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Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Explore the Bible

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from Explore the Bible: Adults Personal Study Guide Winter 2019, Session 2—Not Alone. Fill out the form at the end of this post by Friday, November 16th at 11:59pm to enter for a chance to win this free resource!

Not Alone (Gen. 28:10-22)

Loneliness is more than location. We can be in a familiar place, yet still be alone. We can feel alone in a room full of people or walking down a city street surrounded by a mass of people. The feeling of aloneness can be overwhelming.

Jacob knew loneliness. After tricking his father Isaac into giving him the patriarchal blessing, Jacob was forced to flee his home. Leaving behind his worried mother, angry brother, and deceived father, he left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran, the home of his mother’s brother. When the sun had set, he stopped to rest at a certain place. This place was far from home, far away from his mother’s tender touch, and far away from the luxuries afforded him as Isaac’s son. In this place, alone, there was no need for deception or trickery. Most likely, his thoughts were now filled with fear. Would Esau follow him and kill him? Would he have enough food or water? Would he find his way to Haran? Would his uncle welcome him under these circumstances? His deceptive actions brought him to this uninviting and uncomfortable place with only a stone for a pillow. Alone and exhausted, he watched the day turn to night as he lay in that place.

The consequences of our sinful actions often take us to places we did not imagine. We fantasize of riches and fame, but sin offers no such reward. Like Jacob, we may find ourselves without family and home if we bite at Satan’s temptations.

In this solitary place, sleep overtook Jacob and he dreamed. In his dream, Jacob saw a stairway that reached from earth to heaven. God’s angels were going up and down on it. The stairway reminds us of God’s personal involvement in the affairs on earth and in the hearts of humanity. While people, like Jacob, may leave God out of their lives, God never deserts them. Notice the movement of the angels on the stairway. They were already on earth, traveling up to heaven and then coming back down to earth again. God’s angelic army had been busy on earth, long before Jacob’s time. Not only were the angels accomplishing God’s purposes on earth, but by ascending up the stairway, they were in constant communication with heaven. Nothing on earth escapes the watchful eye of God. Even in this solitary place, Jacob learned God was at work.

As far as Scripture reveals, this was Jacob’s first encounter with God. Introducing Himself, God used the name Yahweh, the personal name for God, meaning the self-existent, eternal God. Just as God appeared to Jacob’s grandfather and father, He appeared to Jacob personally. Jacob was about to learn that hearing the stories of God is not the same as having a personal relationship with Him.

God extended to Jacob the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac, promising him offspring, land, a blessing through him, divine protection and presence, and that He would see Jacob safely home. God would appear to Jacob several more times, but this first meeting was significant because Jacob learned God was interested in him and was at work in his life.

As God approached sinful Jacob, Jesus comes to us in spite of our sinfulness. He loves us as we are and blesses us though we are undeserving. By placing our faith in Jesus, our lives will never be the same. We can be confident in knowing that God is with us and guides us to fulfill His purposes in and through us.

This article was adapted from Explore the Bible: Adults Personal Study Guide Winter 2019, Session 2—Not Alone. Explore the Bible is a book-by-book group Bible study that encourages participants to let the Word dwell in them and challenges them to live it out in their own context. Preview one month free at lifeway.com/ExploreTheBible

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Church Leadership

The Most Dangerous Question You Can Ask When Studying the Bible

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I believe in questions. I believe in them because they help us learn. Because they encourage our imagination and our sense of wonder. Because they exercise our creativity. And because asking questions, both to other people and to ourselves, helps us personalize information.

I believe in questions. And I believe in questions when studying the Bible. In the same respect, questions help us dig deeply into the meaning of Scripture. Questions help us meditate on the truth we find there. And questions also help us move our time in God’s Word from being just an educational exercise and into the realm of training in godliness. So it’s good and right, I believe, to ask all kinds of questions when we are studying the Bible. But there is one question we should avoid. It’s a question that is, in fact, dangerous for us to ask:

“What does this passage mean to me?”

Or, if you are leading someone else in Bible study, the question looks like this:

“What does this passage mean to you?”

