Archive for the ‘love’ tag
September 12, 2010: God Creates Adam and Eve
The text for this lesson is Genesis 1:26-2:25
Key Points
- God made us in His image, provided all things for our good, and made us rulers over the earth and everything in it.
- Law: God expects me to wisely rule His creation for His glory and the good of others.
- Gospel: God in Christ offers me forgiveness when I exploit, waste, or spoil His creation, and He mercifully grants all that I need in body and spirit.
- Law: I sin when I view the creation to be more important than humankind.
- Gospel: God created all things for my good and in Christ forgives me when I place the creation higher than humanity.
- Law: I sin when I worship the creation and not the Creator.
- Gospel: God in Christ forgives my sins of self-idolatry and offers me eternal life with Him.
- Of your many earthly gifts from God, which are the most important to you? How does the creation account demonstrate which of His creatures should be most important?
- “Do you think that many people today believe that God instituted marriage? In light of the creation account, should same-sex marriage ever be recognized by the Christian Church?
- The creation myths of ancient Babylon teach that humans were created to serve God’s needs. Is this view compatible with Genesis? Why did God create humankind?
- One aspect of the image of God is righteousness, that is, being without sin. Just as God is without sin, so humankind was created sinless and righteous. When Adam and
Eve sinned, did they completely lose the righteousness that they originally had from being created in the image of God? Instead of original righteousness, what is each of us born with? How does God restore us to righteousness and His image? See Colossians 1:15–20 and 1 Corinthians 1:30. - A second aspect of the image of God is dominion, that is, control and rule or lordship. Read Genesis 1:26 carefully. What is the connection between humankind being created in God’s image and God’s command for us to rule over the world? How does a good ruler or lord treat his subjects? How, then, should people rule over the world? How has the fall affected our understanding of dominion? How does our Lord Jesus Christ rule us? See Matthew 20:25–28.
- A third aspect of the image of God is that we have the breath of life from God. We confess in the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit is “the Lord and giver of life.” Read Genesis 2:7. How does the Spirit give us life? What does the word inspiration mean in Christian theology? Read John 6:63. Whose words are inspired? Read John 20:19–23. How does God breathe new life into people who are dead in sin?
- God created the first man and woman in His image to share in a perfect relationship of love. Love is expressed in community. An aspect of the image of God is community. Read Genesis 2:18. Why was it not good for Adam to be alone? Why did he need a suitable helper? How does God dispel loneliness and provide community through the institution of marriage? Read Ephesians 5:22–33. How does Christian marriage provide a picture of Christ’s love for His Church and of the Church’s love for Christ?
- As Christians, we believe that Genesis 1–2 describes God’s intentional and loving creation of humankind. How does what we believe about creation affect our view of the dignity of every living person? How does what we believe about Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice affect our view of each other? See John 3:16.
- Read Genesis 2:16–17. By giving this command, God was telling Adam that he was to trust and believe in Him only. What kinds of created things or people do we make into gods? Ultimately, what becomes of us if we create our own gods? See Isaiah 44:9–10.
- Read Genesis 2:15. Was the need to work part of God’s perfect creation or the result of sin? Why is work sometimes such a difficult and joyless thing? Why would a life of idleness not be God-pleasing? How does our work serve God?
- Read Genesis 1:28. When God says, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth,” what is He telling Adam and Eve to do? Read Psalm 127:3–5. What does God’s Word tell us about children? How do these verses contrast with many people’s views of marriage and childbearing today?
Discussion Points
April 19, 2009: Jesus Reinstates Peter
The text for this lesson is John 21:1–19.
Key Points
- We are all like Peter in our words and actions, denying our Lord and weeping bitterly over what we have done. We are in need of the same comfort that Peter received—the comfort of sins forgiven and the assurance that even though we are faithless, Jesus will remain faithful.
- Law: God demands that I love Him and none other solely and completely. In my sin, I worship whatever pleases me the most at the time.
- Gospel: God’s love is everlasting and ever faithful; when I deny Him, He acknowledges me for Christ’s sake.
Context
In John’s Gospel, Jesus appears to His disciples three times after His resurrection: on the actual day of resurrection (John 20:19–23); a week later, when Thomas was present (20:24–29); and here, at the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee). The event has echoes of a much earlier occasion, when Jesus called these men to be His disciples, for at that time too, they caught tons of fish after heeding Jesus’ words (Luke 5:1–7).
November 30, 2008: David and Jonathan
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 18:1–30; 20:1–42.
Key Points
- Just as God filled Jonathan’s heart with love for David and David’s with love for Jonathan, so Christ fills our heart with God’s love, enabling us to love our neighbor.
- Law: Hatred and envy shatter ties, even the closest of family ties. They turn a mother against her daughter, a father against her son, as they did Saul against Jonathan. This, in turn, spawns murderous thoughts, if not murder itself.
- Gospel: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Jonathan’s love for David and David’s for Jonathan was the love of God within their hearts spilling over into each other’s lives. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19), giving us His Son: love enfleshed.
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