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Apex Community Church5200 Far Hills Avenue, Kettering, OH 45342 USA [email protected] www.apexcommunity.org

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Copyright © 2014 by Apex Community Church. All rights reserved.

Editor, Jason ZastrowCover Design, Grace Winkler

First Edition, December 2014.

God With Us. Dayton, OH: Apex Community Church, 2014.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.ESV Text Edition: 2011.

CONTENTSTABLE

IntroductionThe Meaning of Advent 5The Story of Scripture 7

DevotionalGod with Us: Week One 9God with Us: Week Two 27God with Us: Week Three 45God with Us: Week Four 63 Appendices Guide for House Church Facilitators 80Life in Christ 86Works Cited 88

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Advent -- adventus -- means “arrival” or “coming.” When the Church celebrates

Advent each year starting four weeks before Christmas, she joins Israel’s joyful expectation of the Messiah’s first coming while renewing her ardent desire for Christ’s return. Our King of Kings and Lord of Lords has declared that the dwelling place of God is with mankind and we must prepare our hearts in yearning for this splendid and joyous affair! In one of the oldest recorded Christmas sermons, John Chrysostom, then Bishop of Constantinople (386 AD), delivered this very gospel message of joy:

Behold a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.” Christmas Morning Sermon John Chrysostom

Let us join in the heavenly hymn as we celebrate the advent of our King and raise up the Light of the world for all to see.

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I n the pages of scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, a story

of God’s kingdom unfolds.

CreationHarmony and fullness belong to humanity in the garden as God walks with the man and woman. Life is teeming and abundant as the Creator lavishes his love and light, withholding nothing. The Genesis account lays the groundwork for the kingdom -- a people, a way of life and a realm. As the man and woman are fruitful and multiply, image bearers would fill the world with his glory and through their dominion, his kingdom grows.

FallSin and death entered in through the twisting of the words of life. The enemy has taken the scepter from humanity, and humanity has become enslaved. Even so, God walked in the cool of the day to find the man and woman and bring them home. God made a covenant with creation to one day conquer the enemy and restore what had been broken.

Redemption The longsuffering process begins. God formed a nation of his own. He walked with his people Israel, teaching them his way of life so they would be a be a beacon of hope to the nations. From the moments of first promises, through shadows and foretastes amongst Israel, to the advent when God comes as a baby, God made himself known. Growing in stature and wisdom, Jesus retells the story of humanity’s full potential. Where Adam and Israel failed, Jesus prevailed. By his death and resurrection, Jesus proves to be the long awaited Messiah King. The Spirit, through his church, is making a people of all nations living out Jesus’ way of life in the realm of the whole world.

New Creation. Behold, the old has passed away and only new creation waits. A voice from the throne declares, “God’s dwelling place is with man and he will be to them their God and they will be his people. Behold! I make all things new.” God has made the nations his people, and forever they will live out his way of life in the realm of his new creation..

Tying this story together is the God who comes and dwells with us. He is at the center of the story, not us, as he works to redeem his creation. We participate in what he graciously gives: himself.

This study is designed for personal use and, if desired, for use in a house church. Be challenged: God dwells with us. How does this shape how we dwell amongst others? Anticipate the celebration of his coming, not just in word, with a servant-shaped life. Read the passages. Contemplate with the authors. See on every page of scripture the story of God with us.

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Week oneGOD with US

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The God who Rests with Creation

Week one day one

By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Genesis 2:1-2

In preparing for this study, I looked up the antonym of rest: busyness, clamor, distress, work, action, and activity were among

some of the words I found.

Is this where you find yourself this first week of Advent? Do you find yourself weary and burdened? Are you simply exhausted from this past year? I know I do. Increasingly I find that, when someone asks me how I am, I respond by saying “tired” or “exhausted,” instead of “well.” Maybe you are fortunate to find yourself excited and feeling refreshed at this time! Regardless of where you are in this very moment, it is important that you prepare your heart for the arrival of our Savior.

I challenge you this Advent season to make margin for rest. It is okay to say “no.” Allow yourself to walk in grace and not perfection or productivity. Christ does not call us to busyness or full schedules. Christ does not call us to grumpiness over cheerful spirits. Christ calls us to intentionality. Christ calls us to bring all the junk from this year — the stress, the work, the burdens, and the worry — and lay them at his feet and to rest there. It is hard work to be human. It is hard work to be responsible and care for our families and for us. It is hard work to create, steward, and do all these well and for the glory of God! However, he says, “Come here child You who are tired of working and

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carrying the burden. Let me give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Here is some truth for you: He is sweet. In his presence, not only do we find rest, but also we find comfort and love. He loves us! Did you know that, this morning before you woke up, God lavished his love on you more than you will ever know? Did you know that nothing you can do today would make Christ love you less or love you more?

Be intentional. Work from a place of rest. However, do not rest from work. Make time to enjoy his presence, to truly celebrate what he has done!

Oh come, oh come, ImmanuelAnd ransom captive IsraelThat mourns in lonely exile hereUntil the Son of God appearsRejoice! Rejoice!Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Emma challenges us to allow ourselves to walk in grace and not perfection or productivity during this Advent season. This takes intentionality. How does the fact that God himself rests permit us to rest in him?

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The God who breathes life

week one day two

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God

had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a

garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good

for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:5-9

I t is a strange concept, initially, to consider that we are never fully alive until we are alive in God - until he is alive within us. Genesis

2:5 paints a barren picture: “no bush of the field;” “no small plant…had yet sprung up.” All this is because, “the Lord God had not yet caused it to rain on the land and there was no man to work the ground.”

Imagine that scene - dark, dull, cracking, lifeless landscape. The lushness of a garden, the evidence of vitality, simply was not.

Thirsty.

The land was thirsty. We as a people, as the bride, are thirsty. We are a generation parched and we may go days, months, and years before we realize there is sustenance to cure. It may take us even longer to grasp

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that, to truly thrive, we must not simply exist in a life that acknowledges God the Father, but we must live in step with him.

Victor P. Hamilton explains, “If plant life is to grow...It will be due to a joint appreciation. God will do His part and man will expedite his responsibilities…Rain is not sufficient. Tillage is not sufficient. God is not a tiller of the soil and man is not a sender of rain. But the presence of one being without the other guarantees the perpetuation of desert like conditions.”1

We do not have fullness of life if God is not the one who fulfills us. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” We have only become because he whispered life into our lungs; we are not full of life without the fullness of him.Therefore, we anticipate his coming: his dwelling with us, his stirring within us, and his call to spring life into the body. We wait desirous, for the fissures of an existence-led craving, for him to replenish us with the only water that will infallibly harvest life.

Steph writes, “We do not have fullness of life if we are not fulfilled by the Father.” Identify one area of your life where you feel most unfulfilled.

What truth about the Father’s character can fulfill this void?

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The God who walks in our midst

week one day three

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he

said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of

the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she

gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:8-13

The man and the woman walked with God. God walked with the man and the woman. It has always been the desire of the God of

Creation to have a people of his own possession. When we look to the account of the new creation, God shall say to them, “I will be their God and they will be my people” (Revelation 21:3).

Could you imagine this scene? The man and the woman explored life together in the garden. God is teeming with excitement to show them what this beautiful creation has in store for them to discover. Life was abundant, as God has given himself completely to them, withholding nothing as they enter into an everlasting lifetime of knowing him. The man and woman walked in peace together with God. The man and woman walked in peace with creation. All was very good and life was exceedingly abundant.

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However, something else walked in the garden that fateful day: a serpent seeking to destroy.

By the word of his mouth, God breathed all into existence. His lips pursed against the dust, God breathed his own life into the lungs of humanity. This powerful and benevolent word sustained life and peace in the world. God reigned through his image bearers by his word.

This serpent caused the man and woman to question everything God had said. When they transformed his word — when they rejected it outright -- they divorced themselves from the Word-Giver. On that day, sin began its reign.

The beauty of God’s character shines in the midst of our sin. After the fall, God did not stop walking amongst us. The man and woman hid themselves from God. God sought them out in the cool of the day.

How often in the midst of our sin, do we hide ourselves from the face of God? Recall the worst sin you have committed. That iniquity you claimed you were not capable of doing. That trespass that still makes knots your stomach today. It is there, in that place, which God gladly meets you and breathes out his life and mercy into your dead lungs.

Jason asks us, “How often in the midst of our sin do we hide ourselves from the face of God?” Recall the worst sin you ever committed. If you are comfortable, describe it in the space below.

From the truth presented in this devotional, how can you know for sure that God meets you in the midst of your sin and breathes out His mercy?

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The God who provides

week one day four

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts

of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 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.”

Genesis 3:14-15

Checkmate.

In the game of Chess, it is a term you hear when you are hopelessly trapped due to a bad decision you made. There is no way out--no way of escape. Game over. At a glance, this is what happened to the man and the woman in Genesis 3 when they chose to do something God said not to do. His boundary of instruction was for their protection, but they chose poorly. And their eyes were “opened.” But opened to what?! Certainly not Paradise. Read Genesis 3:1-15. “Open the eyes” comes from the ancient Hebrew word paqah, and carries the meaning of hearing and following another voice from behind the fence -- a place where God would not have us live. Adam and Eve catapulted in a single move from check, to checkmate. And we catapulted with them. We are painfully aware there is another voice (other than God’s) that finds collaboration within our hearts. It was and is a game changer. But it is not game over.

