Plain Truth: The authenticity and depth of your faith are largely determined by how you view yourself and how you view God.

1) We say, I believe, for until it is personal the Gospel will not be transformational.

2) God is called “Almighty”.

3) Because God is Almighty, God is Creator.

4) God is a pursuing God.

Life Group Lesson for the Week of June 25, 2017

What do you think of when you think about God? He is Father, Provider, Healer, Protector, and yes, Savior. God is a Person and has graciously revealed Himself personally so you can begin to recognize His voice and follow Him. He loves you and desires to communicate at a soul-level, in the secret place deep within your spirit, a place where no one else can go. The psalmist says: “O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me” (Psalm 139:1). So the question is, who is God to you personally? What is the credo of your heart? What do you believe about God?

Genesis 1:1 declares: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God’s nature is not up for debate and opinion. God is who God is. Creator and Sustainer of life. He brings light out of darkness and order out of chaos. On the sixth day of creation, God created man in His very image and about all of creation, God “saw that it was very good!” (Genesis 1:26,31). God doesn’t need us, but created us to know Him and worship Him. But something gets in the way. It is our rebellion. When Adam and Eve chose to live outside of God’s will, sin entered the world.

Read Genesis 3:8-24

From the beginning we see that the Lord is a missionary God. In Genesis 3 God confronts man regarding his rebellion, but then shows mercy. Since then, God has been on mission to rescue humanity from sin and reconcile us to Himself.

1. Describe how the Lord is rescuing you from sin (rebellion, bitterness, pride) and instead, mercifully reconciling you to Himself. Be specific.

From Genesis 3, what do you learn about sin’s consequences—how, if God is a Father, He must hold His children accountable for their choices and actions?

How you see God and how you see yourself is largely the basis of Christianity. Deep down are you angry that God knows your heart, including secret sins, or does that truth bring relief? You see, the fact that the Lord knows your heart is actually a good thing because when you do come before Him in complete honesty, you don’t have to bring Him up-to-speed about anything. He already knows it all!

2. Transformation starts as we begin to see God for who He has revealed Himself to be, and then in humility, availing ourselves (or rather, aligning our lives) to His Christ. Reflect for a moment. Does what you say you believe connect with how you live your day-to-day life?

If the answer is yes, then Hallelujah, Praise the Lord! Continue running well the race God has set before you! (Hebrews 12:1) But if the answer is no, then perhaps you are following a set of rules instead of a Person. God has revealed Himself to us in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:21, Luke 1:31, John 1:14, Romans 3:25-26, Hebrews 1:1-3). The Bible clearly states: “Jesus is the One appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. He is the One all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name” (Acts 10:42b-43).

3. Close by reading Hebrews 3:1-6. “Think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger” – who is Christ Jesus to you personally? Why not ask Him to come into your life now! He loves you. He is waiting for you to open the door of your heart (Revelation 3:20). Pray.