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Fri, 11 Dec 2009 by Emily
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Christian Bible groups are important to help Christians fellowship and learn to live more fully in God's Word. As in any small group, discussion can fall flat if members feel awkward and shy and don't contribute their thoughts. For this reason, it's a good idea for group leaders to open a Bible study session with an icebreaker question. This open-ended question allows group members to feel like experts on a topic, share their thoughts, and leads naturally to a discussion of the Bible verses being studied during the group session.
It is important to make sure to choose an appropriate question. Here are five guidelines to follow when choosing ice breaker questions for your Christian Bible Group.
1. Make sure to connect the question to Scripture. Questions such as "how was your week?" are fine for socializing, but do not serve the purpose of helping members get in the right frame of mind to study the Word. Follow Jesus' example when crafting your questions; note how He often began a teaching by asking a question that would be of interest to His audience but which naturally led to the spiritual principles He was trying to convey. For example, before beginning a discussion about the Prodigal Son, you might ask members how their relationships with their parents or siblings are doing this week.
2. Require every member of the group to answer the question. Ice breakers are useless if only those who are already comfortable in the group answer them. This leads to a situation where only a few members of the group are contributing to conversation, which will make the other members of the group even less comfortable participating.
3. Ask open-ended questions. Ideally, the question should require each member to share something about his or her life. Do not ask questions that can be responded with a simple Yes or No, as these questions do not contribute to a fruitful discussion.
4. Ask questions that allow group members to feel like experts. The questions should be challenging, but not so difficult that group members feel ill-equipped to answer them. Again, look at Jesus' example. He often began His teachings with ideas that were familiar to His audience (see Matthew 6:25-28 for a beautiful example of this.)
5. Participate in answering as well as asking the icebreaker question. It is important to be an example to the members of your group by sharing honestly and openly. In addition, you should be humble enough to realize that you need to learn as well as to teach rather than separating yourself so that the rest of the group learns while you merely teach.
This guest article was contributed by Christine Howell who frequently writes about online degrees and college related topics for Online College Guru, a directory of accredited online degrees.
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Sat, 8 Aug 2009 by Emily
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Hey everyone, Emily here. Thanks for reading. Today I am posting a guest article that I was sent by Adrienne. It has some great advice in it, and even though I don't go to a Bible college, you should always consider it in your college choice. College is more of a necessity than a luxury today, so if your child has always shown an interest in the spiritual, perhaps he or she could consider Bible college; It may not be everyone’s first or even second choice, but there are several reasons why Bible college is a good idea, and they are:
· It teaches you discipline: When you’re a student at a Bible college, you learn to live a simple life and make do with what you have. You know that discipline and simplicity make for a serene life, one that brings you closer to God. The rules that you live by at this young age make you mature and able to deal with anything that life throws at you. You become a better person because of this experience, one that instills in you values for life.
· It brings you closer to God: There’s no doubting the fact that Bible college brings you closer to God. You feel his presence through all your activities because they involve the Bible and spirituality. You attend chapel and mass every day and take classes that teach you Christian values, all aspects that serve to bring you closer to God.
· You earn more than just a degree: A Bible college teaches what a regular college would and much more too. You learn regular subjects and also a lot about spirituality. They teach total faith in God, something that most people learn or realize very late in life.
· It teaches you to think: When you’re spiritually inclined, you learn to be more open and think things through before you act, in any aspect of life. Bible college teaches you to face challenges more effectively and efficiently.
· It prepares you for life: Unlike regular colleges that teach you subjects and prepare you for a career, a Bible college prepares you for life. You’re more mature than other graduates your age and are more responsible and able to lead a disciplined and organized life.
By-line:
This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of online bible college . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com
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Tue, 23 Jun 2009 by Emily
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Hey everyone, thanks for reading ;D
I have been REALLY busy lately, so sorry for the lack of writings.
I received this as a comment a few weeks ago:
How can the bread and wine, transformed, still cause people with gluten allergy to react to the wheat's gluten? How does one explan that it's transformed but it's still got the qualities of the substance? If it's changed, then people allergic to gluten shouldn't react to the gluten, right? Same for those with allergies to the sulfites in wine (me). Yes, we can ask for special no sulfite wine or low gluten hosts, but it's not wine or host anymore after the consecration, it's Jesus!
Sorry about the late response, but here it goes:
So, this is a great question, thanks for asking it! Now, almost a year after writing this article(Answer to: So what is transubstantiation?), I have learned loads more and hopefully this will make sense. The bread and wine, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, IS a symbol, and ISN'T a symbol. Obviously, we are not eating human flesh and drinking blood. So in that respect it IS a symbol. But, it also ISN'T a symbol because we believe that it is the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This sounds super confusing, I am sure, but I do not know of a single person who fully understands transubstantiation. My other article on transubstantiation was somewhat of a brief overview, and this will hopefully help you out!
God bless you!
Your sister and witness in Christ,
Emily
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Tue, 7 Apr 2009 by Emily
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Hey everyone. Thanks for reading : )
Today's subject is about a joke I received, but I do not really think of it as a joke.
It is more of a life lesson from God, and something to think about during this Holy Week.
So, as you read it, make sure you are listening... ; )
Mistaken Identity
A middle aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near-death experience. During that experience she sees God and asks if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30-40 years to live.
Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, and a tummy tuck. She even has someone come in and change her hair colour. She figures that since she's got another 30 or 40 years she might as well make the most of it.
She walks out the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital.
She arrives in front of God again and asks, "I thought you said I had another 30-40 years?"
God replies, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you."
Would God recognize you?
Think about it.
God bless.
Your Witness in Christ,
Emily
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Sun, 29 Mar 2009 by Emily
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Hello everyone. Thanks for reading 
Today's topic is prayer.
Now, this comes to me at a somewhat challenging time for those in Northwestern Minnesota.
Lord, please heal all those who are hurting from the flooding that has occurred, and help them to find the grace and strength they need in you. Amen.
So, that was a prayer.
Anything can be a prayer, as long as you are not being offensive.
And that's the hard part, how do we pray when you can do it so many ways, and will it ever come true?
I heard a great talk from one of my friends this past week, about how prayers weren't coming true for her.
She was praying for this guy to like her, and to take her to prom, and it didn't work out.
Therefore, she turned to God in anger, and asked why He did this to her.
In doing this, she realized that God does not answer every prayer in the way she wants. She did not get the guy, yet she has moved on and grown a lot from that experience.
He does things on His own time, and only He knows what is right for us.
If He answered our every prayer the way we wanted, and our lives were perfect, would we continue to need Him?
No.
So, prayer is not always answered in the way we want. Then why should we even bother?
God loves us. He loves us so much, He gave His son for us. Read the quote at the top of this page.
That is so much love, and it doesn't even stop there!
I believe that prayer is important because, although God knows everything about us, even our thoughts, He wants us to show Him what we want.
Does that make sense?
We should make the effort to tell Him what we want in our lives, for we do not know what we need.
Only God knows what we need:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
-Proverbs 3:5-6
And if He chooses a different path for us, and does not answer our prayers the way we want them to be answered, who knows what will happen?
For we do not, and He does.
Here's some amazing scripture from the letter to James:
"Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective."
-James 5:13-16
God, bless the readers of this message with what they need, not what they desire.
Your witness in Christ,
Emily
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