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FALL 2013: Personal Study Guide HCSBEd Stetzer General EditorTrevin Wax Managing Editor

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17Session 2

2Many of us can identify with the psalmist who cried out, “Do not be far from

me, because distress is near and there is no one to help” (Ps. 22:11).

In the dark moments of our lives, it seems as though God couldn’t be more distant. When disease strikes us or strikes a loved one, when a sudden tragedy befalls a friend, when the news is overwhelmingly negative, it’s easy to fall into a deep sense of despair.

In these moments, we need to be prepared to hear the good news: God is near to us, and our opportunity for relationship with Him isn’t hindered by our circumstances. In fact, if there’s anything we need to know in such moments, it is that our greatest need isn’t relief from our circumstances but relationship with the God who made us. The psalmist’s prayer isn’t simply a model for good prayer (although it certainly is that), it’s the very cry of our hearts.

And it offers a surprising comfort. Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm, one that foreshadows the cross in stark and specific ways. It’s also the very psalm Jesus quoted from the cross when He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46; see Ps. 22:1).

On the cross, Jesus was forsaken in our place. As dark as our days may get, we can take comfort in knowing that because of Christ, God will never forsake us or abandon us.

Created to RelateWhen God Seems Distant

Pause and Reflect – Reflect on the last time you experienced significant suffering or tragedy. How did you respond? Was prayer difficult? Why or why not?

– How can the knowledge that God is near be a comfort in moments of darkness and despair?

– How can you encourage someone who feels as though God is far off?

Session 2: Ready Your Heart

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18 Personal Study Guide | Fall 2013

If you search your Bible for the phrase “one another,” you’ll discover that it’s an oft-used phrase in the New Testament. Life in the church means life in community, and for us image bearers, that’s life as it was always meant to be lived.

Paul told the Ephesians, “Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:1-6).

The gospel brings us together because it puts us all on common ground. We’re all sinners in need of mercy, and that’s a cause for great humility, gentleness, and patience. As sinners saved by grace, we identify with one another at the deepest level. We can draw close and devote ourselves to encouraging and building up one another, knowing that our greatest problem and our greatest dividing line has been resolved by Jesus.

Just as the gospel draws us together, it motivates us to intentionally and sacrificially love one another: “Show family affection to one another with brotherly love” (Rom. 12:10a). We’re even invited to a friendly competition of love and good deeds: “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10b).

In contrast to the world around us, which competes for status, success, and recognition, the church is called to compete for others’ sake.

Created to RelateOne Another

Pause and Reflect – Imagine how different the world might look if the population competed not for self but to honor one another.

– How are you serving others? What opportunities exist in your life to build up others and show them honor?

– How does Jesus set the example for loving and honoring others?

Session 2: Ready Your Heart

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19Session 2

Tom Hanks starred in the movie Cast Away as Chuck Noland, the sole survivor of a plane crash at sea who found himself on a deserted island. Chuck can’t handle the isolation, so he ends up inventing a community for himself with a volleyball, which he names “Wilson.” He talks to, fights with, makes up with, and struggles to keep Wilson “alive.” The movie’s most hopeless moment is during Chuck’s escape from the island when Wilson is lost in the surf and Chuck is again alone.

What Cast Away so hauntingly portrays is something the Bible tells us over and over again—we weren’t made for isolation and independence but for relationships. Starved of relationships, we will inevitably fall apart.

Have you ever had a “desert island” conversation with your friends? You imagine yourself trapped on a desert island, and you can only have three things. What would you have? Why? When our modern comforts are stripped away, how do we respond? What is left?

In this session, we will look at how we reflect God through our relationships. God intended for humanity to be a growing, multiplying community of people who bring glory to Him. As people made in His image, we were made to relate to God, to one another, and to the world around us, but because of sin, we fail to relate rightly. Yet through the work of Jesus Christ, the restoration of our relationships is accomplished.

Voices from the Church“We were created for community. We were not created simply to appreciate it. We are incomplete without it. Furthermore, by God’s grace, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, he made true community possible.” 1

–Brad House

Created to RelateRelating to God, Others, and the World

Session 2: Group Time

20 Personal Study Guide | Fall 2013

1. God created us to relate to Him (Gen. 1:26; Jer. 9:23-24).

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

The first and most important relationship human beings have is with God. God created us in His image so that we would know and love Him. We were created to submit joyfully to our Creator.

An old pastor friend of mine used to say, “Life isn’t about finding the answers; it’s about getting to know the Answerer.” Our path through a troubled world is not about techniques, accomplishments, or accumulation. It’s about relationship, and it starts with the way we relate to the God who made us.

The prophet Jeremiah believed our relationship with God was the most important thing about us. Take a look at what He wrote:

23 This is what the Lord says: The wise man must not boast in his wisdom; the strong man must not boast in his strength; the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth. 24 But the one who boasts should boast in this, that he understands and knows Me—that I am Yahweh, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things.This is the Lord’s declaration.

We are constantly tempted to believe that wisdom, wealth, love, beauty, or sex is going to make us happy. We boast in all sorts of things. But the prophet Jeremiah reminded us that all these paths are unsatisfying. And all the things we boast of are nothing compared to knowing God.

