Genesis 39

Read Colossians 3:1-10 Commentary Personal integrity is forged as the Holy Spirit shapes your character. Integrity is a result of intimacy with God and His influence on your heart. Spending quality time with God --- responding to His love and submitting to His authority --- produces the character of Christ in you. Integrity is wholeness --- the restoration of the image of God. It is God's work, as well as your willingess and wholehearted effort. It is nothing less than the transformation of a person into God's original design, into his/her true self. There is a need to "put to death ..." to "rid yourselves of ..." "to take off the old self" --- all that contradicts your new identity as a determined follower of Jesus. In verse 5 we have the list of self-indulgent desires (sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed). In verse 8 we have the list of damaging reactions (anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language). In verse 9 we are reminded of the sin that accompanies and exacerbates every other sin ... the tendency to lie as a way of covering up or rationalizing our sins. The re-creation of our "new self" is God's gift --- and our great longing. God invites us to remove the "old self" with all of its destructive practices, and put on this beautiful God-given integrity --- your "new self" with an empowered capacity for deep virtue and widespread blessing. Questions 1) Review the list of sins above. What is your version of the list? Can you own the ugly truth ... recognizing you do not have to live under condemnation and do not have to keep on practicing the old way? 2) Pick one of these sins from your list and try this experiment: name it; confess it as unacceptable sin; ask and receive God's forgiveness found in Christ; admit your failing to another (highly trusted and caring) person --- for the sake of accountability and support; and now "put on the new self" --- ask God to remove this sin at its source in you and replace your old desires and reactions with a new sanctified passion and response-ability. 3) How do you live a new life as your new self?

Heb 4:14-16; James 4:8

Commentary Intimacy. We are drawn to and, at the same time, intimidated by this word. We long for deep, meaningful, personal connections … but are terrified at the degree of vulnerability required to actually experience it. We would have to trust someone a lot to risk real intimacy. Intimacy with God?! That seems impossible (even delusional) and certainly not recommended, even if it were possible --- no imperfect human being could stand in the presence of a holy God … could we?? And yet, because of God’s gracious invitation to us, and our access to Him in Christ, it is a distinct possibility. The Bible is filled with the language of intimacy. The first humans, made in the image of God, walked with God in the garden. They are naked and not ashamed, thriving in the securiaty and transparency of their relationship with God and each other. Then, suddenly, this beautiful intimacy collapses. The man and the woman are afraid and they hide --- from God, from each other, from themselves. Relationships are degraded and stressed to the breaking point. Creation itself groans. But God’s purpose does not change. Relationship is what He wants. It’s why He made us. From His point of view, a relationship with each one of us is to die for. Listen to the language of intimacy, for example, in Psalm 37: 3-5; Jeremiah 31:3-13; Hosea 11:1-11; John 15:5-17; Galatians 4:3-6; Hebrews 4:14-16. [Did you read it?] I could fill pages and pages with similar references. The Scripture is essentially an elaborate love letter --- God’s effusive affection for us and relentless pursuit of us is discernable from beginning to end. The offer of intimacy is extended … beyond the sad debacle in the very beginning of the story, beyond the first couple, beyond the scope of a chosen people and a promised land and the holy history contained in this Book. This love is meant for you, here and now(!) You are Somebody in God’s eyes. Not nobody … and not designed to be separate and autonomous either. You are beloved and you are invited. In Christ, you are accepted just as you are. Like Adam and Eve, like Abraham and Sarah, like Moses and his sister Miriam, like David, like the first disciples, like John --- “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Like all the sinners who have been looking for love in all the wrong places Challenge So, how can we experience this incredible offer of Intimacy with God? 1. Practice Gratitude (live overwhelmed … by God’s goodness and gifts!)2. Keep the Conversation going (listen to Him, talk to Him, narrate your life in prayer and respond to His Word, never lose contact)3. Enter a sacred Serving Partnership (learn to care about what God cares about, take the opportunity to serve sacrifically, join Him in giving yourself, use your talents and resources and time and treasure to manifest His Kingdom)4. Try Unconditional Trust (don’t try this with anyone else --- but trust God without reservation, even when you don’t understand)5. Share the Journey (share your joys and your struggles, encourage others in their relationship with God, learn from others as they gain insight into the ultimate relationship) You do want IWG, don’t you?! Questions 1. How do you experience IWG? 2. What interferes with your experience of IWG? 3. How would you like to go further and grow in your IWG (consider the five-part challenge above)?

