Finished?
Our look into Exodus over the past three weeks provides the perfect springboard into asking tough questions about ourselves, and our character. We see ourselves in the failures and successes of Israel’s Exodus story in many ways. Yet, Israel made it to the promised land, and things kept getting off track. Sin seemed to derailed hem over and over. We’re part of the even greater Exodus, from the powers of Sin and Death through Jesus’ death and resurrection, yet we keep getting derailed over and over. What' gives?
Missing Peice - Freepik
Like the image above suggests, our problem with perfection isn’t only moral, it’s incompleteness. Being “perfect” as our Heavenly Father is perfect, as Jesus commands, is not merely a moral statement, but holistic, involving every aspect of what it means to be truly human: God’s “image.”
Anchor Passages:
Questions to Ponder:
What did Christ “finish” on the cross? List and discuss with others.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:17 - what do you think it means to be “in Christ?” How does this verse affect our temptation to “earn our salvation?”
Pastor Nate said Matthew 5:48 means we need to go "_________” obedience. While it includes obedience, what else does this verse require? (___________)
Read through Paul’s words in Romans 7:14-8:3. Do you think this is describing the life of a person before and after meeting Christ, the everyday life of a Christian, or perhaps both? Why?
What is something this week that you left undone, that you felt God nudging you to do? What’s something this week you did from which you knew God was steering you away? How might confession open you up to healing and new hope in these areas?
Answers: 3. beyond, relationship
The Theme in Song:
This song by Matthew West has all the elements of our new series. The call to Christlike living, the feelings of inadequacy, the hope that Christ fulfills everything that we cannot, and the tensions we live with as we go through the rest of this life under the sun as peopel who are already new and not yet complete.