BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHERE IS GOD? God is in all places at all times and is always with His people. God did not abandon His people. The prophet Jeremiah encouraged God’s people. He said God was going to save His people from captivity and raise up a new King—a forever King—from David’s family. Memory Verse: Read the story: God’s Word is living, active, sharp, powerful, and profitable. (Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17) The Bible indicates that by the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s words teach, rebuke, correct, and train us so that we are complete and equipped for the work that God has created us for. The Bible is full of stories, illustrations, commands, warnings, and heart-provoking questions that provide for us everything we need. Yet, throughout our lives, we intentionally disregard God’s words for us. We are guilty of the same thing that Jeremiah 29:19 describes—not listening to God’s words. When we know God’s words and know that God’s words are good for us, why do we continuously neglect them? The answer is simple: We prefer our own way. Throughout the Bible, God warns us by direct command and historical example. We find explicit instructions to obey God’s words and explicit assurances of the pending consequences for refusing to obey His words. We find instances where God executes His justice on those unknowingly ignorant toward His instructions and those blatantly defiant toward Him. God takes His words seriously and expects that we do the same. What is your relationship to God’s words given to us in the Bible? Are you distant, aware, knowledgeable, or in awe? Are you dismissive, forgetful, interested, or obedient? God’s expectation is that we would hear and obey His words, that we would seek His truth and live His truth, and that we would know His instructions and heed them. The reality is that we all will fail to do this, but there is hope because of the One who has the title “The Word.” Jesus, the living Word of God, lived a perfect life in full obedience to God and His words, yet He died the death that we deserve so that in our failure, we might find hope. The answer to our struggle to listen and obey God’s words is not simply trying harder, but pursuing a greater love of God, a greater hope in His Son, and a greater trust in His Spirit. These will lead us to greater obedience. His expectations are great, but His mercy is more. Gospel application:
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHAT MAKES PEOPLE SPECIAL? People are special because we are made in God's image, as male and female, to know Him. Every person matters. God created us and cares for us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins. As we love and follow God, He calls us to love others and show respect to everyone. Memory Verse: Read the story:
From the garden of Eden to the great restoration of the last days, men and women have attempted to hide themselves from God, seeking safety and avoidance of the consequences of sin due to those who think, speak, and act contrary to God’s good design. We first find this in the garden following the initial sin of Adam and Eve. After seeking their own pleasure, satisfaction, and authority, they felt the onset of conviction over their sin. Their solution to this sense of wrongdoing was to hide from the One who made them, loved them, and had given them the instructions they rebelled against. No surprise to us, God knew where they were. He drew them out of their hiding and confronted them in their attempts to hide their sin. Even in the last days, this effort to hide from God won’t be successful. In Revelation 6 as the seals are being opened, verse 15 speaks of kings, nobles, generals, rich, powerful, slaves, and free people hiding in caves and among the rocks as the wrath of God for sin becomes more and more imminent. In an effort to hide from God, they run for cover hoping they can escape the looming punishment. In the subsequent chapters of this apocalyptic letter, that coming wrath is revealed against the ungodly and their hiding proves to be to no avail. Reading these accounts of people seeking to hide from God brings to light at least two very important truths. First, we cannot hide from God. There is nowhere we can go in His creation that He will not be aware of. Second, God knows not just where we are, but every other detail of who we are as well. In light of this, Psalm 139 provides the most freeing of assurances to our failed attempts to hide, giving the reader a beautiful understanding of the sovereignty of God and the value of every human life. Not only is there nowhere we can go to hide from God, but every other detail of our lives is known to Him, and even determined and directed by Him. The next time you are tempted to hide from God because of sin, guilt, or shame, remember these central truths. There is nowhere you can go to flee from God. He knows you better than you know yourself. And He wants you to accept that, willingly confess your sin to Him, and trust that He is gracious and merciful to forgive His children because of His Son, Jesus. Gospel Application:
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHAT MAKES PEOPLE SPECIAL? People are special because we are made in God's image, as male and female, to know Him. God was right to punish His people for their sin, but He kept His promise to provide a king through David’s family. Ultimately, God punished our sin through His Son, Jesus, and made Him our King forever. Memory Verse Read the Story:
Throughout 2 Chronicles 36, it is easy to see that God is the One who raises up and removes kings and rulers and all who are in authority. But this reality can sometimes shake us in profound ways. It may cause us to ask why. This question is fair considering that we often see rulers who don’t love God making decisions that display their lack of belief in God, and it is hard to imagine that God is the One who placed them in leadership. Why would God allow bad leaders to be in charge? This is a tough question, but Scripture speaks to it in several ways. For one, Romans 13:1-2 reminds us to submit to those in authority since they are instituted by God Himself. Therefore, to resist authority is to oppose the commands of God, so long as the authority doesn’t demand disobedience to God. Another place we see this principle play out in Scripture is with Daniel. We find Daniel rebelling against the king’s demand to worship something other than God. But we also find Daniel willingly subjecting himself to the king’s leadership in other circumstances that do not demand his disobedience. Further, we find Daniel actually praying to God and confessing that He is the One who brings about the rise and fall of leaders. Daniel 2:21 says, “He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” The Bible teaches us that God stands sovereign over all things, even the rise and fall of leaders. That includes the most godly of leaders and even those that are most opposed to the things of God. The Lord, in His good purposes, may be seeking to wake us up, bring about consequences, or refine His people; but His purposes are always good. God is always working in all times and seasons. And though we may wonder about His purposes in certain circumstances, we can trust that they are always ultimately for His glory and our good, even when that is hard to understand or believe. Gospel Application:
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December 2023
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