2022 Wk 35: Lesson 1

Generosity Moment

“Growing a Spirit of Generosity”

Proverbs 3:5–10 (NLT)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take.

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.

Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Then you will have healing for your body

and strength for your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the best part of everything you produce.

Then he will fill your barns with grain,

and your vats will overflow with good wine.

PRAY BLESSING

Updates

Doors Open each Sunday 10am

MidWeek

The Gospel of Luke Chapter 11

NEW SERIES

Great God: Reaching the other side of the Darkness with God’s Greatness

(Ps. 96.4)

Men’s TAILGATE Breakfast Sept 24th

at the First Nazarene Church w/Pastor Dale and the guys

Back to Church is Coming Sept 18th (Friend’s Day) INVITE INVITE!

Back2School Bash TODAY at 4-6pm downtown Okmulgee

LESSON

Intro

From the beginning of time there has been a wonder of a greater power in our universe… wait? How did the Universe get there?

This series, “Great God” contains some points of theology, but it will hopefully bring us to a place where we can Trust God, Rely upon God, to discover Him as our Great God and Reach the Other Side with His Greatness.

Here is our keynote scripture:

Psalm 96:4 NLT

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.

Key Points

Lexham Survey of Theology (God’s Existence)

The Bible nowhere attempts to prove the existence of God, which it simply assumes.

God is revealed as a being who is totally different from anything else in the universe, which is something he has created outside himself.

God is not bound by the constraints of time or space but dwells beyond and apart from them.

For God, “being” and “existence” are synonymous.

The God who reveals himself to us in time and space is the same God who dwells beyond them.

The existence of God is often defended by arguments drawn from logic and experience.

The so-called proofs for the existence of God rely on analogies drawn from the created order, so that God is defined as the greatest being that can exist, as the arbiter of what constitutes justice and beauty, and as the principle that gives meaning and purpose to the created order.

Human minds cannot really “prove” God’s existence, because God surpasses everything that we can imagine or conceive (he is, formally speaking, “incomprehensible”).

Lexham Survey of Theology (God’s Incomprehensibility)

To say that God is incomprehensible is not to say that we can know nothing about God but, rather, that because God is infinite, no creature can ever come to comprehend, understand, grasp, or describe God in a manner that is worthy, adequate, or all-encompassing.

Nowadays, most theists prefer to say that the traditional proofs produce a degree of probability that makes it more plausible and more rational to believe in God’s existence than to deny it.

Investigate / Application

Genesis 1:1 NLT

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Here is a Brief Look at the Created Order

This account goes on to describe the seven days of creation:

in the beginning - God started creation

the first day - light was created

the second day - the sky was created

the third day - dry land, seas, plants and trees were created

the fourth day - the Sun, Moon and stars were created

the fifth day - creatures that live in the sea and creatures that fly were created

the sixth day - animals that live on the land and finally humans, made in the image of God were created

by day seven - God finished his work of creation and rested, making the seventh day a special holy day.

Psalm 19:1 NLT

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

Acts 14:15–17 NLT

“Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”

Romans 1:18–20 NLT

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Romans 2:14–16 NLT

Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

Hebrews 11:5–6 NLT

It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Tell the story of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal...

1 Kings 18:25–29 NLT

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood.” So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.

Make it personal

Isaiah 43:10 NLT

“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be.

SUMMARY

you are my witnesses

you are my servants

you have been chosen

I alone am God

there is no other God

there never has been

there never will be

Prayer

DISMISS