week of 12/26

Unit 4 Session 4

GOD SHOWS HIS FAITHFULNESS

PSALM 51 ; LAMENTATIONS 3 ; MATTHEW 1-2

God is faithful to keep His Word, demonstrated most of all in the fulfillment

of His promise to provide Jesus Christ.

When Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt, God led the way and won

the victory because God is always faithful to His people - He keeps His

promises. We can see this truth throughout the Bible and throughout 

history. What He says is true, and what He says He will do, He will do.

The Bible consists of stories of God's faithfulness even when things 

looked bleak.  Though at times God's people thought He abandoned them,

God was still there. He is always there working on behalf of His people,

ultimately so the Savior, the Messiah, will restore His people from their

brokenness.

Points to consider:

✞   God is faithful to love the afflicted.

     * What are some ways you have seen God's faithful

        love in your life when you were struggling?

✞   God is faithful to provide the Messiah.

     * What are some ways we can worship the Messiah?

✞   God is faithful to forgive the repentant.

     * What does it mean to have a repentant heart?

     * Knowing that God is faithful to fulfill His promises

        and faithful to forgive us when we repent, how

        should we live?

week of 12/19

Unit 4 Session 3

GOD SAVES HIS PEOPLE

eXODUS 13-15

God is the One Who wins the victory for His people.

The many years of cruel oppression the Hebrews experienced at the

hand of a new Pharaoh were coming to an end. God had heard their

cries and sent an unconventional deliverer with unconventional methods.

There were no armies, but the outstretched hand of God rained down

plague upon the world's strongest and most confident superpower. The

final blow - the death of the firstborn sons - brought Egypt to its knees,

so Pharaoh commanded Israel to go. God's people were finally free, but

still more opportunities for the Hebrews to trust the God of Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob lay ahead.

Points to consider:

✞   God directs His people.

     * How have you seen God work in your life through

        a difficult path to bring about your good?

     * What are some ways God leads us as believers

        today?

✞   God fights for His people.

     * Why might we find it difficult to stand still and

        wait for the Lord's salvation?

✞   God delivers His people.

     * How does the crossing of the Red Sea compare to

        our salvation through faith in Jesus?

week of 12/12

 Unit 4 Session 2

GOD SHOWS HIS POWER

eXODUS 5-12

God is faithful to bring deliverance from bondage, but that deliverance came

at a price.

Moses accepted the call to be God's messenger in Egypt, going to Pharaoh

with the full authority and power of God, the great "I AM". But upon arrival,

his message was met with resistance and retaliation by Pharaoh, which

resulted in near-rejection of Moses' leadership by the people of God. Yet

God reaffirmed His covenant with Moses. God's power would be demonstrated

in full force as He unleashed a series of plagues, culminating in the death

of Egypt's firstborn sons and the sparing of Israel's through the Passover

sacrifice.

Points to consider:

✞   God remembers His covenant with His people.

     * How has God's Self-revelation in Scripture since

        the creation account increased our knowledge

        of Him?

✞   God requires a perfect sacrifice from His people.

     * What are some ways believers in Jesus are marked

        by the faithfulness of God on their behalf?

✞   God releases judgment in the midst of His people.

     * Why is it important to recognize the just judgment

        of God against sin?

     * How has God worked to bring you to a Biblical

        understanding of His just judgment and salvation

        by grace?

week of 12/5

 Unit 4 Session 1

GOD SHARES HIS NAME

eXODUS 1-4

God heard the cries of His people in distress and responded by raising up Moses, the one He would send to provide deliverance.

Through Joseph's influence, God's people initially lived in Egypt as honored

guests. But a new Pharaoh came to power who did not remember Joseph.

As a result, God's people suffered under brutal oppression in Egypt for

generations. But the covenant-keeping God heard their cries and prepared

to demonstrate His power on their behalf. He would do so through an unlikely

messenger - a Hebrew man named Moses, Egypt's fallen prince, who was

grinding out his existence in obscurity, shepherding on the backside of

nowhere.