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Thankfully, God did not box mankind up like a finished game and store us in a cosmic closet. Nor was he forced to come up with a brand new game — a plan “B” because we messed up his plan “A.” From the very beginning, we see God bringing order out of chaos in his first act of creation, and then breathing life into dead things when he breathed the breath of life into Adam. This is just part of God’s nature, and so is restoring and redeeming. This is part of the mystery and beauty we get to celebrate at Advent — a mystery and beauty God revealed in Genesis 3:15. Take a moment to read the verse. Really. As strategic as Satan was in hoping to corner the man and woman — and you and I for that matter — in the hopelessness of our own poor choices and failure, God determined it would not be game over. He alone gets to declare checkmate, and because of his provision through Christ, we do not have to be the loser!

Jackie reminds us there is another voice (other than God’s) that desires to find collaboration within our hearts. What are the differences between these two voices?

What factors contribute to you listening to one voice over the other?

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The God who commits

week one day five

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. 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. 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.”

Genesis 12:1-3

Contracts are legally binding; exacting; and can feel overwhelming if we signed on the dotted line without having the end result

in hand. Excitement. Uncertainty. Fear. Eager Anticipation. All these emotions course within us, sometimes in a simultaneous muddle, and other times in one area of focused concentration.

Abram (later renamed Abraham) experienced all of these — with great intensity. We first meet Abram in Genesis 12, where God calls him out — quite literally—to a land He does not disclose until Abram is well on his way. Abram commits, holding onto God’s promise (see verses 1-3) that God would make him a great nation, and that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abram signed on the dotted line, not knowing how all this would be fulfilled, nor what it fully meant. Fast forward to chapter 15. Abram is promised a son in his old age; descendants as numerous as the grains of sand; and the land of Canaan as his inheritance. God cuts a covenant with Abram, using a contract from Abram’s culture — a royal grant treaty where by the obligation

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of fulfilling the covenant lies solely on the covenant-maker. The obligations to the covenant are being undertaken by God alone.2

In cutting a covenant, animals were cut in two with each half laid on opposite sides of a ditch. The two parties would then walk through the ditch of blood saying, “May this be done to me if I break my end of our agreement.” Abram was terrified. How could he possibly keep his end of an agreement with a holy God? God puts Abram into a deep sleep and passes through the ditch, representing himself as a smoking pot and flaming torch, in effect establishing that he would keep both ends of the agreement — his and Abram’s. And that God did. Abraham became the father of many, and through his seed came our Messiah, Jesus Christ, through whom all nations are blessed. Excitement? Uncertainty? Fear? Eager anticipation? This is the environment where faith grows and where it learns to trust in God — and God alone. He calls. He promises. He oversees. He provides. God fulfills his contracts and keeps his covenants — yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This Advent season is a great time to stop and thank him.

Jackie writes about the God who commits. Based upon the fact that God keeps His covenants and promises to us, what predictions can you make about your future?

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The God who wrestles with us

week one day six

He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And

a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the

day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no

longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked

him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob

called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

Genesis 32:23-30

Have you ever wrestled with something – truly wrestled – facing fear over what might happen if things did not turn out? Or

perhaps you have had fear over the fact that you wrestled with a particular thing in the first place. Perhaps it is a standoff of wills –yours against another’s. Or the silent suffering of a heart that has been deeply wounded and refuses to forgive. I wrestle for answers. I wrestle for relief of troubling circumstances. I wrestle when I feel my rights have been violated and an injustice done. I wrestle in the flesh to make a point, and I wrestle just to end wrestling.

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But God doesn’t wrestle this way. He doesn’t wrestle with me to end a struggle, but to reveal and heal a struggle lurking deep down in my heart. In this aspect, my life is much like Jacob’s, and most likely, yours is too. Jacob valued something worthy — a birthright and a special blessing. Unfortunately, these were out of his reach since he was not the firstborn. His brother Esau did not value his birthright, and gladly sold it for a bowl of Jacob’s lentil stew in a moment of hunger (Genesis 25:34). One down. One to go. Years later, Jacob tricks his father to gain the special blessing through a plan his mom hatches. Two down—and now Jacob must go, because Esau vowed to kill him. The next chapters in Jacob’s life (Genesis 28-31) were not easy. Life never is. Tiring of his circumstances, Jacob journeyed back home. Wracked with fear that Esau might still seek revenge, he sent gifts ahead as peace offerings—a well-thought plan in Jacob’s mind, but not God’s plan for Jacob’s heart. God’s plan was to change Jacob inside and out, and He does this by wrestling with him. Literally. In Genesis 32:24-30, Jacob is given a new name and the very thing he sought was legitimately given to him – through God’s gracious hands, not his own striving. Jacob limped the rest of his life as the result of this struggle- turned-blessing, constantly reminding him of this soul-healing event. He was forever marked and changed. Israel: he who wrestles with God.

Jackie writes how wrestling with God for answers to what has either happened in our past or is currently happening in our lives often leads to a transformation of thoughts and actions. Identify one issue that has you wrestling with God. In what ways might God be transforming you through this struggle?

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House churchReflection & Action Plan

week one review

A basic confession we must make as humanity is that

God is that God does not need us. God does not need his creation. He is completely full in and of himself. If this were not true, if God were in need of his creation or us, then he would not be the transcendent one he claims to be. He would not be self-sufficient. He would not be distinct. He would not be the God described in the rest of scripture.

But this poses a question. If God is not in need of creation, then why does God create anything?

Because He desires to create.

He desires to fashion a creation that displays his glory and character. He forms dust into his image and likeness -- his people. He breathes the breath of his own life when he forms humanity as man and woman. He grants the ability to have rule and

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dominion -- to care for the realm of the garden. This is not because he is not able to sustain creation himself, but because there is something about God’s character that declares his willingness to share creation with the man and the woman. His desire was for the man and woman to live our his way of life so they could experience his goodness. Through them, the whole of creation would be blessed.

But through the fall, man and woman separate themselves from God. They take hold of the lies spouted out by the serpent and believe them as true. They could be like God. Therein lies the tragedy of the story. The enemy tried to give them something they already had: God’s image. This is how the enemy works: to twist our good desires and actions in order to fulfill them in selfish, godless ways. The enemy tempts us with what God has

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already given us, but on his terms and not God’s.

Banished from his presence, God left the man and woman to wander the earth outside of the realm of His garden. They had kids. Those kids had kids. Through the generations, humanity proved itself evil. A flood came, but even afterward, humanity remained in its same

plight of death and destruction.

Then came a promise -- a promise to make a new people from all the families of the earth. Their way of life would be that of blessing in the realm of the land God would show them. Through the fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God fashioned the people Israel for the redemption of the nations. The story of salvation begins.

Below we have provided one breakout discussion question for each daily devotion. You will not have time to discuss all six questions in your breakout groups. Therefore, give freedom to your groups to select the questions they would like to discuss. As stated in the facilitator’s guide, adult learners like to have a voice and a choice in the learning process. Use the provided space to write down any reflections you may have. Be sure to conclude the breakout discussion time in order to allow twenty minutes for the creation of your action plans.

Day 1 | Emma challenges us to allow ourselves to walk in grace and not perfection or productivity during this Advent season. Divide into a small group of four or less to discuss what this looks like in everyday life. Day 2 | Steph writes, “We do not have fullness of life if we are not fulfilled by the Father.” Divide into pairs. Relate this to the context of your own life. What does this mean to you? Day 3 | Jason asks us, “How often in the midst of our sin do we hide ourselves from the face of God?” In a small group of four, list the reasons why we often hide ourselves from the face of God. How does God’s mercy override these reasons? Day 4 | Jackie reminds us there is another voice (other than God’s) that finds collaboration within our hearts. In a small group of four or less, determine what factors distinguish between the voice of God and the ‘other’ voice as they play out the struggle for a place in our hearts. Make a list of your ideas. Day 5 | Jackie writes about the God who commits. Based upon the fact that God keeps his covenants and promises to us, what predictions can you make about your future? Divide into pairs to share your answer.

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Day 6 | Jackie writes how wrestling with God for answers to what has either happened in our past or is currently happening in our lives often leads to a transformation of thoughts and actions. Identify one issue that has you wrestling with God. In what ways might God be transforming you through this struggle? Share your answer in a pair.

Reflection:

When there are about twenty minutes left, everyone gather back together and work through creating an action plan for this week. Start answering the questions individually. To be sure that everyone verbalizes their action plan, provide an opportunity for him or her to share their plan with at least one other person in the group. This is important! When we verbalize our action plan with others, we are more likely to follow through and share in accountability. Be prepared to share a report next week. There is plenty of space to process your thinking.