John 10:1-16 and Titus 1:5-9

2 Timothy 1:11-14

Week Two: The Purpose of God for You Read II Timothy 1:6-10 Living unashamed is a pervasive theme in Paul's second letter to his protoge, Timothy. Unashamed, because Timothy's faith (immature as it still may be, he has embraced the immense implications of Christ's coming) is a powerful source of strength and confidence. So many people --- and too many professing Christians --- are living with shame, with fear, with timidity, and even with a quiet yet constant sense of uncertainty and anxiety. Paul, the "burning man", is trying to set Timothy (his son in the faith) "on fire." "Fan into flame" your faith: that is Paul's exhortation. Overcoming insecurity, opposition and the tendency to relapse into cowardice in the face of suffering is the goal of the apostle as he begins writing to this young leader. 1) Not Ashamed to Testify (Verse 8)How does shame affect someone's faith? When are you most uncomfortable expressing your beliefs, and why? What happens when passion ("fire") meets shame ("ice water")?What is an effective way to "testify about the Lord"? 2) Willing to Suffer for the Gospel (Verse 8)Why is there opposition to the Gospel? What is the Gospel? What does it mean when the apostle writes that God gives us the power to suffer? How do we respond to opposition with both integrity and grace --- when our commitment to Christ is challenged? 3) Called to Live a Holy Life (Verse 9)What's the relationship between the gift of salvation ("not because of anything we have done --- but because of His own purpose and grace") and God's call for us to live a holy (set apart for His purpose) life? Is it enough to be "saved"? Is the focus on God's gift or on our effort? Or both?! 4) Powered by Grace (Verses 6-10)It seems to be Grace from the start ("before the beginning of time") and Grace all the way to the end ("Jesus Christ ... who has destroyed death") ... what does a Grace-framed life look like? If the Gospel (Good News of Great Joy!) makes this clear, because it "brought life and immortality to light," what is it we are trying to bring to the attention of unbelievers? 5) TransformReal Transformation happens when we take to heart this message: Make the Most of God's Gift --- Live by Faith, Powered by Grace, according to the Good News of God's Love revealed in JesusOur lives are full of Transition ... and that means we are often so stressed and distracted that we constantly postpone the possibility of real Transformation. "I'll get to it later. I don't have time now." Is this a dilemma for you? How can you resolve it sooner rather than later? Re-read II Timothy 1:6-10Pray about thisMake the commitment to soak yourself in this expression of God's WordPray for each otherPractice this (as if you were Timothy ... considering these challenges: 1,2,3,4,5!)

The Gift of God in YouII Timothy 1:1-7 Paul's second letter to his young protege Timothy is his farewell. Paul is in prison in Rome and likely won't be released. He has "run the race" and "fought the good fight." He is handing off leadership of the missionary movement to Timothy and others who have been with him during his travels. This is the late 60s AD. This is a pivotal moment. For Paul, it is the end --- the end of the beginning: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Phil. 1:21) For Timothy, this is the beginning of a new challenge, a huge new responsibility. Since he is young (probably in this 30s), inexperienced, introverted and cautious by nature, he needs lots of encouragement. Paul pours it on because he believes in Timothy --- he is confident that God is at work in Timothy and will work through him to produce Kingdom results. 1. Timothy has been given many advantages ... that he may not recognize. What are they, according to this passage? What blessings and resources has God given to you? For what purpose? 2. What does this mean: "Fan into flame the gift of God"? God gives, you fan into flame ... how does that work? 3. What is the "spirit of timidity"? Why do many people live in constant fear? Do you see this effect anywhere in your own life? 4. God gives us "the spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline." Imagine what this combination can accomplish in the life of a receptive person. What do you need to receive? Are you ready to receive it and to live it?

Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-45Small Group Questions:1. (as an ice-breaker): If you had been the grandmother, or grandfather, in the video, confronted with a gunman in your car, how do you think you would have handled the situation? No right or wrong answer here…2. Who can share of a wonderful time with the Lord, qualitatively (you were deeply moved or felt very close to Him) or quantitatively (you spent a significant amount of time in prayer, fasting, singing to Him reading the Word, etc.)? How can each of us improve our time at Jesus feet, either in quantity or quality of time?3. Who can share of a time when God seemed to say “No” or “Wait” to an important prayer we prayed? Did you ever see, later on, how He was acting in love towards you?4. About what subjects do you think most people have a hard time being honest with God? Why?5. How can we honor and praise the Lord more often in our lives?