Week 1 – Theme: The Blood That Speaks         Title: “Blood on the Doorpost”

Texts:

• Exodus 7:14-24
• Exodus 12:1–13
• John 1:29

Big Idea: The blood on Israel’s doorposts pointed to a greater deliverance; Jesus, the true Passover Lamb, whose blood marks and redeems a people for Himself.

I. The First Plague – River into Blood (Exodus 7:14–24)

• The Nile was Egypt’s lifeline and deity-source.
• God turns their symbol of life into death.
• Judgment falls on false gods before redemption comes to God’s people.

Christological Connection:
At the Cross, Jesus absorbs judgment so that what should be death for us becomes life in Him.

II. The Pattern of Redemption (Exodus 12:1–13)

• Passover begins with a lamb without blemish (Hebrew: tamim – whole, complete).
• The blood is placed on the doorposts and lintel(crossbar), forming a visible covenantal sign.
• In Hebrew understanding, blood (dam) represents life (see Lev. 17:11).
• Deliverance begins not with effort, but with substitution.

Christological Connection:
John the Baptist declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” (John 1:29)
Jesus is not merely another lamb; He is the fulfillment of every lamb sacrificed since Egypt.

III. Blood as Boundary and Belonging

• The blood marked who belonged to YHWH.
• Deliverance was not ethnic but covenantal.
• It was not ancestry that saved them but applied blood.

Application:
Thinking over your life, has the blood been applied?

-       Salvation is not inherited; it is received.

Gospel Clarity:

At Calvary, the Angel of Death does not pass over because we are righteous, but because Christ was slain.

Todays Teaching Text:

Luke 9:23-24

The Five Questions of Wrestling:

1. Who have YOU called me to be?
• MORE of YOU = LESS of ME
2. What would YOU have me to lay down?
3. When have I refused to answer YOUR call in my life?
4. Where have YOU called me to go?
5. Why am I holding onto the things YOU’VE told me to lay down?

“A Recipe For Revival”             

Key Texts: Gen. 3:1-5, 15; Psalm 85; John 19:40-42; Rev. 22:1-5

Opening Reading – Genesis 3:1-5

The Fall in The Garden (Genesis 3:1-5)

            Hope in hopeless times – Protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15) Rescue by the Son of Man

Preventative spiritual maintenance includes:

• Scripture – feeding the soul
• Prayer – communion and communication with God
• Community – accountability and encouragement with/from others
• Repentance – restoring alignment with God

Psalm 85 – Recipe Short-Cut:

past grace (1-3) → present need (4-7) → divine reply (8-9) → future glory (10-13).

V1-3 – Remember What God Has Already Done! – Remember all God has spared you from

V4-7 – Cry Out for His Blessing – Cry out for His intervention in all parts of your life

V8-9 – Invite Him into Your Garden – Invite Him into the soils of your everyday life

V10-11 – Reflect On The Nature of Our God – Reflect On His work in all of creation

V12-13 – Live From a Garden State Of Mind – Live From a place of trust and submission

God’s Great Intervention – Restore Us (Grant Us Your Salvation)

Redemption in The Garden (John 19:40-42)

Conclusion – Life as God Intended – Revive Us (Show Us Your Loving Devotion)

Eternity in The Garden (Revelation 22:1-5)

THE PURPOSE OF HUMANITY                              Genesis 2 | The Human Story: Glory and Ruin

BIG IDEA

Humanity was created for life with God, work under God and relationship alongside others. All as an act of worship.

PURPOSE BEFORE THE PROBLEM

• Genesis 1: The cosmic overview of creation.
• Genesis 2: A close-up of humanity’s formation and function.

Before sin entered the story, there was:

• Calling
• Responsibility
• Relationship

Key Insight: God defines human purpose before human failure.

1. LIFE WITH GOD (Gen. 2:7)

God formed the man from dust and breathed into him the breath of life.

• Formed from dust → Humility and dependence
• Filled with God’s breath → Dignity and divine intimacy

We are both earthly and eternal.

Truth: Life is not self-generated; it is graciously given.

2. WORK UNDER GOD (Gen. 2:8–15)

God places humanity in the garden to:

• Cultivate
• Serve
• Guard

Provision precedes responsibility.

Work is not punishment — it is sacred stewardship.

Vision: The garden is the first temple, and work is the first act of worship.

Real-World App.: Your vocation is not separate from worship; it is often the primary expression of it.

3. RELATIONSHIP ALONGSIDE OTHERS (Gen. 2:18–24)

“It is not good for the man to be alone.”

• Humanity is created for shared life.
• The woman is equal in dignity and complementary in design.
• Marriage reflects covenant partnership and shared mission.

Beyond marriage, this establishes the necessity of:

• Friendship
• Family
• Community

Truth: Human flourishing requires mutual presence and shared purpose.

PURPOSE SUMMARIZED

Humanity was created for:

1. Life with God — sustained by His breath
2. Work under God — stewardship as worship
3. Relationship with others — community by design

Remove one, and the others unravel.

