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Friday Features

Holiness is Possible Only When We Are in Christ

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Read Galatians 2:19-21.

Dying to the law is the negative; living for God is the positive. They both work hand-in-hand and show us the blessed catastrophe of the cross of Christ, the paradox of salvation. The way to life is through death. Christ made eternal life possible for us through His death, and we find life in Christ by losing ours.

The verb tense Paul used here demonstrates that his dying in Christ had happened in the past but had not lost its effect. But what did Paul mean by dying to the law? Was he suggesting that we are anti-law, that we are free to live apart from all of God’s commands, or in other words, that anything goes? We know that isn’t the case because he speaks against it elsewhere in Galatians and in the rest of his letters.

Paul was not saying that in Christ we are dead from the need to obey God; he was declaring that we have put the wrong view of that obedience to death. We die to the notion that our obedience can save us. We die to the notion that we are identified by our obedience. We die to what the Jewish men from James argued to Peter that led him astray (see Gal. 2:11-14).

We are certainly not dead from looking to the law to understand God’s character and heart better and allowing that to frame how we live each day. The law shows us what it looks like to love God and love other people, and so, out of gratitude for what Christ has done and with joy, we live out the eternal truths of the law without relying on that obedience to save us, define us, or sustain us.

Because Paul died to the law and to himself, he experienced the positive aspect of those deaths—life. “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20a). Obviously Paul wasn’t referring to his physical life, as if he had died physically when he trusted in Christ; he was speaking of the spiritual reality that guided his life. He explained this clearly in the next sentence: “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (v. 20b). Christ had indwelled Paul, given him new life, and continued to empower him to live a life of holiness for the glory of God. The gospel that saves us is the same gospel that sanctifies us as we grow in our faith.

How do we live a life pleasing to God? Through Christ. How do we continue to put the desires of our flesh to death? Through Christ. How do we discern how to obey God without falling into the trap of legalism? Through Christ.

Paul added the perfect conclusion to his line of thinking with verse 21. When others may try to void the grace of God and return to the law as a pathway for salvation, Paul reminds us once more of the weakness of the law to rescue sinners from sin. If the law could do such a feat, then Christ’s death was unnecessary, as if the Son of God robed Himself in flesh, came to earth, suffered, and died for no reason. But Christ had to die because there is no other way. And because of His death, we have been given the only way we can have eternal life—through faith in Him.

This article was adapted from The Gospel Project for Adults Spring 2018, Session 1— Toward Faithfulness in the Gospel. The Gospel Project takes adults, students, and kids on a chronological, Christ-centered journey through the storyline of Scripture. Preview four sessions for free. 

Friday Features

Parenting in a Digital Age

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We are pioneers in parenting. We’re the first generation of parents having to navigate the influence and impact of technology in our children’s lives from day one. Not only that, but also every day we must make the choice to connect with our children, so that we can set them up to be successful as technology changes for them. The moment you think you have a handle on the latest app, there’s an update with new features—or they’ve found a new app altogether.

But we don’t need to feel overwhelmed. There are practical strategies we can use to connect with our children that will set them up for success in this ever-changing, digital world. There is a familiar proverb that informs us on this topic of parenting in a digital age.

Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

  • Proverbs 22:6, CSB

You don’t need expertise in social media and technology to step in and connect with your teens on the subject. Training a child up in the way he should go primarily means we point them in the direction of following the Lord. Just like every other area of life, we help them navigate technology practically so that they honor Christ.

Rules alone are insufficient for dealing with technology in the home. We must build meaningful connections. For the most part, we tend to model our own parenting styles after our parents. If our parents didn’t talk to us openly about difficult topics, we are likely to struggle to do that with our own kids. Whether your example growing up was one of strong, spiritual communication or not, Scripture is clear. Parents are not to simply lay down the law; we must make it a priority to engage regularly with our children, building connections that will lead them in the way of the Lord.

When God gave Moses the Law, He emphasized the importance of parents teaching the commands to their children. But even then, the rules themselves weren’t enough. Parents weren’t to simply list the rules for their children. Israel needed to know the rules, and they also needed to connect with each other in applying those rules. God’s instruction wasn’t to enforce rules on your kids when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. It was to talk about those rules. Engage in meaningful connections so that when your child needs to make a decision for himself, he will be equipped.

