Week+4

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1) What evidence have we seen that validates Gandalf's original opinion of Bilbo - that "there is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself"? How does Bilbo grow in these chapters? What has been a time in your life when you have realized that you've grown as a person - that there is a lot more in you than you or anyone else originally guessed?

2) In the Elvenking's palace, Bilbo realizes that "if anything was to be done" to help the dwarves, "it would have to be done by" him alone. Has there ever been a time when you've realized you have to take responsibility and "go it alone"?

3) Interpreting prophecy can be a tricky thing - people often see in prophecy what they want to see. The people of Jesus' time correctly remembered some messianic prophecies and applied them to Jesus (such as Zechariah 9:9-10) but ignored others (Isaiah 53). Read John 13:19, 14:29, 16:4, and Mark 13:22-23. What do these verses say prophecy is for? How can we avoid falling into the same error as the majority of people in Jesus' time?