GOSPEL HOPE

Sin distorts:

• Work (toil)
• Relationships (conflict)
• Worship (idolatry)

But God’s original design is not erased.

Jesus is the true and faithful human who restores:

• Our relationship with God
• The meaning of work
• The possibility of redeemed community

LIVING WITH PURPOSE TODAY

• Receive your life as a gift.
• See your work as worship.
• Invest deeply in God-centered relationships.

FINAL SUMMARY

We were created to live from God, work for God and walk with others. Until all of life becomes worship.

FORMED BEFORE THE FIRE

Acts 1:12–26 | Journey to the Ends of the Earth

BIG IDEA

Before the Spirit empowers the church for mission, God forms the church through prayer, unity and faithful discernment.

THE IN-BETWEEN SEASON

Jesus has ascended. The mission has been declared. The Spirit has been promised — but not yet poured out.

The disciples live in the tension:

• The King reigns.
• The power is coming.
• The church must learn to wait.

Truth: Before public witness comes private formation.

1. A GATHERED & PRAYING COMMUNITY (1:12–14)

• They return in obedience.
• They gather in unity.
• They devote themselves to constant prayer.

This community includes apostles, women, Mary and Jesus’ brothers — diverse, reconciled, centered on Christ.

Key Principle: The church is most powerful when it is most prayerful.

2. HEALTHY LEADERSHIP MATTERS (1:15–20)

• Peter steps forward in restored humility.
• Judas’ betrayal is addressed through Scripture, not avoided.
• Leadership continuity protects the integrity of the mission.

Insight: Healthy churches confront brokenness with truth and biblical clarity.

3. DISCERNING GOD’S WILL TOGETHER (1:21–26)

Qualifications for leadership:

1. Faithful presence with Jesus
2. Faithful witness to the resurrection

Leadership flows from character, not ambition.

The community prays, searches Scripture and submits to God’s sovereignty.

Principle: Discernment is communal and Scripture-shaped.

THE SPIRIT’S FORMING WORK

Even before Pentecost:

• The Spirit is shaping hearts.
• The Spirit is strengthening unity.
• The Spirit is preparing structure.

Theological Anchor: The Spirit forms the church before He sends the church.

LIVING THIS TODAY

• Prioritize gathering over isolation.
• Make prayer foundational, not supplemental.
• Choose leaders marked by faithfulness.
• Trust God in seasons of waiting.

Delay is not denial. Preparation is not punishment.

FINAL SUMMARY

Before the Spirit ignites the church in power, He gathers, grounds and guides the church in prayerful unity — preparing a people ready for fire.

MADE IN HIS IMAGE                     Genesis 1:26–28 | The Human Story: Glory and Ruin

BIG IDEA

Human beings are created in God’s image, possessing inherent dignity and commissioned to reflect God’s rule into the world.

I. WHY HUMANITY MATTERS

Every culture wrestles with three foundational questions:

• Who are we?
• Why do we matter?
• What are we here for?
• All of these echo a basic sense of longing and belonging.

Genesis does not answer these with human achievement, but with divine intention.

Foundational Truth:
Before humanity is given a task, humanity is given an identity.

·      Foreshadowing: Something splinters within God’s intended created order…

ACT I — The Risen Christ & the Promised Spirit

Acts 1:1–11 | Jerusalem: Witness Prepared

BIG IDEA

The risen and reigning Christ advances His kingdom through Spirit-empowered witnesses living between ascension and return.

1. THE STORY CONTINUES (Acts 1:1–2)

• Acts is Volume Two of Luke’s orderly account.
• Focus is not merely church history, but what Jesus continues to do.
• Resurrection did not end Jesus’ work — it expanded it.

Key Truth: Jesus is still active, still leading, still advancing His mission.

2. THE KINGDOM PROGRAM OF THE RISEN CHRIST (Acts 1:3)

• Jesus teaches on the kingdom of God for forty days.
• The resurrection vindicates the kingdom message.
• The kingdom is already inaugurated but not yet consummated.

Key Insight: Before power comes clarity. Truth precedes task.

3. THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 1:4–5)

• Jesus commands the disciples to wait.
• Waiting is not inactivity, but dependent obedience.
• The Spirit is promised not for experience alone, but for mission.

Warning: Ministry without the Spirit leads to burnout and moralism.

4. THE COMMISSION OF WITNESSES (Acts 1:6–8)

• The disciples misunderstand the scope of the kingdom.
• Jesus redirects them from timing to testimony.
• The mission is clear:
• Jerusalem — familiar
• Judea — regional
• Samaria — hostile
• Ends of the earth — global

Key Calling: We are witnesses, not empire builders.

5. THE ASCENSION OF JESUS (Acts 1:9–11)

• The ascension is enthronement, not absence.
• Jesus reigns at the Father’s right hand.
• He will return in the same way He ascended.

Eschatological Tension: We live between confidence and hope.

LIVING BETWEEN ASCENSION & RETURN

• Depend on the Spirit through prayer.
• Witness faithfully where God has placed you.
• Hope confidently in Christ’s present reign and future return.