Why is this a dangerous question to ask? It’s because the question itself implies a level of authority for you or me that we simply don’t have. It supposes that you and I have the right to determine what a passage of Scripture means to us. And what it means to me might not be what it means to you, but that’s okay, because each one of us determines the meaning on our own. And so we find ourselves on the slippery slope of relative truth in which we are all living under our own lordship. Of course, when we ask that question to ourselves or to others we might not be intentionally alluding to this, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither is a worldview formed in a moment, but only over the course of time with repeated questions like this.

When we come to the Bible, we must come with an understanding of the Bible’s authority. That it is the truth. And when we see the Bible as authoritative, then the question of “what this passage means to me” becomes irrelevant. To be blunt about it, who cares what the Bible means to me? Who cares what the Bible means to you? I didn’t write it, and neither did you. The question, if the Bible really is God’s authoritative Word, is not what it means to me, but rather what does it mean period. Because it means what it means what it means.

By way of illustration, let’s say that I have a plate of food that I serve to a group of friends. I might ask all kinds of questions about that food – what does this look like to you? What does it taste like to you? What is the texture? What does it remind you of? All these questions can being out a deeper appreciation of the dish. But if I asked the question, “What is this plate of food to you?” then it is really just speculation. In the end, it might be an interesting discussion of what different people think it is, but what they think it is doesn’t change what it actually is.

But there is a simple change we can make to this question that makes all the difference in the world. It’s just a one word alteration, but with that single change we also change the implication dramatically. We emphasize the authoritative nature of God’s Word. Further, we also emphasize that God’s Word, because it is authoritative, requires a personal response from us. Here’s the change:

“What does this passage mean for you?”

Or,

“What does this passage mean for me?”

Again, just one word. But that one word makes all the difference because with this new question, we are calling ourselves or other people not to decide upon what truth is, but instead to act on the revealed truth. This is a good question. This is the right question. And this is the right posture for us to have when we approach God’s Word. We approach the Bible knowing that this is God’s Word to us, and God’s Word is calling us to respond over and over again. It is a Word for us. For us to respond to. For us to live by. For us to treasure. But not for us to interpret according to our own desires.

Michael Kelley lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife, Jana, and three children: Joshua (10), Andi (7), and Christian (5). He serves as Director of Groups Ministry for Lifeway Christian Resources. As a communicator, Michael speaks across the country at churches, conferences, and retreats and is the author of Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, and God; Transformational Discipleship; and Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life. Find him on Twitter:@_MichaelKelley. Check out his latest book, Growing Down: Unlearning the Patterns of Adulthood that Keep Us from Jesus here.
Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway – Gospel Foundations

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus – Judges), Session 1: God Hears His People. At the end of this post there is a link to sign up for a chance to win a free giveaway of the first volume of this resource!

God listens to the cries of His people.

Read Exodus 3:2-10.

It’s a simple statement but often one difficult to believe: God listens to the cries of His people. When circumstances mount against us, when the pain in our lives is very real, we might wonder if God really hears our prayers and cries for help. This is surely what the Israelites felt throughout their protracted slavery in Egypt.

Moses, as an Israelite, was likely familiar with the cries of his people that had been offered up to God for four hundred years. The Israelites knew their history, that God had promised their forefather Abraham that He would give them a land of their own and He would bless them in a special way . Perhaps after so many years in slavery, some within the Israelite community wondered if God had gone back on His word.

Despite the decades and centuries that passed, God was still listening. In His mercy, God heard the cries of His people and responded . Notice who initiated the conversation: God came to Moses . God revealed Himself to the man He had chosen to intercede for His people and then identified Himself as the God of Moses’ forefathers.

Humans have no right to demand an audience with God. God is not dependent upon us; all of creation is dependent upon Him . God is not accountable to us; we are accountable to Him. God would have been fully just and righteous to create this world and leave it to the natural processes He sustains, never to intervene (by way of a miracle), never to communicate with His human creatures (by way of special revelation), and never to involve Himself with our human plight (by way of redemption). There is nothing about our existence that forces God to be a God who reveals Himself. And yet, God listens to our cries and then acts in response.

