old!testament!survey! … · 2019. 4. 8. ·...
TRANSCRIPT
OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY SESSION 5: PROMISE, PLAN & COVENANT IN THIS SESSION The biblical backdrop of the five books of Torah establishes the building blocks for the way the God will work to rescue, redeem and restore humankind in Christ. This Session looks to draw out the key elements launched in those books as a means to help frame the study of the remainder of the Old Testament books. KEY PASSAGES
• Genesis 1:26-‐28 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
• Genesis 3:15 15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
• Genesis 22:15 15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
DISCUSS
• Has there been a time where you or someone you know has made a promise but has not planned to execute on their promise? Likewise, have there been clear moments where there has been a strategy to deliver on a promise without concrete, tangible action taken? Why is the three-‐fold structure of promise-‐plan-‐covenant so important in the biblical story in light of your examples?
• “God first does for us what he wants to do in us so that he can work through us.” Think back on your life experiences. How has this statement been true in your life? Where have you seen God do something for you (“salvation”)? Where have you experienced God doing something in your life (“transformation”)? Where has God used you to connect another person with him in deeper relationship (“mission”)?
• What does the promise-‐plan-‐covenant structure tell us about the character of God and the way he interacts with humanity? How does this inform the statement made in the Session that “[t]he faithfulness of God takes a person’s faith in God and
translates it into faithfulness?” Consider for a moment the radical grace and love of God displayed in the Old Testament as you process answers to these questions.
PRAY
• Take a few moments to simply thank God and express your gratitude for his commitment to plan and see through the story of rescue, redemption and restoration that culminates in Jesus Christ.