Knowing God: God With Us (Chris)

Our final lesson of 2022 is Knowing God: God With Us.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."  [Isaiah 7:14]  The main reason we can know God is that God wants to be known.  God wants to be known so much that he sent his own beloved son into the world to preach and teach and heal and love and to show us what it is like to be in a full relationship with God.  Then, that perfect son died on a cross to redeem us and to restore us to communion with God.  This is the miracle which we celebrate at Christmas and at Easter and which we will reflect upon this week.  "Do not be afraid; for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."  [Luke 2:10-11] 

Listen to God With Us

Knowing God: A Living Hope (Randy)

The book of Hebrews tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).  As humans, we all place our hopes—and therefore our faith—in something, whether we realize it or not. We don’t realize, however, that the object of our hope can define our lives in ways we don’t expect. Its only when we understand the “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3) that our hope can lead us to a life of joy.

Listen to A Living Hope

Knowing God: The Heart of the Gospel (Chris)

This fall, we have been exploring the theology of the Bible and how it applies to our lives as followers of Jesus Christ.  Chapter 18 of J.I. Packer's Knowing God builds a central understanding of Christianity around one complex but powerful word: propitiation.  This concept addresses the deep mysteries at the heart of our faith: justification of sin, the incarnation of God the Son, the heavenly ministry of God, and the love of God.  Put as a more simple question, "Why did Jesus have to die for us?"  There is no more important topic to consider in this season of Advent as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Listen to The Heart of the Gospel
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