God's Word
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Theme Question: Why is God’s Word a good gift?
We love the Bible because of its’ power.
“This is my Bible. I am what it says I am, I have what it says I have, I can do what it says I can do. Today I’ll be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I’ll never be the same, in Jesus name.”
Other Evangelicals will criticize this perspective, but we do the same thing. Look at the words we use to describe Scripture:
Inspired
Infallible
Inerrant
Perspicuous
Sufficient
Authoritative
These words do something specific: they turn the Bible into something I can wield.
The Bible talks about itself in very different ways:
and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Make you wise
Useful
Teaching
Rebuking
Correcting
Training
for righteousness, for good work.
Read Psalm 19:7-13 (439)
Read Psalm 19:7-13 (439)
There is a profound, humble joy here in the Word of God.
Neither David nor Paul revel in the power of Scripture, either to grant wishes or control the church. Why do they love this gift?
The problem is that we have suppressed our knowledge that there is a creator God who made all of this and gave it to us.
I also have a younger sister, who is adopted. Now imagine how she would feel, receiving a book that told the whole history of how my parents treat their children.
When God gave the Israelites the Law, he gave them one particular thing to repeat every day:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Paul expands:
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
God’s Word REMINDS us that we have a GENEROUS CREATOR. (Deuteronomy 6:4, 1 Corinthians 8:6)
Okay, but what about the rules?
Imagine how my sister would feel getting the rules of this particular family.
There is comfort in knowing how to fit in.
Of course, there is a difference between us and my sister. She had experience in homes and families. We have absolutely no experience being part of God’s family.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
“ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
God’s Word TEACHES us how to behave as A FAMILY. (Deut. 6:5, Lev. 19:18)
Parents know, the rules aren’t the point. They help guide us until we can understand for ourselves. But if you can’t understand, then you need the rules.
The problem is, we often get too focused on the rules. The child could become obsessed with that book, as if following those rules perfectly would give them a perfect relationship with the rest of the family.
This is the mistake the pharisees made, and it actually handicapped their relationship.
“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
God’s Word helps us RECOGNIZE Jesus...
Jesus is the one we need, and we are supposed to recognize him by the way he resembles the God in this book.
But it’s more than that. Because when we recognize Jesus, we realize he is leading us somewhere.
Read Matthew 5:17-48 (786)
Read Matthew 5:17-48 (786)
Matthew 5:17 ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
The law is a pattern that points toward a way of living
21-26: Do not murder = do not be angry with each other
27-30: Don’t commit adultery = do not lust
31-32: Be fair with your divorce = do not divorce
33-37: Do not break your oath = always keep your word
38-42: Don’t take more than an eye for an eye = do not resist
43-47: Love your enemies—just like God.
48: Be complete, like your father is complete.
God’s Word helps us RECOGNIZE Jesus and FOLLOW where he LEADS. (John 5:36-40, Matthew 5:17-48)
Therefore:
Therefore:
When we recognize God’s Word for what it is—a guidebook generously provided by God to help us trust in his generosity, act like a family, and become more like him—it ought to help us see it the way David did.
Appreciation—not a book of obligations, but a generous invitation to know our Father better and to learn how to be good children.
Humility—recognizing that we all need this guidance, and we can never “master” it. There is always deeper to go.
Enthusiasm—each engagement with the Word is a fresh opportunity to encounter God’s generosity and love and be shaped into his image. Lay down a new neural pathway, a new sledding track.
Daily Readings
Daily Readings
These readings are for use in your personal prayer and devotion. The Psalms readings are a custom reading plan that takes us through the Psalms every 2 months. The devotional readings are from the Standard Lesson reading plan.
Mon, Dec 1: Psalm 79–80 | 2 Kings 22:1–10 ( God’s Word Reclaimed)
Tue, Dec 2: Psalm 81–83 | 2 Kings 22:11–20 ( God’s Word Leads to Repentance)
Wed, Dec 3: Psalm 84–86 | Luke 24:25–32 ( God’s Word Touches Hearts)
Thu, Dec 4: Psalm 87–88 | Nehemiah 8:1–8 ( God’s Word Interpreted)
Fri, Dec 5: Psalm 89 | John 5:37–47 ( God’s Word Testifies of Jesus)
Sat, Dec 6: Psalm 90–92 | John 17:14–19 ( God’s Word Is Truth)
Sun, Dec 7: Psalm 93–95 | Psalm 19:7–13 ( God’s Word Is Perfect)
