I. What do we learn from Moses’ Holy Ground experience? – Exodus 3:1-12

God wants to meet with us. Giving priority to “holy ground” places, for interaction with God, will help us see our identity, value, and purpose.

A. God is worthy of our respect and focus. God meets with Moses. Moses listens to God.

“To stay at a distance and remove footwear was then and is now in many cultures a sign of respect and humility.” – CSB Study Bible Notes

Holy Sacred Sanctuary Hallowed Dedicated Consecrated

Holy – sacred, dedicated, set apart, unparalleled, unique, none more so, pure, purity in purpose,

Time and place, focused on God alone, and an awareness that God is here now.

B. God speaks to the identity, value, and purpose for Moses’ life. God is powerful, loving, and personal. God wants to meet with us. Giving priority to “holy ground” places, for interaction with God, will help us see our identity, value, and purpose.

I. How did the followers of Jesus understand that God wanted to meet with them?

A. The Physical Meeting Place – throughout Scripture we see God interacting with people in sacred meeting places.

Examples of Holy Ground Meeting Places:

1. Garden of Eden – Genesis 2 – 3:8 no shame, God gives identity, value, purpose. God walking in the Garden. Relationship interrupted by sin.

2. Tabernacle – Exodus 40:18-38 God instructs Moses and the people to build a mobile place of meeting.

3. Synagogues of Jewish and New Testament use – Matthew 4:23, 6:2, 5, 9:35, 10:17, many more, John 9: 22, 18:20, Acts 17:17, James 2:2

4. Temple – 1 Kings 5 – 9, Solomon’s (where God met with David, in 2 Chronicles 3:1), 12 year old Jesus Christ, later cleansing, then predicting fall of the Temple and the New Covenant realities.

What happens in the meeting place with God? Atonement Hearing from God Offerings Praise Prayer “house of prayer for all nations” – Isaiah 56:7, Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17

5. Homes and Public Buildings/Spaces – Acts 2:1-4, 46-47, Matthew 6:5-8 homes and public places (including the Temple) dedicated time and space

6. Outdoors – Matthew 26:36-46, 14:23, Mark 6:46-47, Luke 6:12, John 6:15, Gethsemane, and many private places of prayer

B. The Spiritual Meeting Place – Jesus teaches that interaction with God is spiritual, and that the Holy Spirit is within us.

1. Spiritual Activity – John 4 “Believe me, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem…true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in sprit and in truth.” – John 4:21-24 CSB Jesus taught that in this New Covenant, meeting with God is a spiritual activity. Worship until God is the only thing in your heart and mind.

2. Spiritual Location “We are the temple of the living God. As God said: ‘I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’” – 2 Corinthians 6:16, Leviticus 26:12, Ezekiel 37:27 New Testament Christians believed that the Holy Spirit was within them, spiritually guiding them, and always present. This is a close, personal, and life-changing relationship with God.

II. What do we learn?

A. God is powerful, loving, and personal.

B. God wants to meet with us.

C. Giving priority to “holy ground” places, for interaction with God, will help you see your identity, value, and purpose.

III. What should we do?

A. Pray, asking God to help us hear His voice.

B. Give priority time and energy to meeting with God, personally.

C. Give priority time and energy to meeting with God, with fellow believers.

D. Listen to what God has to say about our identity, value, and purpose.

E. Prayer-walk our neighborhoods with God’s purpose in focus.

Giving priority to “holy ground” places, for interaction with God, will help us see our identity, value, and purpose.

We can all respond, to the teaching of Jesus, with love, prayer, and effort.

“ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’” – Matthew 22:37-40 NLT

Building our lives on the teaching of Jesus. Love God. Love neighbors.

4 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 ‘Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.’”

8 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, 9 because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,’ says the LORD.

10 This is what the LORD says: ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,’ says the LORD. ‘I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.’” – Jeremiah 29:4-14 NLT

Jeremiah, transferrable principle: wholehearted devotion, dwell, work, pray for the peace of the city.

Love our neighbors. Live in the city, praying for and working toward its peace and good health.

Neighbors who love. Citizens praying for and working toward the peace of the city.

The earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament translated peace “shalom” by using more than 20 different terms.

Shalom – healthy, complete, free from conflict or danger, salvation, safe & sound, peace & quiet, content, in good health, being at peace in every area of life, bringing people into peaceful relationships, an intact state of favorable circumstance, a state of wellbeing within and without (body illustration: not deficient of nutrients).

Peace – a state of being in good health: able to function at full capacity, able to rest, and free from conflict or danger in every area of your life and in every relationship.

Pray “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.” – 1 Timothy 2:1

“Don’t worry about anything: instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He’s done.” – Philippians 4:6

Pray for those in civil authority. – 1 Timothy 1:1-2

Peace is the direction in which God is going; it must also be the concept which inspires our evangelistic, political, and social activity.

“the Kingdom of God…is a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

“Search for peace and work to maintain it.” Psalm 34:14

“Work for the peace of the city…pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” v 7 Jeremiah 29:5-14

What are the things that we are already doing in response to God’s direction?

1. Loving our neighbors through positive interactions: greeting, listening, responding, and meeting needs.

2. Loving our neighbors by sharing the love of Jesus.

3. Loving our neighbors through food pantries and neighborhood associations etc.

4. Living in the city.

5. Paying taxes: city, county, state, federal.

6. Helpful citizen activities: voting, jury duty, school volunteering, clean ups etc.

7. Seeking the Kingdom of God via the local church’s Jesus Movement.

8. Using God-sourced wisdom and values when making decisions on stewardship of time, energy, and money.

What is God asking us to do? As a result, what should we do less of?

Ask God to help us recognize where we should spend less of our time, energy, and money. This may be things such as: activities that limit sleep, things we do to unwind but are not actually restorative, and activities that limit our capacity for God’s love.

1. Love our neighbors.

2. Serve and pray for the peace of our neighborhood and city.

3. Learn about God’s truth, purpose, and value system.

4. Give time and energy to thinking through how God’s truth, purpose, and value system should inform how we vote.

Voting is: Invitation to Participation. Civic responsibility. Privilege. Not as important as your relationship with God and your neighbors.

Important question for us to consider this week:

How does God’s truth, purpose, and value system inform how we vote?

Essential ingredient: spend less time on the news, info-tainment, and arguments in favor of having more peaceful clarity about our role in it all.

Live with a gracious humility, love, while pursuing peace. – Ephesians 4:1 NLT

Avoid “foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights….be kind to everyone,” – 2 Timothy 2:22-26 NLT

Week 1: Introduction, viewing forgiveness through how God forgives us.

Possible Signs of Unforgiveness

Emotionally

Deep emotions come to us in a rush but don’t leave at the same pace (LT,10)

Mentally

Physical symptoms (NIH)

Damage from unforgiveness

What is forgiveness not?

What is forgiveness?

Steps to ask for forgiveness

I’m sorry I…. I recognize that it damaged you …. I will not do it again… Will you forgive me?

(If someone asks for our forgiveness) How do we forgive?

When there is no repentance: Going beyond forgiveness.

Matthew 18 – Offense between Believers

Matthew 5

Matthew 5:46-48 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Love your enemies, AGAPE – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Loving my enemy means:

I am patient and kind to them. I am not jealous of them or boastful or proud about myself when I think of them (self-righteous). I will not be rude in my behavior or conversation with or about them. I will not be irritable to them or irritated when I think of them. I will not keep a record of what they do wrong. I will not rejoice when something bad happens to them. I will rejoice when they come to Jesus!

I will never give up on them, never lose faith that God is working on them. I will continue to be hopeful that true reconciliation is possible and yet I will endure through every circumstance that makes it seem like this is not ever possible.

Results of Forgiveness

Further Study/help

Jesus Forgives, then Heals: Mark 2: 1-12

Why did Jesus see forgiveness as more important than making a man walk?

“He desired to teach us by this that He came to cure and save souls, that the soul is worth more than the body, and that the health of the body can only avail those whose soul is healthy.”

What do we learn?

What should we do?