Something miraculous happened to the man and the woman in the garden after the fall. God still walked amongst them in their midst. Face-to-face with God, after he had found them out, he still showed them mercy and forgiveness. He took an innocent creature from his garden and through its bloodshed covered their nakedness. The God of the universe is in the business of loving his enemy. Because God has loved even us who were once his enemy, we are free to go and do the

ACTION PLAN

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same. We are free to be servants of love. Let’s explore how we can love our enemies by creating an action plan.

It is very easy for us to just state that we have a problem without coming up with a realistic solution. This takes intentionality. Some simple questions can walk us through a process to practically display God’s love to our neighbors. Under each of the following questions, write out your answer. By the time you answer all of the questions, you will have a practical action plan for loving your enemy.

1. Who is a person you have a hard time being around?

2. What can you do this week to show them they have value as an image bearer?

3. When are you going to do this action of servant-love?

4. Where are you going to do this action of servant-love?

5. How are you going to do this action of servant-love?

6. Why are you going to do this action of servant-love?

Week twoGOD with US

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The God who is in the ordinary

week two day one

Then the Lord said from the burning bush, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their

sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the

Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hittites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me,

and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out

of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”Exodus 3:7-12

Fewer things bring on such extreme feelings of despair than thinking God has deserted us. Jesus felt deeply abandoned by

God as He hung on the cross, causing Him to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These were the same feelings the Israelites experienced while they were under the rule of the godless Egyptian pharaoh. Joyless and sorrowful, they felt separated from God. When God chose to reveal himself to Moses on behalf of the Israelites, the very location God chose - Mt. Horeb - means ‘desolation.’ It is in the midst of this desolation that God reaches out to Moses, appearing at a time when Moses least expects it.

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It was an ordinary day in the life of Moses. Moses was doing that which he did everyday for the past 40 years: he was watching his father-in-law’s sheep. Yet, in the middle of the ordinary, something extraordinary happens. A nearby bush catches on fire. With his curiosity piqued, Moses wanders over for a closer look. As he stares at the bush, God calls out to him. Overtaken by fear, Moses tries to run and hide, but God continues to beckon him. God quickly assures Moses that he has heard his people crying. He has seen their misery. Their suffering at the hands of the Egyptians had not gone unnoticed by their loving Father. As author Max Lucado rightly comments, “Our awareness of his presence may falter, but the reality of his presence never changes.”3 God was present and at work in the midst of their feelings of desolation. I wonder if believers today tend to have similar faulty perceptions about God’s presence in their lives. If God were really with us, wouldn’t our circumstances be better? Wouldn’t our lives be easier and less complicated? Yet, in the midst of our desolation God suddenly, without warning, reveals himself in the extraordinary burning bushes of our ordinary moments. We hear him declare, “I am with you,” when we’re hugged by a friend, hear a particular song, or are moved by something in nature. God tells us he has heard our cries and has noticed our suffering. A new day dawns, and with it comes the hope of a better tomorrow. Hallelujah! God is with us!

Ronda describes how God unexpectedly appeared to Moses in the burning bush during an ordinary day. Think about a time when God was speaking to you in your everyday experience. How did you know this was the presence of God?

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The God who delivers

week two day two

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the

wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the

wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you

shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Exodus 14:10-14

C ease. Desist. Stand back. Observe. Marvel. Rejoice. Be delivered. Often what stands in my way of deliverance is…me. I am a

go-getter, and go-getters go. And go. And go. Until they hit a wall. I have hit some of those recently in my life. I have stopped dead in my tracks. Something has silenced me. It was through this silence I experienced deliverance by the hand of a gracious God who neither sleeps nor slumbers. Instead he waits. He waits for me to get out of the way so he can bring order out of my cha-os. He waits for the right moment, that fullness of time, because he sees the greater picture. He waits for the right circumstances so others can observe, marvel, rejoice, and perhaps experience deliverance as well.

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It isn’t always about me. It’s about a God who longs to deliver, redeem, and restore. And the glory and honor get to be his and his alone. This is what I see in Exodus 15 when the Israelites are fleeing Pharaoh’s army. They come to the Red Sea—and hit a wall. Quick to the call, Moses reassures them about the God they serve. The God who made a promise (covenant) with Abraham, sealing it with his own presence symbolized by a smoking pot and flaming torch (Read Genesis 15, or review week one, day 5). The God, who as a pillar of fire and cloud, moves from guiding them in front to becoming their rear guard — the only thing standing between them and the Egyptians. And then it happens. Silence. God parts the water and makes a way through the chaos and circumstance. The Israelites pass through what was once hopeless and certain death, to what is now life. He delivered them. Interestingly, nothing has changed with God from Exodus until today. He is still in the delivering business. Period. Could it be he is just waiting for you to cease, desist, stand back, and observe? Lord, forgive me for my self-efforts that get in the way of Your glory. Thank you that you are a God who exceeds any box I foolishly try to place you in!

Jackie reminds us that we serve a God who longs to deliver, redeem, and restore, but often we have to ‘hit a wall’ before we allow him to do so. What are the walls you have hit in your lifetime that have pointed you back to Christ?

How can his grace keep you from hitting more walls before allowing him to work in your life?

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The God who comes near

week two day three

Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.

Exodus 26:1

And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with

cherubim skillfully worked into it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of

gold, on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy

Place from the Most Holy.Exodus 26:31–33

At Mt. Sinai, the Lord reminded Israel how he delivered them, redeeming them from slavery in Egypt, and brought them to

himself as their Father. If they would obey his word and keep his covenant, they would be treasured by him as his people and be to him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, who would make him known to all the nations.

Israel unanimously answered, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” The Lord then instructed them how they could know him and live as his people. Appearing as a consuming fire on the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses and the elders to approach him on the mountain, where they not only saw him, but actually ate and drank with him, fellowshipping with one another, even as we fellowship with one

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another in our house churches!

Through his servant, Moses, God then instructed the people in detail how to construct for him a tabernacle so that he could dwell among them -- a dwelling place that would reflect his glory and the order of worship appropriate to him. He yearned for them to know and love him even as he knew and loved them. He was showing them the way to that kind of life.

The King of the universe had saved Israel by his grace, his love. He was the God who had redeemed them from the house of slavery. Now he was showing them the way that a holy God would dwell with them, counseling them, leading them and blessing them. He was disclosing to his children the way to abundant life: by holy living through obedience to his covenant of love (Deuteronomy 7:6-8) The high and holy God chose to pitch his tabernacle in the midst of Israel’s tents. The Lord has come to live with his people.

When work on the tabernacle was completed, the glory -- the very presence of the Lord -- filled the tabernacle. Fire came out from his presence and consumed the offerings. The people saw it and fell on their faces. (Exodus 40:34-35; Leviticus 9:23-24) In the presence of God today, in light of his glory, a similar response for us is brokenness and humility in response to which God says he will draw near (James 4:6-10).

Joan states that when the people of Israel saw the presence of God that filled their newly constructed tabernacle, they fell on their faces. In light of his presence in our lives today, a similar response of brokenness and humility is what pleases God. Make a list of attitudes and actions that demonstrate brokenness and humility.

How is the glory of the Lord being revealed through your life?

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The God who promises his presence

week two day four

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to

Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in mar-

riage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf,

for in its welfare you will find your welfare.Jeremiah 29:4-7

Israel failed to keep the law. The repercussions of their idolatry were at hand. After generations of vile kings and prophets who

spoke of turning from their sinful ways, Israel’s heart had hardened against her Lord. They were to be exiled from the land and taken into captivity once again.

For many, captivity was still new, like a cut too fresh to have begun healing. It bled of questions. Why is God punishing us like this? Why couldn’t we have been left in Jerusalem with the others? Why has God abandoned us? Word began to spread of prophecies declaring that they would taste freedom in a just few short years. And the captive Israelites began planting hope in these lies from the false prophets in their company. In the midst of such seemingly happy news, God intervened through His prophet Jeremiah with a vision of truth.

God encouraged the Israelites to build homes, cultivate gardens, marry, have children and make a life for themselves in the middle of the foreign place that surrounded them. They would be there no less than

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seventy years. Though the years would be many, within them was where God would forge the hope the Israelites were in need of.

When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will be present for you, declares the Lord, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:12-14

The Israelites faced a choice to make: long for truth to be found in the comforting lies or hope in the God who promises his presence. But temporary comforts cannot satisfy the hope our souls long for. It is in these familiar circumstances that time fades away and we find ourselves facing the same conflict. Regardless of where we stand, do we live life fully in the midst of loss and joy, of pain and comfort? Dare we grieve and taste all the bitterness that comes with it, celebrate and be as zealous to taste all the sweetness that can be found there? Life is built between the extremes and only God can fill the expanse.

Robin reminds us that the Israelites were faced with a choice. They could either whine about being in exile or shine in their hope in the God who promised his presence in their lives. Today, we face the same choice. In the chart below, iden-tify the areas of your life that are filled with joy and comfort and those that are filled with loss and pain. Using one word for each column, describe your attitude in the midst of these situations. Write these two words in the margin. Joy and Comfort Pain and Loss

What conclusions can you draw from these lists?