God would not allow His people to continue to suffer. Instead, He would intervene to rescue them . Here we see a shadow of the good news of the gospel! The gospel is the story of a God who issues a call to helpless sinners . In our spiritual blindness and deafness, we are imprisoned and enslaved by our own sinfulness. We cannot see the goodness of God until He gives us new eyes. We cannot hear the voice of God until He opens our ears.But God, out of sheer grace, spoke to us in a most unexpected way—through His Son, the Word. God chose to enter our world of darkness through the person of Jesus Christ . John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (v . 1). And then, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (v . 14). Jesus is God’s Word to us, breaking through our dark, silent prison and saying, “Let there be light!” (“In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it” [vv . 4-5] .) In His perfect life and sacrificial death, Jesus revealed God to us. He showed us God’s character. He demonstrated the love at the heart of the Father’s authority.

This same heart of love, grace, and compassion is on display as God listened to the cries of His people. Just as He would later do in the gospel, God would take action on behalf of the Israelites. He would do for them what they could not do for themselves— bring them into freedom and, in so doing, continue to keep His covenant promise to Abraham.

What have you experienced or are you experiencing that might make you doubt whether God is listening to your cries?

How can reminding yourself of the gospel also remind you that God is indeed hearing you when you cry out to Him?

This article is an excerpt from Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus – Judges). Gospel Foundations takes groups through the storyline of scripture in one year.  Learn more and preview three free sessions at lifeway.com/gospelfoundations. Fill out the form below before tomorrow night at 11:59pm for an opportunity to win a free bundle of this resource. The bundle includes 10 Volume 1 Bible Study Books and 1 Leader Kit.

Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Explore the Bible

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from Explore the Bible: Genesis – The Life of Jacob Fill out the form at the end of this post by Friday, September 7th at 11:59pm to enter for a chance to win this free resource!

What may cause a person to intentionally deceive others? How do you typically
respond after you discover that you were deceived?

You view a social-media post that promises a free getaway, noticing that it came from a friend. You click on the image only to discover that the free getaway has some catches. You’re required to use a specific airline and a specific booking agency. You also discover additional fees for the “free” trip. You then discover that if you share this post with other people, some fees will be waived. Suddenly you’re not nearly as interested in the trip.

Understand the Context

Abraham died when he was 175 years old, leaving behind two sons, Ishmael and Isaac (see Gen. 25:7-9). Because Ishmael wasn’t the promised son (see 17:18-19), Isaac received God’s blessings (see 25:11), including the covenant God had made with Abraham (see 12:1-3; 26:1-5). Isaac married Rebekah (see 25:20), and they had twin boys, Esau and Jacob (see 25:24-26). Born only seconds before Jacob, Esau was the oldest and, as a result, first in line for his father’s patriarchal blessing. But God selected Jacob instead to be the patriarch (see 25:23). Although the word patriarch doesn’t appear in the Old Testament, the New Testament uses this descriptive title to refer to Abraham (see Heb. 7:4), the sons of Jacob (see Acts 7:8-9), and David (see Acts 2:29).

Isaac’s family was divided by marked favoritism. Isaac favored Esau because, like him, Esau was an outdoorsman, while Rebekah favored Jacob (see Gen. 25:27-28), creating conflict and competition between the two sons. One day when Esau came home exhausted and hungry from hunting, Jacob offered his brother a meal, only after Esau promised him the older brother’s birthright (see vv. 29-34).

 As Genesis 27 opens, Isaac was old and nearly blind (see vv. 1-2). Before giving Esau the patriarchal blessing, Isaac asked him to hunt some wild game for a meal. Rebekah, who was secretly listening, quickly devised a deceptive plan whereby she cooked a similar meal, dressed Jacob to resemble Esau, and had him steal his brother’s blessing (see vv. 3-17). Although the plan was his mother’s, Jacob eagerly went along. Because he was ambitious, his only concern was that he might be caught (see vv. 11-12). But when his mother agreed to take his father’s wrath (see v. 13), he concluded that the reward outweighed the risk.

Explore the Text

Isaac was old, no less than one hundred (see 25:26; 26:34), and believed he was approaching death (see 27:1-2). In Old Testament times a father’s blessing was more than an expression of love. The blessing of the father, as the patriarch of the family, was an official, binding transfer of the patriarchal line, along with a prayer for prosperity and superiority. Isaac’s blessing also meant the recipient and his descendants would be heirs of the covenant God had originally
made with Abraham (see 12:1-3) and extended through Isaac (see 26:1-5).

