Happily ever after?

Here's the link to the Sermon: Happily ever after? 

 

Reading: Joel 3

1. As we come to the end of Joel, it's worth taking a recap of the whole message God has given through the book, and so before looking at this passage discuss what has happened up to this point.
2. Who will be judged and why?
3. Which other books in the bible, both OT and NT have similar messages or messages that fill in some of the gaps?
4. Application - What is the message of this passage to us today, as a nation, a church and individuals?

Devastation at the hand of God

Here's the link to the Sermon: God disciplines... 

 

Reading: Joel 1

1. Verse 1. What do we know about Joel? e.g. where did he live, who did he minister to, what did his and his father’s name mean? Does any of this matter?
2. Verse 2, why do you think Joel started off addressing the elders?
3. What do you make of a God who would deliberately bring such unpleasantness and damage to people?
4. Discuss how Deuteronomy 28 fits in with this?
5. How had these people messed up? What was their sin? (verse 12 gives a clue)
6. What is an idol?
7. How does all of this apply to us today?

Back on the right track - again

Joel 2:25-26 reminds us:

I will restore to you the years

that the swarming locust has eaten...

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

and praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has dealt wondrously with you.

There will be times in our lives when we slip, when we think we've listened to God guiding us, but we get it wrong...

When that happens let's not make the mistake of allowing the enemy to convince us that we’ve suddenly become second class Christians. God’s grace is sufficient!

You see the devil will spin a tale something like this:

        Your life is planned out for you by God, who acts like some kind of cosmic travel agent. So as long as you turn up in the right place at the right time and stick to His itinerary then you’re fine… But the moment you miss one of the connections God has sent you to the plan is ruined. Yes if you ask Him, God will draw up another one for you, but it will always be a bit second best, it can you can never really recover, not properly…

Don’t ever believe that; don’t believe the lie that God doesn’t have the wisdom or the resolve to, immediately you ask Him, pick you up, dust you down and set you on the best, the perfect, path for you. God can and does graciously restore us, when we let Him…