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The God who does not abandon

week two day five

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach,

Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king’s

order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the

king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of

the gods.”Daniel 3:19–25

Imagine for a moment what it would be like to be a young Hebrew in exile. Your home is in literal ruins. The only people who remain

are a few farmers who have to send their crops on to your captors. God’s dwelling has been pillaged and the holy vessels stolen by blasphemous heathens as spoils of war.

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And now your co-workers are trying to get you killed. Not an awesome day. You are standing in front of the most powerful man on the face of the earth, and he is less than pleased with you. You are going to die for refusing to worship his god.

I would be working through some serious doubt at this point. I mean, where is God in this? He let his people get dragged off; the promised land be consumed by thorns and wild beasts; and the temple is ransacked. Why is God letting this happen? Where is he? Why is he punishing those who have been faithful?

Then the king makes this statement. “What god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”

And this is where our boys show up. See, they remember. The history is there. They know about such a God. See, the God they know broke the shackles of a tiny people group! He despoiled the richest nation in the world! He swallowed up the most powerful army known to man! He supplied food in the wilderness and water in the desert! He won them victory after victory over nations much stronger than them! He gave them a home! This God was strong enough to save. And you do not stop following a God this strong even if he seems absent.

And you do not challenge him either. That did not work well for “god-kings” in the past. “Our God is strong enough to save us, but even if he doesn’t, we are not going to worship your gods.”

These young men trusted God would save them, even in the worst possible circumstances. And so God used them to demonstrate to this king that he does not abandon His people. Not in exile. Not in the furnace. God is with them, and He can deliver His people from any hand.

Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, how can the truth of the gospel empower you stand firm in Christ?

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THE GOD WHO PROMISES NEW CREATION

week two day six

For behold, I create new heaven and a new earth,and the former things shall not be remembered

or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred

years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they

shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for

like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They

shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while

they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and

dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 65:17-25

I was at a family event when the call came. My dad had been ill and in a nursing facility for the better part of two years. My brother

was calling to let me know I needed to come as quickly as possible. Dad had lost consciousness and the doctors had called in hospice. Twelve hours later, dad’s faith had become sight.

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Fast-forward four months. My mom was in the hospital as the result of a fall. The doctors found some internal bleeding which led to multiple blood transfusions. With mom’s weak heart, this all proved too much for her frail body. The Lord took her home.

Death is a part of life, but it was not always this way. In Genesis 1-2, we see God creating a perfect environment and placing mankind here. Mankind was to cultivate and keep God’s creation. He was to have dominion over this perfect place. Yet, man chose to disobey God’s word. Therefore, we all now, at some point in all of our lives, deal with the result of sin - death. Not a very comforting thought if we view this from a worldly perspective.

But Psalm 116:15 assures us that “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” How could the Psalmist say this? Why would death be precious to anyone?

Enter the Lord. The Creator of all we can and cannot see promises us in Isaiah 65 that he is doing what only he can do - creating new heavens and a new earth. And he is doing it so completely perfectly that none of the former things - death, suffering, and sorrow - will be remembered or come to mind. The voice of weeping and the sound of crying will not just be a distant memory. It will not be a memory at all. Revelation 21:4 promises us that, “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.”

Life will finally be as life was when God first created. Life will not end prematurely; our work will produce fruit as it was originally intended; and all creation will again be at peace. This season reminds us the Prince of Peace has come. Immanuel, God with us.

How is the death of God’s children precious? What could be more precious than being ushered into the very presence of the throne of our great Lord, with a new creation to forever inhabit?

Thank you Father for your indescribable gift of our Savior the Lord Jesus, and of your Spirit, our comforter, guide, and holy reminder of you and of how all things will be, once we see you face to face.

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house churchreflection & Action Plan

week two review

Often when we think of the Old Testament, a couple major

characters come to mind: Moses and King David.

Moses was the one whom God used to deliver Israel from their captivity in Egypt. Moses struggled with both Israel and God in the wilderness as they all waited to enter the land. It was Moses’ lack of faith in God that prevented Him and his entire generation to enter into the land once it had been given to them.

After hundreds of years of waiting, God’s people finally entered into the land God had promised to their father, Abraham. Joshua took up Moses’ mantle, and he and the other Elders of Israel organized the people by tribe and placed them in the land. God was to be their King. The nations that surrounded Israel had their own Kings, but she was to be light that shined in their midst pointing them to the true King of all the nations.

For a while, special leaders called judges ruled Israel. However, as the

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opening of the book of Judges tells, God’s people failed to tell the story of God’s promises and deliverance to their children.

And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel…And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. Judges 2:10; 12

After the judges, the people wanted a king to rule over them. God granted them one. As the story goes, Saul sought after his own glory. Israel needed a good king who would point them to her true Lord. Since David was a king after God’s own heart, God made a promise to him:

“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne

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of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son…And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

2 Samuel 7:12-14; 16

So the promise of the anointed one was defined: a king from David’s line would rule God’s people forev-er, teaching them to live out ways of God. In the midst of our fallen state, God draws near to us. God drew near to Israel in the midst of

her captivity in Egypt and brought her into deliverance. God drew near to Israel when she was lost in the wilderness as he made his dwelling amongst them in the tabernacle. God drew near through His chosen servant, David. God drew near to Israel when she was exiled from the land. God drew near to Israel when she returned and was given a vision of new creation. God is in the habit of drawing near to his people, even when we withdraw ourselves from him.


Day 1 | Ronda describes how God unexpectedly appeared to Moses in the burning bush during an ordinary day. Think about a time when you may have had a ‘burning bush’ experience. Pair up and describe this experience. Day 2 | Jackie reminds us that we serve a God who longs to deliver, redeem, and restore, but often we have to ‘hit a wall’ before we allow him to do so. In a small group of four or less, point out some of the ways we often stand in God’s way of working in our lives and why we do this. Day 3 | Joan states that when the people of Israel saw the presence of God that filled their newly constructed tabernacle, they fell on their faces. In a small group of four, make a list of attitudes and actions that demonstrate brokenness and humility. In what ways can you demonstrate these attitudes and actions in the context of your life? Day 4 | Robin reminds us that the Israelites were faced with a choice. They could either whine about being in exile or shine in their hope in the God who promised his presence. Instead of either/or, many of us live a both/and existence. In a small group, share the conclusions you drew about the differences in attitudes we often exhibit as we live out these extremes. What can we learn from this as we move forward in life?

Day 5 | In his devotion, Josiah asks the question, “Who can save you?” He retells the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing to give in to

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cultural pressure and bow down to worship another god. In a small group of four, relate this story to the culture we live in today. What generalizations can you make? Day 6 | Chris tells us that all things will be made new once we transition from this life to the next. Close your eyes and imagine what it will be like to enter into the presence of God in the new creation. In a small group of four, justify the value of keeping this image in your mind throughout your lifetime.

Reflection:


Since God draws near to us, as his image bearers we are to draw near to others. One of the most basic places God has placed into is our neighborhood. Let’s explore together the people God has placed among us by drawing a picture of our neighborhoods. We have already drawn a picture your house. In the space provided, fill in the rest of your neighborhood. In each home you draw, write the names of those who live there. Continue drawing the houses in your neighborhood until you no longer know who resides there. Put a question mark in the homes of those neighbors you do not yet know.

ACTION PLAN

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Select one of the homes from the neighbors you do not yet know well. 1. Whom do you feel God is calling you to connect with first?

2. What opportunity can you create that would allow you to introduce yourself to them?

3. When would be a good time to do this?

4. Where will this happen?

5. How can you display the nearness of God to them?

6. Why do you think you have not done this in the past? How does God’s love motivate you to do it this week?

You

Week THREEGOD with US

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The God who WAS BORN A BABY

week three day one

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him

was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the

darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.John 1:1–5

He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his

offspring forever.Luke 1:54–55

A story’s beginning is everything. Without it, we know little about the plot. Start in the middle and there are many unanswered

questions. Is the giant whale good or bad? What makes this ring a problem? Why is Luke upset that Vader is his dad? Go to the beginning and we learn a lot about a story: the characters, pursuits, problems and the author.

The gospels are actually a story part way through another grand plot-line. The gospel writers want to show how Jesus’ story fits into the world’s story and how the world’s story only makes sense in Jesus’. To do that, some of them start pointing us toward the beginning. Of the four, John’s might be the most provocative.

“In the beginning was the Word…”

Where else do we read, “In the beginning”? Creation. John takes us

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all the way back. John is saying to us, “To really know Jesus, go to the beginning. See that he is creating something new.”

Think about creation. Consider the author’s power, purposes and promise for humanity and the whole universe. To see exactly who he is. To see him as the one at the beginning of the story who is the reason for the story.

The bible also shows us how God accomplishes his purposes through particular people living in particular place, culture, and time. God chooses unlikely stories to make his grand story known. The most glorious of stories is how our Creator came here, to dwell with us in the least likeliest of places: a teenager’s womb.

Not only is Mary pregnant in a most scandalous way; she is growing the presence of God in her very body. Her child will be Immanuel, God with us. Luke records her response -- Mary’s Magnificat. Consider Mary’s words in Luke 1:46-55. She speaks as if the world is becoming right again. God has remembered his promise to Abraham and his people. He is with us.

