ObsidianJournal/Bible Study/Messages/Messages ideas for 9292019.md

1. Faith and works

   1. How do they work together?

   2. Abraham and Sarah

      1. God told them they would have a child

      2. Both very old--beyond child-bearing years

      3. Time passed after God promised them a child

      4. Eventually, "gave up" and allowed Hagar into the mixed

      5. God's plan all along was to give them a child through the means that He had always intended for children to be born: from within a marriage--between a man and his wife, no outside interference

      6. Conclusion

         1. Faith should have meant trusting God that now extra-biblical method was going to be needed to accomplish God's own promise

         2. Knowing God's plan is children within a marriage and give that Abraham and Sarah were already married, though tough, they should have waited for God to accomplish this with in the confines of their marriage

         3. Going at it "according to the flesh" was forcing the promise of God

         4. Going at it by faith would have meant

            1. God's perfect timing
            2. No marital problems
            3. No generational problems (Ishmael's people are the Arabs)

   3. Paul going to Rome

      1. God told him he was going to testify in Rome

      2. Even though he was shipwrecked and snake bit him, he knew he would survive and get through all of it (though, I'm sure, nothing felt easy) because he trusted Gods word

      3. So, his actions (works) reflected his faith in God's word because he believed God, no matter what happened in the interim.

      4. Moreover, he simply made his way to Rome.

         1. Would you mistrust your choice of ship once you saw the foolishness of the captain and storm coming, causing a shipwreck?
         2. Paul didn't seem to really ask any questions--he just went, finding his way along. The "failures" along the way--the amazing resistance he met with (snakes, shipwrecks, delays)--were not in his thinking in terms of causing him to doubt his decision making--that is, that he "must have done something wrong" because it didn't look like he was getting to Rome any time soon

2. Hell

   1. Words used for it?
   2. How is it described in the NT and OT?
   3. Can I really do it justice in a weeks' worth of study?

3. Book study

   1. Hebrews? Have only just started…don’t know much yet at all. Seems like Hebrews has been done a lot lately
   2. Something in the OT?