Icebreaker:
How has your life been affected by fire? (home, forest,
community, work, school, etc.)
Overview:
I faced a life-threatening illness in June of 2000 when my
head exploded with pain from a brain hemorrhage. The only prayer I could manage
was, “God, you’ve got to help me.” And He did. I walked out of the hospital a
week later a little singed but alive. God had saved me from something that
takes most. He continues to be right beside me when in the dark of the long nights
the evil one whispers, “Did God really heal you? If it happened once, it could
happen again. You won’t be so lucky next time.” Like Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego said to the king, I say in reply, “I have no need to answer you. The
God I serve is able to deliver me!”
Discussion:
Read Daniel 3:16-30.
The
Faithful understand the power of God for deliverance.
What
did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego know about God that the king did not?
How
did they respond to the king’s threat?
What
was the miracle of the fire?
Pat’s
testimony:
I
was about 10 years old the first time I felt God’s wonderous miracle. My mom
was very ill and not expected to survive. For a year she had suffered with an
open wound left from breast cancer. One day our neighbor came over and asked
permission to place a healing cloth on her chest and pray for her. Mom, being
desperate, agreed. I, with a child’s wonder and curiosity, watched from the
door as this faith-filled man bent over, and while praying, placed that sparkling,
white cloth on her rotting chest. The next day her doctor made a house call, as
they did in those days, and declared in shock that he could see a tiny speck of
healthy flesh. From that day, she slowly healed and was with us 25 more years. She
was terribly scared but beautiful to me. That was 70 years ago but it is
forever carved into my heart. My faith in the power of God and prayer never
left me. That moment kept me peaceful through my own breast cancer, Hollis’s
heart surgeries and strokes, and then my precious Greta’s breast cancer.
Through
the long journey of our beautifully, blurry world of Hollis’s dementia, God’s
presence never left me. I prayed day and night that He would keep me strong and
healthy so I could care for Hollis and so He did. God kept the knowledge of the
massive heart attack I suffered during this time from me until after He took
Hollis home. Now, that is a mighty and powerful presence, don’t you think? I
pray daily that He will stay present with me so that I can try to pay Him back
for all He does for me. Look for God because I know that He is there waiting
for us to look to Him.
Lukewarm
followers avoid the fire by compromising.
“So, because you
are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16
ESV
What
is so wrong with trying to avoid trouble or conflict?
What
is the difference between a peacemaker and a compromiser?
God
is with us in the fire.
Tiffany’s
testimony:
We
moved to Tennessee for a job in 2017. Fourteen days after I arrived, my mom
called crying hysterically because my sister and five of my nieces and nephews
were killed in a house fire that had been intentionally set. God gave me the
strength to be there and be the backbone for the family. After being in
Tennessee a year and just buying a home, my position at work was terminated.
God got me through that as well with severance and a new job within weeks after
my loss. Later that year, my stepmom retired and moved to Tennessee. Three months
after her move, we found her unresponsive and rushed her to the hospital where
she was diagnosed with brain cancer and placed on hospice. Even though I had
only been working at my new job for a short time, they let me work from home so
I could care for her until her death four months later. Once again, my God was
there to help me make calls, plan the funeral and even speak at her memorial
service.
They
came out of the fire.
What
was the condition of the three when they came out of the furnace?
How
does God’s presence during hard times build our faith?
What
lessons do we learn when in the furnace of life?
Prayer:
Pray for courage and God’s presence so you are prepared when
you need to face life’s troubles.
Comments
Post a Comment