In the Word with Jeff Thompson

Jeff Thompson
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

In the Word offers engaging Bible studies that go through the text verse by verse to help you grow in your faith and knowledge of the Scriptures. Learn the historical context, what the writer intended his readers to understand, and how it applies to our lives today. We also include discussion questions in the description for every study, so that you can reflect on what God wants to do in your life through His Word, or - better yet - grab a friend or two and start studying and discussing the text together! Join us and start growing faster and deeper today!

  1. Sep 22

    Will You Go With This Man? // Genesis 24

    A servant travels 500 miles to find a bride for a man she has never met, and her family asks her one question: “Will you go with this man?” In this verse-by-verse study of Genesis 24, Jeff Thompson unpacks the chapter's stunning picture of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Church — plus how God shepherds our decisions when no Bible verse tells us exactly what to do. SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS: - Read Romans 12:1-2, James 1:5, and Proverbs 15:22. Jeff gave 5 steps for when there's no verse that covers your situation: desire to please God, pray, seek counsel from mature believers, listen for the Spirit, and move forward in faith. Paul says a renewed mind is how we discern God's will, not a voice. Be honest: which of those 5 do you tend to skip (for most, it's the counsel one). So name names — who are the mature believers in your life you'd genuinely take a hard word from? If you can't name 2, that's the answer to the question. - Read Philippians 2:12-13 and Nehemiah 2:4-5. Jeff called this chapter's theme the unknowable dance between God's sovereignty and human decisions. Nehemiah prays a split-second prayer to the God of heaven and then, in the same breath, makes a specific ask of a pagan king. Both things at once. Does believing God is sovereign tend to make you more passive or more active? Be honest about which way you lean. - Read Colossians 3:23-24. A caravan of thirsty camels, a 3-gallon jar, steps down to the spring — Jeff put it at 70 to a 100 trips, hours of hard labor, for a stranger who never asked her to do it. And the servant stood there and watched to see if she'd get cranky. She didn't. Tell the group about someone who served you like that — quietly, at real cost, when nothing obligated them to. Have you thanked them? Then turn it around: where does your own serving come with grumbling attached, out loud or under your breath?

    Will You Go With This Man? // Genesis 24

  2. Sep 18

    A Grave in the Promised Land // Genesis 22:20-23:20

    God promised Abraham an entire country, and the only piece of it he ever owned was the cave he bought to bury his wife in. In this study, we'll walk through the death of Sarah and what Scripture actually says about grief, losing a spouse, why death still feels like an enemy, and how gratitude becomes the floor you stand on when the waves hit. SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS: - What stuck out to you from this sermon? Did you feel like the Lord was drawing your attention to anything specific in your own life or perspectives? - Read Matthew 10:37 and Psalm 73:23-26. What in your life, if it were taken tomorrow, would take your sense of purpose with it? Your kids. Your health. Your career. Your ministry. Be honest about your own answer. - Read Ruth 1:19-21 and Hebrews 12:15. Where is the line between honest lament, which God clearly permits, and a bitterness that slowly becomes someone's identity? Have you ever been stuck in that second place—over anything, not only a death? What got you out, or what is still keeping you there? - Share prayer requests. Have everyone close their eyes. Have someone read Psalm 23 over the group, and move straight into a time of prayer.

    A Grave in the Promised Land // Genesis 22:20-23:20

  3. Sep 5

    Where is the Lamb? // Genesis 21:22-22:19

    In this study, we'll look at a living parable - the controversial tale of Abraham's binding of Isaac. We'll discover the hidden imagery and prophetic details that point to the Father's offering of Jesus as the Lamb of God, slain for our sins. SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS: - Was there anything in the message that especially stuck out to you (encouragement, conviction, etc.)? - Read Micah 6:6–8. Genesis 22 is a favorite passage for people who argue that God is cruel. How would you actually answer a coworker who brought it up? - Is there a part of the Bible that disturbs you and that you've mostly avoided thinking about? - Read Isaiah 53:4–7 & Romans 12:1–2. Given that God withheld nothing from us, what does or would presenting yourself as a living sacrifice look like in your life?

    Where is the Lamb? // Genesis 21:22-22:19

  4. Aug 25

    A Hidden Picture // Genesis 21:1-21

    God made Abraham and Sarah wait more than 25 years for the son He promised—and Paul later reveals why, showing that Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac, were a hidden picture of two covenants: law and grace, slavery and freedom. In this study, we'll walk through Genesis 21:1–21 and Galatians 4:21–5:1 and show why God waited until no explanation remained but Himself, and why salvation is a gift you cannot help pay for. SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS: - Read Romans 4:18–21 (about Abraham). Abraham's faith grew as he rehearsed what God had actually said. Share a specific promise from Scripture you've leaned on in a hard season. - Read Hebrews 11:8–13 and 11:39–40. Abraham received Isaac. Many others in that same chapter died still waiting. How do we speak honestly to someone who has waited years and never received the thing? What does faith look like when the answer is "No," or "Not in your lifetime"? - Read Acts 15:1–11. Peter calls the Law a yoke no one has ever been able to carry—the same argument Paul makes in Galatians 4. Why do you think a "faith plus something" message is so attractive to religious people? What was the appeal of the Judaizers' teaching, and where do you hear a version of it today? - Read Philippians 3:4–11. What are some things that you used to find your identity and worth in (or still do)? How did Christ work in you to find your identity in Him instead (or how IS He working in you currently)?