This was an excerpt from Jason Gibson’s sermon series and small group study, Parenting In A Digital Age. Sessions 1 & 2. Series and study are available exclusively at smallgroup.com.

Friday Features

The Exclusivity of Truth

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The traditional motto of the United States is the Latin expression “e pluribus unum”—“out of many, one.” In many cases, plurality is desirable. America’s society is a wonderful human tapestry woven together from the lives of millions of people with different languages, music, food, literature, art, and ethnicities. Diversity is a worthy aspiration that has inspired many noble causes.

Furthermore, diversity is an ideal that God values. According to His own revelation, every “nation, tribe, people and language” (Rev. 7:9) will be represented in heaven. Heaven will be the place where those “out of many” who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ will come together to worship the One. The ethnicity of each person is sacred because ethnicity is an essential, immutable component of personhood, and each person is made in God’s image. Thus, heaven, the place where God will dwell with His people forever (see Rev. 21:3), will reflect the diversity of His image bearers.

Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable

People, however, are not the same as beliefs. It is incredibly important not to confuse the reality of a pluralistic society (that is, a society that includes people of diverse beliefs) with being a pluralist about truth. The former is desirable because all people are equally valuable; the latter is incoherent and should be rejected.

Although all people are equally valuable, the same cannot be said for their beliefs. Unlike people, who are intrinsically valuable because they bear the image of God, beliefs are merely true or false. What makes a belief valuable or valid is whether it is true. In other words, beliefs that are true and undergirded by strong evidentiary support are preferable to those that are false and lacking in evidence.

Certainly, it is tempting to want to affirm all beliefs as equally valid in order to be inclusive and avoid the risk of offending other people. This fear is understandable; no one wants to be viewed as narrow-minded, arrogant, dogmatic, or bigoted. But affirming all beliefs as equally valid results in two mistakes.

  1. It confuses a person with his or her beliefs. Criticizing a belief, if done respectfully, is not the same as criticizing the person who holds that belief.
  2. Affirming all beliefs as equally valuable, for all practical purposes, is equivalent to claiming that all ideas are equally right, equally correct, or equally true.

While Christians should always heed biblical admonitions to disagree without being disagreeable (see Col. 4:6; 1 Pet. 3:15), they are called to disagree at times when false ideas are being passed off as true. Paul clearly thought some beliefs were more valuable than others because they were true, and “knowledge of the truth … leads to godliness” (Titus 1:1). Therefore, he urged his readers to correct, rebuke, warn, and exhort others and to respond to unsound teaching and false doctrine with the truth. But he also encouraged them to do so “with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Tim. 4:2) because God’s servants must be “kind to everyone” and “not resentful” (2 Tim. 2:24).

Jesus is the Truth

The same God who values the plurality of human diversity flatly rejects the notion of pluralism about truth itself. In Scripture we see this fact in two primary ways.

  1. Jesus asserted that He is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Notice that Jesus did not just claim to be someone who speaks or teaches the truth; He claimed to be truth itself—truth incarnated in human form (see Phil. 2:5-11). Therefore, everything Jesus said and did is true and authoritative.
  2. Jesus followed up this statement with another: “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The early church was no less ambiguous on this point (see John 17:3; Acts 4:12; 1 John 5:12; 1 Tim. 2:5).

Therefore, despite all the options in the marketplace of religions, not all paths lead to God (or claim to). Eternal life and salvation—intimate, loving relationship with God—are found in Christ alone and no one else (see Rev. 3:20). Admittedly, the exclusivity of such a claim rubs many people the wrong way. However, truth by its very definition is exclusive, because asserting that something is true involves an implicit assertion that its negation is false. In other words, what is true must logically exclude its oppo- site. If the statements of Jesus, Peter, Paul, and John are all true, then as a matter of reality, no other person, including Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, or oneself, can provide eternal life or salvation other than Jesus Christ.

This was an excerpt from Jesus Among Secular Gods, by Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Friday Features

Know The Story

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Jesus’ earliest disciples experienced a roller-coaster ride during the final weeks of His public ministry. First, Jesus’ death on the cross sent them into confusion and deep despair. Second, His resurrection lifted them back into the clouds of joy. Finally, His ascension ushered in the sobering reality that the disciples would continue carrying out Jesus’ mission without His physical presence and leadership.

Before Jesus returned to heaven, however, He gathered His remaining followers in order to summarize the mission for His disciples and deliver final instructions. Today we refer to Jesus’ final words as the Great Commission.

