With God, Was Good

With God, Was Good

In the days of Jesus’ life, people came to know him from the ground-up — they walked with him, watched and listened to him, experienced his reality, and in real time came to know him as Savior and Lord. After his death and resurrection, as the first disciples reflected on all he was and all he did, they came to know Jesus from the heavens-down, comprehending his deity and his descent to humanity. In this series, we’ll unpack four of the New Testament’s most exalted claims regarding the deity of Jesus, marveling at the humility of his descent in his first Advent. This week we look at John 1.1-18, wrapping up our series by asking, "What difference does Advent make?"

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Review our Advent series texts (Hebrews 1, Colossians 1, Philippians 2). What have been the consistent claims in all these texts?

2. Read John 1.1-18. How does John make the same points we've seen in the other texts?

3. What theme most stands out to you in texts? What makes you want to celebrate Advent?

4. What practical difference does Advent make for you?

Dec 17, 2023 - Steve Hart

Equality With God

Equality With God

In the days of Jesus’ life, people came to know him from the ground-up — they walked with him, watched and listened to him, experienced his reality, and in real-time came to know him as Savior and Lord. After his death and resurrection, as the first disciples reflected back on all he was and all he did, they came to know Jesus from the heavens-down, comprehending his deity and his descent to humanity. In this series, we’ll unpack four of the New Testament’s most exalted claims regarding the deity of Jesus, marveling at the humility of his descent in his first Advent. This week we look at Philippians 2:5-11 and see how Jesus did not hold onto his equality with God for his own advantage, but humbled himself, to serve us and sacrifice himself so humanity could draw near to God!

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Philippians 2:5-11

1. Picture yourself as a first century Jew. In what ways would it be difficult to wrap your mind around the deity of Jesus?

2. What about Jesus' humility really speaks to you?

3. Jesus is God. What difference does that make from Jesus being only the son of God?

4. Read Philippians 2:1-4. How could you practice carrying Jesus's name and glory into the world? How could you practice the humility of Jesus? Is there one practical thing you could do before the end of the year?

Dec 10, 2023 - Gabe Shippam

The Fullness of God

The Fullness of God

In the days of Jesus’ life, people came to know him from the ground-up — they walked with him, watched and listened to him, experienced his reality, and in real-time came to know him as Savior and Lord. After his death and resurrection, as the first disciples reflected back on all he was and all he did, they came to know Jesus from the heavens-down, comprehending his deity and his descent to humanity. In this series, we’ll unpack four of the New Testament’s most exalted claims regarding the deity of Jesus, marveling at the humility of his descent in his first Advent. This week we look at Colossians 1:15-20 and see the preeminence of Christ - his surpassing worth - in all things!

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Colossians 1:15-20

1. Read Colossians 1:15-20. How does this description of Jesus stir up your awe and wonder?

2. As a community, discuss where you tend to put value, worth, or authority in things other than Jesus. Confess these things to one another.

3. List the ways that Jesus displays his surpassing worth, value, and authority over ALL things. How is this good news to you?

4. How does this passage invite us to worship Jesus as the source, sustainer, and savior of our lives?

5. Repent and turn to Jesus together in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see Jesus as the FULL glory of God. 

Dec 3, 2023 - Matt Beumer

The Radiance of the Glory of God

Radiance of the Glory of God

In the days of Jesus’ life, people came to know him from the ground-up — they walked with him, watched and listened to him, experienced his reality, and in real-time came to know him as Savior and Lord. After his death and resurrection, as the first disciples reflected back on all he was and all he did, they came to know Jesus from the heavens-down, comprehending his deity and his descent to humanity. In this series, we’ll unpack four of the New Testament’s most exalted claims regarding the deity of Jesus, marveling at the humility of his descent in his first Advent. This week we look at Hebrews 1:1-4, and see Jesus as God’s exclusive, inclusive, and intrusive self-revelation.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:1

1. What do you most love about the Christmas season? Anything you really don't enjoy? Or things that make it a hard season?

2. Read Hebrews 1.1-4 a few times. Try to list all the things the author says about Jesus. What's his view of Jesus?

3. Jesus shows us the fullest revelation of God's truest heart. What does this text tell us about God?

4. Why is the self-revelation of God good news? And in what ways does it bring you great joy?

Nov 26, 2023 - Steve Hart

Pardoning and Punishing Sin

Pardoning and Punishing Sin

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we unpack the final statement - God's eagerness to forgive paired with his commitment to justice - and feel the tension at the heart of the biblical narrative.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 34:1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read the final lines, "...forgiving sin... but by no means clearing the guilty..."  What stands out to you?

2. God's heart is abundant faithful love, expressed primarily in forgiveness. What does this tell you about him? About us?

3. At the same time, God is committed to justice, unwilling to "clear the guilty." Why is this important?

4. As you look back over our series, which aspect of God's character do you most want to be deeply convinced of - and why?

Nov 12, 2023 - Steve Hart

Abounding in Faithful Love

Abounding in Faithful Love

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we'll spend time thinking about how God is abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 34:1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read God is "abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." Were any of your emotions conflicting?

2. What would you say is the main message the Bible gives us about God? What does your answer reveal about how you view God? Do you struggle to believe that message?

3. What question do you have about God and/or his character? Where does that question come from?

4. If it really came home to your heart, how would an experience/revelation of God's loyal love change your life?

Nov 05, 2023 - Gabe Shippam

Slow to Anger

Slow to Anger

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we look at what it means for God to be slow to anger, that his anger is both warranted and restrained.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 34.1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read God is "slow to anger."

2. What does "anger" bring to your mind? What was your experience of anger growing up?

3. Read this quote, and discuss: God's wrath is his morally appropriate, carefully considered, justly intense reaction to our evil, to our demeaning of his worth and destroying of our own capacity to enjoy him. God cares about that. He is not a passive observer. He’s involved emotionally. (Ray Ortlund)

4. How is it good news that God is angry? How is it good news that God is slow in his anger?

5. In what ways might trusting God's anger shift how you relate to Him, to yourself, and to others?

Oct 29, 2023 - Steve Hart

Gracious

Gracious

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like, and to know it at a deep, pervasive, life-shaping level. God's response is surprising: He declares his name (YHWH!) and his character to Moses, letting Moses in on God's own deepest heart reality. Between now and Thanksgiving, we're looking at Exodus 34.6-7, the most often quoted verses in the Bible by the Bible, taking God's self-revelation seriously and asking YHWH to meet us by his Spirit, to open the eyes of our hearts, and to make us know the full reality of his Name. This week, we look at what it means for God to be gracious, his action of coming to rescue the undeserving and ill-deserving.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Read Exodus 34:1-9

1. Read Exodus 34.1-9, taking note of what emotions rise in you as you read.

2. Merciful and gracious are a pair. How are they different? How are they similar?

3. Do you tend to approach God based on what you've done, what has been done to you, or what he has done?

4. Consider Titus 2.11-13. What has God accomplished in his grace?

5. How might you approach God differently if you deeply knew him to be gracious?

Oct 22, 2023 - Steve Hart