When Jacob came to his father, posing as Esau, Isaac sensed something was wrong. After lying about his identity, the meal, God’s help, and his appearance, Jacob deceived his father.

When dealing with people who don’t always act with integrity and transparency,
what can believers gain by setting an example?

The kiss was a formal part of giving and receiving a blessing. Here it marked the end of the ceremonial meal (also a formal part of the blessing) and the beginning of the spoken blessing. Isaac’s doubts about his son’s identity had been removed. How was Isaac so easily deceived?
His preferential love for the older son led to his deception. He heard (see 27:24), tasted (see v. 25), touched (see v. 26), and smelled (see v. 27) what he was looking for—Esau. Because of his unrelenting favoritism, he believed because he wanted to believe.

What are some ways favoritism is manifested in the church? What are some consequences that result from favoritism? How can we prevent it?

Through an act of deception, the blessing went to Jacob. Although Jacob took what God had promised him (see 25:23), this deception wasn’t God’s doing. We can’t justify using deceptive means to obtain worthy ends.

In spite of Jacob’s deplorable actions, God was faithful to His promise. God’s promises are immutable, that is, unchangeable, based on His divine wisdom. They don’t rely on our actions but on His absolute faithfulness. Although Jacob’s life journey could have been more enjoyable if he had waited on the Lord, God delivered on His promise, as He always does. Because Jacob did things his own way, God sent him to the school of hard knocks. Along the way God broke
Jacob’s selfishness and transformed him into a man He could bless.

What are some occasions in Scripture when God accomplished His purposes despite a person’s sinful conduct? What can we learn about God from those examples?

Apply the Text

❯ Believers are to act with integrity and transparency when dealing with others.
❯ Believers must guard against favoritism, knowing it leads to personal deception.
❯ God can bring to pass His sovereign purpose despite the selfish actions of a sinful person.

 

Church Leadership

Free Bible Teaching: For the Busy Leader

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by Deborah Spooner

Your friend texts with another crisis, yet your group start date-—ust two days away—feels like a crisis since you haven’t had time to prepare.

Your small group resource catalog has cushioned the bottom of your work bag for weeks as you’ve tried to figure out what, how, and when to order, and the process seems complicated.

The people. The time. The money. The hassel.

Why are there so many  barriers to getting to Bible teaching we need?

Life’s daily demands can keep us from what we really want. We want to be good disciples of Christ who are pouring ourselves out to make disciples of others. We want to be good small group leaders, leaders who are following the true Leader.

We want to grow ourselves, but we don’t know how.

We want to grow others, but we don’t see the way this fits into our life’s rhythm.

What if there was a way we could effectively address our over-scheduled and under-resourced challenges? What if we could quickly and easily access content that could catalyze us to be disciples making disciples?

Meet Free Bible Teaching. 

From authors like Jefferson Bethke, Tony Evans, J.D. Greear, Randy Alcorn, and D.A. Horton, you have access to the audio of full Bible Study teaching sessions—for free.

From topics like the power of God’s name to happiness, you can fit this quick, hassle-free learning experience into your schedule.. You can develop yourself as a disciple through the biblical messages and advice for specific real-life challenges.

Barriers removed.

Discipleship engaged.

Lives? Preparing to be changed.

Welcome to your new resource. Free Bible Teaching.

Deborah Spooner is a Minnesota-born analytical creative serving as a Marketing Strategist for LifeWay’s Groups Ministry. As a pastor’s daughter with a background in Digital Communications and Media and Biblical & Theological Studies, you can find her at her local church, in deep conversation, or with a book or pen in hand as she seeks to know Christ more and make Him known.
Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Unbroken

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from Unbroken: Path to Redemption. Fill out the form at the end of this post by Friday, October 19th at 11:59pm to enter for a chance to win this free resource!

What are a few of the most significant moments in your life?

How have those moments shaped your life for good or bad?

Unbroken: Path to Redemption picks up Louis Zamperini’s story at what you would imagine to be a high point. Assumed dead, abused in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, Louis returned home alive. His family rejoiced because their lost son had returned to them. His country lauded him as a hero. Yet when the war ended, Louis’ real battle began. The war wasn’t over just because everyone else said it was.

