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.
Peace in Our Fear
Read: Judges 6:1-12 Listen: Judges 6
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Judges 6:12
Gideon’s hiding. He’s trying to finish the harvest, but he’s afraid. He’s worried the Midianites will spot him and steal his grain. Yet, God addresses Gideon as a mighty warrior. God doesn’t see Gideon the way Gideon sees himself. God doesn’t let Gideon’s fear define him. God knows what he wants to do through Gideon. God sees him as a mighty warrior, hiding.
Fear can create a false narrative in our minds. It lies to us about who we are. Fear tells us we’re not good enough, no one loves us or that we’ll never amount to anything. That’s not how God sees us. If we’ve given our life to God, we’re his dearly loved children (1 John 3:1), a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), chosen (Ephesians 1:4), adopted (Ephesians 1:5), God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16) and no longer condemned (Romans 8:1). And that’s just a partial list of how God sees us. Fear lies. God steps into our fears and speaks the truth to us.
TODAY: Return to the worship of the weekend service through the song “The Finished Work of Christ.” The song reminds us that it’s through Jesus that we trade lies for the truth—the truth of who God is and what he says about us. It’s all through what Jesus did on the cross, and we don't need to fear that his work will be taken away from us.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Read Psalm 16. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Consider how this psalm points to Jesus’s resurrection.
