Advent Series: God With Us
OVERVIEW: The overarching story throughout the Bible is that this God has come to dwell with us. Instead of living on a remote mountain that we must climb, instead of hiding in an abyss that we must descend, our God is one that seeks to know us intimately, to walk with us daily and to be with us.
November 10 • EDEN: The Way This Ought To Be
Genesis 2:4b-9, 18-23 (NRSV); Romans 5:12-21 (NRSV); John 14: 25-27 (NRSV)
Before there was the fall into sin, life was… shalom. More than just the absence of war, shalom refers to a peace that was meant to be. This peace included an intimacy with Adam and Eve and all of creation. It was perfect… until it wasn’t.
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November 17• WILDERNESS: Along the Way
Exodus 13:17-22 (NIV); Philippians 4:10–14 (NIV); Matthew 5:14–16 (NIV)
Shekina refers to dwelling in the presence of the Lord. When the Israelites left Egypt for the Promised Land, God didn’t give them a map and a compass and wish them well. His greatest gift was his Shekina, his glory, revealed in a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.
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November 24 • TABERNACLE: On the Move
Exodus 39:32-35, 43-40:3, 34-38 (NIV); John 1:1-5, 14 (NIV)
From the time the Israelites left Egypt until Solomon built the first temple, the Ark of the Covenant resided in a tabernacle—literally a portable tent that followed God’s people as they remained on the move. No matter where the people lived, God pitched his tent alongside them.
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December 1 • TEMPLE: In the Sacrifice
1 Kings 8:62-66 (NIV); Hebrews 10:1-10 (NIV); Luke 2:22-24 (NIV)
The use of animal sacrifice lay at the heart of Jewish worship from the time of Abraham, past the life of Jesus, until about 70 AD. At its zenith, the greatest expression of this sacrifice was within the Temple located in Jerusalem. Why did it end? There are two answers to that question, depending on if you are Jewish or Christian.
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December 8 • JESUS: Emmanuel
Isaiah 7:10-17 (NIV); Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)
One of the many names of Jesus is Emmanuel, literally, “God is with us.” If you want to know about the character of God, look to Jesus. If you want to know the love of God, look to Jesus. If you want to know the grace of God, look to Jesus. For in Jesus, we see the fullness of this God who desires to be with us.
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December 15 • CHURCH: Already and Not Yet
Revelation 21:1-5 (NIV); Matthew 16:13-19 (NIV)
We live in this in between time between the first and the second coming of Jesus. We have received the forgiveness and grace of God already, but not yet have we experienced the fullness of such glory. We live in the time of the Church, God’s creation as a proclamation that there will come a time in which God’s reign will come into its completion.
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December 22 • HEAVEN: Coming Full Circle
Revelation 22:1-5 (NRSV); John 20:19-23 (NRSV)
However we define heaven and hell, we can be sure of one thing. Heaven is dwelling forever in the presence of God while hell is an existence apart from God. From the time of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, it has been God’s plan of salvation for his people to come full circle and return into his presence.
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