Ben reminds us that God chooses unlikely stories to make his grand story known. He came and dwelt in the least likeliest of places: a teenager’s womb. What are some of the unlikely places He has dwelt in your life?

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The God who is Father, son, Spirit

week three day two

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying,

“I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he

saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is

my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”Matthew 3:13–17

There is no way God could be pleased with me”. These were the first words a Christian brother spoke as we sat down for coffee.

How many times in our lives do feel that we just do not measure up? Unmet expectations, past mistakes, bad choices…they all can haunt us and, if we are not diligent, blind us to our identity in Christ.

A second place finish was a complete failure. A promotion was not big enough. Even our service for the kingdom does not seem significant enough.

In the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ baptism, we see something that must give us pause in this all-too common area of not measuring up through our accomplishments -- or lack thereof.

As Jesus comes out of the water two things happen: The Spirit, in the form of a dove lights on Him, and a voice from heaven states with all-powerful authority, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-

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pleased” This Jesus Who has yet to heal a single person, multiply a boy’s sack lunch into a meal for thousands, or go to the cross for the stain of sin to be permanently removed, is beloved of his Father. This Jesus brings his Father pleasure. This Jesus is looked on with favor by the same Father we all share in Christ.

Beloved child of God, all of life is grace.

Chris writes that God declared His love for and favor upon Jesus before he performed even one miracle. Relate this truth to your life. How would your life be different if you lived in the truth that God loves you just for who you are?

Predict how your life would change if you walked fully in the undeserved grace he bestows upon each of us.

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The God who INVITES US IN

week three day three

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him

say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And

they said to him, “Rabbi,” which means Teacher, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So

they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of

the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own

brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah,” which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas,” which means Peter.

John 1:35–42

John the Evangelist has captured in his account of Jesus the calling the first disciples for the benefit of his readers. Attentive

to every detail, John sets the day, the scene, and the precise hour while describing an incredibly transformative encounter with Christ. Just like Andrew brings his brother Simon, John eagerly brings us to Jesus and encourages us to see the Messiah for ourselves. Read John’s testimony carefully and answer Christ in your heart: “What do you seek?” Jesus asks each of us a simple question, which reveals the thoughts and intentions of our hearts (Hebrews 14:12).

“Teacher, where are you staying?” (John 1:38) This is our bold response,

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which identifies us as lifelong disciples and declares our intention of knowing him.

“Come and see.” (John 1:39) This is our invitation to dwell with him so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name (John 20:31).

Our hearts truly desire Jesus and we should rejoice in this invitation to remain in his presence for eternity as children of God (John 1:13). Are we thankful for the people in our own lives, like John the Baptist, who have pointed us to Jesus? Are we satisfied by merely knowing about Jesus or do we truly desire a real encounter, an invitation to abide in him, and the restoration necessary to live fruitful lives as our Father intended (John 15:5)?

Upon reception of this invitation, our task of dwelling with him has only begun. Jesus himself tells us that “the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” (cf. Mt 8:20) and that we are to abide in him just as he abides in us (John 15:4). Therefore, it should not surprise us when he calls us to bring his presence into the dark recesses of our world and society. As Christ followers, are we eager to see where Christ is staying and remain with him in those places? On the other hand, would we rather meet him within our own familiar confines of comfort and control?

In his devotion, Matt challenges us to bring his presence into the dark recesses of our world and society. Determine where the dark recesses of our world and society are located. What should our response be in those places? How is Jesus your model?

Determine where the dark recesses of your own life are located. What should be your response in those places?

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The God who is in the storm

week three day four

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.

And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid,

O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men

marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Matthew 8:23–27

There’s something exciting about watching a storm. The forces of nature raging across the sky, inflicting the earth. That blinding

light! That thunder that rumbles through your chest. Massive drops of water slamming into the ground. Wind that shakes the windows.

But step outside, and that excitement quickly changes. It doesn’t take long to realize that one disturbing truth that we all hide from every day of our lives. As the rain lashes you and the wind drives you off course, it becomes obvious. You are not in control. You are tiny and weak. There is nothing you can do to protect yourself from such immense power. You cannot reason with it. You cannot order it around. You cannot charm it. You cannot buy it off. It isn’t impressed with your beauty or strength. It just is, and your only option is to hide from it.

Realizing you are at the mercy of something so powerful is humbling. And terrifying. And this is where we find the disciples. Despairing for their lives on the high sea, with Jesus asleep in the hold. This isn’t just a light rain. We are talking about a storm powerful enough to make

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veteran fisherman shake Jesus awake crying out, “We are going to die!” Men who have lived on the sea and worked her for all their lives are freaking out. They have never experienced a power greater than a storm at sea.

But they don’t know who is in the boat. This is the guy who dreamed up light. This guy fired up each star in the universe. This is the guy who is holding every atom together. It’s barely an afterthought for him to tell the wind and waves to chill out. So he does.

The disciples stupefied. Jaws on the deck. The most powerful thing in their existence and this man is the boss over it. “Who is this man?”

See, a God who subjugates the power of nature, is a God who is worth worshiping. But, a God who cares enough to save you is a God worth trusting. That’s who this Son of Man is!

Josiah writes about Jesus calming the storm while his disciples were huddled in the boat, frightened. When Jesus calmed the storm, they asked themselves in amazement, “Who is this man?” How does Jesus’ control of even nature allow you to trust him more with your life?

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The God who raises the dead

week three day five

Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew

near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up

and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear

seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his

people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Luke 7:11–17

Have you ever been surrounded by people and still felt completely alone? Maybe you face your first Christmas since a loved one has

passed away. For some, the holidays may be a painful reminder of broken hearts and promises. As friends wrap their world in red and green, maybe you feel angry and forgotten. What strikes me in the story of Luke 7:11-17 is that no one had to tell Jesus that the grieving woman was a widow who had lost her only son. He knew her just as well as he knows the hand you have been dealt this holiday season. Scripture says he saw her and had compassion on her. Other translations say he pitied her and his heart went out to her. Imagine the scene as Jesus watches the funeral procession pass through

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the city gate. He sees the woman. Tears carve canyons down her face, moans escape the depths of her lungs, as neighboring arms hold her up. She stumbles over every step as she stares hopelessly after the lifeless body of her only son, her family, and her future. How can she face another layer of tragedy, loss upon loss, the pain seemingly insurmountable, her future uncertain and bleak. Seemingly betrayed by the world, she is unaware the Messiah stands nearby. “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’” A strange request to a grieving widow, but an awed hush follows. The men bearing the platform stop as one. Dust settles. Jesus approaches. “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sits up and begins to talk. He’s no longer dead. He’s alive! Jesus gives him back to his mother. She wraps him in her arms and they fall together on the ground in a heap, her tears mix with laughter. The Savior poured his heart out for her. He has done no less for you in the pouring out of his blood for the forgiveness of your sin. Rest in the promise that you may feel like a drifting island but Jesus stands nearby. He sees you in the midst of the crowd, in the throes of your loss, perhaps facing the threshold of death. May his presence flood your loneliness this holiday season. May his mercy overwhelm your sadness. May his love satisfy your aching soul.

Sadly, Carrie reminds us that Christmas is not always a happy time for everyone. For those who are lonely and hurting, Christmas only magnifies their pain and loss. Identify a person who may be hurting and lonely this holiday season. Make a list of the ways you can provide comfort to them.

If you are the person who is hurting and lonely, who is someone you feel comfortable sharing your pain with?

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The God who DIES FOR US

week three day six

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him…And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,”…And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save

himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and

saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself !” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other

rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done

nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you,

today you will be with me in Paradise.”

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And

the curtain of the temple was torn in two.Luke 23:32–45

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The bread had been broken and the wine poured. Jesus was now on his way to Gethsemane where the early labor pains of

redemption would begin. He told the disciples that scripture would be fulfilled: “And he was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).

This is fulfilled as Jesus is led to “the skull” with two criminals where he would be crucified between them. His identity was challenged. The

rulers said, “... let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God!” The soldiers said, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself !” Even one of the criminals would blasphemeo, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

The other criminal, though physically dying, experienced an awakening in his heart. He could no longer see himself as an autonomous sovereign who could do as he pleased. He rebuked the other criminal: “Do you not fear God?” The man confessed that justice was being served in regards to himself and his fellow malefactor. He confessed that Jesus was innocent and owed nothing to anyone. Powerless, he cast every hope on the king who wore the thorns, trusting there must be more to the story than what was displayed in that moment. Jesus responded, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The word “paradise” is used in the Septuagint to describe the Garden of Eden. That is where relational presence with God was lost. To lose God was to lose paradise. How then can mankind ever experience the wholeness of being with God if sin has separated us? Restoration was made possible because Jesus refused to listen to the rulers, the soldiers and the first criminal. He saved others by not saving himself. In dying, he paid the penalty for sin and removed separation, giving the hope of dwelling in God’s presence. It was as if Jesus said to the man, “I’m am numbered among the transgressors so that you could be numbered among the righteous.”

The top-to-bottom tearing of the curtain of the Most Holy Place in the temple punctuates the beautiful truth that God has provided a way for sinners to be with him.

