Week of 11/25-12//: Foundation - The Story Begins

Day One: Gen. 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and He called the darkness “night.” Evening came and then morning: the first day.

HOW DO YOU KNOW if you are in a relationship with someone these days? You check their Facebook status, right? When I was in elementary school I used to pass a lot of notes during the day. This of course was before the days of texts, tweets and Facebook messages. The notes would go out on Monday and the recipient would usually be different from week to week. They would usually say something to the effect of: “(Insert Girl’s Name), do you want to be my girlfriend, check yes or no. “

Once I reached high school the girls didn’t respond as well to those childish notes. In high school you knew you were in a relationship if you talked to the person in between classes and if you spent hours on the phone talking at night. Those actions remind us that communication is the foundation and confirmation of any relationship.

It’s really interesting that out of the billion different ways God could have created the world, He chose to do it by speaking, or communicating. The Bible records it this way, “Then God SAID, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Gen 1:3)

Why does someone speak? To be heard and responded to, right? That’s called communication and it is the basis of all relationships. God choosing to speak creation into existence is evidence of His desire to be in a relationship with His creation. God is not silent nor is He removed from His creation. He is pursuing a relationship with His creation. The fact that God spoke the world into existence points us to these facts.

God didn’t stop speaking at creation. He has been speaking ever since. It’s almost like He is writing us a note or wants to chat with us between classes. Ultimately He is pursuing a relationship with us and desires communication with us. We can have this relationship with Him because He first spoke to us. Make no mistake about it, He is speaking. The real question is, are you listening?

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why did God speak creation into existence?

▷▷How does God speak to creation in today’s world?

▷▷What can you do to ensure that you hear God when He speaks to you?

Week of 11/25-12/1: Foundations - The Story Begins

Day Two: Gen. 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

Finish the story by reading 1:29-2:3 in your Bible.

LEARNING THE ALPHABET and how to add are two of the first things you learn in your academic career. Learning addition usually begins by the teacher asking the following question: “If you have one apple and I give you another, how many do you have?”

This is apparently hard to grasp at first because young kids often pull out their fingers to visualize this concept of addition. Over time the concept begins to soak in. But as soon as students begin to master that concept, another mind-blowing concept is introduced: multiplication.

The basis of multiplication is taking one number and adding as many times as the second number indicates. For those scratching their heads and getting their fingers ready let me explain further: 4*4 is nothing more than 4+4+4+4. Some might ask, why multiply when you can add? Multiplication allows you to combine much larger numbers much faster than mere addition. In essence, you multiply when addition isn’t big enough.

Early in Genesis God gave Adam and Eve a God-sized vision and mission. Mere addition couldn’t handle this vision. This was a vision that required multiplication. The Bible says, “God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply.” Some might argue this is a mandate for married people to have lots of babies. To some extent this is what God means, but I think there’s much more going on here.

You might ask the question: “What were Adam and Eve supposed to multiply?” The previous verse twice mentions that man was made in the image of God. As soon as God said that, God then told Adam and Eve to multiply. He commanded them to multiply His image over all the earth. God desires a world that reflects His glory. This occurs when His image is multiplied throughout the face of the earth.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why did give the command to “be fruitful and multiply”?

▷▷What can you do to multiply God’s image here on earth?

▷▷How does this command further God’s glory?

Week of 11/25-12/1: Foundations - The Story Begins

Day Three: Gen. 2:18-25 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.” So the Lord God formed out of the ground each wild animal and each bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found who was like him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called woman, for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

GROWING UP, my parents had a way to make sure I understood the things they deemed important. Whenever they wanted to make a point, they would do so by stating the same thing over and over. I remember on many occasions my mom would remind me of something she wanted me to do upwards of five times. I remember thinking, “I get it! You don’t have to keep saying it over and over!”

Truth be told, I often times still didn’t get it. The point is that when our parents want something to stick they tend to repeat themselves over and over. God does the same thing in the story of Genesis. He says, “It is good,” over and over. He makes the point that what He does is good and is an extension of His goodness. This repetition is so consistent that when we see a different message communicated, we must take notice.

