week of 12/25

Unit 16  Session 4

GOD'S PRESENCE IN ALL PLACES

1 KINGS 8-9 ; PSALM 33 ; ISAIAH 7

God is present in all times and places for His people's good, most clearly evidenced in His dwelling with His people in Christ.

We have seen the devestating effect of sin and judgment in the destruction the Lord brought upon Judah and Jerusalem. He used the Babylonians to crush His own temple, conquer His own people, and to take many of them captive into exile. It would have been easy for the exiles to see themselves in a foreign land, under a foreign king, and surrounded by foreign gods and believe that God was no longer with them. But nothing could be further from the truth. God is present everywhere; God hears, cares for, and promises to dwell with His people.

Points to consider:

✞   God is present to hear from His people.

     * What are some ways we experience the 

        presence of God now that are mere 

        reflections of what is to come?

✞   God is present to care for His people.

     * How do we sometimes reveal that we 

        think we can save ourselves by our 

        own merit?

✞   God is present to dwell with His people.     

     * What are some reasons we might find 

        it difficult to trust God?

     * How should understanding that God 

        sent His Son as our Savior to save and 

        be with us affect our view of God?

week of 12/18

Unit 16  Session 3

GOD'S JUDGMENT OF THE PRIDEFUL

DANIEL 5

God stands against the proud and will humble them.

Previously, we looked at Daniel 1, where we saw young Daniel and his three friends resolve to be faithful to God. In this session, we jump ahead a few decades to Daniel as an older man. Because of his resolve to remain faithful to the Lord, God blessed him and his time in exile. Here we will see God once again use Daniel as the conduit of His revelation as he pronounces judgment on King Belshazzar for his stubborn and foolish pride.

Points to consider:

✞   The Lord confronts those who profane 

     that which is holy.

     * What are some ways you see an attitude 

        of pride in our world today?

✞   The Lord rebukes those who exalt 

     themselves instead of Him.

     * How can all sin be connected to the idea 

        that we exalt ourselves above God?

     * What are some ways we can grow in our 

        efforts to reflect God's holiness?

✞   The Lord judges those who are found 

     to be deficient.     

     * How should our own deficiency apart 

        from Christ affect the way we see the 

        sin of the people around us?

week of 12/11

Unit 16  Session 2

GOD'S REWARD FOR THE FAITHFUL

DANIEL 1

Faithfulness to God is not easy, but it is rewarded.

In our last session, we saw the people of Judah at the very beginning of the Babylonian captivity. God had warned them time and time again that if they worshiped and served other gods, He would remove them from the land. And that's exactly what God did. In today's session, we still find ourselves at the beginning of the Babylonian captivity, but instead of hearing God speak through a prophet from outside Babylon, we will see God work through the lives of four young men in Babylon as they resolved to remain faithful to the Lord in a seemingly impossible situation.

Points to consider:

✞   Faithfulness to God is tested.

     * What opportunities from the world tempt 

        believers today to defile themselves?

     * How should the reality that we can't work 

        to justify ourselves before God change the 

        way we see our work for God?

✞   Faithfulness to God is affirmed.

     * What are some ways God affirms faithfulness 

        even if He doesn't provide for or rescue His 

        people from trials?

✞   Faithfulness to God is rewarded.      

     * Why should we see God's using us with our 

        gifts and talents as a reward?

week of 12/4

Unit 16  Session 1

GOD'S PROMISE TO HIS PEOPLE

JEREMIAH 29 - 30

A day will come when God will bring ultimate freedom, healing, and restoration.

The history of Israel, in both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, contains many ups and downs. God would do wonders in the sight of His people. They would love God and worship Him. But soon they would forget. Go sent godly leaders, judges, kings, and prophets to woo them back. But as the people continue to stray from Him, God eventually allowed their enemies to take His people into exile and captivity because He is a holy and just God. But in His love and faithfulness, He continued to speak though prophets, like Jeremiah, to encourage His people because He was still with them and freedom was coming.