“16 The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

MATTHEW 28:16-20

What are your first reactions to these verses? Why?

In what ways has this commission been carried out in the centuries since Jesus sent His earliest disciples?

In what ways is Jesus’ commission still incomplete?

The Great Commission summarized Jesus’ mission not only for His earliest disciples, but for all of the disciples who have joined the ranks of His followers throughout history—including you. We’ll conclude this study by taking a close look at Jesus’ commission and command for those who choose to follow Him.

JESUS TELLS US WHERE TO GO

The first thing to highlight about Jesus’ statements in these verses is His claim to authority. Why is it important that “all authority has been given to [Jesus] in heaven and on earth”? Because His Great Commission is a series of commands. He is ordering us to obey Him. Therefore, He first wanted to state clearly that He carries the authority to do so.

What does it mean to recognize Jesus’ authority in our lives?

Next, the Great Commission has a geographical connection. Jesus commanded us to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” Notice that Jesus’ command is active rather than passive. He didn’t command His disciples to think about the world. He didn’t ask His followers to say nice things about different people groups. Jesus commanded His disciples to “Go.”

This doesn’t mean all Christians should abandon their jobs, leave their families, and serve as international missionaries. However, it does mean all Christians should take an active role in spreading the gospel throughout the world—and it certainly means we should be open to the possibility of physically traveling to other places to spread the gospel.

How would you describe your experiences with missions?

Notice also that Jesus’ command involves “all nations.” Jesus died for the sins of all people, which means the gospel has power for every tribe and nationality across the world. We cannot forget that Jesus has commanded us, His disciples, to proclaim the gospel message to all who need to hear it.

To ignore the spiritual needs of people outside our own country is to disobey the Great Commission and ignore what Christ has commanded.

Volume 1, Session 12 excerpt from Disciples Path: The Journey

Friday Features

Available and Obedient

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There’s a thread throughout the Gospels and the Book of Acts that accentuates the reality of God’s providence and planning. People find themselves suddenly prompted to hit the road, or they suddenly show up just in time to encounter Jesus or the apostles. Through these many surprise encounters, God built up His church. On one such occasion, recorded in Acts 8:26-29, a disciple of Jesus was sent to the middle of nowhere without any clue why.

26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.)
27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem 28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.

29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”

Acts 8:26-29

When we think about sharing the gospel with a lost world, we often focus on the hostility and resistance Christians experience. That’s not without justification; often the world’s reaction to the gospel is visceral, violent, and harsh. But that’s not always the case. The story of the Ethiopian reminds us that many are seeking God.

In this case, the Ethiopian knew enough to come to Jerusalem to look for God, but in many cases, people will look wherever some semblance of hope and spirituality can be found. People rush to these transcendent promises because they’re hungry. They’re desperate, and they will cling to whatever hope they can find. If we’re attentive, we can see it happening all around us, and we just might be able to point them to something more deep, lasting, and meaningful in Jesus.

How have you witnessed people looking for God in all the wrong places?

Philip was sent by God for just such an encounter. Upon hearing the angel’s command, Philip obeyed, dropping what he was doing and heading out on the road. Just a few verses earlier, Philip was enjoying a thriving ministry in Samaria. (See 8:4-8.) One could imagine that a command like this might be met with some inner resistance. Any thriving work is hard to leave, and doing so takes a great deal of faith. Philip, of course, had such faith and hit the road, traveling through the wilderness until he encountered a single chariot bearing a single Ethiopian man.

There are many reasons for this encounter not to have happened. Philip had a good thing going in Samaria; he might have just stayed home and enjoyed the community he was already a part of. The Ethiopian might not have come to Jerusalem to seek to worship God; there was surely no shortage of religious opportunity in Africa at the time.

Likewise, Philip might not have overcome the social anxiety that would likely have accompanied this encounter. Not only was the Ethiopian ethnically different from Philip, a hurdle significant enough at any point in history, but he was also of a higher social status than Philip. Luke tells us that he was a high official of “Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.” Philip was an ordinary Jew living in Judea, a commoner; approaching someone of the Ethiopian’s higher station wouldn’t have been easy.

The Holy Spirit sent Philip in spite of all of these things, inviting him to overcome several layers of fear and resistance. His prompting ran against common sense expectations, reminding us that the kingdom of God advances in surprising and counterintuitive ways.

