Beyond the Weekend: GOD IS...
People have a lot of thoughts about God. Some say he is angry and vengeful. Some say he is a buddy or best friend. But what does Scripture tell us about God?
Understanding the character of God matters. It changes how we meet him in our everyday lives. It changes how we understand the world around us, and his work in it. And it changes our prayer life and how we talk and hear from him. Understanding the character of God leads us to living lives of obedience and worship.
Join Pastors Aaron Buer, Jeff Manion and Brad Holmes in our 10-week series GOD IS ..., a study on the identity and character of God, and learn how your faith can grow as you know God better.
God Is Happy
Read: Matthew 3:16-17 Listen: Matthew 3
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17
As Jesus is about to begin his public ministry, he is baptized by John the Baptist. As he came out of the water, we get a unique glimpse into the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. All three persons of the Trinity appear in this scene, and we get a picture of their eternal relationship. From eternity past, God has existed in relationship. Within that relationship is perfect and infinite love, joy, contentment, peace and happiness. God lacks nothing. His happiness is infinite and eternal and does not depend on anyone or anything else.
We're not like that. We don't have perfect happiness and are more needy than we would like to admit. What’s more, we often seek to meet our needs and find happiness in the wrong places. We think a relationship, house, car, achievement, job or experience will bring us lasting joy and happiness. All the while, what we really seek is God himself—to know him and experience some of what he experiences all the time. Lasting joy and happiness are found in the source of beauty, love, joy, peace, contentment and happiness.
TODAY: Read Psalm 23 and take note of the way David describes his relationship with God. Consider that God does not need anything and how that might influence the way David describes him in this Psalm.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Read Psalm 35. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Consider how the suffering in this Psalm points to Jesus’s suffering on the cross.
