God’s Power in the cross

Today we are going to look at some of the ways God’s power was demonstrated through Jesus crucifixion.

As we read through these passages, look for ways that God’s power is evident.

Ephesians1:15-23  

What evidence of God’s power do we see in this passage?

God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in Heaven.

Jesus was actually dead.

John 19:31-37 

Zechariah 12:10 

Not only did God raise Jesus from the dead, he did so according to the plan which he had established before time started.

What does this kind of prophesy tell us about God’s power?

Matthew 27:50-51 

The vail of the temple separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. It was an elaborately woven fabric of 72 twisted plaits of 24 threads each. It was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. There would have been priests in the temple, engaging in their duties when the veil was torn.

Hebrews 9:23-26 

Obviously ripping a 60 foot tall curtain would have been awesome to see, but that was only a tiny representation of what was actually happening.

What do these verses in Hebrews tell us that the curtain ripping represented?

Matthew 27:52-53 

 Why were these resurrections important?

John11:25-26 

Today we have talked about some of the ways that God showed Himself to be the ultimate power of the universe through the cross.

How does knowing about all this power impact you?

How does God’s power over death make you feel about your own death?

How does God’s ability to record prophesy about Jesus death, make you feel about the prophesy of what is yet to come?

People at the Cross

Do you ever People watch? At the mall, at events, in crowds? What kinds of people make an impression on you when you are just sitting on the bench? I now notice mothers with little babies that remind me of Julie and Allison and my grandkids.

Today we are going to move into the Easter season and we are going to do a kind of people watching where we can only see and hear a brief glimpse of what happened. We are going to hear a few sound bites as we go through the story, but probably not enough to get the full picture. Even though we won’t have the complete story, we will get enough to help us start thinking about how we react to the cross.

Based on Joy Beyond Agony

The People of the Cross

By Jane Roach

5 Groups: Passers by, Two criminals, The soldiers, The religious Leaders, His followers

Passers by

Matthew 27:39-40 

Mark 15:29-30 

What were these passersby expecting? Why do you think they came to the crucifixion?

Jewish Religious Leaders

Matthew27:41-43  

Why were these men so interested in proving that Jesus was not the Son of God?

The Soldiers

John 19:23-25

Luke 23:34 

Psalm 22:18

How could these men possibly have their mind on this tunic?

Criminals

Luke 23:39-43 

This short exchange gives us some amazing truth about salvation. Faith alone in Christ alone brings salvation. One of the criminals reacted to the cross by confessing his faith in Jesus ability to save him. How did the other criminal react?

His followers

John 19:25-27 

I can’t imagine how Mary (Jesus mother) felt. John was close enough to hear Jesus speak.

How close do you think Mary and John were to the cross? 5 feet, 10 feet, right next to it?

What does the passage say about how John reacted?

Reactions to the cross, at the cross were all over the board. If you had been nearby and seen it, I wonder how you would have reacted. But let’s move out of people watching mode at the cross and into the present. Today, in the next few weeks, you will see people all around you responding to Easter.

What do you expect to see in the next 2 weeks leading up to Easter?

What we see is largely external. What God sees is what is on the inside. Some of the things we talked about this morning were external (casting lots) and some of the things we saw were eternal (the thief’s salvation). Some of the responses, such as those by the passersby may have been done without any understanding of what was really happening.

I’d like for us to think about our response to the cross this Easter season. For us, Jesus crucifixion is not an event that lasted a few hours, but the most significant event in all human history. We know what His death means for us. We know all about his sinless life and how He gave it to pay the price for our sins.

I want us to take just a moment of silence and react to the cross. Let’s see how the cross impacts our lives, and respond to it in your heart as you think Jesus wants you to respond.

A New King

God chooses a new King

Ice Breaker – Who was the first presidential candidate you voted for?

Super Tuesday is over – so today we are going to talk about how God held elections in Bible times.

As we read the passage note the number of times that Samuel demonstrates obedience to God.

1 Samuel16:1-13 

What actions did Samuel take that showed he was obeying God’s command?

V4 Samuel did what the Lord said

Took a Heifer with him

Sacrificed the heifer to the Lord

Invited Jesse to the sacrifice

Did not choose any of Jesse’s sons who were not God’s choice

Anointed David

What other qualities did Samuel demonstrate in the passage?

Fear – He was scared of Saul

Prayer – He was in frequent contact with the Lord throughout the passage

Willingness – He was willing to do this plan, even though it didn’t make sense at first.

If Samuel had been on his own to choose one of Jesse’s sons who do you think he would have picked?

Maybe Eliab, that was the tall one, maybe one of the others.

Samuel had the clear advantage of God speaking in his ear regarding David’s heart. We are not always so blessed. Sometimes it is hard for us to see what is on the inside of a person’s heart or mind.

