We are continuing our study of the Trinity and we began a mini-series on Jesus called "Messiah".
Last night we looked at Jesus' birth, and how our "Limitless God" limited Himself by becoming man. This is an incredible idea, and hard to grasp - but we emphasized that Jesus is 100% human and 100% divine. He is not half and half, He is fully God and fully man. We focused more on Jesus' humanity last night, and considered questions such as "Was Jesus average or above average at sports?", did He as a baby go through all the normal stuff like crying and teething and dirty "diapers"? Did he go through the awkward puberty years the same way we do? These are interesting questions to entertain, but in the end we know that Jesus was fully human and so He did indeed experience the things we do that are a natural part of life.
We proceeded to read through Luke 1:26-38 and 2:1-38 and look for indications that prove Jesus was both human and divine. Here are some things we came up with:
Jesus Humanity
- 1:31) conceived in Mary’s womb; she gave birth to him
- 1:32) his ancestor was David
- 2:5) was pregnant
- 2:7) Mary delivered Jesus; they were turned away like any other normal family would have been.
- 2:12) Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes - shows his vulnerability as a normal baby - needing comfort and warmth
- 2:21) Jesus was circumcised
- 2:22-23) Jesus was dedicated like any other Jewish male
- 1:26) Gabriel sent from God
- 1:32) Named “Son of the Most High”
- 1:33) He will reign forever on the throne of David
- 1:34) virgin birth (Holy Spirit)
- 1:35) called “holy”, Son of God
- 2:9) angel appears to shepherds; “glory of the Lord shone around them”
- 2:11) Given the names of Savior, Christ and Lord
- 2:13) a multitude of the heavenly host
- 2:26) revealed as the Lord’s Christ
- 2:32) called a “light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel
- 2:38) called “the redemption of Jerusalem”
If Jesus was not really human (and only appeared to be):
- Wouldn’t “suffer” for our sins
- Would not be our representative (2nd Adam)
- Would not have fulfilled the law - living a life of perfect obedience.
- Could not have died (God cannot die)
- Then he is not unique (there have been many great men)
- He was a liar (claimed to be God)
- He is still dead
- God remains distant and aloof, waiting for us to make a way to Him
High School - "Choosing Friends - The Calling of Matthew and the Disciples"
We continued our study "Anything But Ordinary - where heaven and earth collide". This week we considered the kind of friends we surround ourselves with, and whether we are helping them or they are dragging us down. The main point was if we are going to reach out to those who need our help than we had better make sure we are anchored well to Christ and we have other strong believers who are upholding us and keeping us accountable.
You can watch the video lesson here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2zJ0haVL2YNZUE3ZzNPRFY0LXM/edit?usp=sharing
And here are the small group questions: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2zJ0haVL2YNMXE3VmIzZ3JsVk0/edit?usp=sharing
