Knowing God
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?
07. Knowing God's Nearness
May 3, 2020
As we continue to set our eyes on God, being reminded of his never-changing nature in the midst of an ever-changing world, we are given hope and peace. But hope and peace don't come simply from recognizing God's holiness, love, and power. For these characteristics to be truly comforting the God of holiness, love, and, power must be near. He must be with us. Application Questions: 1. How can you practically meditate on Psalm 139 this week (reading it, memorizing it, praying through it, etc.)? 2. Why is it comforting that God knows everything? 3. Why is it comforting that God is present with you? 4. Why is it comforting that God has always been with you? 5. Of the three responses modeled in the Psalm (intimate comfort, righteous anger, humble surrender), which are most familiar and which do you need to seek to develop?
09. Knowing God's Faithfulness
May 17, 2020
The author of Hebrews writes to people who are weighed down and struggling, and at the end of chapter 6 he points them to God's faithfulness as the anchor that can hold them fast even when the world is spinning around them. We also need God's faithfulness, not just in a pandemic but all the time. Without it, we have no anchor that can really hold. When we know God's faithfulness, we enjoy his security in our lives. Application Questions: 1. How have you experienced your own need for an "anchor for the soul"? 2. How does the story of Abraham—and the story of Jesus—help you understand the depths of God's faithfulness? 3. How might knowing God's faithfulness change the way you approach the coming week?
11. Knowing God's Glory
May 31, 2020
God's glory is the weightiness of his nature and character—the summary of what we've been learning in the entire series. When Moses asks God to show him his glory, he teaches us all about what we really needs, and what it means to be close to a God this significant. Application Questions: 1. How has this series helped you get to know God better? How has that affected your life? 2. Where do you try to have an experience of glory in your life? 3. How does Jesus show you the glory of God and lead you to worship? 4. How is God calling you to respond to his glory in your life now?
06. Knowing God's Power
April 26, 2020
Power is something we all look to as a means of having purchase on our lives. But God's power is overwhelmingly greater than anything else in the universe, which rightly elicits fear. But God's power is for us and changes everything in our lives, providing comfort and peace that nothing can touch. Application Questions: 1. What are some ways you have related to power poorly or looked to it in the wrong way? 2. How have you failed to understand the depths of God's power? 3. What would it look like to meditate on the power of God? 4. How does Jesus laying down his power (and you laying down yours) bring you comfort in crisis?
05. Knowing God Practically
April 19, 2020
Christianity is not about following a bunch of rules, or practicing a bunch of rituals. Christianity is fundamentally about having a relationship with God. There is a difference between knowing thingsaboutGod, and knowing Godrelationally. To know Godrelationallymeans to know Him deeply and personally,andit means to be knownby Himdeeply and personally. Jesus calls us to this kind of vibrant relationship by commanding us to "abide" in Him. Application Questions: 1. What does it mean to "abide" in Jesus? 2. How are faith and repentance related to one another? 3. What is the difference between knowingaboutGod and knowing God relationally? 4. Why is it so important to also be knownby God, and what are steps you can take to grow in that area?
04. Knowing God's Hope
April 12, 2020
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?
03. Knowing God's Love
April 5, 2020
In times of uncertainty and crisis, more than anything we need to be reminded of the truth of who God. But we need to know more than justaboutGod. We need to know God himself. To know God is to be loved, because God is love. This week we look at exactly what that means, and how it gives us comfort and hope in the midst of any storm. Application Questions: 1. What sources, other than Scripture, tend to inform your functional definition of love? 2. How is God's love different than what the world calls "love"? 3. What is one thing you can that would help you be reminded of the love of God each day this week? 4. What is one way you can love someone in your house, apartment, or apartment building with Christ-like love. 5. What is one way you can love someone outside of your home with Christ-like love? 6. Who do you know that needs to be reminded of God's love for them this week? How will you try to help remind them?
02. Knowing God's Holiness
March 29, 2020
As we begin our series on Knowing God, we look at one of the overarching attributes of God: his holiness. While we often diminish the idea of God being holy as though it's not a very big deal, Isaiah teaches us differently: the holiness of God is something that comes uncomfortably close to us and changes us when we are exposed to it. It's an overwhelming and undoing experience, and it leads us to something amazing: grace greater than our sin and security we can have in God himself. Application Questions: 1. What difference would it make if you thought about God's holiness more often? 2. What stands out to you about the connection between God's holiness and the grace he gives through Jesus? 3. How can you encourage yourself to meditate on God's holiness this week?
01. Knowing God By Name
March 22, 2020
Knowing God is what anchors Christians in good times and bad. As we begin a series on the attributes of God, we first have to learn what it means to get to know God. Instead of learning more about God, the Bible teaches us to learn more of God in relationship with him. When we see how deeply and widely we can know the God of the universe, we find stability in unstable times and joy in places we didn't expect. Application Questions: 1. How would you describe the difference between knowing God and knowing about God? 2. How have you experienced that in your own life? 3. How can knowing God anchor you through the coming week, whatever you may face?