A different message comes in Genesis 2:18. Instead of once again seeing, “It is good,” we find God stating, “It is not good!” For the first time in Genesis something isn’t good. Why would God break His normal pattern of repetition? To make the point that Adam alone was not good. Adam alone misses a piece of reflecting God’s image. The best reflection of the image of God is an intimate community of two people bound together in marriage. Marriage was not designed merely for our happiness or companionship. God created marriage so that we may better reflect His image.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What caused God to declare, “It is not good!”?

▷▷How does marriage help reflect God’s image?

▷▷What can you do now, as a student, to prepare yourself for a future marriage?

Week of 11/18-11/24: Redeemed Response - Listening Together to the Voice of God

Day One: Neh. 8:4-6 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up.” Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. “

WHY DO WE CALL our teacher, ‘Mr.Smith’ instead of ‘John’?

Why do we answer our parents with a ‘yes ma’am’ or ‘yes sir’ instead of ‘yup.’?

Why do we refer to the president as ‘President Washington,’ instead of ‘George’ or even ‘Mr.Washington.’?

All of these titles are signs of respect in the American culture. There are many things we do in our lives that have no real function other than demonstrating respect. Yet, our culture values these things very highly.

Just as we have great respect for certain individuals, and address them accordingly, we find in the book of Nehemiah that the people of God had a great respect for God’s Word. The word ‘reverence’ means to have a deep or great respect. So, essentially the Israelites highly revered, or had reverence for, God’s Word.

This reverence manifested in several ways. We see that a great assembly of people gathered to hear the reading of God’s Word (v.2).The Word was read aloud and all the people ‘listened attentively’ (v.3).When the Word was read, the people stood up (v.5), and immediately thereafter they bowed down and worshiped with their faces to the ground (v.6).

Why did the Israelites do these various things as God’s Word was being read? These things were done out of deep reverence. They understood that what was being read was the very Word of God, and they treated it with extreme devotion.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Do you revere God’s Word? Why or why not?

▷▷Why is it important to have a reverence for God’s Word?

▷▷How can you develop and display your reverence for God’s Word?

Week of 11/18-11/24: Redeemed Response - Listening Together to the Voice of God

Day Two: Neh. 8:7-12 “Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read. Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.” And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.” Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration, because they had understood the words that were explained to them.”

IN TODAY’S WORLD, where nutrition and fitness have become increasingly chic, completing a marathon has become an ultimate goal for many. This 26.2 mile endurance run promises a great sense of accomplishment for those who complete it. It should go without saying, however, that completing a marathon is no easy task. A great deal of training is required to even complete a marathon, much less compete with other racers. For that already in reasonably good shape,

it may take up to half a year of daily training in order to fully prepare the body and mind for the race. For those out of shape, even more.

Interestingly, this ought to be the same way we approach God’s Word. We should not expect to flippantly open the Bible, turn to a random verse, read it, and truly encounter the living God. Look at the care and devotion to God’s Word in our text. In this passage, we see that the people explained, read, translated, and gave a clear meaning of the text to those in need of God’s Word. Then, they proceeded to tell the people to eat, cease their grieving, and begin rejoicing in the Lord. And the people did, “because they had understood the words that were explained to them. (Neh.8:12)” Look at all of the work that went into understanding the Scriptures. Understanding came after a long process of preparation and training for receiving God’s Word. If we truly want to encounter the power of God’s Word, we must be willing to prepare for receiving God’s Word.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What does it mean to prepare to receive God’s Word?

▷▷Practically speaking, how would one go about preparing to receive God’s Word?

▷▷Why is it important that you prepare to receive God’s Word personally?

Week of 11/18-11/24: Redeemed Response: Listening Together to the Voice of God

Day Three: Acts 2:42 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.”

WHERE I LIVE (North Texas), we don’t get much snow and ice, but when we do get the wintry precipitation, it can be a recipe for disaster. This is especially so at my parent’s house, which is in a fairly rural setting. This means that when ice starts to cause problems with the power lines, my parents are some of the last to get their electricity restored. During one particular cold snap my senior year of high school, our family went without power for about 3 days.

