(A) The Practical Reality: A Roman Census (v.1-3)
(B) The Divine Reality: God Fulfilling His Word (v.4-6)
(C) The Gospel Reality: Fullness of God in a Manger (v.7)
(A) A troubling Christmas announcement: Mary struggles and responds by faith (v.26-38)
(B) A joyful Christmas announcement: God’s word is proven true (v.39-45)
(C) A Christmas song of faith: faith that leads to joy and worship (v.46-56)
This week we focus our attention on the Christmas prophet, the forerunner to Jesus. We begin in the first chapter of Luke. Where are we in the whole story of the Bible? These events mark the end of the silence between the end of the Old Testament and beginning of the New. After a 400 year period of silence, God was beginning again His work to bring about the fulfillment of His promises first made in the OT.
(A) The Christmas Family in Macro: A bunch of the worst sinners, spiritually and socially (v.1-17)
(B) The Christmas Family in Micro: Through Jesus, forgiven sinners are restored to God (v.18-25)
Paul wrote the book of Romans to address the Roman church which comprised of Gentiles who were not part of God's chosen people in the Old Testament. Yet, in these verses in Romans 11, he goes on to show how salvation of both Jews and Gentiles work not just to save them from their sins, but more importantly in all things, they work for His glory.
In Christ alone. Who is this Jesus at the centre of Christianity and what did He do? What does this mean for us?
This study goes back to these basic, but wonderful truths.
“The Bible recognizes no definition of grace that encourages moral license. Instead, feasting on grace fuels love for God that enables us to fulfill the commandment ... Only the grace of God ultimately displayed in the provision of Christ for sinners can stimulate such loving obedience.”
(ESV Gospel Transformation Bible Introduction)
In this passage, Paul is dealing with the important idea of justification. Romans 4 has Paul answering one important question: how is a man justified? Justified is a legal term, and it simply means to be declared righteous. With justification comes approval and innocence. In Romans 4, Paul uses two examples that the early readers of Romans were familiar with -- Abraham and David -- to show what faith is. We too, can learn so much from this very, very rich text!
Christian history tells us that there were points when the gospel was a faint light in a dark night, and that heresies became more common than truth. This new series on the theology of the Reformation brings us back to the time where there were men who stood up against the prevailing cultural norms and traditions, and insisted that Scripture alone, would be their rule and guide. This was what Martin Luther, a mere German monk, and some of the other reformers fought to recognise again. This was what Martin Luther argued at the Diet of Worms, where he had to stand up to defend his convictions:
“Your Imperial Majesty and Your Lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted [convinced] of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted [convinced] by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God’s word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”
The New Testament cannot be properly understood without the unfolding story of the Old Testament. St. Augustine once wisely said that "The New is in the Old contained, the Old is in the New explained." The key to understanding the NT is to understand the themes set up in the OT, and that's what we did in the previous session. This is also the context that we need to understand.
The Old Testament is made up of different genres, but each of these books of the Old Testament work together to tell one narrative. It is not a collection of short stories, but is really one story.
Here's how each book fits into the larger storyline.
When we read any novel or book, where do we begin? Of course at the beginning, you'd say. It's a no brainer. And the Bible is no different really. I don't know about you, but sometimes I do struggle with reading the Bible. Certain chapters don't make sense. Narratives are easier, but when it comes to law and poetry, sometimes things seem complicated. Is it just for the intellectual few? No!
In this new series, we'll consider what the Bible's storyline is all about. Sometimes we think we know these things and assume that we've understood everything, but it really is worth pausing and reconsidering what the Bible says about itself, about God and about us. Ready? Let's begin right at the beginning, in Genesis to consider who God is and what is God's initial plan for you and me.
In the first 11 chapters, we see the downward spiral after the fall of man and the extent of sin's destruction in this Paradise Lost. Chapter 12-50, however, showed us God's faithfulness in keeping His promises through the generations of one man, Abraham. Genesis reminds us that there is a story beyond our short lives here on earth. Our lives are wrapped up in a larger narrative, beyond what we can actually imagine.
What can we learn from the last verses of the last chapter in Genesis?
We're almost at the end of Genesis, and this chapter records for us the death of one of the patriarchs. Nearing the end of his life, we read of 3 blessing sequences in Genesis 47-49. He blesses Pharaoh (Gen 47), Joseph's sons (Gen 48) and his own sons (Gen 49). Before we go on to study today's passage, why is it so important that the book of Genesis ends with the idea of blessing? Following from the idea of the curse in Gen 3, the rest of Genesis proceeds to reverse and undo this curse. Once again, we are reminded that the Bible must be read in context! Like the previous chapters on blessings, therefore, Gen 50 reminds us of the curse of Gen 3, for all man will die now.
In Gen 49, we are at the end of Jacob's life and he issues a call for them to gather themselves together (v.1). Jacob churches them, and in the New Testament, we see this word for gathering being used to describe the church. The Bible's understanding of the church is not an institution, but an assembly of God's people and early on in the Bible even in Genesis, we see glimpses and the beginning of this idea. Notice also how the sons are referred to in verse 28. They have changed from sons to tribes at the end of the blessing. They are no longer individuals within a family, but have taken the identity of heads of households of a nation. Gen 49 not only helps us to see the importance of people in God's eyes, but also that God's people are assembled in some form of organizational structures. These tribes introduced in Gen 49 persist right to the end, to the book of Revelation!
We're almost at the end of Genesis, and nearing the end of Jacob's life. Gen 48 begins with Joseph being told that his father Jacob as ill and dying, and he brings his two sons to meet their grandfather. This might seem like an extended ending to some of us. After all, we wouldn't be surprised if the story ended with Joseph being reunited with his father and brothers. A simple "and they lived happily ever after" would not shock us. Yet, the narrative continues in Gen 48, and it continues to teach us so many things about how we read the Bible! We often come to the Bible with our own preferences and ideas, and this extended ending reminds us to read God's Word because it fundamentally the very words of God.
(A) God’s wonderful plan to provide (v.1-6)
(B) God’s wonderful plan to bless (v.7-12)
(C) God’s wonderful plan for wealth (v. 13-28)
(D) God’s wonderful plan for the future (v.29-31)
Last week, we learnt that through Joseph as a representative of Pharaoh, God saved Jacob's family and brought them out of famine into provision in Goshen. In doing so, God kept his covenant promise to Jacob. In this study, we study this in greater detail, through the genealogy in Genesis 46.
Who are these people corporately? These are the sons of Jacob (also known as Israel when he was renamed in Gen 32).
(A) The God who provides through human means: Pharaoh’s invite, Joseph’s gift (45:15-28)
(B) The God who meets with his people: Jacob’s encounter with God (46:1-7)
(C) The God who keeps promises: Israel’s family entering Egypt (46:8-27)