What do you wish other people would do? What are you doing?

It is easy to be critical and to look at others and wish that they would do things differently. It is more difficult, and more helpful, to do to others what you wish they would do for you.

Jesus taught this truth in Matthew’s gospel account, saying, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12, ESV).

Are you free? How free are you? How are you set free? What, or who, gives you freedom? Are there areas of your life where you need to be set free?

God desires that we live freely. This is why Jesus set us free from the condemnation of our sin.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Rome, saying, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2, ESV).

What causes you to fear? What gives you courage to face your fear?

If God is for us and with us, then what do we have to be afraid of?

Many of us are gripped by fear in our lives. Fear can paralyze us and keep us from living fully and trusting God and others.

In Matthew’s gospel account, Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:28-31, ESV).

Where do you discover who you are? What is your identity? How do you describe yourself?

We are created diverse in the image of God. There are many facets to our personality and identity. We are gifted and skilled in many ways.

As followers of Jesus, our identity is found in our unity in Jesus, not in our gifts, individuality, personality, preferences, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, or sexuality. Jesus is our identity.

Who do you call upon when you are in distress? How do you seek help when you are troubled and need rescue?

When we call on God, he hears us and answers our need.

The Psalmist writes, “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” (Psalm 18:6, ESV).

What is faith? How are we saved by faith? What is the promise of faith? Who is the father of faith?

Faith is assurance of the truth and reality of what we do not always perceive to be.

The author of Hebrews defines faith this way, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV).

Faith is so essentially important that the author goes on to say, “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, ESV).

What does God require from his followers? What are the basic expectations God has for his children?

As God’s children, we are subject to God’s leadership and character in our lives.

Because God is just, God requires justice from his children. Because God is kind, God requires kindness from his children. Because God is who he is, God requires humility from his children.

God spoke through the Minor Prophet Micah saying, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, ESV).

When was the last time you received a good word from someone? How did this encouragement affect you?

A good word encourages and motivates us to move forward. Encouraging words can remove anxiety and heaviness in our lives, and allows us to shake depressive inertia and move forward in life.

The wisdom of the Proverbs tells us, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”

(Proverbs 12:25, ESV).

What do you believe? Where do you place your faith? Does what you believe, or who you believe in, have the power to save you? Have you placed your faith in God who saves?

What we believe matters. Where we place our faith matters and is of eternal consequence. We must place our belief, our faith, in the truth of God and allow him to save us and give us life.

This saving faith was the faith of Abraham. This was the faith that Abraham placed in God. This is the faith in God who saves.

What are you seeking? Where are you seeking life?

What we are looking for is of essential importance. Where we are looking is important as well.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Colossian church, saying, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1, ESV).

What work are we called to do as followers of Jesus?

As followers of Jesus, we are to obey God’s Great Commission to make disciples, or students, of Jesus.

Before his ascension into heaven, Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV).

What is a servant? What are the expectations of a servant? Is a servant expected to do the master’s will? What does a servant receive in exchange for obeying their master?

Servants serve. A servant is not above their master, and a good servant serves their master obediently. A servant serves and receives a fair reward for their service.

We are called to serve God faithfully as his obedient servants.

What is Pentecost? What is the importance of Pentecost? What did Jesus promise concerning the Holy Spirit of God and when was the Holy Spirit sent?

The day of Pentecost is named after the Feast of Weeks and means fifty. Christians remember Jesus sent the Holy Spirit of God fifty days after the resurrection. Pentecost begins the era of the church, and the dwelling place of God being within each believer in Jesus.

Jesus promised to give his disciples his Holy Spirit. In John’s Gospel, Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17, ESV).

How did Jesus ascribe glory and honor to his Father during his earthly life and ministry before the ascension? What did Jesus pray for and long for as he ministered and prayed to his Father?

Jesus glorified God the Father by accomplishing the work God had given him to do on earth.

Jesus longed to be present with God and to receive the glory he had left in heaven when he came to earth in the incarnation.

What good comes out of Jesus’ departure from earth to heaven after the resurrection? Is it possible that endless good has come from Jesus leaving?

At the ascension of Jesus, he led his disciples out as far as Bethany, “and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” (Luke 24:50-53, ESV).

It is in this departure of Jesus that Jesus ascends to his heavenly throne, begins his preparation to make a place for us and to bring us to himself (John 14:1-6), and he begins his preparation to send the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2).

What is the very least we can do to remember those who have sacrificed, and done the most they could do, and given the greatest sacrifice there is to give?

We remember and we honor those who have served faithfully and given their life so that we can live in freedom.

Their sacrificial and life-giving service reminds us of our Lord Jesus.

In John’s gospel account, Jesus said, “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.” (John 10:18, NLT).

What difference does wisdom make in your life? When was the last time you asked God to give you wisdom?

We need wisdom. A wise decision can mean the difference between life and death. The pursuit of wisdom is a noble and fruitful pursuit in our lives.

The New Testament author, and half brother of Jesus, James, wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5, ESV).

When Jesus prayed, what did he desire? What was the heart of Jesus for his people when he prayed to his Father in heaven?

You can tell a lot about the condition of a person’s heart and their deepest cares and desires by listening to their prayers. We can learn about the heart of God through the prayers of Jesus.

In John’s Gospel account, John records the High Priestly prayer of Jesus. John tells us Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:1-3, ESV).

How has the faith of your family, especially the faith of your mother and grandmother, influenced your life? What role does the faith of the family play in nurturing our own faith?

Our faith is mostly passed down and strengthened by our family, especially by our parents, our mothers, and our grandmothers.

The Apostle Paul wrote his spiritual son, Timothy, calling him “my beloved child,” and commending his faith, which was passed on to him through his grandmother and mother. Paul encouraged Timothy to guard the faith that was entrusted to him.

Paul wrote Timothy, saying, “I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” (2 Timothy 1:3-5, ESV).

How do we know we are God’s children? What difference does it make in our lives that we are children of God?

We are children of God, and can be confident that we are children of God, by believing in Jesus and receiving him.

The gospel of John tells us, “But to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12, ESV).