What are some ways that we can look beyond someone’s appearance and find out what their true values are?

Do you think that God will speak to us today as we vote in elections? How will he do that?

I think it is worth pointing out that as God used Samuel to anoint David, Samuel demonstrated obedience over and over. (Rhetorical) Could our disobedience be so loud that we can’t hear God’s direction? What can we do about that – personally?

Friendship - David and Jonathan

Friendship - David and Jonathan

Ice Breaker

Who was your best friend growing up and what did you spend time doing together?

One of the greatest friendships described in scripture is the friendship between David and Jonathan.

Jonathan is first described in 1 Samuel 14:1-5 when he wins a battle while relying on the Lord for his victory. From that passage we can see that Jonathan is one who depends on God and places God’s work above his own.

                (Just prior to these verses, David kills Goliath)

Read 1 Samuel 18:1-5

The end of chapter 18 describes how Saul (Jonathan’s father) became jealous of David and was afraid of him and wanted to kill him.

Read 1 Samuel 19:1-7

What does it take for two people’s souls to be knit together?

What are some of the qualities (Of friendship) we see in Jonathan?

·         Selfless Humility – He virtually abdicated the throne

·         He was an advocate for David

·         Jonathan was loyal to David through thick and thin.

To have a friend like Jonathan, you have to be a friend like Jonathan.

Why is it such a challenge to be a friend who shows humility, is an advocate, and be loyal?

For many of us, our spouse is the closest friend we have. Can a married person have a friendship like David and Jonathan-Other than their spouse?

Where does God fit into this friendship?

Challenge – Don’t examine the kind of friends you have, examine the kind of friend you are to others.

Building a House - 1 Chronicles 17:15

Building a house – Has anyone got a good house building story?

Today we are going to talk about David’s house building project. He had big plans, but God didn’t let him go through with them.

1 Chronicles 17:1-15.

What do you think motivated David to propose building a house for God?

1 Samuel 23:1-2 

Why do you think that God spoke to David through Nathan, rather than directly to David? – God uses different ways to communicate with us (and David).

We know that Solomon built the temple after David’s death, but it’s clear that God is describing an eternal Kingdom with an eternal throne in v12-14. 

What do these verses tell us about God’s eternal Kingdom?

·         David will have a house (me too)

·         David would be with his fathers

·         One of David’s descendants (Jesus) will rule the kingdom and His throne will be established forever

·         The ruler (Jesus) will be God’s son and God’s loving kindness will not be taken away from Him.

Have you ever tried to do something nice for someone who didn’t appreciate it at all?

1 Chronicles 17:16-27

What does David’s response reveal about how he viewed God?

V20 – There is none like you.

Why is it sometimes hard for us to get on board with God’s commands to us?

David went farther than just accepting God’s answer, he jumped on it and said “do as you have spoken!”.

David also remembered that God had promised him good (v26). That probably helped.

Running the Race - Super Bowl Sunday

Super bowl Sunday – 3 sports passages.

I think Paul would have been a huge football fan. He really liked talking about running, and they didn’t have football back then.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Paul says that we should be doing all we can to gain a crown that will last forever. He is not talking about salvation, so what kind of prize is he talking about? 

What kind of training do you think he means?

Hebrews 12:1-2

What does it take to throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that entangles us?

Does anybody remember the song, “The streak”? One phrase repeated in that song over and over was “Don’t Look Ethel”. What do you think Ethel probably did – She looked! I think the writer of Hebrews knew it is easier to look at something (Jesus) than not look at something (whatever is hindering us). What are some practical ways to “fix your eyes on Jesus” DAILY?

Philippians 3:12-14

Both the Hebrews passage and this passage mentions hanging in there (perseverance, pressing on). If Paul had not yet gained all the heavenly treasure that God had prepared for him, how can any of us say that we have all the heavenly treasure that we need?

What are some ideas to help us press on when the going gets hard?

The Rich Young Ruler Mat 19:16-26

The Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 19:16-26

What do you think the jews of the day thought about the rich young ruler? He had them fooled.

Jesus didn’t tell others that they had to sell all they had, why would he create a different set of entry requirements for this guy? It wasn’t different; he had placed something ahead of Jesus.

Jesus could look into the young man’s heart and see that he had an idol (money). We see people all around us that put things other things above a relationship to God. 

What are some of the most common idols you see in our culture (things people put ahead of God)?

Suppose someone approached you this week (since this lesson will be fresh on your mind) and says, “I’m a good person, I go to church, I treat my family well – even my aging parents, but I’m not sure I’m going to end up in heaven”. Suppose you also know that they are really devoted to (one of the areas identified). What would you tell them?

Can you take “riches” out of Jesus response and generalize it to other things that people may value ahead of God, or is this strictly a “riches – Money” problem?