The war followed Louis home. The trauma he experienced shaped the way he saw the world. His captors tortured him in dreams. He was desperate to find a release from his pain, but his brokenness drove him further into darkness.

Each of us deals with brokenness. How we deal with our brokenness determines the course of our lives. Taking it on ourselves leads to more brokenness. Handing our brokenness to God leads to healing and restoration.

Anyone paying attention will notice the brokenness in the world. Natural disasters, sickness, death, national tragedies—all these events point to the reality that the world isn’t as it should be. It has been broken by sin, and so have we. Today we’ll examine the cause and the cure for brokenness.

What is a time when you felt your brokenness?

What caused the brokenness we experience?

The root cause of brokenness is sin, and the root of all sin is idolatry. Adam and Eve knew God’s standards, but they thought they knew better. They had more faith in their own instincts than in God’s decrees. Their choice led the world into sin. Ever since the garden of Eden, men and women have grappled with sin and brokenness, both as a result of the fall and as a result of their choices.

Fig leaves couldn’t hide Adam and Eve’s brokenness. In fact, they accomplished the opposite effect. The fragile leaves highlighted their nakedness instead of concealing it. When we try to mask our brokenness, the results aren’t more convincing. Feeling broken is a gift from God that’s meant to demonstrate our need for Him.

The good news of the gospel is that we can cry out to God. The brokenness that separates sinful people from a holy God was bridged by the cross of Jesus Christ. When we repent of our sin and we trust in Christ’s perfect life and sacricial death on our behalf, we’re reconciled to God. A new life begins at that very moment.

This was an excerpt from Unbroken: Path to Redemption. Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

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Church Leadership

How to Deliver Small Group Content and Training with a Consistent Message

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As the leaders and administration of a church, I’m sure you are trying to solve the problem of finding the right small group content consistent with your vision and mission.

Even once you find content that meets your expectations, you can run into the problem of consistency across groups in presenting the material. The small group leaders need to know the material and theology behind what’s being presented – and that usually means you have to be on call to make sure everyone is on the same page.

LifeWay can help you with this. With a heart for growing you as the servant leader God has called you to be, we can walk alongside you with training and trustworthy content. We’ve tried to make this easy for you and the church by bundling our digital platforms.

Ministry Grid, SmallGroup.com, and Wordsearch Bible are all quality tools that will help you and your leaders build the disciples of the gospel globally in your community and beyond. All 3 of these platforms are bundled together to ensure you have the quality resources you need for a deeper dive into the study of God’s Word.

“2 The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” …

7 So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:1-7 CSB)

As we grow in this digital world, LifeWay wants to be by your side to help your church navigate these waters and give the best to your staff, volunteers, and members. LifeWay is continuing to create a suite of products to solve your needs for the church. Please visit lifeway.com/digitalhub for more information and to discover the solutions to your needs.

Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Smallgroup.com

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is excerpted from the study “Indivisible”  available on smallgroup.com. Fill out the form at the end of this post by Friday, October 12th at 11:59pm to enter for a chance to win a free year subscription to smallgroup.com! 

The film Indivisible is the real life story of Major Darren Turner and his wife Heather. Darren shared about his and Heather’s early commitment to their agreed purpose in their own marriage: “Heather and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had called us together for one another, and His plan and purposes. Joining the military as a chaplain was a mutual decision for us. We knew that God would use us both to minister together as well as separately to reach those that had volunteered to die for us, if called upon.”

Notice that Darren clearly stated that God had first called him and Heather together for one another. But then he added their mutual decision to follow God’s specific will in their marriage and how they could serve Him both individually and together. For example, when Darren is stationed stateside on a base, as he still is active duty today, he and Heather often serve together to minister to military families. But when Darren was sent to Iraq, he ministered to the soldiers there, while Heather served the wives and children left behind at the base.

There is great satisfaction in being in God’s will in your marriage, while also discovering together a divine purpose that He offers specifically for the calling, gifts, and talents of each individual.

Genesis 2:18-25:

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” 19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man[a] no helper was found corresponding to him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. 24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

Even though the idea of something being “indivisible” is most often associated in our society with the United States Pledge of Allegiance, we can see from this passage that the nation’s forefathers did not create this concept, but rather God Himself, for His divine purpose of marriage.

