a sign of his continued providential care. He promises that the seasons and cycles of nature will continue to sustain his creation. God affirms the high value of human life, humanity's authority and stewardship over creation, and he repeats his instruction for humanity the fill the earth.
Genesis 4 presents a very bleak picture of life outside the Garden of Eden. What are human beings like now that they have chosen to embrace evil by rejecting God's way? They are beset by temptation that is often experienced as an inward battle. Temptation comes with subtlety'� not necessarily through a talking snake'� but the evil one speaks lies that now resonate within the human heart. That is where the battle-field is located.
Genesis 3 shows us that Evil does not initially arise from human beings. It is a foreign force which is clearly in direct opposition to God. Its effect is to draw allegiance away from God, to call for an allegiance to itself (or himself) instead of God. Adam and Eve, representing us all, do what we would all have done anyway. In eating the forbidden fruit, they choose to disbelieve God and so sin enters into them. Now they (and we) are subject to condemnation and death. Stuart Holman leads this devotional for growingdisciples.net.au
