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Study Questions: Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah starts his prophecy telling us his family background (1:1); he is a fourth-generation descendant of King Hezekiah (King of Judah from 715-686BC). Does this pedigree matter to you? Why or why not?
His opening words of prophecy tells of a terrible judgment to come: “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth” (1:2). It closes on the “day of the Lord” when God “will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth” (1:18). This just might be the harshest, most universal judgment announcement in the Bible. How does this make you feel? How does this make you feel about God?
God is clearly a little upset with Judah. What has Judah done wrong? (see 1:4-6)
Why is this book relevant to Christians today? On Sunday we talked through a lot of application for us today – what did that include?

Some questions from Russell, based on his sermon: Peace and Persecution

Read Matthew 5:1-12

What is a Peacemaker? Why are we called to be Peacemakers?
Discuss the difference between Peace the world offers and what Peace God gives?
Choose an example and discuss why you chose it.
Read Luke 6:27-28 – What ways can we as Christians show peace to those who are indifferent?
What is persecution? Have you ever experienced it in any form? And how did that make you feel?
Looking at v11 – What is our response to this? And why is there such great joy and blessing from such suffering?
Take a moment or two and pray for our brothers & sisters caught up in persecution.

Start off by reading Matthew 5:1-12, then re-read verse 5

1 – What is meek and what isn’t?

2 – How would taking the first two beatitudes seriously lead us to be “meek”

3 – Can you be meek and angry at the same time? (James 1:19-21) Meek and have strong convictions? (Galatians 2:11-14)

4 – What does “meekness” look like: -In business… -In school… -In our church… -In your neighbourhood…

5 – How does someone become meek? How can God change you in the following behaviours and attitudes? (Matthew 11:28-30)

Demanding ————————–Understanding

Judgmental ————————–Gentle

Condemning ————————-Respectful

Defensive —————————–Teachable

Vengeful ——————————Merciful

Arrogant ——————————Humble

Self-sufficient ————————Trusting

6 – Where do we learn the attitudes listed on the left and what is our motivation for living out the attitudes on the right?

7 – From the world’s point of view, why is it surprising that the meek will inherit the earth?

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve had a look at two of the beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12; sermons can be found here:

What has been going on before this ‘sermon on the mount’?
Who is Jesus talking to and how have his words here been twisted and misconstrued by people from other faiths, atheists and even Christians?
Take some time discussing the first two statements of Jesus about being poor in spirit and mourning, don’t rush through the discussion but try and deal with each in as much depth as possible and consider how we should apply each to our lives today.
Spend some time seeking the Lord in Prayer for the life and work of New Connexions