What are some ways you’ve been surprised by how God has led you, your church, or your friends to be on mission?

How can we cultivate a heart willing to respond obediently to the Spirit’s leading, no matter the risks?

This was an excerpt  from Mike Cosper, The Gospel Project: The Spirit Who Empowers © 2018 LifeWay Press®. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®. Copyright 2018 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Friday Features

Mentoring Is About Transformation

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The goal of Christian mentoring is that the mentor lives like Jesus, the disciple becomes more and more like Jesus, and both continue to lead others to do the same. It’s hard to find a loftier goal than becoming like Jesus. Mentoring matters in an eternal way.

Later in this session (and in session 3 of this study) we’ll focus on some of the apostle Paul’s writing to Titus, one of Paul’s disciples among the early church leaders (see 2 Corinthians 8:16-17,23). Titus was to challenge people to invest their lives in other believers, just as Paul had invested his life in Timothy, Titus, and others. Paul expected believers to fulfill this calling because he knew God’s purpose for all believers:

Those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of

his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters

(Romans 8:29).

According to this verse, if you’re a follower of Jesus, God is in the process of making you more like His Son. The word conformed speaks of God’s changing us, remaking us so that our lives model Christ. Ultimately, God will completely change us in heaven, so we’ll be like His Son. While we’re here on earth, He moves us in that direction. We call this process sanctification, defined by one theologian as “a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.”2 Letting go of sin and living more like Jesus are two critical elements in this transformation.

We know for certain that God alone gives us victory as He makes us like Christ, but we cooperate with Him in this process. There’s footwork for us to do in daily turning away from sin, putting our faith in God, and putting on the character of His Son. These verses reveal the choices we need to make as God transforms us:

Put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator (Colossians 3:8-10).

Since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:21-22).

With your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).

How does our responsibility to do our part in spiritual growth fit into the concept of mentoring? It applies to both the mentors, who are responsible for their own spiritual footwork, and the people being mentored, who need to be encouraged in their spiritual footwork. Titus had the responsibility of walking in faith as these Scriptures describe, but Paul, his mentor, helped him figure out how to do that. Their mentoring relationship probably encouraged both of them in this effort.

Paul urged his disciples to follow his example and thereby follow Jesus (see 1 Corinthians 11:1). He expected the people he mentored to mature in Christ, and he modeled Christianity in front of them and alongside them as they aimed for spiritual growth. The believers Paul mentored were becoming more and more like Jesus in the process. This is the key to mentoring.

Think about the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, in which Jesus tells us to make disciples. To be like Jesus is to be willing to reproduce ourselves in other disciples, release them to do God’s work (whether as laypersons or pastors), and support them as they invest in others—just as Jesus did. This is a foundational truth: mentors who invest in others as Jesus did will produce other mentors, and lives will be transformed.

Whom do you know who’s growing to be more and more like Jesus?

2. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), 746.

Excerpted from Chuck Lawless, Mentor Bible Study. © 2018 LifeWay Press. Used by permission. 

Friday Features

Jesus Heals

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What are some home remedies you rely on when you’re sick?

When it comes to pain and illness, many of us fall into one of three categories:

1. Call the doctor—immediately.
2. Try our own home remedies or over-the-counter solutions.
3. Ignore it and hope it goes away.

The Gospel of Mark records the story of a man who needed medical help for his daughter and he wisely went to Jesus. And we’ll see the incredible result of his faith.

Read Mark 5:22-24

Jairus was a big deal in the community. Beyond the temple in Jerusalem, the local synagogue was the center of community life. As one of the synagogue leaders, Jairus had responsibilities in leading worship and instruction. These men were the highest ranking leaders in the town, responsible for the total administration and operation of the most powerful establishment around.

In the Gospel of John, we read another account of a religious official who came to Jesus. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Jesus under the cover of darkness, when people wouldn’t see him conversing with such a controversial, untrained rabbi (John 3:1-2). We see a sharp contrast, however, in the way Jairus came to Jesus. With a large crowd watching, Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet—and begged for His help.

In the first century, a Middle Eastern man in a high position carried himself with utmost dignity at all times. Such a man never would have fallen to his knees, much less laid prostrate on the ground, but Jairus did both, making himself a public spectacle. Jairus did not care that a large crowd had gathered around Jesus. Neither did he care that Jesus was unpopular with the religious elite. All he knew was this Jesus had the ability to heal people, and Jesus was his last shot.  Jairus knew where his hope lay. He understood what was important.

