Tag Archives: death

Bible Study Guide ~ There is Life After Tragedy

STUDY GUIDE FOR THE INTRODUCTION ~ There Is Life after Tragedy

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A note from the Author: This is the first Bible Study Guide for my book, There Is Life after Tragedy. We start with the Introduction in the very front of the book. I trust you will enjoy the content below and become expectant for what God has in store for all who choose to travel this road to recovery. Welcome aboard! ~ Sarah Jane

1.  Family Secrets

It is no secret that every person has his or her own viewpoint. A good example is found in Henri Nouwen’s book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, where he uses Rembrandt’s famous painting to describe the characters in the Bible Story found in Luke 15:20-32. Take a minute to Google Rembrandt’s painting Return of the Prodigal Son and look at it closely. You will see that there are five different characters, and unsurprisingly, five different viewpoints: the prodigal son, the older brother, the father, and two bystanders. Just as a quick exercise, see if you can identify different viewpoints in your own family’s story or controversy.

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What might be the benefits of seeing viewpoints other than your own?

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2.  Our Story vs. God’s Story

The challenge for us is to find God’s story in our story. God always has a larger perspective than we do because He is all-knowing and all-seeing. A story in 1 Kings Chapters 18 & 19 makes this point clear. Elijah had killed 450 prophets of Baal, and as a result Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him. So, Elijah ran to the mountains to hide. When God asked Elijah what he was doing there, Elijah replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” Then God answered Elijah: “I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal.” These two very different perspectives tell us that we do not see what God sees, and we can be assured that God will be right every time!

What might you do to ensure that you are making an accurate evaluation or comparison?

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3.  Recognizing God’s Plan

God’s loving and intricate dealings with His children will be covered in detail later in this study, but they can basically be defined as: He brings us out—in order to bring us in. He desires to bring you out of one thing, so He can bring you into something better. Fill in your answers below of what God might want to bring you into based on the following hard things:

1) Out of loss, into ______________________________________

2) Out of pain, into ______________________________________

3) Out of grief, into ______________________________________

4) Out of emptiness, into __________________________________

God never has a plan to harm us. That is always the work of Satan. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” One thing we must never do is to accuse God falsely. He is always good! Always!

How can you build your faith to believe that God is for you and not against you? __________________________________________________________________

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(Example: Track your prayers to see how God is performing His Word in your life.)

4.  Expectations   

A.  Identify below what you would like to gain from this Bible study.

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B.  Before starting this study, did you believe God can and does use our losses to help others walk through hard times?  Yes ____ No _____

5.  God’s Family

There is Life After Tragedy is basically a book about the author’s family. Yet, the goal of this Bible Study is to learn more about God’s family and how He interacts with them. If we look at the Bible as a whole from beginning to end, it is basically a book about God’s family—and that includes US!

Let’s look at Acts 17:28 ~ “For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said ‘We are His offspring.’”

Did you know before now that you were God’s offspring? If not, how might this piece of new knowledge impact your life going forward? __________________________________________________________________

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If you already knew this piece of knowledge, how might being more aware of God’s goodness to His own children help you maneuver future difficult circumstances, including tragic ones?

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Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am excited to be right here, right now starting this exciting Bible Study. I know your Word has insights for me that the world cannot give, and I look forward with expectation to all you want to show me and teach me. Make me teachable and receptive to your Holy Spirit as He guides my heart and my mind through this study. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

To print this lesson on 8 1/2 x 11 paper from the Website, simply highlight the entire study guide you want to print by using a right click; leave your cursor in the highlighted portion, and use a left click to bring up the menu; then select print.

NOTE: This free Bible Study Guide is based on the book, There Is Life after Tragedy, by Sarah Jane Kellogg. The Study Guide goes hand-in-hand with the chapters in the book. To purchase a copy, go to www.sarahjanekellogg.com and click on the “BUY THE BOOK” tab. Clicking on the link there will take you to Amazon. Cost is $13.95.

Encouragement, Holidays

Memorial Day Hope ~ How to Refocus Our Focus

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Memorial Day weekend is here and many are thankful just to get a break from work, regardless of the occasion. But for others, Memorial Day is a somber time to decorate gravesites and reflect on our losses. And for those with fresh losses, it can be a very painful time.

 

As I was thinking about how to minimize the pain of loss, it came to me that instead of focusing on our losses—maybe we could refocus our focus.

 

Raw reality is that death hurts.

There is no easy way through the death of loved ones.

These is no joy or happiness to be found anywhere in any of it.

There is no comfort found in well-meaning clichés, like “time heals everything.”

There are no silver-linings in any clouds that hang over our hearts; no positive messages to be embraced; no lingering by the graveside that will bring back what’s been lost.

Death is dreadful. Period.

 

But according to God’s words to us, there is one thing we can do about all the negatives: We can H-O-P-E! God clearly gives us hope that what’s lost will be found; hope that we will see again what’s gone from us now; and hope that these painful memories will fade and reality will live again in our hearts.

 

So, how might we go about refocusing our focus on H-O-P-E? Here are a few ideas:

 

We can focus on how God has planted hope in our hearts. It had to come from somewhere!

We can focus on hope that “the then” will get us through “the now.”

We can recall those difficult days following our loss when God Himself walked with us, placed His everlasting arms beneath us, and held our breaking hearts close to His.

We can focus on our survival, perfectly laced with the Father’s comfort and tender mercies.

We can imagine a day brighter than our brightest day on earth, and know that God will keep His Word—those powerful words that have given us the hope of eternal life.

We can focus on His faithfulness and the reality that He has never failed us yet.

 

I think we can do that—refocus our focus on hope—if we set our hearts to it. After all, we serve the God of Hope. No other religion in the whole wide world has what we have—a magnificent God of Hope!

 

As you take time over the next few days to reflect on the joys and sorrows of life, my prayer is that the God of Hope will give you His peace and comfort, and especially, a double portion of H-O-P-E! Blessings to all ~ Janie Kellogg

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow [bubbling over, AMP] with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13