O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Psalm 86:5

Paid in Full

Matthew 18:23-35 Parable of the unforgiving servant and the king

So we should forgive others

Matthew 18:23-35

The forgiven servant left the king and found a fellow servant and who owed him a hundred denarii (few thousand dollars) grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. The fellow servant begged for forgiveness and time to repay but the forgiven servant had the fellow servant thrown in prison.

How can this Forgiven servant be unforgiving?

If Jesus forgives us of so much, unconditionally, how could we not reflect his grace and mercy to those around us.

Jesus forgave us before we even had a chance to beg for it.

Why is learning Biblical forgiveness important?

Sin: Foolishness, Prov. 24:9, transgression (to go across the boundary), 1 John 2:4, unrighteousness (breaking of relationship) 1 John 5:17, Not doing good James 4:17, doing good (! bad heart/motives),

Exodus 34 – I forgive iniquity, rebellion, sin

Effects of sin:

We have all sinned

Isaiah 44:22

Cultivate joy by living in light of the resurrected Jesus.

Our Savior King Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and raised from the dead for our salvation. Jesus is alive.

What does this mean to us?

Freedom – Romans 4:24-25, 5:1-2, 9-11, 20-21 CSB

“It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.” – Romans 4:24-25 NLT

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” – Romans 5:1-2 NLT

“9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” – Romans 5:9-11 NLT

“20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 5:20-21 NLT

Saved – to experience divine salvation, rescue from punishment, removing moral guilt, giving new spiritual life

Story of Good News – Timothy Keller conversational pathway

Chapter 1: Where did we come from? From God: the One and the relational

Chapter 2: Why did things go so wrong? Because of sin: bondage and condemnation

Chapter 3: What will put things right? Christ: incarnation, substitution, restoration

Chapter 4: How can I be put right? Through faith: grace and trust

Chapter 3 and 4 Q + A are a focus of Romans. We read Romans 1-8 as helpful in understanding salvation.

What do we learn?

1. God has shown us love by sending Jesus as Savior.

2. Jesus is alive.

3. Jesus won the victory over sin and death.

4. God offers salvation, including gracious freedom from sin.

5. A life-giving and life-changing relationship with God produces joy.

6. We can all cultivate joy by receiving God’s gracious freedom from sin and choosing to live in it.

What should we do?

1. Ask God for help in understanding Romans 5.

2. Read Romans 5.

3. Write questions and answers.

4. Consider what “Jesus brings joy.” means to you.

Consider how you can cultivate joy.

Cultivate joy by receiving the sacrifice of Jesus as grace.   March 24 Palm Sunday                Grace – Romans 5:6, 8, 20  NLT

“Save us!” shouts greeting Jesus’ triumphant entrance to Jerusalem. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” – Psalm 118:1 the psalm pilgrims always sang on the way to Jerusalem. The cry Hosanna!, translates “give salvation now”, and had come to be a term of praise. Every Jew knew of its occurrence in Psalm 118:25, which is part of Hallel, sung each morning by the temple choir during the Feast of Tabernacles but also associated at this period with the Feast of Dedication and with Passover. The connection was so strong that many Jews referred to their palm branches as hosannas.

“Blessings, one who comes in the name of the Lord.” – Matthew 21:9  Mark 11:9  Luke 19:38  John 12:13 In reference to “Please, Lord, save us. Bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.” Psalm 118:25-26

Why are they celebrating on Palm Sunday? Let’s grow in our understanding of this Good News. In this way we can cultivate joy by receiving the sacrifice of Jesus as grace.

“God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.” – Romans 5:8  NCV

“God does not love us because Christ died for us; Christ died for us because God loved us.” – John Stott

“God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 5:20-21  NLT

“The law came to make sin worse. But when sin grew worse, God’s grace increased. Sin once used death to rule us, but God gave people more of his grace so that grace could rule by making people right with him. And this brings life forever through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 5:20-21  NCV

When we confess our wrongs to God, and turn away from them, we should understand that the undeserved gracious forgiving love of God covers and extends beyond our sins.