Chad tells us that, in dying, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. Once separated from God, we are now brought near to him. Jesus calls this “Paradise.” In your own words, define “Paradise.” Is it present or future? How does this influence the decisions you make in everyday life?

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house churchreflection & Action Plan

week three review

A barren night and an unwanted guest. This is

the heritage of our Christ. The God who made himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant and being found in the likeness of humanity was unwanted.

God’s anointed one -- the Christ -- had come. It was God himself found in the person of Jesus -- fully God, fully human. But what was this anointed one to be like? Many in Israel had wanted a political king who would finally destroy the tyrant nations that oppressed them. They wanted a king who would rule by might. They wanted a king who would restore them to their land.

But this is not the type of king Jesus intended to be.

In a particular display of God’s character, Jesus showed himself to be a suffering servant. Just as Isaiah had spoken of, Jesus would

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be the kind of king who would wrap himself with a towel and do the job of the household servant: wash the feet of his guests. Even Peter wasn’t expecting this kind of Messiah.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

John 13:6–8

Through this lesson, Jesus taught his people his ways -- love, service and humility. As they loved one another, as they sought to live in unity, the world would know they were his disciple. Some from the world would join alongside them in God’s mission to the nations. From their first steps out of the upper room to today, the realm of God’s kingdom continues to expand until it will cover the whole face

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of the earth, and people from every tribe, tongue and nation surround the throne of God.


Day 1 | Ben reminds us that God chooses unlikely stories to make his grand story known. He came and dwelt in the least likeliest of places: a teenager’s womb. Pair up and summarize your understanding of the significance of this event. Day 2 | Chris writes that God declared his love for and favor upon Jesus before He performed even one miracle. In a small group of four, discuss the implications of this truth in our lives today. How should this truth change the way we think and act? Day 3 | Matt challenges us to bring his presence into the dark recesses of our world and society. Are we eager to see where Christ is staying and remain with him in those places? In a small group of four, determine where the dark recesses of our world and society are located. What should our response be in those places?

Day 4 | Josiah writes about Jesus calming the storm while His disciples were huddled in the boat, frightened. When Jesus calmed the storm, they asked in amazement, “Who is this man?” Identify a storm in your life from which God has saved you. Pair up and share the details with your partner. Day 5 | Sadly, Carrie reminds us that Christmas is not always a happy time for everyone. For those who are lonely and hurting, Christmas only magnifies their pain and loss. In a small group of four, make a list of the ways we can comfort those who are hurting and lonely during this season. Day 6 | Chad tells us that, in dying, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. Once separated from God, we are now brought near to him. Jesus calls this “Paradise.” In your own words, define “Paradise.” Is it present or future? In a small group of four, share your definitions and discuss how this should affect the decisions you make in everyday life.

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Reflection:


Jesus is the light who has come into darkness. It is very easy for us to see the darkness in others -- those who aren’t like us. We do this both with individuals and entire cultural groups. It is more difficult for us to turn the mirror around and identify the dark areas of our hearts and our ways of life. Jesus himself encourages us in the Sermon on the Mount to remove the plank out of our eye before we remove the speck out the eyes of others. We have been focusing a lot on how to love and

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serve others the last couple of weeks. Let’s take some time to look introspectively into our own hearts and speak the gospel to ourselves.

1. Who are you apart from Christ? Who are you becoming as a new creation in Christ?

2. What are areas of darkness in your life that you have a hard time coming to terms with? Who would you allow to speak this truth into your life?

3. Where can you go to in scripture to encourage your new identity in Christ and freedom from this darkness? Check out the appendix, “Life in Christ, that has many of these truths listed.

4. When are you most vulnerable to live out of this darkness?

5. How does your new identity in Christ meet you in this dark place and shine light and freedom?

6. Why couldn’t you live out of this new identity and freedom in His light and grace everyday? “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Week fourGOD with US

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The God who BREATHES NEW LIFE

week four day one

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,

“Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when

they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins

of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

John 20:19–23

Fresh from the apparent disaster of Jesus’ death, his disciples were hiding in terror, behind locked doors, trapped with only their

common fear. Had their Messiah abandoned them? Were they left alone to deal with the fallout after Jesus’ crucifixion? Even Peter, who had walked on water with Jesus himself, was cowering. They believed they had no power. Their faith was utterly destitute. Was there no hope?

Jesus reveals himself. Suddenly, Jesus is in their midst in the flesh saying, “Peace be with you”! He didn’t wait for them to come to him. He didn’t send messengers. He came directly to them and met them where they were. He didn’t wait for them to resolve their fear and devise a plan of action. He arrived unannounced and made plain his existence by showing his hands and his feet. The disciples could come to no other conclusion than this was their Messiah resurrected! What a stunning revelation!

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Jesus brings peace. Their fear surely melted as Jesus alive before them speaks peace into their lives as only he can do, repeating, “Peace be with you.” Perhaps knowing that they were too stunned to hear him the first time as he entered, he emphasizes his desire that they be at peace. The disciples were now at peace.

Jesus gives his mission. Order now restored, the disciples are now quiet and fully attentive to Jesus standing before them, impossibly so, as he tells them the reason for his appearance. “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” His entire mission, his entire purpose transferred to all of his disciples in one sentence. They now have purpose.

Jesus Empowers by his Spirit. With a single breath, he then bestowed the gift of the Holy Spirit, the foretold counselor and helper, to enable his disciples to carry out their purpose. Not only did they receive this incredible gift, but also he promises that he will grant the very same gift to anyone who comes to him through these very disciples. They are now empowered to spread his kingdom.

The beginning of the mission of the church. The body and bride of Christ sent to bring the lost into his kingdom through revelation, peace, purpose, and power.

Jonathan tells us that Jesus reveals himself to us; he brings us peace; he gives us his mission; and he empowers us by the Spirit to carry out this mission. Which of these realities excites you the most and why?

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The God who DWELLS IN US

week four day two

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made

with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by

putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we

would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:1-4

Our skin is but a memory. A memory of what we have intimately encountered, felt, experienced. A physicality, equally fragile and

strong, that holds us together in essence and form containing something hidden within, something that cannot be touched by the hand or seen with the eyes. We are a home that can feel, a vessel for something much greater than ourselves. We are a living tabernacle for the very Spirit of God.

Though we waste away through age and disease we forfeit ourselves not to these afflictions but to life, to be consumed by it. Consumed in letting go of all that we know, the mortal and temporary, and embracing the eternal, that which we were made for. But how can this be? How can we decay and wither into shadow only to be swallowed by the very thing it lacks? To find vibrant life through death?

For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

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We are transformed. We become something new, someone reconciled. Through Christ we are reunited with our Father, our God, our Maker and we are given his Spirit. The presence of the Spirit within us cries out to the life of Christ, his life in us. This life drives our love and in love, we are his ambassadors. Ambassadors clothed in but the dust of the earth. Though we are but a humble dwelling, therein the Spirit of God still resides until we stand before Christ, dressed by his hand, our former selves a memory.

Robin so eloquently reminds us that although we are but a humble dwelling place, the Spirit of God resides in us until we stand before Christ face-to-face. Christ inside of us drives our love and in love, we are his ambassadors. As you reflect upon your life, describe the ways in which Christ living inside you drives you. Provide a specific example in the space below.

How does this empower you to live more confidently in Christ?

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The God who LIVES IN US

week four day three

But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin?

Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with

Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not

nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 2:17-21

I love corkboards. There’s a big one next to my front door. It’s filled with invitations, one-liners, and quotes -- all sorts of good things.

You can barely see the bland cork backing as it has disappeared slowly behind the plethora of printed pleasantries.

For years, I thought the Christian life was like a corkboard. I needed to disappear behind an assortment of good Jesus things: one-liners, teachings, habits, and of course, a servant’s heart. I had to hide my old self behind these “Jesus things”. If others were going to see Jesus, that’s what I had to do right? As you can imagine, it doesn’t last.

You carry too much, and drop things. Like a filled corkboard losing its façade, revealing the hole-ridden backing, we drop our Jesus things only to reveal what’s been there the whole time: the old you. Is this what Jesus came for? For us to live hiding behind our Jesus things? Hardly. He came to give us more than something two-dimensional to hide behind. What He gives is more real and robust: His life (John 10:10).

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Life the way it’s meant to be lived. New life.

The apostle Paul wrote a lot about this life Jesus came to bring. What’s wild is how close He gets. In Galatians 2, Paul says something utterly scandalous: Jesus becomes our life. He lives in and through us. Think of how intimate, how up close and personal, this language is. Jesus has come so close, through faith, that we join him in his story, his death and life. We’ve died with Christ.

Your old self is dead and gone. Don’t add to or morally rearrange who you were. You’ll have as much success dressing up a corpse. Now, Christ lives in us. That’s who we are. This is why Jesus came (John 17:23). We live because Christ lives. God looks on us and relates to us as he does his very own Son. We’re in Christ, and Christ is in us. Don’t hide behind the Jesus things. Don’t try to add Jesus to your life. He wants to give you his.

In Christ, His death becomes your death. His life becomes your life. His story becomes your story.

