Fusion: week of 6/5

FAMILY THEME: WHAT IS TRUTH?

John 18:37-38;  14:6,  17:17

What is truth? Many in our world do not feel there is an absolute answer

to this question. As believers, we must be able to give an answer to

those who ask us about the hope we have.

1.   Truth is Exclusive

     (John 18:37-38;  John 14:6)

     There must be an answer of absolute truth or else all actions,

     decisions, and worldviews are equal.

 
2.  Truth is a Book

     (John 17:17;  John 8:31-32)

     God's Word is the standard by which other claims of truth are

     measured.

 
3.  Truth is a Person

     (John 18:37-38)

     Truth, an essential element of who God is, was embodied in a

     Person, the Person of Jesus.

Fusion: week of 5/29

FAMILY THEME: CONFESSION & RESTORATION

Job 42

Job was humbled when he came to understand the magnitude of God.

God accepted Job's confession and restored him.

1.   We Confess and Repent When We Realize We Were Wrong

     (Job 42:1-6)

     Job revealed what he learned in his confession.

 
2.  We Make Things Right With Those We Hurt and Forgive Those

     Who Hurt Us

     (Job 42:7-9)

     God expressed His anger toward Job's three friends because

     they misrepresented Him, yet He offered a path to forgiveness.

 
3.  God Restores When We Repent

     (Job 42:10-17)

     As Job humbled himself, God accepted his contrition and

     restored him.

Fusion: week of 5/22

FAMILY THEME: GOD OF WONDERS

Job 38-39

God used questions to help Job better understand His greatness.

1.   We Can Do Nothing Compared to God's Unlimited Power

     (Job 38:4-21)

     God illuminated Job about His creative power in His first series

     of questions.

 
2.  We Know Very Little Compared to God's Complete Knowledge

     (Job 38:22-38)

     The next series of questions enlightened Job about how little 

     he knew, and about God's unlimited knowledge.

 
3.  We Are Extremely Limited Compared to God's Boundless

     Presence and Design

     (Job 38:39  -  39:30)

     God's series of questions show He is present and involved in

     the animals of His creation. 

Fusion: week of 5/15

FAMILY THEME: WHEN GOD DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

Job 19:1-27

Job did not understand why such terrible things happened to him, yet

he continued in his faith that God would redeem him and one day he

would see God.

1.   Sometimes It Can Feel Like Everything, Including God, Is

      Against Us

     (Job 19:1-20)

     Job felt that his friends had attacked him with their words and that

     God had focused His anger against him.

 
2.  Reach Out to People But Realize Their Limitations

     (Job 19:21-22)

     Job reached out to his friends for pity, but they were better at 

     making things worse than they were at making things better.

 
3.  Do Not Abandon Your Confidence in God

     (Job 19:23-27)

     Despite all that had happened, Job never relinquished his faith

     in God.

Fusion: week of 5/8

FAMILY THEME: CONFRONTING WORLDLY WISDOM

Job 13:1-28

Job's friends falsely accused him of sin as the cause for his suffering.

Job refused to give in to their lies.

1.   Worldly Wisdom Can Seem Logical, But Still Be False

     (Job 13:1-8)

     Job's friends insisted that his suffering was because God was

     punishing him for some wickedness he had committed.

 
2.  Worldly Wisdom Does Not Pass the Test

     (Job 13:9-12)

     Job tested the wisdom of his friends' arguments, and they

     failed the test.

 
3.  Seek God's Truth and Wisdom When Confronted With Worldly Wisdom

     (Job 13:13-28)

     Job did not correctly understand why he was suffering, but he

     understood that God could do whatever He wanted.

Fusion: week of 5/1

FAMILY THEME: WHEN LIFE FALLS APART

Job 1:1  -  2:3

Heartache, difficulties, and tragedy interrupted Job's life. He grieved, 

but stayed faithful to God.

1.  Trusting and Obeying God Builds a Foundation That Will Stand When

     Life Falls Apart

     (Job 1:1-5)

     A lifestyle of faith and godliness helps believers overcome the 

     temptation to turn away from God when facing loss and suffering.

 
2.  Life's Difficulties Can Be the Result of Spiritual Warfare

     (Job 1:6-19)

     Though not on the same level as God (and subject to Him),

     Satan interacts with God over the lifestyles of believers and

     intends to turn us against Him.

 
3.  Our Reaction to Life's Difficulties Shows the Strength of Our Faith

     (Job 1:20  -  2:3)

     When we withstand Satan's temptations, we bring glory to God.

Fusion: week of 4/24

FAMILY THEME: GOD IS THE FATHER

John 17:1-26

God is our perfect Father Who desires to have a personal relationship

with us as His children and calls on us to share Him with others.

1.  God Is the Ideal Father

     (Romans 8:15-17)

     Paul described Christ's redemptive work as a means of adoption

     whereby believers are now children and heirs of God.

 
2.  The Father and Jesus Illustrate the Ideal Relationship of Father

      and Son

     (John 17:1-26)

     Jesus loves and submits to the Father and the work the Father

      has for Him to do.

 
3.  We Can Be Part of the Father's Family Through Faith in His Son

     Jesus Christ

     (I John 3:1-3)

     We are now God's children because we have put our hope in

     His Son.