    A Hidden Picture // Genesis 21:1-21

  5. Aug 5

    Dead End // Genesis 20

    Abraham had walked with God for over 25 years and had a promise from Jesus Himself — then fear sent him straight back down an old path of sin he'd never bothered to close off. In this study, we'll unpack why we return to sins we thought we'd outgrown, why a half-truth is a whole lie, and what practical steps actually mark the old road "DEAD END." SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS: - Read Romans 4:18-21. How do you reconcile this description of Abraham with his actions in Genesis 20? And how should that encourage us regarding the way the Lord views us? - Read Romans 2:14-15. Do you think Abimelech is in Heaven? Why or why not? What’s the difference between a man like him and a Mormon neighbor who lives a morally upright life? - Read Ephesians 4:25. Is there an area of life or a certain subject where you struggle with half-truths? - Read Philippians 2:3-4. The worst part of Abraham's plan was that the plan removed all risk from him and placed it entirely on Sarah. He was protected; she was exposed. Who has paid the price for your fear? A spouse, a kid, an employee, a friend? *This one may take some courage to answer honestly. It's the kind of thing that's very hard to see in yourself and very easy to see from the outside. (Married folks: this is a good week to ask your spouse rather than guess.

    Dead End // Genesis 20

  6. Jul 28

    Righteous Lot? // Genesis 19:27-38

    Peter calls him “righteous Lot” — a drunk, a coward, and a failure as a father whose slow drift in Sodom warped his family’s thinking until the unthinkable seemed reasonable. This study traces the real cost of compromise, the call to hold the line at home, and the staggering grace that credits righteousness to broken people — and ran the line of the Messiah straight through Lot’s family. SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS: - Read Isaiah 48:17-18. Have you ever obeyed a command from God and found it to be far more beneficial than you expected? - Read Romans 12:1-2. What are the top 3 things in your life that are shaping how you think? Are they helping or hurting you to think in a godly way? - Read Romans 4:3-5. How do you make sense of how Lot behaved when Peter describes him as "righteous"? - Read Psalm 103:2-5. When you're facing doubt, what's something the Lord has done for you that others could remind you of to strengthen your faith in that moment? - Read Deuteronomy 6:6-9. How do we practically build homes, marriages, and families where Christ is central?

    Righteous Lot? // Genesis 19:27-38

  7. Jul 9

    The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah // Genesis 19:1-26

    Why did Jesus say the end times would look like "the days of Lot"? This verse-by-verse study walks through the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the prophetic parallels emerging in our own culture, and the sobering warning of Lot's wife — a picture of a heart that never left the world behind. SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS: - Read Matthew 5:13-16 and Genesis 19:1. Lot sat in Sodom's gate — in the culture but absorbed by it. Jesus calls us to be salt and light — in the culture but distinct. Practically, what's the difference between engaging culture and compromising with it in your workplace, school, or neighborhood? - Read Genesis 19:6-8. Lot's offer of his daughters shows how spiritually disoriented a believer can become while trying to fit in with the culture. Where do you feel the strongest pull to accommodate the culture — work, family, entertainment, social media? What guardrails do you have (or need)? - Read Genesis 19:14. Lot's own sons-in-law thought he was joking. His lifestyle had cost him his spiritual credibility. What builds — or erodes — that kind of credibility? - Read Genesis 19:15-16. Lot hesitated — and the angels grabbed his hand "because of the LORD's compassion for him." Share a time God was merciful to you despite your hesitation, doubt, or foot-dragging. - Read Jeremiah 29:4-7 and 1 Peter 2:11-12. God told the exiles to seek the welfare of a pagan city, yet Lot was told to flee his. How do we know when to engage, when to resist, and when to flee? Where do you land, and why?

    The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah // Genesis 19:1-26

  8. Jun 30

    Too Wonderful // Genesis 18

    At 99, Sarah had quietly stopped believing God would ever keep His promise to her — until He overheard her cynical laugh and asked, “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” This study of Genesis 18 walks through Sarah’s unbelief, Abraham’s bold intercession for Sodom, and the God whose character is big enough to do wonders even for you. SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS: - Read Psalm 9:10. Has growing in your knowledge and understanding of God's character affected how much you trust Him? How? - Read Psalm 84:1-2, 10. Where do you experience the Lord's presence? Are you enthusiastic about it, as Abraham was when Jesus and the two angels visited him? - Read Daniel 3:16-18. How do you reconcile God's goodness with the fact that some prayers for things like healing get answered, while others don't? - One of the most common apologetics questions is, "If God is good, why do bad things happen to good people?" How would you answer? - Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. Open your time of prayer by thanking God that we are destined to be with Him in paradise rather than to experience His wrath (which we deserve).

    Too Wonderful // Genesis 18
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In the Word offers engaging Bible studies that go through the text verse by verse to help you grow in your faith and knowledge of the Scriptures. Learn the historical context, what the writer intended his readers to understand, and how it applies to our lives today. We also include discussion questions in the description for every study, so that you can reflect on what God wants to do in your life through His Word, or - better yet - grab a friend or two and start studying and discussing the text together! Join us and start growing faster and deeper today!

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