Ben reminds us that our old nature has died with Christ, and now we live in him as a new creation. Differentiate between who you were before you died to yourself and who you are now in Christ. Refer to the appendix, “Life in Christ.”

Outside of Christ In Christ

Which part of this transformation do you value the most?

How does this empower you live your life without hiding behind the ‘Jesus things’?

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The God who SITS US WITH HIM

week four day four

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in

kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.Ephesians 2:4-7

Have you ever been in a completely dark room? My bedroom at home has no windows and a singular door. This is a huge fire

hazard, I confess, but it makes for a great place to sleep because of its complete lack of light. When I lay in bed at night and I close the door, I am able to see the tiniest of cracks or holes in the wall where light pouring in from street lamps escapes into the darkness. My eyes adjust to the pitch black, and I am able to see and sense the figures in my room — a chair, a table, a lamp. Every morning when I wake up, my eyes go through a journey of being enlightened. I know that the immediate exposure to the sun will hurt, so my eyes remain closed when I open my bedroom door. They remain squinted as I walk to the bathroom to ready for the day, only to slowly open as my body adjusts to walking in light.

Paul prays this for the Ephesians, “I pray that you may have the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18).

What if there is more to this whole Christian thing than trying to stop sinning because we think maybe, just maybe, then God will love

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us more if we sin less? What if we already have everything that God offers us completely in Christ?

If you are in Christ, you are made alive, raised, saved, seated and receiving immeasurable riches of grace. Right now. Not when you die. Not someday when you “go to heaven.” Right now. If you are in Christ, God has given himself completely to you without reservation. It’s all grace. All of life is grace. Grace through traffic lights and grocery lines.Grace through raising a family.Grace through being single.Grace through caring for your body. Grace through caring for others.Grace through the ordinary of everyday.

The scene painted for us in Ephesians 2:4-7 begs the question, “Where are you sitting?” Perhaps you say on the floor, on a couch or at a desk. But if you are in Christ, where do you also sit? In Christ, we are enthroned with him in the heavenlies.

That couch is a throne. That desk is a throne. That floor is throne. Where the people of God goes, so goes his throne. Don’t believe that truth? Pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. And when they are -- when you live out what you have already inherited, a seat with Christ -- heaven will be displayed on earth just a little bit more brightly.

Jason writes, “If you are in Christ, you ARE made alive, raised, saved, seated, and receiving the immeasurable riches of grace.” Right now! Take a moment to let this truth permeate through every fiber of your being. In the space below, describe how this makes you feel. Devise a plan to remember this the next time you feel discouraged and defeated.

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The God who MADE HIMSELF NOTHING

week four day five

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection

and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of

you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours

in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but

emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he

humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:1-11

Imagine yourself driving home after another exhausting day at the office. You managed one crabby customer after another until you

literally had to bite your tongue to keep from saying a few choice words that, frankly, the customer deserved. You are almost home when an obnoxious driver cuts you off and has the audacity to honk at you! What would you typically respond? We try so hard to grasp onto our rights for dear life! Whether it’s fighting for a promotion, ensuring we keep our place on the highway, or

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clinging to our toys as kids, we are determined to get what is ours. So it can shock us to realize the depth of love and humility that God calls his followers to live out on a daily basis. Today, as we read this passage, consider the backdrop to the letter. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, sat in prison and wrote to a group of persecuted believers that financially supported him despite their own shortage.4 Still, the Philippians had one main problem among them: disunity. This is what Paul touches on in chapter two. Give yourself the needed time to slowly read Philippians 2:1-11. Take it all in. Let this passage permeate your mind. For the sacrifice of Christ is truly astounding. But don’t stop there. The Philippians were not supposed to stop there. We aren’t meant to stop there. We are to live out Christ’s self-sacrificing way of life. For you see, it’s hard to arrogantly argue when you consider others as better than yourselves. It’s difficult to hold onto vain conceit when you have the mind of Christ. Does this way of life seem impossible to you? My guess is that it did to them as well. That is why commentator Frank Thielman reminds us: “we must…always remember that God does not expect us to obey him in our own strength, but works obedience within us.”5

Jesus’ death and resurrection free us from being slaves to greedy ambition. He broke off our self-worshiping chains and is slowly, daily, entering into our hearts to create selfless ones. For when we draw near to his presence, he changes us. Therein lies the hope of God with us.

Aimee challenges us to be imitators of Christ by living a more self-sacrificing way of life. In light of the “it’s all about me” culture we live in today, defend God’s call for us to live in humility on a daily basis.

What do you see as the value of living sacrificially everyday?

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The God who IS OUR GOD

week four day six

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was

no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne

saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God

himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:1-4

We have arrived, full circle. God is making all things new. Sin, death and the enemy have been cast away forever into the

second and final death. They can no longer prey on the weak. Their injustices will never be known again.

Look! A new garden has been planted in the middle of a new city. The tree of life abundantly produces a new crop every month. It lines the river flowing down from the throne of God. The healing of all wars and savagery committed by the nations can now begin. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

From the throne, the Victor shouts, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have

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passed away.”

His benevolent word creates, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Life abundant. Life freely given. No longer shall any thirst. No longer shall any hunger. No longer shall any be fatherless.

A bride is prepared and adorned. A groom awaits her arrival. Wedding bells chime in the new city he has made for her. Gold and precious stones reflect his radiance.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life without price.

We’ve arrived. And yet, it is all just beginning.

God has secured his people, living out His ways in the realm of His new heavens and earth.

For all the ages to come, God is with us.

As this Advent season concludes, Jason declares that God is with us. We’ve come full circle and have seen first hand the progress of redemption for God’s people. What an amazing journey this has been. In the space below, trace the unfolding presence of God throughout biblical history as you have come to understand it throughout this devotional study. Where have you encountered the presence of God the most? How has this changed you?

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house churchReflection & Action Plan

week four review

The mission of the church is patterned after the

mission of the Triune God. As the Father has sent the Son into the world, so he sends us into the world empowered by his Spirit. Remarkably, the same love with which the Father has loved the Son, the Father has loved us. And mystically, God’s love unifies us just as the Father, Son and Spirit are one. The glory that the Father has shared with the Son, the son has shared with us. God’s people are a gift of God to himself. Stand in awe at Jesus’ prayer for us -- the people who would believe.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are

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one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

John 17:20–26

God has sent us, his people into the world as ambassadors of the kingdom. Together, in this new community, we display the character of his reign -- humble and unifying love. We look into the dark places where the least of these dwell and we speak significance, worth and love into their dead bones. We are the

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people of the resurrection. His kingdom knows no boundaries. The Spirit unifies all nations in one body under one head who is the Christ the King. And we, his

people, shall live his ways and proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom until all nations come home in the realm of God’s new creation.


Day 1 | Jonathan tells us that Jesus reveals himself to us; he brings us peace; he gives us his mission; and he empowers us to carry out this mission. Which of these blessings excites you the most and why? Share your answer in a pair. Day 2 | Robin so eloquently reminds us that although we are but a humble dwelling place, the Spirit of God resides in us until we stand before Christ face-to-face. At that time, our former selves will only be a faded memory. Christ inside of us drives our love. In love, we are his ambassadors. In a pair, share your specific example of how you are driven by Christ living inside you. Day 3 | Ben reminds us that our old nature has died with Christ, and now we live in him as a new creation. Differentiate between who you were before you died to yourself and who you are now in Christ. Which part of this transformation do you value the most? How does this empower you live your life without hiding behind the ‘Jesus things’? Day 4 | Jason writes, “If you are in Christ, you are made alive, raised, saved, seated, and receiving the immeasurable riches of grace.” Right now! In a small group of four, brainstorm ways we can remember this truth the next time we feel defeated or discouraged.

Day 5 | Aimee challenges us to be imitators of Christ by living a more self-sacrificing way of life. In light of the “it’s all about me” culture we live in today, in a small group of four, defend God’s call for us to live in humility on a daily basis. What do you see as the value of living sacrificially everyday?

Day 6 | As this Advent season concludes, Jason declares that God is with us. Divide into pairs and share what has been the most meaningful part of this devotional study. Explain why. Predict how your life and future might be dif-ferent by integrating this truth into your everyday life.

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Reflection:


Often when we engage in mission, it is to come alongside people’s weaknesses. We have something they don’t have and only we can provide it. For example, many food ministries follow this pattern. People need food, we have the food, and so we provide the food. As well intentioned as this is, it can create systems of dependency. Another approach is called Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). Go to www.abcdinstitute.org for more ideas and information about this approach. ABCD attempts to come alongside the strengths of a community and empower people where they are. This is the power of

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the gospel, which declares to us what we already have in Christ. When we do this with our neighbors, we can empower them to see the ways God is already building them up. They may not get Christ yet, but they are in the process of being transformed. It is the duty of God’s people to speak empower and freeing hope into their midst. If you give a man a fish, he shall be fed for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will be fed for a lifetime. Let’s explore the possibility of coming alongside the strengths of our neighbors and empower them.