Points to consider:

✞   God reveals His holiness to His servant.

     * Why is it important that we learn about God's

        holiness from His special revelation?

✞   God reveals His identity to His servant.

     * What did God's name have to do with the

        plight of His people in Egypt?

✞   God reveals His power to His servant.

     * How have you seen God's sovereign power

        on display?

     * Why do we need God's power through Jesus

        to save us from our sin?

week of 12/5

Unit 3 Session 6

THE GOD OF PROVIDENCE

psalm 103 ; matthew 5-7  colossians 1

The Lord, through His providential work in creation, holds

all things together, rules over all, and provides all that is 

needed.

In the wake of the flood and the scattering of humanity at the Tower of

Babylon (or Babel), God's plans seem to be struggling, if not failing. His

image-bearers largely reject His sovereign and benevolent rule. But

things are not as they seem, for God continues to hold all things together

and works in His creation and creatures to accomplish His will. God

demonstrated this by calling Abraham and making a covenant with him

and his descendants to bless the world. In spite of human sin, and often

through it, God providentially took care of His people and worked all

things for His glory and our good.

Points to consider:

✞   The Lord's hand holds together all of creation.

     * How should we read the Bible in light of the

        fact that Jesus is God?

     * How can we show that Jesus is our foundation

        in life?

✞   The Lord's hand rules over all in righteousness.

     * What are some ways human beings run from

        their mortality?

✞   The Lord's hand provides what we need.

     * What are some ways you have seen the Lord

        provide when you were focused on trusting Him?

week of 11/28

 Unit 3 Session 5

A FAMILY PRESERVED

GENESIS 37-50 

God works through adversity and even the evil actions

of people to bring about good.

We now enter the story of Joseph. We learn in Genesis 37 that Joseph

was Jacob's favorite son, and once again, favoritism caused problems

in this dysfunctional family. Joseph was one of the youngest of Jacob's

children, yet in his dreams, Joseph saw his family bowing down to him

(Gen. 375-11). In their jealousy and spite, the brothers sold Joseph, and

he became a slave to Potiphar in Egypt (Gen. 37:36). Joseph earned great

favor in Potiphar's household but was thrown into prison when Potiphar's

wife lied and said Joseph had tried o sleep with her.

Points to consider:

✞   God is faithful to be present with His people,

     even in adversity.
     * How can we know God cares for us in difficult

        circumstances?

     * Why are we tempted to rely on our own strength

        or ability and not trust God?

✞   God is faithful to prompt forgiveness and 

     reconciliation in His people.

     * How does trusting in God's sovereignty factor

        into our willingness to forgive others?

✞   God is faithful to bring good, even from evil.

     * How does Joseph's story affect the way you

        understand your life circumstances?

week of 11/21

 Unit 3 Session 4

A PLAN UNHINDERED

GENESIS 25-33  

God's plan to bless the world continued, even in spite

of the sin and dysfunction of His people, a people He

was remaking in His image.

Abraham died, but his legacy miraculously continued with his son

Isaac, whose wife faced the same struggle as her mother-in-law,

Sarah. Rebekah was barren, but God heard the prayers of Isaac and

she had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. These brothers competed from

the beginning, and early on, Jacob convinced Esau to give up his

birthright. After this, Isaac followed in his father's footsteps and

listened to the God of Abraham as he settled in Gerar, yet the

descendants of Abraham also followed various paths of sin and

dysfunction.

Points to consider:

✞   God's plan continues despite sin and deception.
     * How does our faith relate to our actions?

✞   God's plan continues despite family dysfunction.

     * How have you experienced God's comfort in the

        midst of hardships or afflictions?

     * Why are God's plans more trustworthy than our

        own?

✞   God's plan continues through changed people.

     * What experiences has God used to transform

        you the most?

week of 11/14

Unit 3 Session 3

A PROMISE TESTED

GENESIS 21-22  ;  Hebrews 11:17-19

God calls on His people to place a deep faith in Him, a

faith that believes God can do the impossible.