Life isn’t about what you know or what you experience. It’s about who you know, and apart from knowing and relating to the God who made us, life will ultimately disappoint.

In what ways can your life demonstrate the priority of understanding and knowing the Lord? What are some signs that this is not your priority?

Voices from Church History“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’ ” 2

–Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920)

21Session 2

Ever since the first humans sinned, the world has been subject to brokenness and frustration. In our sin, we are estranged from God, like prodigals in a far-off country. We don’t joyfully submit to God; we willingly rebel. But somewhere in the back of our minds, we remember the comforts of our Father’s household—like dreams of Eden—and we long to go back. We dream of a world made right and of a life that makes sense.

God is able to welcome us so graciously because of Jesus, who left His home to come to this earth and, through His life, death, and resurrection, made a way for us to come home to the Father. The good news, announced and enacted by Jesus, was that the kingdom of God had arrived—a relationship with God was available again! Where sin led God to exile Adam and Eve from Eden, the gospel leads us back home. Jesus’ death paid the penalty for our sin, and His resurrection paved the way to new life.

Why is it important to understand how the gospel restores our relationship with God? What happens to the church if we forget that our biggest problem is the sin that separates us from our Father?

Along with this wonderful announcement, Jesus also perfectly demonstrated what life in the kingdom—life in relationship with God—is all about. It’s tempting to make the kingdom of God an abstract, super-spiritual reality or to imagine Jesus as a mystic or guru who had some secret knack for tapping into God’s presence. But if you read the Gospels, you’ll see that Jesus simply lived His life with an awareness that God was always and already present. He would often burst spontaneously into prayer or praise (Matt. 11:25), and He taught that God knew and saw all (6:4).

Do you think of spiritual disciplines (such as prayer and Bible study) as chores or as part of an ongoing relationship?

2. God created us to relate to one another (Gen. 1:27; Rom. 13:8-10).

Let’s go back to Genesis 1 again and pick up where we left off. After we see how God created us to relate to Him, we see that He made us in His image to relate to one another. Check out verse 27:

27 So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.

22 Personal Study Guide | Fall 2013

God created us to relate to one another. Self-sacrificing, others-centered love is at the heart of all meaningful relationships. Both men and women are made in God’s image, and both are given the commission to rule and reign over creation.

In Genesis 2, we see how marriage is one of the fundamental building blocks of our world, designed by God to be the prototypical relationship and the catalyst for the culture about to emerge. In Christian marriage, there is no room for selfish, self-seeking, and demanding behavior. The love of Christ should characterize every Christian marriage.

This was how God made the world. It was the way Adam was meant to love Eve and the way she was meant to respond to him. But sin corrupted this reality, and marriages have struggled ever since. At the heart of that struggle is self-centeredness.

Just browse the marriage section at your local bookstore and look at the way problems are identified, or notice the advice given in newspaper columns, blogs, and radio shows. Most of our reasons for dissatisfaction in marriage are self-centered, cloaked carefully in almost clinical language about “having our needs met.” The counsel centers on getting what you want out of your marriage. We’re advised to subtly manipulate our spouse into changing for our satisfaction.

But what if we approached our marriages with total disinterest in self? What if our marriages were marked by the desire to lay down our own demands in order to care for our spouses? It would require us to listen well, to truly understand the ones we love, and to die to ourselves again and again.

If the Lord cultivates in us the kind of character that makes us attentive and empathetic toward others, it will transform the dynamics of any relationship.

How does the biblical picture of marriage differ from the world’s? What are some signs of self-centered relationships?

8 Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments:

Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet;

and whatever other commandment—all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

How marvelously different our marriages, families, churches, neighborhoods, cities, and nations would look if we all lived out this great summary commandment! What we must remember, though, is that Jesus is the One who fulfilled the law of love. We saw earlier how Jesus perfectly demonstrated the relationship we are meant to have with God the Father. We should also look to Him to see the way we are to relate with one another.

23Session 2

Consider how inconvenient (from a purely pragmatic standpoint) Jesus’ friendships were. He went looking for disciples amongst the dregs of society, inviting them into His life and ministry so that they could eventually become the people God wanted them to be. His every encounter was a blessing—a life-changing encounter of love and truth.

Unlike so many of us, Jesus saw relationships as ends in themselves, not means. In other words, He never befriended somebody because of what they could do for Him. Instead, He welcomed people who had nothing to offer and gave freely of Himself.

Have you ever experienced a relationship in which someone simply wanted to take advantage of you? Have you ever done that to others?

Jesus’ posture toward relationships is known by a simple word: love. Love forms relationships that are focused on others rather than self. The Bible invites us to follow Christ’s example, living without a great deal of concern for how we benefit in the short term. Instead, store up treasures in heaven, knowing that loving others and following Jesus is better than the self-centered and unsatisfying misery that marks life apart from Christ.

When was the last time one of your relationships demanded a sacrifice? How did you respond?