1. Who are a group of people that your house church can surround with the practical love of Christ?

2. What is already being done by others to love them? What assets can you build upon?

3. When is a good time to begin this exploration? This takes time.

4. Where is a good beginning place for your house church to explore ABCD in your neighborhoods?

5. How can you prevent yourselves from returning to weakness-based community development?

6. Why do you think the ABCD approach is valuable?

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HouseCHURCH

Dear House Church Shepherds,

We consider it such a blessing to partner with you in your house church during the coming Advent season. We have prayerfully developed a series of discussion questions based upon these daily devotions and encourage you to use them for your content time. We are confident that through these thought-provoking questions your house church members will have ample opportunities to encounter the Holy Spirit in life changing ways. However, your leadership of the discussion questions is crucial to this process. Each question is designed with a specific learning goal in mind based upon the principles of adult learning theory. We’re asking you to follow the directions provided for each question to the best of your ability.

For this season, we’d like you to think of yourself as more of a facilitator who guides the discussion rather than a teacher who imparts wisdom and information. We’re fully aware that approaches to education that exclusively emphasize student-directed learning may not provide adequate opportunities for a teacher’s wisdom to be shared. However, the content of your discussions has already been provided in the form of a daily devotion. Your role is to guide the discussions so that your house church members can learn how to integrate truth into all of life and grapple with how it affects the moment-to-moment and day-to-day existence of the people of God. This requires facilitators who talk less and listen more.

In the following sections of this leader’s guide, we’ve provided basic information about adult learners and how to engage them in the learning process. Adult learning theory requires a different approach to teaching than if we were teaching children. Whereas children are in the process of absorbing information that leads to value formation, the goal of adult Christian education is to foster change, renewal, and reformation of existing values by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the adult educator must provide opportunities for critical thinking, brainstorming and problem solving. You cannot learn for your leaners. You must create opportunities for them to learn for themselves.

You and your house church are about to embark on a new adventure! Learning is very exciting. People are called to learn to love, live in, and obey God within the grasp of their understanding and ability. God’s grace enables us to learn in ways that fulfill divine expectations and conform to the revealed will of God as expressed in scripture through the person of Jesus Christ. The greatest challenge for Christians is to be involved in lifelong learning communities that promote spiritual transformations at the points of readiness.

We are praying for you and your house churches during this Advent season. May God richly bless your house church discussion time in ways that go beyond your wildest expectations. He is with you and is ready to make himself known in life-changing ways.

Serving together,Ronda Sturgill & Jason ZastrowEditors

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Adults bring with them a wealth of prior knowledge and experiences that becomes a rich resource for new learning.

Adults learn best in environ-ments that are free from threat and that provide support for personal change.

Adult learners move from dependency upon teachers towards increasingly self- directedness as a normal aspect of maturation.

Adults are motivated to learn in order to cope more satisfyingly with real-life tasks or problems. This makes them have a more problem-centered orientation rather than subject-centered.

Adults are concerned with the immediate application of knowledge and skills.

Adults prefer to participate in hands-on learning activities.

Individual differences among people increase with age.

Provide learners the opportunity to reflect upon past experiences, finding connections between past experiences and new knowledge and how to integrate these. Past experiences structure the ways an adult will approach new experiences, determine which information will be selected for further attention, and how it will be interpreted.

As past experience is evaluated in the light of the new information, a change in thinking often occurs. Learners must be able to grapple with new ways of thinking, knowing, and doing in safe and trusted environments. Transforming knowledge based upon past experience is a process that takes time. Give your learners (and the Holy Spirit) time to work through the process.

Encourage learners to become responsible for their own learning by actively engaging them in the learning process.

The content must be applicable and relevant to contemporary life in order to be meaningful.

Ask learners to identify a current situation to which the content can be applied now.

Since much significant learning is acquired by doing, give your learners something to do with the content. Activities need to include opportunities for testing new ways of thinking. Make a chart that compares and contrasts; create a problem to solve; breakdown content into smaller bites, etc.

Adult education must make optimal provision for differences in learning styles. Learning activities must be diverse to meet the needs of all learners.

Characteristics IMPLICATIONS for teaching

Characteristicsof adult learners

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The learner participates in experiences and activities that result in the intake of information from internal and external sources.

The learner makes sense of experience by giving it meaning and value through cognitive and affective meaning-making processes that include observation and reflection.

The learners uses meanings to problem solve, make decisions, and to develop plans for acting.

Actions plans are implemented and choices are tested.

Responses from others and observations from the learner provide feedback and reinforcement.

Mackerarcher, D. (2004). Making sense of adult learning. (2nd ed.). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.

The basic learning cycle

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Effective facilitating strategies

Mirror the cycle of learning(1) Present content; (2) Allow time for meaning making through observation and reflection; (3) Allow time to develop a plan to apply the meaning to solve real-life problems; (4) Encourage implementation of action plan; and (5) Evaluation (What worked? What did not?).

Pair and ShareEveryone will share in a pair, even the most shy. This technique is great for answering questions that are more personal in nature.

Small groups of Four or LessThis technique is great for brainstorming or solving problems. Everyone has an opportunity to participate in the learning.

Wait for answersWaiting for your class to respond to questions allows them time to formulate their answers. Refrain from jumping in to answer your own questions.

LISTEN! No one is learning if you’re doing all the talking. Your job is to guide the learners along the path of s elf-discovery. (It’s not about you!)

Don’t Give Away AnswersYou might have all the answers, but if you don’t allow your learners the opportunity to discover it for themselves, you have robbed them of an

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important learning opportunity. Think of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. He knew the answer to the questions he asked but he wanted his companions to think for themselves. After he asked questions and listened to their answers, he opened the scriptures and explained their meaning.

Lavish Affirmation As facilitators, we want to affirm every voice immediately and consistently.

Start and Stop on timeHonor people’s time. In today’s world people are very busy.

Welcome disagreement Handling disagreements creatively that lead to learning-disagreement is a normal and even desirable small group behavior. Disagreements cause people to think though the issues in order to find the ultimate truth. Be mindful that our journey to know truth and to integrate it into everyday life is a process. Your positive handling of disagreements can help students learn how to disagree agreeably and without fear or anger.

Circle-UpCreate a friendly seating arrangement that reduces hierarchical approaches.

Move it AlongSummarize, organize, re-direct, keep the question or problem in view, keep things on track.

Facilitating a safe learning environment

1. Teaching methods should be more learner-centered rather than teacher-centered. This means that teachers are no longer givers of information. Instead, they provide the guidance so students can discover knowledge for themselves.

2. People skills are very important. Caring for your learners for who they are rather than for what they’re learning matters. Teachers need to be compassionate and aware of the humanity of the learner at all times.

3. Learners must feel that they are being successful or are going to be successful in order for them to actually succeed.

4. Learners need to know that they are supported before they will take the risk to learn new ways of thinking. Collaboration rather than competition should be encouraged.

5. Building a relationship with the learner is the key to success in teaching. People learn more effectively in settings involving relationships.

6. Teachers should not regard themselves as knowledge experts, but should facilitate a teaching and learning engagement between all the participants. In a good group, it’s hard to tell the difference between the teacher and the learners.

7. Value each learner by acknowledging that they bring a wealth of experience to the group. Use these experiences as a starting point from which new meanings can be formed.

8. By reflecting on their own experiences, learners may change what they believe, discard old information and accept new information, and question, explore, and assess what they know.

9. A learning process that focuses more on concepts, inquiry and problem solving is a safe environment that values the learners.

10. The teacher carefully avoids providing answers. His or her objective is to help the learners understand by asking questions that require the learners to elicit a response.

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Borich, G. (2011). Effective Teaching Methods: Researched-Based Practice. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.Jarvis, P. (2010). Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: Theory and Practice (4th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge

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Romans 3:24 “I have redemption in Christ.”

Romans 6:11“I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.”

Romans 6:23“I am no longer dead through my sin, but have God’s free gift of eternal life in Christ.”

Romans 8:1“I am not under condemnation and am free from sin and death in Christ.”

Romans 8:39“I am not able to be separated form the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 12:5“We are one body, members of one another in Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:2“I am sanctified in Christ.”

2 Corinthians 5:17“I am a new creation in Christ. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:19“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

Galatians 3:14“I experience God’s blessings in Christ.”

Galatians 3:26“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”

Galatians 3:28“We are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 1:3“I am blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”

Ephesians 2:6-7“God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Christ in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:10“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:13 “I have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

1 Victor P. Hamilton, New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, VOL 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdamns, 1990), 153-154.

2 “Covenant,” IVP Dictionary of the Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003), 146.

3 Lucado, Max, Just like Jesus (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 60.

4Clinton E. Arnold, Frank S. Thielman, S. M. Baugh, ZIBCNT: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 45, 48.

5Frank Thielman, The NIV Application Commentary: Philippians (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), 132.

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WorksCited

Apex is a community of believers who love Jesus and desire to make him the big deal in everything we do.

We have house churches spread all throughout the Miami Valley, meeting on different days of the week and organized into five specific geographic areas which we refer to as ‘Regions’. We really believe that the missional community found in house church is best way we know how to encourage true discipleship, accountability, and spiritual growth through the teaching of God’s word, fellowship with other believers, and reaching out to the community around us.

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