Not wanting to get caught in a situation like this again, my dad has now purchased a generator for those rare winter storms. Now when power lines go down, a simple starting of the generator provides energy to run the lights, heat, and TV (the big 3, in my opinion), until the electric company can get everything back and running.

Think about this for a minute. Every single power button and light switch in the house can instantly be restored by simply turning on the generator. This source of energy allows everything else to function. Without it, we are cold, dark, and bored. With it we have light, heat, and excitement. That single generator provides all of those things.

Notice here in Acts how God’s Word serves a similar impact on true Christian community. By being devoted to the Apostles’ teaching (God’s Word), they by extension fellowshipped together, broke bread together, and prayed together. That is, God’s Word essentially served as the life source for the Christian community. The power of God’s Word enabled those early believers to live their lives in close relationships with each other, constantly seeking ways to worship and obey Christ.

We need this same type of community today. We often gather around sporting events and other social happenings, but how often do we gather around God’s Word? We are quite good at fellowship, but we need to examine our reasons for fellowship.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why is God’s Word so powerful?

▷▷How does the power of God’s Word affect your life?

▷▷How can you harness the power of God’s Word to impact the community you have with other people?

Week of 11/11-11/17: Redeemed Response - Understanding How God Speaks

Day One: Gen. 30:1-6 “When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. ‘Give me sons, or I will die!’ she said to Jacob. Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, ‘Am I in God’s place, who has withheld children from you?’ Then she said, ‘Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me so that through her I too can build a family.’ So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, ‘God has vindicated me; yes, He has heard me and given me a son,’ and she named him Dan.

I HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY of taking my kiddos to their GiGi’s house every morning before heading off to work. Every morning before leaving, I give each one of them a good-bye kiss. Recently Makenna, my two-year-old daughter, has decided on some days that she doesn’t want her daddy’s good-bye kiss. So when I go to say my good-byes, she’ll scream “No kisses!” and bury her face.

After a couple of days of this, I had an ingenious idea. Since she loves chocolate, and since GiGi always keeps a container stocked with Hersey’s Kisses, I pulled one of the bite-sized chocolates out, held it up, and simply asked, “Would you like a kiss?”

Her immediate response was “Yes!” As she went to grab the chocolate kiss from my hand, I quickly planted a smooch on her cheek. I got my good-bye kiss, and she got her chocolate. Everyone walked away happy. To put it another way, we could say: “Both are happy that Makenna received a kiss from her daddy.”

Look at that sentence. Both me and my daughter would be able to say that it accurately describes the situation, yet we mean different things. I am happy because I got to show my daughter affection before parting for the day. She is happy because she gets to eat a bit of chocolate before breakfast. The point is that we have to know more information before we can understand the fullness of that simple statement.

Reading the Bible require this same type of commitment. There are many things in the Bible that, if pulled apart from the rest of the book, would be very confusing or troubling. A prime example is the passage above. If we don’t understand the historical situation, the type of writing, and the ultimate point of the passage, we will have huge questions surrounding the Bible. In other words, for us to truly understand and apply the Bible to our lives, we must understand the context in which passages are written.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What is context?

▷▷Why is it important to understand the context of a passage of Scripture?

▷▷What can happen if we try to apply Scripture without understanding the context?

Week of 11/11-11/17: Redeemed Response: Understanding How God Speaks

Day Two: Prov. 22:6 “Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Prov. 26:4-5 “Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.”

Also read Joel 2:17-21, and Acts 2:14-21.

NETFLIX STREAMING IS AWESOME. With just a few clicks, you can instantly watch any number of television shows or movies. One of the most time consuming elements of the entire process is deciding what to watch.

To help users in the endeavor, Netflix has all of their content categorized by genre. So if you’re hanging out with a couple of buddies and want a good laugh, you simply click over to the comedy section and pick from those options. Interested in learning about real-world events and people? Browse the documentary section. Whatever the mood or occasion, you can search through the genre to find your perfect programming.

