Life Purpose Coaching Bible Studies

Transcription

1 1 Life Purpose Coaching Bible Studies Below are five Bible studies you can do to dig into some key Christian life coaching concepts. These are topical studies that can range all over the Bible and draw heavily on your overall knowledge of scripture. Have a good concordance handy, and have fun! Study #1: God's Purposes for Us God s purpose operates on three levels. This study explores examples of these three levels and how they interact in Jesus teaching. Review Begin by reviewing the section of the Christian Life Coaching Handbook on this topic (see pg ), then use the questions below to guide your study: 1. What examples can you find of Jesus comparing two or even three levels of purpose? 2. What parables might you choose as a good example of each kind of purpose? 3. How do these three levels come into the way Jesus related to the 12 disciples? How did Jesus implement them in his leadership? 4. What are two principles from this study that I can apply to how I coach? Try starting with these stories: the Banquet (Luke 14:15-24), the Unrighteous Steward (Luke 16:1-13), and the passage on worry in Luke 12:22-34.

2 2 Study #2: The Purpose of Suffering This study builds on some of the concepts presented in Chapter 3 of the Handbook. Looking Into Scripture The lives of many of the biblical characters include pain as well as triumph. What is the purpose of suffering in regards to life purpose? 1. Find and read several biblical examples where God used experiences of suffering to develop a leader for his life purpose. (For example, Joseph serving in Potipher s house and learning Egyptian ways.) How were these leaders developed? What did suffering give them? What can you learn from those examples? 2. What does scripture say about how suffering integrates with the three levels of purpose (see Handbook pg )? Which levels do we suffer on, and which are we rewarded on? 3. Many New Testament passages that talk about suffering also include the word glory in close proximity. Why do you think these two concepts are so closely connected? 4. Where has God developed you in suffering or difficulty? (Arm yourself with some personal examples!) Take a look at Romans 8, I Cor. 4:16-18, or I Peter 1

3 3 Study #3: Living Toward Heaven Living toward heaven (Handbook pg , 41) is a foundational Christian life coaching concept. Making it Relevant What does that really mean in the 21 st century, and how can we live in it more effectively? 1. In your own words, what does it mean to live toward heaven? 2. What other creative examples or ideas for how to do this can you find in the gospels that aren t already on the list in exercise 2.1? 3. What does scripture actually say that we ll be doing in heaven? Make a list. (Hint: we won t just be worshipping and playing a harp the whole time.) What does this list say about how to prepare for heaven? 4. Which one of these ways to live toward heaven do you want to choose to pursue? Rev , Luke 14

4 4 Study #4: God's Reward System God has such a different way of rewarding us for what we accomplish on earth that some have called it the upside-down Kingdom. Exploring the Reward What is God s reward system, and what does that mean for Christian life purpose coaching? 1. Find five parables that Jesus uses to teach about heavenly rewards. Read through them one after the other. What do they have in common? What principles can you pull out of those passages about how God rewards what we do on earth? 2. There are quite a few places where Jesus talks about the last shall be first or the greatest shall be your servant. Look them up, and check the context. What are those passages really talking about? Who exactly will be last, and who will be first? 3. The parable of the unrighteous steward (Luke 16) teaches us to invest money and things in people, and then those people will welcome us into heaven. Visualize that moment. Who will be there to welcome you on your entry to heaven? What will they say to you about your investment? How does this passage connect with the ones you looked at under question two? Mt. 25, Mt 20:1-16, Luke 9:46-48

5 5 Study #5: Abraham s Call Many of the people you ll coach have an image of calling that doesn t match up well with scripture. This study helps unearth what the bible really says about call. The Calling of Abraham Abraham is a fascinating calling study. Part of his call related to a future homeland for his progeny, and partly about being a blessing to all people. Study his call and how it developed: 1. How old was Abraham when he was called? How many years did it take before Abraham saw his calling come to pass? What does this mean for how we coach people about discovering a call? 2. What happened within Abraham in the meantime? Who did he become? What was the God s purpose in allowing so much time to pass between call and fulfillment? 3. What did Abraham know of his call the first time God spoke to him about it? What was added the second time, and the third and fourth? What does this say about how calling may be revealed over time? 4. Part of Abraham s call was to possess the land. Did the scope of that call remain the same, or did it change over time? How did his behavior and faithfulness influence the scope or direction of this part of his call? Calling Passages Genesis 12:1-3; 12:4:7,13:14-18, 15:1-21, 17:1-21, 22:15-19