For years, Abram lived believing God's promise that he would have

many descendants - that he would become a great nation and through

his offspring all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. God's

promise carried him through trials and troubles, though at times

Abram unwisely tried to help the process along. God even changed

Abram's name as a sign of this promise, and Abram became Abraham.

Through many long years, Abraham's faith in God did not waver. And

then one day, Abraham's faith became sight.

Points to consider:

✞   God provides the son of promise.
     * How should this Biblical account affect our hope

        in God's promises?

✞   God demands the sacrifice of the son of promise.

     * What are some truths about God's tests that we

        should know?

     * How have you seen faith in God lead to extra-

        ordinary acts of obedience?

✞   God provides a substitute for the son of promise.

     * How should we respond to the grace of God in

        providing His Son as a sacrifice in our place for

        our sins?

week of 11/7

   Unit 3 Session 2

A PRIEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

GENESIS 14  ;  Hebrews 5-7

Abram tithed to Melchizedek, a priest to God Most High,

which would point to a greater priesthood than the one

that was to come through Aaron.

From the moment the first two people sinned, a promise has weaved

its way through the history of Genesis: the promise of an "offspring"

(Gen 3:15) - a descendant of the first humans who would defeat the

serpent that led them to sin against God. Generations later, we are

introduced to Abram, whom God promised He would bless and through

whom all the peoples of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). God

made a covenant with Abram that would never be broken and further

confirmed it by a priest of God Most High.

Points to consider:

✞   God's servant rescues a captured relative.
     * What are some ways God has proven Himself

        on your behalf when circumstances seemed

        stacked against you?

✞   God's servant is blessed by a priest to God Most High.

     * Why might we struggle to grasp Melchizedek's

        significance in Scripture?

     * What are some ways God continues to bless us?

✞   God's servant tithes to a priest to God Most High.

     * What are some examples of things you do that

        show that all of you belongs to the Lord?

week of 10/31

  Unit 3 Session 1

A PEOPLE PROMISED

GENESIS 11:10-20:18

God established a covenant people through whom He 

promised to bring blessing.

At this point, the world looked bleak. The people of the earth are still

sinful, even after the flood of God's judgment. And now, after Babylon

(or Babel), the people of the world are scattered and unable to

communicate in a unified language. Will God's image-bearers ever

be unified again, or will sin and judgment separate and destroy what

God made very good? Enter Abram, a man whom God chose to receive

a promise to answer this very question.

Points to consider:

✞   God chooses to work through unlikely people.
     * Why does God often choose unlikely people to 

        carry out His plans?

     * What are some ways God has used impossible

        circumstances in your life to bring Himself 

        glory?

✞   God promises a new people through Abram.

     * What are some things God has called you to

        leave behind in order to obey Him in faith?

✞   God uses imperfect people.

     * How can we, as imperfect people, grow in

        faith and believe that God will keep His

        promises to us?

week of 10/23

 Unit 2 Session 4

A PEOPLE SCATTERED

GENESIS 10:1-11:9 ; Isaiah 65:1-7

Rebellion against God and His ways is in the heart of all

people; however, God's grace is greater than all our sin.

The pristine setting of Eden's garden is already a distant memory by

the time we arrive in Genesis 10-11. The first act of human rebellion

in Genesis 3 paved the way for countless more, and not even a world-

wide flood could scrub the wickedness from our hearts. In Genesis 10-11,

as Noah's offspring multiply on the face of the earth, they too turned

away from worshiping and obeying God. Seeking to ascend to God,

humanity repeats the folly of their first parents and rebels against God-

a case study for the doctrine of sin as rebellion.

Points to consider:

✞   Rebellious hearts seek to violate God's commands.
     * Why might a common language contribute to 

        multiplying expressions of human sinfulness

        after the Fall?

     * What are some implications of sin being a heart

        issue and not just a hands issue?

✞   Rebellious hearts seek to rob God's glory.

     * What are some ways we might "make a name

        for ourselves" in rebellion against God?

✞   Rebellious hearts seek to live other than God's way.