In addition, selecting a program using this method helps set the mood and tone. If you’re going to watch a slap-stick comedy, you probably don’t have to pay as close of attention to the small things going on than if you were watching a mystery. The point is, knowing the genre of the program not only helps you choose what you want to watch, but also sets the tone for how you will watch.

This latter statement applies to Bible study as well. Knowing the genre of a passage of Scripture helps set the tone of what to expect, and how to understand, that text. For example, we must understand the book of Proverbs to be a part of what’s called ‘wisdom literature.’ Proverbs 22:6, for instance, says that if parents will teach their children the way they should go, they will remain faithful as they age. Generally speaking, this is the case. More times than not, if a parent instills strong biblical principles in his or her children, they will have a much better chance of being a faithful Christian as they grow older. But that is not always the case. You probably know people who have strong Christian parents but are far away from Christ personally.

If we didn’t understand the genre of ‘wisdom literature,’ we may think that Bible is wrong in these cases. Understanding exactly what this genre is and what it entails, however, let’s us learn and teach these types of passages correctly.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What is a genre?

▷▷Why is it important to know the genre of the Scripture passages we study?

▷▷How can the passage’s genre affect our interpretation of the passage?

Week of 11/11-11/17: Redeemed Response - Understanding How God Speaks

Day Three: Gal. 1:1-7 “Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me:

To the churches of Galatia. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah.”

I recently purchased a home gym. It’s one of those large machines that allow you to do over 30 different exercises in a variety of positions. I ordered the machine on the internet, and was shocked when it arrived at my house. The entire contraption was stuffed into a box that's less than 8 inches tall! As I opened the box up, I started to see how it was in fact possible. Before starting the construction process, I sought out the owner’s manual.

In the brief manual, I was provided detailed instructions for putting the machine together, a helpful guide for the various exercises that could be performed on the machine, and a few training tips. This was a very helpful guide. But it was only helpful because I had that particular machine.

If I were to approach you and give you this manual, you’d have absolutely no use for tithe entire manual is written for the purpose of showing someone how to set up and use the equipment. If they do not have the equipment, the manual would do no good.

Just as the instruction manual had a very specific purpose, much of the Bible does as well. If we do not understand the purpose of a specific text of Scripture, we may miss its ultimate point

For example, look at this passage from Galatians. Verse 2 clearly states that this letter was written to the churches of Galatia. Why did Paul choose to write this particular letter to those churches? We see that answer a bit further in verses 6 and 7.He explicitly says that there are some in the church of Galatia that wanted “to change the gospel of Christ.” The purpose of this letter, then, is to help the churches of Galatia understand the true gospel and protect them from false doctrines. If we didn’t have this first section to help us see the purpose of the letter, we’d miss out on much of its rich teaching.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why is it important to understand the writer’s purpose of a particular passage of Scripture?

▷▷How does knowing a passage’s purpose help us understand the ultimate meaning of a passage?

▷▷How can we figure out a passage’s purpose?

Week 11/4-11/10 Redeemed Response: Submitting to the God Who Speaks

Day One: Heb. 4:12 “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.”

Also read 2 Kings 22:3-10 in your Bible.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE GOOGLE GOT ITS NAME?

The name Google is derived from the number “googol”. A googol is the number one followed by 100 zeros, or, in scientific notation, 1x10^100.When the founders of Google were looking for a name, they decided upon Google to convey the message that they were searching an extraordinary number of webpages every time someone used their search engine.

So how big is a googol, exactly? Well, for some perspective, the number of electrons in the entire known universe is estimated to be around 1x10^79.Remember, electrons are one of the components of atoms. That means every single atom has at least one electron, and most have many electrons. If you were to add those up for the entire universe, the number would be 1x10^79.Significantly less than a googol.

Why is this important? It will help us to see how incredible the Word of God is. Throughout the Old Testament, approximately 300 different prophecies regarding the Messiah are presented. In the New Testament, we find that Jesus fulfilled every single one of these prophecies. The mathematical odds of all of these prophecies being fulfilled are literally incalculable.

