The Greatest Need

A need is something that is essential or required for survival, stability, or functioning. It's a deficiency that, if not met, causes clear negative outcomes like dysfunction or death. Need can also refer to a lack of something useful or required, or a situation requiring relief or supply. 

What are some things that all humans NEED? 

When is a do it yourself project a bad idea?

We are going to look at humanity’s greatest need and learn why reconciliation with God is not a DIY endeavor.

While science and technology have given us so many ways to correct problems that arise, we still run into areas of life we can’t correct in our own power. That is certainly the case with our spiritual lives and our need for a relationship with God. Most just can't do it on their own. Thankfully, our greatest need is met by the one who is truly the greatest. 

The Greatest Name

Why are names important?  

How often to you encounter names like Judas or Jezebel?  Or how about Ninel (Lenin spelled backward), Semaj (James spelled backward), Derfla (Alfred spelled backward.  

Usually names are chosen to inspire and encourage, but now it seems as if names are an afterthought of picking up a spilled Scrabble board.

In this lesson, we look at the greatest name of all and WHY this name is so great.  We look at Isaiah 42:1-12 where the prophet Isaiah spoke of a coming “servant” who would represent God. 

We now know this servant by the name of Jesus. His mission was to represent God and God’s name accurately, and to bring honor and glory to that name.  There is only One God and only God’s name deserves glory.

Let’s discover how Isaiah said Jesus would do that.

Character: Integrity

We tend to create “silos” for the different areas of life: family, work, church, leisure in an effort to strive for balance.  While it can be good to keep work from seeping into our family life, our character should be consistent in all areas of life regardless of where we are and what we are doing. This is a life of integrity. .

 

Integrity is from the same word as integer, indicating a whole number, not a fractional number.  Integrity to character is when we are wholly authentic and not only "partially" authentic.  We are wholly godly and not only partially Godly. 

Character: Godliness

Have you ever put a puzzle together and the last piece was missing? Without that critical piece the work is lacking and the whole picture is less than whole.

Previously we looked at Peter's catalog of spiritual character traits. This session points us to a quality that is the critical piece to building our own lives: godliness. Without godliness, the structure of our lives is incomplete and our wholeness is lacking. This study will point our attention toward this crucial characteristic of godliness as we see that a godly life points others to Christ. We look at 1 Timothy 4:6-16.

Handouts on Character

 

PETER'S CATALOGUE FOR SPIRITUAL CHARACTER: 

Faith:  Biblical faith is a deep trust and confidence in God and God's promises, based on evidence and revelation, even when not fully visible or understood.  It involves believing in God's existence and character, accepting His word as true, and acting on that belief.  

But biblical faith isn't simply believing that something is true, it also is trusting in it and relying on it.  It's not blind faith merely dictated to be followed.  It's built on the evidence of God's works in the universe and the world, His revealed word in the Bible, in the testimony of others and in our own lives. 

LESSON: The Importance of Character

Read the quote at the left and think about it.  The importance of moral character is: “personal acceptance and progress, as well as good relationships and prosperity, are all built on moral character.”  What we do is an expression of who we are.   In one word this is character.  What we do is based upon our moral character.

The Sign of His Provision

Hymn:  God will. Take Care of You

For many people, Jesus is relegated only to the realm of mythology, the religious realm, or the spiritual world.  It is as if the spiritual life of Jesus is separate from all of the other areas of life.  We often forget that Jesus WAS a human man, with human desires and needs.  By submitting himself WHOLLY to the guidance of his Spiritual nature, Jesus is the Christ that we venerate today. The point is that many people only perceive a part of Jesus, his spiritual part, and fail to perceive how ALL of the parts of Jesus fit together to provide the perfect exemplar for our physical and spiritual lives.

The salvation offered by Christ is for the WHOLE PERSON and not just our physical selves or spiritual selves.  He seeks to help and sustain us in every area of life, and we can trust him to do so.  Just as Jesus meets our every need, we can be a conduit of His care in the lives of others and that is the point of this study:  Jesus meets the needs in our lives.

We look at John 6:1 -15.  The last study looked at Jesus' healing of a disabled main at the pool of Bethesda and the religious leaders overlooking the miracle to instead focus on the violation of the law of which they saw themselves the enforcers.  They believed that Jesus' act of mercy at the pool of the House of Mercy (Bethesda) was a violation of the law, illegal to do on the Sabbath.  But they overlooked their act of vengeance against him on the Sabbath.  So we see Jesus chiding the leaders for their unbelief and he foretells of the resurrection of the dead at the end of the age.

Since Mike brought it up in the newsletter, let’s open with the question: What might motivate you to pull something out of the trash?  Someone tell us the story of what happened when a garbage truck driver pulled a soft drink cup out of a garbage container. [Page 49].

So sometime after the healing at Bethesda Jesus was returning to the region of the Galilee.  Let's see what he begins to do as he teaches and ministers.

The Sign of his Glory

When you see a sign do you tend to believe it or to ignore it?  For example, "slippery when wet" or "caution wet floor" sign. 

What happens when you DON'T heed signs?

What was the first miracle that Jesus performed in the Bible?  

This study looks at this first miracle from John 2:1-11.  We will see that Jesus works in our lives for HIS glory.  Our lives serve to bring glory to to God through Jesus.  

The glory that WE bring to our lives is a flawed glory.  When we "shine the spotlight" on ourselves it fades quickly.  But when we bring glory to Jesus, we bring glory to to God.  This glory points people to God and pointing people to God brings glory for eternity.

This eight session study looks at signs that the Gospel of John points to that deepen our understanding of God's directions for our lives.  For eight weeks we will look at the signs of: God's glory, God's grace, authority, provision, presence, light, God's power over death, and his ultimate sign.