When the Pharisees were quizzing Jesus on the topic of marriage one day, He connected His teaching back to this Genesis passage.

To offer a simple analogy of being indivisible, becoming “one flesh,” or “joined together,” imagine tearing off two equal-sized pieces from a roll of duct tape. Separate, the two sections are very sticky. In fact, you have to be careful that they don’t bond to something prematurely before you apply them for their intended purpose. If you carefully connect their sticky sides, matching up corner to corner, pressing together all the way around both, you will effectively no longer have two pieces of tape—but one single unit. They have fully bonded to one another. If you try to separate them, you cannot successfully divide the two, but only destroy both for they are now truly indivisible. This is a great visual to represent God’s purpose for the “one flesh” concept in marriage.

The biblical concept of marriage as an indivisible “one flesh” includes what God does in the hearts, souls, lives, and gifts—both individually and corporately—of any couple that calls Him “Lord.” He creates an internal as well as an external oneness that doesn’t exist in the same manner outside of the two partners working together. This is indeed a spiritual mystery that only He can create.

We must recognize the life that our marriages give by being brought together for the purpose of bringing glory to the Lord. As biblical marriage comes further under attack, Christ followers should commit to placing their focus on creating oneness that can only be explained by the presence and power of Almighty God.

This is an excerpt from the study “Indivisible” available now at smallgroup.com. 

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Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Bible Studies for Life

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from The Full Picture of Christmas, a six-session study in the Winter 2019 Bible Studies for Life. Fill out the form at the end of this post by Friday, October 5th at 11:59pm to enter for a chance to win 10 free copies of the Winter 2019 Daily Discipleship Guide! 

Isaiah’s Prophecy

Read Isaiah 7:10-14.

If God came to one of us and said we could “ask for a sign”—any sign, even a sign “as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven,” I wonder what most of us would ask for. The Lord gave King Ahaz that opportunity, but he put forth a false humility and wouldn’t ask for a sign. Here was a king whose country was under attack and his people were terrified (7:1-2). God offered to give Ahaz a sign that He was powerful to take care of their enemies, but it Ahaz already may have been planning to ask Assyria for help and therefore didn’t think he needed God’s help.

Upon hearing King Ahaz’s refusal to ask for a sign, Isaiah the prophet broadened his audience beyond the king. He told the whole faithless house of David that God would give a sign anyway! The house of David’s wickedness had tested God’s longsuffering patience, but God had a sign for them: “See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.”

Take yourself back to grammar class for a moment. You probably remember the basic definition of a verb, noun, and adjective. But do you recall what a homonym is? It’s each of two or more words that have the same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings and origins. For example, the word crane can be a bird, a piece of equipment, or a way to move your neck.

In a similar way, prophetic passages in Scripture can have multiple meanings: an immediate meaning for the initial hearers and an added meaning for future generations. Isaiah 7:14 has just such a double meaning.

Initially the prophecy was a word of comfort and hope to the original recipients of the prophecy. It is not clear who the woman and child were, but perhaps it was a child born in the king’s house. The birth of this child was a reminder of God’s prophecy and the comfort that “God is with us.”

The second meaning involves a prediction of the future virgin birth of Christ. Matthew quoted this prophecy word for word as he gave an account of Christ’s birth. “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us’” (Matt. 1:23).

Historically, this phrase was intended to convince King Ahaz that God could rescue him from his enemies. Our sovereign God spoke something to encourage ancient Israel and inspire generations to come with the hope of the Messiah. Therefore, the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy was in Jesus Christ who is “God with us.”

What captures our attention in this passage is that “the virgin will conceive.” The virgin birth of Christ is an important truth; Jesus had to be one of us—human—to die in our place, but He couldn’t offer the perfect sacrifice if He was like every other human with a sin nature. The virgin birth means Jesus had no human father—God is His Father—therefore, Jesus was born without a sin nature. Jesus is fully man and He is fully God. God is with us!

What does God being Immanuel (“God with us”) mean for us as believers?

What does this truth mean for Christ-followers?

This article is an excerpt from The Full Picture of Christmas, a six-session study in the Winter 2019 Bible Studies for Life. Learn more about this study here. 

Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Unstuck

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from the study Unstuck. Fill out the form at the end of this post by Friday, September 28th at 11:59pm to enter for a chance to win this free resource!