So we ask again, why does this matter? Well, the Bible is the only collection of writings ever to exist that forecast the future with such clarity and precision. Think about it for a moment. The Bible is a single work that was written over a span of 1500 years, by more than 40 different authors, in a variety of locales, in different cultural settings, in many different moods, across three different continents, in three different languages, in a variety of literary styles, and in response to a multitude of controversial subjects. Yet, in spite of this, it tells one central story of God’s redemption of man without a single error or contradiction.

In other words, when we pick up our Bibles, we can be completely confident that we are reading the true Word of God!

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why is it important that the Bible tells the truth?

▷▷How does the truthfulness of the Bible impact your daily life?

Week 11/4-11/10 - Redeemed Response: Submitting to the God Who Speaks

Day Two: 2 Kings 22:11-13 “When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then he commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah: ‘Go and inquire of the Lord for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.’ ”

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE GINSU KNIFE? A quick search of YouTube will provide the original commercials of these knives. The maker of these knives claimed they could cut through just about anything without dulling their blades.

On the commercials, you’ll see these knives cut through all kinds of things, including frozen vegetables, tree branches, nails, leather shoes, the bones in T-bone steaks, soda cans, and even the head of a hammer. It takes a pretty incredible (and sharp) knife to slice through all of these objects!

Notice what Hebrews says about God’s Word. It says that it’s sharper than any two-edged sword. In other words, God’s Word cuts deeper than any Ginsu knife could ever cut. It cuts through everything we encounter in this world, and penetrates our hearts. God’s Word slices through our body and exposes the sinful condition of our hearts.

No matter how deep we try to bury our sins, God’s Word cuts through and exposes them. And that is a wonderful thing. By cutting through our entire being and revealing the sins we’ve committed, we can be confronted by the gospel of Christ. The good news of Christ isn’t that He came to save a bunch of good people. The good news is that “while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8)!

This demonstrates an important reason for studying the Scriptures. As we learn more and more about who God is, we see the impossibility of becoming like Him on our own. The Bible shows us how desperately we need a Savior!

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What does the Bible reveal about our hearts?

▷▷Why is it so important to realize the sinful condition of our hearts?

▷▷How has sin affected the world as a whole?

▷▷What can we do to overcome the sinful condition of our

Week 11/4-11/10 - Redeemed Response: Submitting to the God Who Speaks

Day Three: Heb. 4:13 “No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.”

Also read 2 Kings 22:14-20 in your Bible.

I HAVE AN INTERESTING RELATIONSHIP with snakes. I am absolutely terrified of them, yet am incredibly fascinated by them all at the same time. In the real world, that means if I encounter a snake, I run in the other direction as fast as humanly possible. But, if I’m protected by plexiglass at the zoo or stumble upon a snake show on Animal Planet, I’m enthralled.

This fascination has led to the watching of many television programs of people getting bitten by venomous snakes. Once bitten, the need for anti-venom quickly becomes apparent. Once the person can get to the hospital and the anti-venom is injected, the person begins down the road to recovery.

Compare this to the human condition. We’ve all been bitten by the poison of sin. Sin has entered our hearts at birth and colors everything we do. It moves throughout our body and soul, destroying everything in its path. Fortunately, God has provided the ultimate combatant to sin: His only begotten Son. Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose again in order to forgive us of our sins. In other words, He is the perfect treatment to all the sin in the world.

But notice a key element in the process of recovering from a snakebite. The existence of anti-venom is not sufficient for recovery. The anti-venom must be injected into the person. In this instance, the syringe is the instrument that enables the anti-venom to enter the bloodstream and begin its healing properties. The syringe itself doesn’t heal the person, but it makes it possible for the anti-venom to do its job.

In many ways, this scenario parallels with the Bible. Christ alone is the solution to man’s problem of sin. But the Bible is the tool that enables us to see both our sinful condition and point us to the ultimate healer and redeemer, Jesus Christ.

That is the main thrust of the entire Bible. Yes it is entirely true. Yes it points out our sinful condition. Yes it tells us about the world, morality, history, and a multitude of other things. But above everything else, it allows us to encounter the life-changing truth of the gospel.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why is the Bible important?

▷▷Does owning a Bible do anything for you?

▷▷How does the Bible communicate the gospel to the world around us?