Beyond the Weekend: GOD IS...
People have a lot of thoughts about God. Some say he is angry and vengeful. Some say he is a buddy or best friend. But what does Scripture tell us about God?
Understanding the character of God matters. It changes how we meet him in our everyday lives. It changes how we understand the world around us, and his work in it. And it changes our prayer life and how we talk and hear from him. Understanding the character of God leads us to living lives of obedience and worship.
Join Pastors Aaron Buer, Jeff Manion and Brad Holmes in our 10-week series GOD IS ..., a study on the identity and character of God, and learn how your faith can grow as you know God better.
Rescued for Relationship
Read: Titus 3:3-7 Listen: Titus 3
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. Titus 3:3
When God gives Israel the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), he has just rescued them out of slavery in Egypt to be his people. They weren’t just rescued from hard work and cruelty. God frees them from the system of Egyptian gods and tells them they are children of the one true living God. The Ten Commandments reveal the framework for their relationship. The first commandment states he is to be their only God (Exodus 20:3). God is jealous because he rescued Israel to be his own.
God has also rescued us to be his own. He rescued us from sin and death through the sacrifice of Jesus. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul reminds Titus we were all enslaved to sin. But through God’s mercy (allowing Jesus to die in our place), he renewed us, gave us the Holy Spirit, the hope of eternity and made us his heirs with Christ (Titus 3:7). When we understand God rescued us, his jealousy becomes good news. It means we are his dearly loved children with whom he wants a relationship. And he will protect that relationship.
TODAY: Consider how God has rescued you through Jesus. Review Titus 3:3-7 and make two columns in your journal. In the first column, list what the passage says you were like before you trusted in Christ. In the second column, list what Jesus has done for you. Then praise and thank God for how he has rescued you. If you haven’t trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, you can do that now or contact us at btw@adabible.org to find out more about trusting Jesus.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Read Isaiah 6-8. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Consider the sign of Immanuel and the mention of the virgin birth.