FINAL SUMMARY

Christ reigns in heaven, the Spirit empowers on earth, and the church bears witness until the King returns.

2-1 Week 4 Title: Christ, the Image of the Invisible God [God’s Love and Faithfulness]
Text: Colossians 1:15–20                      Impact: God's glory displayed in Jesus.

Big Idea:

The fullest, clearest and final revelation of God is not an idea, a doctrine, or an experience. It is found in and through a Person (Jesus). To behold Him rightly is to be reordered entirely.

Jesus Christ is the visible manifestation of the invisible God. The One THROUGH whom all things were made, the One IN whom all things hold together and the One BY whom all things are being reconciled.

Practice (Assess The Following In Your Relationship With God):

Sit honestly before God and ask:

1. Where are you?
   (What currently holds your attention and trust?)
2. Where are you struggling?
   (What feels fragmented or heavy?)
3. Where do you want to be?
   (What would it look like to place Christ at the center again?)

Why We MUST Study the Book of Acts Still Today (and with a goal in mind)

The Apostles (or Nicene) Creeds – A centralized emphasis of core doctrines in which we MUST agree upon in order to assure we share in the same salvific faith in Jesus Christ as Lord AND Savior

James – As the target of our study and the basis of information that became readily disseminated

-              How we know James (the brother of Jesus) was compelled to collect a centralized letter of instruction for widespread dissemination.

o   At The Jerusalem Council as found in Acts 15:12-15 (BSB)

§  How we know this is James, the brother of Jesus? (See Acts 12:1-2 and the martyrdom of James the Greater [James of Zebedee])

The Jerusalem Council – As the conference (to confer; have discussions; exchange opinions) of a need for closed handed, centralized core doctrine

-              See, Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (BSB)

-              See also, Jesus further into a need for a centralized core doctrine in Revelation 2:4-5 (BSB)

What happened to get us here? – In a nutshell, certain things that were a caveat, had been enforced on people who they were never intended to apply to (see circumcision to the Gentiles, in this context)

-              Not everyone felt the same level of conviction for “The Law” but rather the necessity to believe in the grace upon grace that was a prerequisite for salvation, see Acts 15:7-11 (BSB).

Why does this still matter today? – There are many different denominations, affiliations, cooperations, etc. who divide themselves today not over core beliefs necessary for salvation but over tertiary issues of governance and organization structures, styles of worship, clothing for gathering of the saints, etc.

-              These divisions do more harm than good in an increasingly post-Christian world. One where non-believers have no interest in the gathering of the saints as the saints cannot favorably gather and often tear one another down over trivial issues. 

We MUST rightly teach and orient ourselves around the core doctrines that are necessary, not to divide amongst ourselves, but to “separate the chaff from the wheat” (Luke 3:17) or to distinguish those who are sealed believers and those who are pretenders or are distant from the Gospel.

WEEK 3 — THE WORD WAS GOD, THE WORD BECAME FLESH           Text: John 1:1–18

Series: GOD: The Holy, Loving, Near Creator
Foundational Truth: God is triune and self-revealing
Disciple Mark Formed: Christ-centered, Scripture-shaped knowing of God

BIG IDEA / THESIS

God does not remain hidden, distant, or abstract.
The eternal Creator has made Himself knowable, personal and near by becoming flesh in Jesus Christ.
To know God rightly, we must behold Him as He reveals Himself: Father, Son and Spirit; perfectly united in love.

MOVEMENT I — THE WORD WHO ALWAYS WAS

Text: John 1:1–2

MOVEMENT II — THE WORD THROUGH WHOM ALL THINGS WERE MADE

Text: John 1:3–5

MOVEMENT III — THE WORD WHO ENTERED OUR WORLD

Text: John 1:9–13

MOVEMENT IV — THE WORD WHO BECAME FLESH

Text: John 1:14

MOVEMENT V — THE INVISIBLE GOD MADE KNOWN

Text: John 1:16–18

THEOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS — WHAT THIS TEACHES US ABOUT GOD

1. God Is Triune
   Love is not something God does.
   Love is who God is.
2. God Is Knowable
   Not exhaustively, but truly and ever increasing with pursuit.
3. God Is Near Without Ceasing to Be Holy
   Jesus does not dilute holiness.
   He translates it into grace.
4. God Is Like Jesus
   There is no hidden God behind Jesus.
   Jesus is the clearest revelation of God there is.

CONCLUSION — THE INVITATION

Stop asking first:

• What must I do for God?
• The gospel is not first, your salvation

Start asking:

• Who has God shown Himself to be?
• The Gospel is first, God’s holiness/loving-kindness/nearness

He is:

• Eternal Word
• Creating Light
• Indwelling Presence
• Revealing Son

And He has come toward you.

PRACTICE FOR THE WEEK

1. Read John 1:1–18 slowly — once per day
2. Pray this sentence daily:
   “Jesus, show me the Father.”
3. Take note of where you behold God as distant rather than revealed, seek Him there