Points to consider:

✞   The day of the Lord will bring freedom.

     * How should the doctrine of glorification 

        affect the way we live now?

✞   The day of the Lord will bring healing.

     * How does sin affect a person's relationship 

        with God?

     * Why might we find it difficult to rest in God's 

        promise of healing?

✞   The day of the Lord will bring restoration.      

     * How have you seen God's restoration in your 

        life and in the lives of those around you?

week of 11/27

 Unit 15  Session 4

GOD'S IMAGE IN THE NATIONS

GENESIS 5 ; PSALM 139 ; LUKE 10:25-37 ; 2 CORINTHIANS 3

All people possess value, having been made in the image of God.

One key to fully comprehending the wrath and judgment of God is to grasp the nature of humanity. The Bible begins with the story of creation. Filled with many astounding details of how God formed this world and all He filled it with, it is easy to miss one colossal truth embedded within the creation narrative. When God made humankind, He did something different. Every other action was performed without one critical factor found only in the creative act of Adam and Eve, namely, God fashioned humans in His image. Both male and female were constructed to reflect Who God is, providing humankind with a unique and special status within all of God's work.

Points to consider:

✞   All people are made in the image of God.

     * What are some implications of knowing God 

        made every human being in His image?

✞   All people are valued because they are 

     made in the image of God.

     * What are some ways we can prove ourselves 

        to be good neighbors?

✞   All believers are being transformed into 

     the image of Christ.       

     * How does sin keep people from experiencing 

        freedom?

     * What are some ways we need to work on 

        beholding the glory of God in Christ?

week of 11/20

Unit 15  Session 3

GOD'S JUDGMENT THROUGH THE NATIONS

2 CHRONICLES 36

God sends judgment upon all who are obstinate against Him.

In 586 B.C., Nineveh and Assyria have been destroyed and the nation of Judah has fallen under Babylonian control for about two decades. The northern kingdom of Israel is long gone, and the kings of southern Judah have been a mixed bag. Some have followed God, but most have not. God has given Judah a very long leash with ample opportunities to repent of their unfaithfulness. Yet they have broken their covenant with Yahweh, and God's wrath has been stirred - this time against His own rebellious, obstinate people. In His righteousness, God removes His protective hand. Judah's time is up, and destruction comes swiftly through the hands of the Babylonians.

Points to consider:

✞   Obstinate people refuse God's ways.

     * What are some detestable practices of the 

        nations that tempt believers today?

✞   Obstinate people reject God's word.

     * What are some means God uses to speak to 

        us and direct us back to Him?

✞   Obstinate people experience God's judgment.       

     * How might the destruction of the temple have 

        been interpreted by the remaining people 

        of Judah?

     * How should God's promise of a remnant for 

        Judah bring hope for us in our darkest days?

week of 11/13

Unit 15  Session 2

GOD'S JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS

NAHUM

God will punish all sin so that none may accuse Him of unrighteousness.

Over a century after Ninevah's repentant response to God's warning through Jonah, God gave Nahum a final word for the Assyrian capital. We don't know how long the city's contrition lasted, but it eventually faded. In 612 B.C., the Babylonians decimated Ninevah and - thanks to Nahum - God's people saw it coming. This book of prophecy is a record of God's message to His people suffering under the oppression of Assyria. To Ninevah, this was a severe indictment. But these words pointed the hearts of God's people to the holiness, justice, and faithfulness of the Lord, who would certainly, decidedly, and finally avenge the many wicked wrongs wrought by the Assyrians.

Points to consider:

✞   The Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.

     * Why is it good that God is a jealous God?

     * What emotions might rise to the surface 

        knowing God will punish all wrongdoing 

        one day?

✞   The Lord will be a stronghold for those who 

     take refuge in Him.

     * What are some ways we should expect to 

        experience God's care for us?

✞   The Lord will be vindicated before the nations.       

     * How should believers in Jesus respond to 

        the promise of destruction of God's enemies?