The Rut of Unforgiveness

Everything you know about forgiveness will be tested by marriage. There are no lasting relationships without forgiveness. Contrast this truth with a memorable movie line from the twentieth century, which expresses a worldly misunderstanding of this lifelong relationship: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

The main reason that concept is a lie that it overlooks the truth we confronted earlier this week about our own sin. In human relationships, each day presents a new reason to admit guilt and take responsibility. A biblical rewrite of that movie line would be “Love means being willing to say you’re sorry and actually meaning it.”

In marriage a lack of forgiveness builds up over time to rob the relationship of traction. Big offenses seldom cause material loss of traction; it’s the accumulation of little wrongs that haven’t been addressed.

If you’re not sure how offenses are handled in your marriage, here are four alternative responses we often substitute for forgiveness that have devastating effects in a relationship. If you recognize that one or more of these are your pattern, it’s time to make forgiveness the default response. When an offense occurs, do you-

  1. Go on the attack, escalating the offense with more hurt?
  2. Retreat, escaping into silence and nursing the hurt?
  3. Hide, escaping into activities and work to avoid the conflict?
  4. Give up, adding another offense to your list of hopelessness?

Each of these responses not only avoids forgiveness but also destroys the priority of marriage, denies the reality of your mutual flawed tendencies, diminishes your capacity to overcome difficulties, and detracts from the possibility of delight in your spouse. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is key to gaining traction when the road of life turns slippery.

Review the four typical reactions to offenses that can become patterns in marriage. Which one(s) can you most relate to?

Are you ready for the forgiving alternative?

Read Colossians 3:12-13. What standard and measurement does Paul specify for the kind of forgiveness a follower of Christ should offer?

Forgiveness is releasing someone from the obligation that occurred when that person hurt you. For Christians, first, forgiveness is obedience to God. Second, forgiveness bears witness to the gospel that’s at work in our hearts. We forgive because we’ve been forgiven. As Jesus forgives us, we forgive others—and forgiveness should begin inside our family.

Read Proverbs 10:12. In the words of this Proverb, why is covering all offenses with forgiveness better than trying to cover up those offenses?

In your experience, what happens when you try to ignore or cover up offenses rather than forgive them?

Let’s briefly look at the other side of the equation. If we love someone and we know we’ve hurt them, we make it easier for them to forgive us by asking for it. This involves a confession of our wrongdoing and a request for pardon. Here are a few wrong ways to apologize.

  1. “I’m sorry.” This is the most frequent and incomplete attempt at an apology. “I’m sorry” by itself basically says, “I care about how I feel, not necessarily about how you feel.”
  2. “If I hurt you, I’m sorry.” This isn’t an apology. It’s a rationalization followed by information. It means “I’m not taking responsibility for the pain I caused, and even if it could be proved that it was my fault, the best you’re getting from me is a vague bad feeling.”
  3. “I’m sorry I hurt you, but that wasn’t my intent.” Apology? No! It compounds the pain by minimizing our responsibility for the hurt we’ve caused.
  4. Here’s the worst one: “Hey, I’m sorry you got hurt,” which, translated, means “I’m sorry you’re so sensitive and weak that my minor offense hurt you. It’s really your own fault that it bothered you!”

Only one apology reflects a repentant heart that God will use to revitalize a relationship that needs healing: “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I was wrong when I hurt you. I have no excuse. Will you please forgive me?”

Why is this final form of apology hard for us to deliver?

An important part of the process is actually asking the person we hurt to forgive us and waiting for their response. Because we fear they may say no, we’re often reluctant to be vulnerable and confess. But if we’re unwilling to be vulnerable, how badly do we really want to be forgiven?

Ask God to show you any areas of unforgiveness you’re holding against your spouse or others. Sit quietly long enough for Him to answer your prayer. If He brings any matters to mind, deliberately release them.

Spend a moment meditating on this week’s memory verse. Consider ways a willingness to forgive your spouse is both a way to hold fast to each other and to maintain unity.

A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. 

GENESIS 2:24-25

Excerpted from Unstuck: Fresh Traction for Common Struggles. Published by LifeWay Press®. © 2018 James MacDonald. Used by permission.

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