Easter is the event that gives Christians hope that can't be taken away. When we look closely at the resurrection, letting it challenge our assumptions, and see what it means for our lives, we can be grounded and stable in a new way whatever comes next. In the midst of a global pandemic, the resurrection points a way forward, not just to this life but beyond.
Application Questions:
1. How have you experienced the difference between wishful thinking and realistic hope?
2. How do you respond to the idea that Jesus died for your sins? Why does Paul think it's a joyful, hope-filled idea that you should build your life on?
3. Where do you normally look for hope? How does Jesus' resurrection provide a better, deeper hope?
4. How can the hope Jesus' gives keep you secure as we live out the rest of this pandemic and beyond?
04. Knowing God's Hope
“Easter can give you a hope that nothing can take away”
April 12, 2020
12. Knowing God's Compassion
May 31, 2020
In a world where pain, struggle, and difficulty continue to mount, we instincitvely turn in all sorts of directions looking for comfort. But, we so seldom find it. What does it mean that God is the "God of all comfort?" And how can we access that true comfort when the waves of suffering keep coming? In our passage today God teaches us about the true nature of comfort, and about the ultimate purpose he has for the comfort he so consistently gives us. Application Questions: 1. Where, other than God, do you tend to turn for comfort? 2. Whether you had a particularly comforting mother or not, how is God's comfort uniquely reflected in the God-given comfort of mothers? 3. How does remembering all of the different attributes we've studied over the past few months bring us greater comfort? 4. How can you practically help those around you turn to the God of perfect compassion for comfort?
10. Knowing God's Sovereignty
May 24, 2020
God is sovereign over the entire universe. He is sovereign over the natural world, He is sovereign over individual people, and He is sovereign over the spiritual realm. His sovereignty is one of His perfections that makes Him absolutely unique in all the universe, and absolutely powerful over all things. Application Questions: 1. How does the biblical picture of God's sovereignty over all the universe challenge your understanding of God? 2. What are ways that you think of God more like a "big, strong human" than as truly God? 3. How does God's sovereigntychallengeyour understanding of the world? How does God's sovereigntyencourageyou and give youhopein the midst of this world? 4. What three things should change in your life this week in light of the power of God?
08. Knowing God's Justice
May 10, 2020
Knowing God means knowing his justice, an often misunderstood aspect of God's character. Far from being something that repels us, God's perfect justice invites us to joy, comfort, and even a new way of being in the world. Application Questions: 1. How do you react to the idea that God is just? Is God's justice compelling or dry, troubling or joyful? 2. What makes God's judgment different from our judgment? 3. How does God's justice affect how you relate to him? How does Jesus' death and resurrection fit in to your answer?