Your reading to prepare for “Lesson 1 - Deborah and Barak” is broken down as the following:
Mon Jan 06 Angel Rebukes Israel’s Faithfulness Judges 2:1-5
Tue Jan 07 Joshua’s Death Ends an Era Judges 2:6-10
Wed Jan 08 The People Lose God’s Protection Judges 2:16-23
Thu Jan 09 Ode to Israel’s Faithful Judges Hebrews 11:29-40
Fri Jan 10 Victory Song of the Divine Warrior Judges 5:1-5
Sat Jan 11 Jael Defeats the Enemy Leader, Sisera Judges 5:24-27
Sun Jan 12 Deborah: Prophetess, Judge, and Commander Judges 4:1-10
God's people from all centuries have all been called to make a difference in whatever sphere of influence they live or work. However, the way God calls his people to serve Him is not a "one size fits all" situation - nor is how people respond. During our time over the next few months, we will investigate the chaotic time of the judges from the Old Testament, a few of the prophets, and the general nature of God's call as illustrated in the book of Acts.
Our daily readings this quarter focus on “God’s Urgent Call.” God continues to call people to mission and ministry just as God has done for thousands of years. God has a call on our lives. God has a purpose for our being and has given us a mission in life. The abundant life we seek is found in that purpose, experienced as we carry out that mission. We will learn our Lessons in three divided units…
Unit 1, “Called to Be Strong,” spotlights the era of the judges. In the Book of Judges, we read how God called a series of national leaders and military commanders, known as judges, to deliver the Israelite people from their enemies. In this unit, we will read how God used people such as Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson to do amazing things in spite of their shortcomings.
Unit 2, “Called of Prophets”, focuses on some of the well-known prophets in the Old Testament and how God used them to accomplish the divine purpose. Like the judges before them, the prophets were far from perfect people, yet God used them in mighty ways because they were willing to be used.
And, Unit 3, “Calls in the New Testament”, reveals that God continued to use ordinary people to accomplish the divine will. Readings in this unit focus on characters from the Book of Acts such as Stephen, Peter, Philip, Ananias, Paul, and Cornelius to once again show how God uses ordinary, fallible, flawed imperfect people to build the Kingdom.