Jairus begged one thing: “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.” Jairus was facing something he absolutely could not control. His daughter’s life was entirely out of His hands, and it was tearing him apart.

But just because the situation was out of Jairus’s hands does not mean he had no hope. On the contrary, he knew precisely where he could place that hope: in the hands of the Healer. He did not ask Jesus to come and “try” to heal his daughter; his words were full of certainty. He said, “Lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live” (emphasis added). It was only by Jesus’ hands that healing could come—and it would come if Jesus wanted it to.

Many of us initially approach Christ in the same way: we come out of desperation, but only after we have tried all human possibilities for relief. We are desperate for healing, restoration, direction, purpose, identity, or freedom from the bondage of sin and addiction. Whatever the source of our desperation, we look to Jesus for help.

Thankfully, Jesus does not turn us away. He comes when we seek Him even as He did with Jairus. He didn’t turn Jairus away because of any past rebellion or disobedience; indeed, Jesus never even mentioned such things. Jesus looked on him with compassion and met him right where he was.

What are some common obstacles that keep us from turning to Jesus with our needs?

This article is an excerpt from Jesus Changes Everything, a six-session study in the Winter 2017–18 Bible Studies for Life. Learn more about this ongoing curriculum and preview one month for free at biblestudiesforlife.com.

Friday Features

Spiritual Shortcuts

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The following are a series of shortcuts used in text messages. See how many you can identify: LOL, ROFL, IDK, TTYL, BBIAS, AFAIK, IMO, IDC, NOYB.

The answers are as follows: Laughing out loud, Rolling on the floor laughing, I don’t know, Talk to you later, Be back in a second, As far as I know, In my opinion, I don’t care, None of your business.

We live in a world of shorthand and shortcuts. We like the quickest route, the most immediate results, and the fastest turnaround time. Rarely do we take the time to observe something within its proper context; rarely do we view a situation as a whole, for we prefer the quickest and easiest option. But the birth of Jesus demands a holistic approach to His ministry and purpose. Before we can appreciate the birth of our Savior, we first need to understand our need for Him. We need to know the doctrine of inherited sin before we can know the doctrine of grace.

Genesis 3 provides us with a snapshot of the doctrine of inherited sin. You can’t understand the incarnation of Christ until you understand the situation of sin. Genesis 3 is the first passage that points to Bethlehem. Because of our sin, we desperately need a Savior.

1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 

—Genesis 3:1-7, CSB

The tree of life stood in the middle of the garden (see Gen. 2:8-9). God encouraged Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of life, because in eating it, they would live forever. God desired Adam and Eve to live forever in the state of perfection that He created. The Bible tells us that the tree of life is in heaven (see Rev. 22:2). His new creation will eat from it and enjoy life with Him for all eternity.

The second tree, the one from which God forbade Adam and Eve to eat, was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God forbade Adam and Eve to eat from this tree because if they ate from it, they would die (see Gen. 2:9,16-17).

Satan’s identity is on full display in Genesis 3:1: Satan is the accuser and distorter of God’s Word. Satan opened the door for Eve to sin by questioning God’s words—he got Eve to question what God really said (v. 1). Satan got Eve to focus on the one prohibition rather than on all the blessings God had given her. Sound familiar?

In verses 2-3, Eve added to God’s Word. Satan is not only the accuser, but he is also the confuser. Eve added to God’s word because she was confused. Satan wants to confuse you. Sometimes Christians add to God’s Word. But when you add, you are being as destructive with God’s Word as you are when taking it out. Eve bought into the lie that God was holding out on her: “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (vv. 5-6).

When Adam and Eve realized their nakedness—the exposure of their unholiness before a holy God—they hid and covered themselves with fig leaves. The fig leaves represent Adam and Eve’s attempt at making themselves right before God. The fig leaves were the beginning of religion, or man’s attempts at appeasing God through good works. Adam and Eve tried to make themselves clean by their own efforts. The fig leaves pointed to their need for someone to cover them.

Adam and Eve hid from God because they no longer understood the character of God. But God affirms His character to them in that, in Genesis 3:9,11, He pursued Adam and Eve. He cultivated a response of repentance from their hearts. He sought them out in their spiritual and physical nakedness, and as we see in Genesis 3:21, clothed them. We can praise God that Genesis 3 ends in hope.