“God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.” – Romans 5:20  NLT

Grace – undeserved favorable kindness, gift given with delight and a generous spirit,

Grace is one of the essential ingredients of God’s characteristics. God describes his own attribute in Exodus 34:6 and people often used this to describe God. Isaiah predicted that God would show grace to his people, by delivering them and all creation from death and ruin, in Isaiah 30:18-19. Jesus is described as God’s glorious grace sent into a world of people trapped in darkness and death. Jesus is a generous gift of life that is more powerful than death. God graciously sent us Jesus Christ who defeated sin and death.

“Grace” God’s graciousness from Bible Project

Story of Good News – Timothy Keller question and answer conversational pathway

Chapter 1: Where did we come from? From God: the One and the relational

Chapter 2: Why did things go so wrong? Because of sin: bondage and condemnation

Chapter 3: What will put things right? Christ: incarnation, substitution, restoration

Chapter 4: How can I be put right? Through faith: grace and trust

Chapter 3 and 4 Q + A are a focus of Romans. We read Romans 1-8 as helpful in understanding salvation.

God loves us by graciously giving us the opportunity to believe and receive Jesus Christ as Savior King. In this way, we receive his gracious freedom from his punishment of our sins and his gracious freedom from a life of repeating our sins. So we can cultivate joy by receiving the sacrifice of Jesus as grace.

How? Access grace daily. Relate to God through grace. Receive and respond to spiritual freedom. Live to please God!

What do we learn?

What should we do?

Cultivate joy by choosing to live in God’s gracious freedom from sin.  

“Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who through our faith has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory.” – Romans 5:1-2  NCV

22 God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same: 23 Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, 24 and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25 God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith in the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair, as in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. 26 And God gave Jesus to show today that he does what is right. God did this so he could judge rightly and so he could make right any person who has faith in Jesus.” – Romans 3:22-26  NCV

Feel shame or heaviness when these topics, felt that way myself, found that digging into the truth brought life-changing peace and joy. One of the essential ingredients is clarity about right and wrong. We can’t afford a fuzzy relationship with right and wrong. The truth of the Good News of Jesus brings life-changing spiritual freedom and clarity about our identity, value, and purpose. Jesus Brings Joy! Cultivate joy by choosing to live in God’s gracious freedom from sin.

Q + A: Sin?

Sin – to fail, to miss the goal or destination, to miss the goal of God’s designed purpose, doing the wrong thing, not doing the right thing, moral failure, to act contrary to the will and law of God, desires and selfish urges to act for our own benefit at the expense of others “toxic selfishness”, failure to be humans who fully love God and others

Q + A: Sin? What damage would ___ sin bring? “chain reaction of relational breakdown,” Why would God hate sin?

“God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.” – Romans 5:8  NCV

What do we learn?

What should we do?

Let’s look at Romans chapter 5 for the next few weeks. Key words: Law 78, Righteousness & Justification 64, Faith & Believe 60, Sin 57, Grace 24

“Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who through our faith has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory.” – Romans 5:1-2 NCV

Story of Good News – Timothy Keller conversational pathway

Chapter 1: Where did we come from? From God: the One and the relational

Chapter 2: Why did things go so wrong? Because of sin: bondage and condemnation

Chapter 3: What will put things right? Christ: incarnation, substitution, restoration

Chapter 4: How can I be put right? Through faith: grace and trust

Chapter 3 and 4 Q + A are a focus of Romans. We read Romans 1-8 as helpful in understanding salvation.

In this series we’re going to focus on a priority aspect of this story of Good News: Jesus Brings Joy – Romans 5:1-2

Cultivate joy by receiving God’s gracious freedom from sin.

Joy – the emotion evoked by well-being and contentment, great happiness, cheerful,

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 CSB

What do we learn?

1. A life-giving and life-changing relationship with God produces joy.

2. We can all cultivate joy by receiving God’s gracious freedom from sin and choosing to live in it.

What should we do?

1. Ask God for help in understanding Romans 5.

2. Read Romans 5.

3. Write questions and answers.

4. Consider what “Jesus brings joy.” means to you.

5. Consider how you can cultivate joy.