3. God created us to relate to the world (Gen. 1:28).

The final command in Genesis 1 shows a third aspect of what it means to bear God’s image: we relate in a particular way to the world. Remember how the passage ends?

28 God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

We are embodied creatures, and God wanted us to be intimately tied to the earth—Genesis 2 shows we’re actually formed from the dust. When death appears in Genesis 3, we’re reminded that we ultimately return to dust. As humans, we are earth creatures.

Voices from Church History“On the cross, [Jesus] was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work.” 3

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)

24 Personal Study Guide | Fall 2013

As broken as the world may be, as stained by sin, and as full of corruption as it is, it is still our home. We are still called to live out our lives here, and our ultimate hope is not in its destruction but in its restoration.

Why do you think God formed man from the dust in Genesis 2 as opposed to simply speaking him into being as with the creatures in Genesis 1? What does this say about the importance of material things?

Just as our relationships with God and one another should be marked by love, so should our relationship with the world. Our impact on the world should be similar to our impact on one another—we should love it in a transformative way. This means a loving stewardship of creation and a loving engagement with the culture around us.

The most loving thing we can do is share the gospel. But a focus on evangelism does not excuse us from failing to steward the world well, as Genesis 1 commands us. Can it possibly have been God’s desire for humanity to overfish species to extinction, to destroy ecosystems with industrial waste, and to deplete entire landscapes in order to exploit resources?

Whatever one might believe about our environmental impact (and Christians disagree on proposals and details), we should consider the choices we make in light of the responsibility we’ve been given by God to rule over the earth—something that should be done with love, wisdom, and generosity.

What are some ways we can take seriously the command of Genesis 1:28 to rule wisely over the world God has given us?

ConclusionWhat should shape all of our relationships? Love. Love of God, love of neighbor, and

love of the world around us. As image bearers, we’re called to reflect the God who made us. God has loved the world and loved us with a transformative, life-giving love. This love, reflected through His people, is not merely a warm-and-fuzzy feeling, and it certainly isn’t the kind of intoxicating infatuation that marks most romance stories. It’s a transformative power, leaving a deep impact on all that it touches and changing it for the better.

Voices from the Church“What brings a person value, significance and hope is not what he does, but with whom he does it. The call to live in continual communion with God means that every person’s life, no matter how mundane, is elevated to sacred heights.” 4

–Skye Jethani

25Session 2

A common critique of the contemporary American church is that it’s merely a social club. Churches are divided along political, racial, and socio-economic lines. Sunday morning has been called the most segregated hour of the week.

As image bearers, we’re made for relationships, and it’s no wonder that we naturally gravitate toward people like us. But we should also keep in mind that what separates us from others is almost always—in some way—the product of a fallen world. Ever since the Tower of Babel, cultures have divided, and their differences have pushed them apart. At Pentecost, the gospel drew people from a myriad of tribes and tongues to Jesus and drew them back together in the process.

The gospel can bridge any social or cultural gap, making joyful and encouraging relationships possible in surprising places. It caused Paul to exclaim, “In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:11).

Our tendency is to gravitate toward those who can do something for us—the wealthy and powerful—or those with whom we’re already socially comfortable. But the gospel invites us to something that is both more and better—a broader, better way to live. Just as God welcomed us, the outsider, into His family, so we should seek to welcome those who are different from us into our churches and our lives.

Created to RelatePlaying Favorites

Pause and Reflect – Who are the modern barbarians, Scythians, Greeks, and Jews who should find unity in the name of Jesus?

– What social and cultural barriers are you seeing break down around you?

– What scares you about reaching out to people who are different from you? Bring those things to the Lord as you pray.

Session 2: Respond in Your Life

The Gospel Project®Adult Personal Study Guide HCSBVolume 2, Number 1 Fall 2013

Eric GeigerVice President, Church Resources

Ed StetzerGeneral Editor

Trevin WaxManaging Editor

Philip NationDirector, Adult Ministry Publishing

Faith WhatleyDirector, Adult Ministry

Send questions/comments to: Managing Editor, The Gospel Project: Adult Personal Study Guide, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0102; or make comments on the Web at www.lifeway.com.

Printed in the United States of America

The Gospel Project®: Adult Personal Study Guide HCSB (ISSN 2162-7207; Item 005461524) is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President. © 2013 LifeWay Christian Resources.

For ordering or inquiries, visit www.lifeway.com, or write LifeWay Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions or subscription address changes, e-mail subscribe@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5818, or write to the above address. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, e-mail orderentry@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5933, or write to the above address.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

All Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from the English Standard Version® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Mike Cosper is the one of the founding pastors of Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky, where he serves as the Executive Pastor of Worship and Arts. He’s the author of Rhythms of Grace: How the Church’s Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel and the co-author of Faithmapping with Daniel Montgomery. He and his wife, Sarah, have two daughters, Dorothy and Maggie.

ABout the WRiteR

NoteS1. Brad House, Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 35.

2. James D. Bratt, ed., Abraham Kuyper, A Centennial Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 488.

3. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: HarperCollins, 1954), 17.

4. Skye Jethani, With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God (Nashville: Thomas Nelson), 146.