Below are suggested answers to the Message Based Discussion Questions from the message presented on October 26, 2014. Please use them to stimulate your thought for original answers rather assume these are the only answers.

Acts 10:1-4; Matt. 26: 6-13; Ex. 3:10-15

What are my memories?

• People 1 Thes. 2:17-19; Phil. 4:1
• Vision Rev. 1:12-19
• Holiness of God Is. 6:1-5

The only thing that matters is the holiness of God and drawing people to that holiness!

Message Based Discussion Questions

1) What are your earliest memories at Grace?

• Filling out the personal questionnaire when I was applying to serve as their first pastor!
• Winter camp in 1992 and the fun of moving down to a new city and meeting many wonderful families.

Digging Deeper:

2) Are memories important? _yes_ How did God teach Israel to use memorials in the Old Testament? How were memorials important in the New Testament?

• Joshua told the people to set up a pillar of stones after crossing the Jordan, so the children would remember God’s faithfulness Josh. 4:7
  • God told Moses His name was a memorial for Israel Ex. 3:15
  • The feasts were a memorial Ex. 12:19
• In the New Testament, the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet, her actions became a memorial Matt. 26:13
  • Communion is a memorial to remember Christ’s death 1 Cor. 11:24
  • The Word as a revelation/memory of the Lord Jesus 1 Cor. 2:16; 1 Pet. 1:23-25.

3) Divine visions were revelations from God. God has already given us His vision in Scripture and Grace believes in the sufficiency of Scripture. What does that mean (see 2 Cor. 3:5-6)?

• God’s Word is sufficient for all godliness in life.
• It is adequate to make the man of God complete, equipped for ever good work.
• I do not have to go to any other source for helps.
• His Word is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, which helps me memorialize the holiness of God.

4) Is the holiness of God important? _yes__ How is the holiness of God important? Why is it important? Especially in the day in which we live?

• The holiness of God sets Him apart from all creatures: He is like no other.
• It is important because no one can be compared to Him and we are to become like Him 1 Pet. 1:15-16. That is impossible unless we are filled (controlled) by the Holy Spirit.
• Our world is luring us into its tentacles of poison and evil. We must not be like them (Matt. 6:8). We need to be in the world, but not of the world.

Making application from the message to life: 

5) If someone has bad memories of the past, can his memories be changed to good memories? How so?

• The memories themselves cannot be changed, but he can add good memories that will overshadow the bad.
• Fill your mind with God’s Word (Col. 3:16), and meditate on it every day, especially at night (Ps. 1:2). Engage in Christian activities and reach out to be discipled and disciple others. This will create a new film in your soul that will be recalled in retelling the story of God’s mighty acts in his life, which will reinforce the good memories and eventually replace the bad.

6) How would you help someone have a vision of God’s purposes for the future?

• Get him in the Word to know and understand it.
• Share what God is teaching you in His Word.
• Share with him what you see as God’s purpose for your life.
• Help him through his strengths and weaknesses on how God might be leading him and cast a vision for him.
• Help him seize that vision for himself.

7) What kinds of things would you teach a disciple regarding the holiness of God? How would you make it practical to life?

• The definition that holiness means “set apart.” Teach him how his tennis shoes are set apart for him alone.
• God is holy 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Lev. 11:44,45.
• Help him understand that word “holy” occurs some 637 times, which means there is a significance to the word and concept.
• Help him understand that He is to grow in holiness from the world to the Lord 1 Thes. 4:3.