Beyond the Weekend: GOD IS...
People have a lot of thoughts about God. Some say he is angry and vengeful. Some say he is a buddy or best friend. But what does Scripture tell us about God?
Understanding the character of God matters. It changes how we meet him in our everyday lives. It changes how we understand the world around us, and his work in it. And it changes our prayer life and how we talk and hear from him. Understanding the character of God leads us to living lives of obedience and worship.
Join Pastors Aaron Buer, Jeff Manion and Brad Holmes in our 10-week series GOD IS ..., a study on the identity and character of God, and learn how your faith can grow as you know God better.
God is Trustworthy
Read: Luke 5:1-11 Listen: Luke 5
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:10-11
Jesus is in his early thirties, and his public ministry is just underway. He speaks in the Saturday synagogue service and declares himself to be Israel’s long-awaited Messiah (Luke 4:14-21). A brief time later, he casts a demon from a man at a synagogue service in neighboring Capernaum (Luke 4:31-37). Word of Jesus spreads quickly as he heals many, including Simon Peter’s mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-39). Just days later, the same Peter allows Jesus to use his fishing boat so he can speak to the crowd. It is the same boat the fishermen used unsuccessfully all night and that Jesus miraculously fills with fish.
Peter is beginning to recognize who Jesus is. He has a glimpse of Jesus’s holiness. Peter recognizes the contrast of his own sinfulness but responds to Jesus’s invitation to follow him and fish for people instead of fish. As Peter takes these first steps on his journey with Christ, he is tired, stuck and confused. But Peter learns that God is trustworthy and faithful to his plans. What is true for Peter is also true for us. As we follow Peter’s story this week, we will see God’s trustworthiness in our daily lives, even when we are tired, stuck and confused.
TODAY: Reflect on the ways you have seen God’s trustworthiness in your life or the lives of people around you. Journal about these situations and the lessons you have learned from them. These will be helpful as you continue to follow Jesus.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Read Isaiah 27-28. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Consider how Jesus referred to himself as the cornerstone (Matthew 21:43-44).