     * How can we turn from the path of rebellion and

        instead walk the road that leads to life?

    

week of 10/10

Unit 2 Session 3

A WORLD PURGED

GENESIS 6-9

God is righteoous to judge sin, but He is also gracious to 

provide a way of salvation.

Once upon a time, God saw all that He had made and called it good. Then

God saw what His creatures did and called it evil. The first sin involved

disbelieving the judgment of God was real. Now just a few chapters later,

judgment comes. God's judgment, however, is not an end to all things. In

His gracious hands, judgment becomes the means of salvation.

Points to consider:

✞   God declares that wickedness will bring judgment.
     * How does the world's understanding of sin

        differ from the way the Bible treats it?

✞   God offers grace as the means to escape judgment.

     * What would it look like to "walk with God"?

✞   God provides salvation through judgment.

     * How would you respond to someone who said

        a worldwide flood would be overkill to address

        the problem of wickedness on the earth?

     * How does this true account of the flood help

        to prepare us for the gospel of Jesus Christ?

            

week of 10/3

  Unit 2 Session 2

SIN SPREADS

GENESIS 4

After the first transgression, sin and its consequences

spread rapidly throughout all people.

Sin began its tragic, virulent spread the moment Adam and Eve took and

ate. In consequence for their transgression, God condemned our first

parents to exile and death, among other curses related to the fall. Still,

God graciously gave new life through children. Adam and Eve's family 

made a life east of Eden, multiplying in number but sadly also in trans-

gression. The curse of sin and death impacts every generation, but the

promise of an offspring to crush the serpent's head and bring salvation

still remains.

Points to consider:

✞   Transgression spread throughout the generations.
     * What do you see in these verses that shows the

        effects of sin in the world?

✞   Wickedness spread throughout the generations.

     * What are some ways we have experienced God's

        grace through people fulfilling God's cultural

        mandate?

✞   Death spread throughout the generations. 

     * Why might death cause us to question the 

        faithfulness of God?

     * How have you seen God prove Himself faithful

        even through seemingly impossible circumstances?

week of 9/26

 Unit 2 Session 1

RELATIONSHIPS BROKEN

GENESIS 3

Adam and Eve's transgression of God's command

resulted in dire consequences, both short-term and

long-term, for them and all of humanity.

God's creation was good (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), and with the addition

of the first man and woman, and it was good (v. 31). This couple resided

in the garden of Eden, a glorious paradise for our first ancestors to tend

and grow as they walked in communion with their glorious Creator. But

then evil slithered into the garden of Eden and set off a chain of events

that has affected humanity's experience with creation and the Creator

to this day.

Points to consider:

✞   Sin is transgressing God's commands.
     * How do temptation and sin relate to doubts about

        God and His Word?

✞   Sin brings shame and harm.

     * What are some ways we try to cover up and run

        from our sin and shame?

✞   Sin comes with a great cost.

     * What are some ways people experience the cost of

        sin in their lives?

week of 9/19

 Unit 1 Session 3

MADE FOR HIS GLORY

Psalm 96 ; 2 Corinthians 3,4

God's Glory - His matchless beauty, goodness, and 

majesty - is revealed through the worship of His 

people, the wonder of His creation, and ultimately

through the revelation of His Son.

Before God created the heavens and the earth, God's glory was

manifested and praised without measure and without end. Through

His creation, God made a stage and an audience for His glory to fill.

Giving God glory is our highest purpose as human beings. We were

made for this - to witness God's glory and testify to it! The entire

Bible, and notably the Psalms, helps us to direct our attention and

our praise to our Creator God, especially as He has revealed Himself

in Jesus Christ.

Points to consider:

✞   God's glory is revealed through the worship of His                  people.
     * What are some ways our worship of God matters

        in this world?

✞   God's glory is revealed through the testimony of

     His creation.
     * What does it say about God that He reveals Himself

        in different ways, such as in nature and in literature

        like the Psalms?

✞   God's glory is revealed through the proclamation

      of His Son.
     * What are some ways we can detract from God's

        glory in the gospel?