This was an excerpt from Pat Hood’s small group study, Before Christmas Session 1. Series and study are available exclusively at smallgroup.com.

Friday Features

Practicing Faith

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First-century Jews found themselves mixed up in a lot of different superstitions. One of the more interesting ones is mentioned in John 5:1-15. The events described in this passage took place at a pool beside one of Jerusalem’s entrances, called the pool of Bethesda.

Here’s what the Jews believed about this pool. Every now and again, an angel would come and stir it up, making it bubble. When the pool started bubbling, the first person to touch the water would be healed from his or her affliction. For this reason a number of chronically sick and injured people would lie around the pool day after day and wait for the bubbles to come, in hopes they could be the first one to get in.

In Jesus’ day one man was well known in the company of those who sat around the pool. He was sick and couldn’t get around very well, but he was probably famous for one thing: he’d been lying there for 38 years, unable to get to the healing waters first.

We don’t know what the man’s actual sickness was. What we do know is that he lived a relatively simple life, especially compared to those who carried their everyday burdens in the outside world. He had to beg for money, sure, but his life was most likely a relatively comfortable one. Being healed would mean leaving that comfort behind.

One day this man was lying by the pool on the Sabbath and a Galilean rabbi singled him out amid all the blind, lame, paralyzed, and ill people waiting for the water to bubble up. He asked the man a strange question: “Do you want to get well?” (v. 6).

John 5:7 records the man’s answer:

“Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”

John 5:7

While this man genuinely couldn’t have healed himself, he also showed no effort to get into the pool that many believed could heal him. And he didn’t reply, “Yes!” to Jesus’ question.

The sick man dodged the question, but that didn’t matter to Jesus. Jesus simply replied, “Get up, … pick up your mat and walk!” (v. 8).

It’s no accident that living a godly life is compared to a walk. Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden (see Gen. 3:8). Enoch walked with God and then was no more (see Gen. 5:24). Psalm 1 warns against walking in the path of the ungodly. Jesus calls us to die to ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him (see Matt. 16:24).

Walking by faith requires leaving things behind, but it also requires putting your trust in the places where you put your feet. If Jesus is the One you’re following, it’s because you’ve heard His call to you: “Follow Me.”

It’s hard to leave the things behind that you’re used to, but Jesus was prepared for that. If there are things in your life you need to leave behind in order to follow Him, remember that He knew exactly what He was inviting you into when He gave that personal, radical charge: “Follow Me.”

This was an excerpt from Robby Gallaty’s Bible study, Knowing Jesus. © 2016 LifeWay Press. Used by permission. 

Friday Features

What Is The Church?

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There are moments in human history that change everything. These extraordinary events mark the beginning of a new era, a new future, and even a new people. God chose to create such a moment 2,000 years ago when He launched the church. After Jesus’ resurrection, He made this promise to His disciples:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

ACTS 1:8

The fulfillment of that promise began weeks later. While Jesus’ disciples were praying together, God’s Holy Spirit came to them and filled each person with spiritual power. Inspired by this power, Peter proclaimed the message of the gospel to the people of Jerusalem. More than 3,000 people responded by choosing to follow Christ.

This was a major event in the life of the early church. And how did this new community of believers relate to one another? Check it out:

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

ACTS 2:42-47

What do you find most interesting about these verses?

Identify the different ways the early church members engaged one another. Which of these excites you most? Why?

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

It’s common in today’s culture to associate the concept of “church” with a physical structure. When we think about church or about “going to church,” we often see images of brick buildings, steeples, sanctuaries, parking lots, and so on.

It’s also common for people to think of “church” as something that Christians do. We often make a connection between the church and the practices that are common in church buildings—sermons, worship songs, Sunday School, and more. Each of these associations is understandable, and each does point to the truth. Ultimately, the church involves much more.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “church”?

How would you describe your past experiences with church?

In reality, the church isn’t a building or a collection of physical structures. Instead, the church is a collection of people. It’s a community. In a similar way, the church isn’t what we do, but who we are as followers of Jesus.

Here’s a definition: the church is the community of people who follow Jesus Christ as Lord.

How do you respond to the above definition of church?

This was an excerpt from Disciples Path: The Journey, Volume 1 Session 5.