This past weekend we wrapped up a 6-week series called “The Diary of a Wired Kid.” The Wire is the name of our middle school ministry, and we wanted to address questions that a lot of our students are thinking but not asking out loud – things that they might wrestle with in a diary. They might not be asking it for any number of reasons – fear of embarrassment, because they just don’t know if it’s appropriate or not, they’ve never considered whether or not God might be interested in their question or have anything to say about it in the Bible, or because it’s simply never dawned on them to do so.
Our series BIG IDEA was this: God cares about me and what I’m going through.
Here are the six questions we addressed in the series (obviously there are many more, but …):
The People of God in Community. God creates us for community, but intimacy often leads to conflict. It was no different for the early Christian community, which brought together people from a multitude of backgrounds and ethnicities. So for Paul and other leaders, the task becomes not only proclaiming that the kingdom of God is here in the person of Jesus Christ, but actualizing it in the lives of individuals in the all-inclusive, loving community that this message creates. Because the leaders could not be with every community all of the time and God’s purposes reach far beyond the contemporary problems, theological instruction, pastoral care, and training in discipleship are needed. Thus these first leaders instruct Christians by writing letters to the various groups, letters that continue to instruct us today.
The People of God into Eternity. The efforts of God to form an all-inclusive community of loving persons on earth comes to fulfillment beyond time in the formation of a new heaven and new earth. Old ways of oppression, alienation, travail, suffering, and mortality end, and life eternal takes their place. Worship of self gives way to worship of God. “And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face” (Revelation 22:2-4). To everyone who longs to be part of this loving, nurturing, all-inclusive community: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift” (Revelation 22:17).
(From The Life With God Bible)
Related Post with Diagram: A Panoramic View of God’s Purpose in History
The People of God with Immanuel. Into this maelstrom of political domination by other nations, which fueled age-old resentments and hostilities, Jesus is born in humble circumstances. His upbringing and day-to-day life as a resident of the Roman Empire are very conventional as he masters his father’s trade, learns Greek, respects his mother, attends synagogue, keeps the Jewish festivals, and the like.
Jesus’ ministry, however, breaks sharply with tradition. His proclamation that “the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:21) breaks upon Jewish society like a tidal wave. People respond to their encounter with the Incarnate Word whether by believing and following him or by resisting and rejecting his message. Jesus’ execution as a common criminal followed by his bodily resurrection introduces a radical change in the way the People of God develop. The work of God now goes forward with a new intimacy under the direction of the Holy Spirit: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).
The People of God in Mission. Once unleashed on earth, the kingdom of God cannot stand still. It bursts the old wineskins of ethnicity and ritual. Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female are all received freely. A common language, excellent roads, and an era of peace (the Pax Romana) open the doors for the growing community to take the message of the kingdom of God throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.
(From The Life With God Bible)
Related Post with Diagram: A Panoramic View of God’s Purpose in History
The People of God in Exile. After Assyria overruns Israel, its leaders are deported and its political structure is dismantled. Babylon subsequently defeats Assyria and occupies Judah, taking its ruling class into bondage. Prophets are killed, and many of the people are deported. Those who remain work the land; Jerusalem and the Temple lie in ruins. The deported mourn and long to treurn to Jerusalem in hopes of rebuilding the Temple. Many begin meeting together in the embryonic synagogue. God teaches his people to pray and work for the peace of the cities in which they dwell and the people who oppress them (Jeremiah 29:7). Despite their longing and loss, new avenues of seeking and finding God are found as the people learn to “sing the Lord’s song in a strange land” (Psalm 137:4, KJV).
The People of God in Restoration. After the Persians defeat the Babylonians, the emperor gives permission to the Jewish exiles to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple. Many of the exiles make the journey and eventually rebuild the Temple, which becomes the center of their identity.
During a series of foreign occupations, Jewish leaders are appointed to political office and the priests gain power as the trustees of religious traditions and practice. Once the Roman Empire consolidates its power in the Mediterranean world, the governor of Judea, Herod, spearheads the building of yet another Temple. Now legions of priests, Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, and a shadow government, the Sanhedrin, dictate the formal expression of Judaism, but the synagogue dominates village religious life.
(From The Life With God Bible)
Related Post with Diagram: A Panoramic View of God’s Purpose in History
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