God is for you.

Activity | Us or Them

Split your group into two teams for the duration of the series

“Who’s going to win?” (Us!) “Who’s going to lose?” (Them!)

Poll | Best Battles

Don't you just love a little friendly competition? There's something about being a part of a team that makes you excited to root for "us" and root against "them." 

Marvel or DC

Yankees or everyone else

McDonalds or Burger King

Ice Cream or Frozen yogurt

Coffee or Tea

We love to think in “us or them” ways, don’t we? It’s easy to see the world through the lens of “good or evil,” “heroes or villains,” and “us or them.”

What's one rivalry you get really passionate about? Which side are you on?

Story | Talk about a time when you treated someone like an enemy

In the last week, what’s one way you’ve seen people treat each other like enemies?

Whether it's a family feud, a political debate, or friend drama, it's easy to see other people as our enemies when they look, think, act, or believe differently than we do.

This "us or them" mentality is something we see in our everyday lives and situations, but it's a global problem as well. Some of the biggest conflicts in human history happened because people refused to stop viewing each other like enemies.

But this isn't a new problem. Since almost the beginning of human history, people have chosen sides, protected "us" over "them," made each other our enemies, and even treated God like an enemy.

Scripture | (Bible Project)

All throughout the book of Genesis, we see so many stories of troubled relationships between God and humans, and between humans and each other.

ADAM AND EVE: It starts with the very first humans, Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve chose to disobey God because they didn't believe God was on their side. They wondered whether God was unfair or holding out on them, so they disobeyed, thinking they knew better.

Adam and Eve turned against God and against each other too, blaming each other for what they'd both decided to do.

CAIN & ABEL: It continued with Adam and Eve's kids, Cain and Abel. Cain was angry because he believed God loved his brother Abel more than God loved him. Cain killed Abel in anger and jealousy against both God and his brother.

THE FLOOD: Eventually, the world had become so evil, and the people in it had become so selfish, violent, and hateful, that Scripture says God was troubled and grieved.

THE TOWER OF BABEL: Later, a group of humans tried to build a tower so high it would reach God. Their hunger for power, authority, and self-preservation created conflict with others and with God.

Over and over again, the Old Testament tells stories of how humans made enemies of each other and of God. But there's good news.

No matter how many times we treated God (and each other) like our enemies, God never gave up. God has aways been faithful to us.

Story | Share your favorite story of God’s faithfulness to you.

Since the beginning of history, we have made ourselves God’s enemies, but God sent a plan in motion to restore our relationship with God, and with each other too.

Scripture | ,

We can see hints at this plan all the way back in . Here, we believe God hints that someday, Someone would come to destroy evil forever.

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Sure, God could’ve restored everything in the blink of an eye, but God chose instead to carry out this plan with and through people like you and me.

Generations and generations after Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and so much more, we see another hint at what was to come.

In , we meet a man named Abraham, a descendant of Noah. God told Abraham that God was going to do great things for him and through him, if Abraham would trust and obey.

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God told Abraham to leave his people, his tribe, and travel to a brand new place.

This was a big deal. Life wasn't like it is today, where people pick and move all the time. Back then, people were deeply connected to their land and their communities — leaving would have been like giving up part of your identity.

God was asking Abraham to leave the people he would have referred to as "us," and to set out into an unknown world filled with "them." 

But that's not all. In this moment, God made a covenant, or a promise, that God would do two things:

God would bless Abraham and Abraham's people.

God would bless the whole world through Abraham and Abraham's people.

I'm guessing Abraham though, "The whole world? But you're our God, not theirs — why would you bless them? This is about us!" That's probably how most of us would have responded, especially in Abraham's day.

But God chose Abraham to start a whole new way of living — a way that would eventually allow everyone (not just Abraham's relatives) to be adopted into God's family.

We'll talk more about that plan later, but here's what I'll tell you for now: the plan God set in motion so many years ago was eventually fulfilled through one of Abraham's descendants. His name was Jesus.

Scripture |

Through Jesus, the whole world has been blessed, because now anyone can join God's family. Through Jesus, we see that God isn't hoping for our destruction or treating us like enemies.

Romans 5:8–10 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

God isn’t against us. We don’t deserve it, but God is for us.

Activity | God is For Us

When we say God is "for" us, what do we mean? And how should that fact change the way we live?

We hear a lot of talk about the many things God is against. Yes, God hates sin, but if we're caught up in sin, does that mean God hates us? 

- God loves us.

- God cares about us.

- God made us with care.

- God watches over us.

Do you think God would talk that way about someone God hates?

God is against sin because God knows sin draws you away from God’s presence and God’s best for you. But, God is not against you.

God created you. God loves you. God is not against you. God is for you.

Discussion

How did we make ourselves into enemies of God, and what has God done to change that?What are some things God is against?

What are some things God is for?

Why do you think most people can list more things they think God is against than things they think God is for?

What could we do to help people see more of the things God is for?

Read . How many times do you see the word "for" in these verses? How many times is it used to say that God is, or has done something, "for us?" Which “for” stands out to you most?

Closing |

Do you really believe God is for you? If not, why?

If you really believe God is for you, how would you change your life?