COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY AND DAILY STUDIES BASED UPON OUR PREACHING SERIES AT COMMUNITY CHURCH PUTNEY
You can listen to all the messages at
Link to audio content
COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY
COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR GOD TO BE
OMNISCIENT?
Wayne Grudem defines God’s omniscience
as,
'God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one
simple and eternal act.'
We
are born helpless and knowing nothing. We go through a process of growth and
learning (and forgetting!) throughout our whole lives. We are also extremely
distractible, being limited in the range of information that we can focus on at
one time. God, however, knows all the things that there will ever be to know
equally vividly, or, as our quote from Wayne Grudem, ‘in one simple and eternal
act’.
Ø
What does Isaiah 46:9-10 reveal about God’s
knowledge of history?
Ø
These verses come as a challenge to people
who trust idols. How does our knowledge of God’s omniscience keep us from
trusting things above God?
Some of the indicators of our trusting in idols
over God are: how much time we priorities in reading news, social media,
planning, meeting people, writing emails etc. over time spent in prayer.
Ø What does
Matthew 10:29-31 tell about God’s awareness of us and what is to be our
response to this?
LET’S RESPOND TO WHO GOD IS
Ø Is there any aspect of the bible
that you find difficult to understand?
We
don’t need to fully understand in order to obey. Let’s allow God’s perfect
knowledge, goodness and love to soften us toward faithful obedience.
Ø God knows everything and yet how has
He chosen to save sinners?
There
are many man-made religions that come up with different ways of earning God’s
favour and living the ideal life. If God could have avoided the death and
suffering of His Son do you not think He would have!
Ø What does Galatians 2:21 say about
the necessity of the cross?
Ø Matthew 6:5-8 teaches us that those
who grasp God’s omniscience will pray with good motives and simply. Why is this,
and how should knowledge of God develop an amazing prayer-life in us?
GOING DEEPER PERSONAL DAILY STUDIES
God knowing everything
humbles us as the light of His glory reveals our great limitations. We can
choose to continue to put on a show of greatness or we can embrace our great
need, turning in humility and trust toward our great heavenly Father.
Monday: Our thoughts are not always God’s
thoughts
It’s easy to believe that
our opinions are right. One can presume that God shares our attitudes and
decisions. But this is not always the case,
Isaiah 55:8 “For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
Many people think of the Christian God as out of step with the modern
world. Rather than change their ways to fit in with God they seek to reinvent
God and His opinions. Let’s allow God to humble us.
Isaiah 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts.'
Tuesday: Trust in the God who knows
God knows everything and God knows you!
Like everyone else you will have things that you would change if you
could. You may wonder, If God knows everything and has the power to change it,
why am I still facing this? The only answer is to pray and fight the fight of
faith to trust in God. Read, meditate and pray out of the following
passages,
Matthew 6:8 "Your Father knows what
you need before you ask him.”
Matthew 10:30 "And even the very
hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Romans 8:28 'And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.'
Wednesday: Do you know more today than
yesterday?
How are you doing in
your studying? Are we studying to know God or are we drifting along in life,
hoping to pick up whatever comes our way? We all have limited time, so let’s
use it to the best ends. A wedding is the beginning of a marriage. After the
wedding day one must endeavour to get to know one another. I trust our love for
God is motivating us to read, listen and grow.
1 Timothy 4:15 Be
diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may
see your progress.
We have a number of
books you can borrow from the church or ask a leader for advice.
Thursday: God reveals amazing truths to us
Only God fully knows
God,
1 Corinthians 2:10-12 The
Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a
person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same
way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have
received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from
God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
The Spirit wants to
reveal God to us and help us understand the great things God has done for us in
Christ. Study is important, but true knowledge that transforms requires the
power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s make it a habit to ask the Spirit to teach us.
Friday: God prays for us with perfect
knowledge
Our
knowledge is so limited that we often don’t even know what to pray for,
Romans 8:26-27 The Spirit
helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And
he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the
Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Thankfully, It’s good to know
that, The Father knows us and our needs completely; the Holy Spirit knows what
God knows about those needs, and prays for us perfectly. Mysterious but true!
Saturday: God wants you to grow in knowledge
We are made in God’s
image. As such we can grow in knowledge. Growing in knowledge of God is a great
aspiration that is definitely God’s will also. Here are some verses that that
you may like to commit to memory:
Psalm 139:1-2 You have
searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I
rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going
out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is
on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and
before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Let’s make
it an ongoing habit to commit scripture to memory and so grow in knowledge of
God and the faith. Let John Piper spur us on in this,
‘Let us labour to memorize
the Word of God – for worship and for warfare. If we do not carry it in our
heads, we cannot savour it in our hearts or wield it in the Spirit. If you go
out without the kindling of Christian Hedonism (joy), the fire of Christian
happiness will be quenched before mid-morning.’
0 comments:
Post a Comment