CHURCH AT BERGEN
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRO TO ADVENT GUIDE & COVENANTS PAGE 1-2 OTHER RESOURCES PAGE 3 GOD S COVENANT WITH ADAM PAGES 4-8 GOD S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM PAGES 9-11 GOD S COVENANT WITH MOSES PAGES 12-14 GOD S COVENANT WITH DAVID PAGES 15-17 THE NEW COVENANT PAGES 18-20
1 ADVENT PROMISES MADE PROMISES KEPT WHAT IS ADVENT? A time of preparation for the coming of Jesus. The word advent literally means coming. Thus, the first advent of Christ is when the Son of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:6-7). Advent is an annual time of remembrance for when Christ entered human history to redeem mankind. More than that, it is also a time of anticipation for the second advent, when Christ the King comes again to make all things new. COVENANT: PROMISES MADE PROMISES KEPT This year we want to focus on the covenant-keeping nature of God. God makes promises; God keeps promises. This is one of the best summaries of the Old and New Testament: OT: promises made à NT: promises kept There are many promises that God makes, but the most prominent and central ones are called covenants. However, while the promises come in different forms, there is only one way that God keeps those covenant-promises: Jesus Christ. Here is how Paul puts it 2 Corinthians 1:20: For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus]. That is why it is through [Jesus] that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. All of God s covenants are promises that he made to the great figures in the past: Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and the New Covenant promised through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Throughout the storyline of the Old Testament questions always rang: Will God s promises come to pass? Will God keep his promise to Abraham and his offspring? Who will sit on David s throne? This is why Paul the apostle had to address whether or not the word of God had failed (Romans 9). But over 2000 years ago a loud Yes! was born into the world from the womb of the virgin Mary. Thus, we can say as Paul says in 2 Cor. 1:20, That is why through [Jesus] that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. The word amen simply means it is so. God proved his faithfulness in Christ, so we marvel at God and proclaim: It is so.
2 THE COVENANTS The major covenants we will be focusing on are as follows: The Covenant The Promise Covenant with Adam (Genesis 2) Covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, 17) Covenant with Moses (Exodus 19) Covenant with David (2 Samuel 7) The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36) Obedience to God à inherit eternal life for himself and his descendants. Disobedience to God à inherit eternal death for himself and his descendants. God would make Abraham into a great nation, and would bless the world through Abraham and his offspring. If Israel kept his word God would shape them into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for all nations to meet the true God. God would establish David s kingdom and throne forever. Someone would come through his line who would always reign in his kingdom. God would forgive his people s sins and transform their hearts so that the law of God is no longer a means of condemnation but of life and joy. Our goal this Advent is to see the ways that the coming of the Messiah answers Yes! to each of these covenants, giving us a solid reason to proclaim our Amen! to the glory of God! Each of these covenants was like an individual thread which God wove together into a single moment at the birth of Jesus. We long for our hearts to feel the weight of God s faithfulness, singing Amen! to the promise-keeping God. USING THIS GUIDE There are 3 sections for each week: reading, reflection, and family devotion. 1. READING: each week you will be given the passage that describes the covenant that God made with each major figure. The most helpful thing you can do is pray for the Holy Spirit to illuminate 1 your heart and mind to understand and treasure the truth you read. 1 Illumination is not a giving of new revelation, but a work within us that enables us to grasp and to love the revelation that is there before us in the biblical text as heard and read, and as explained by teachers and writers. Sin in our mental and moral system clouds our minds and wills so that we miss and resist the force of Scripture. God seems to us remote to the point of unreality, and in the face of God s truth we are dull and apathetic. The Spirit, however, opens and unveils our minds and attunes our hearts so that we understand (Eph. 1:17-18; 3:18-19; 2 Cor. 3:14-16; 4:6). J.I. Packer, Illumination : https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/packer/illumination.html
3 2. REFLECTION: these questions will not be overly academic, but merely an encouragement to help direct your reflections upon the readings. 3. FAMILY DEVOTIONAL: this is meant to be a time to reinforce one message to your children: God makes promises; God keeps promises. They will take 5-10 minutes. OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES Resources on Advent - Paul Tripp, Come Let Us Adore Him: https://www.amazon.com/come-let- Adore-Him-Devotional/dp/1433556693 - Tim Keller, Hidden Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/hidden-christmas- Surprising-Behind- Christ/dp/0735221650/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRI D=BNQPSG7M37PBYNP4V1SK - John Piper, Dawning of Indestructible Joy: https://www.amazon.com/dawning-indestructible-joy-readings- Advent/dp/1433542366/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=15089 45932&sr=1-1 Resources on Covenants 1. Audio/Video resources a. D.A. Carson, Introduction to Covenants https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/a-little-introduction-tocovenants b. Bible Project Video on Covenants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ferlisvlmi 2. Books a. God s Kingdom through God s Covenants: https://www.amazon.com/gods-kingdom-through-covenants- Biblical- ebook/dp/b00xwdr064/ref=sr_1_2?ie=utf8&qid=1508945392&sr=8-2&keywords=kingdom+through+covenant b. Covenant and God s Purpose for the World: https://www.amazon.com/covenant-purpose-studies-biblical- Theologyebook/dp/B06W2JX5ZK/ref=pd_sim_351_17?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1& refrid=5z0ec21417jqrkpep1ap
4 COVENAT ADAM WEEK ONE: November 26 December 2 READING (GENESIS 2-3) 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it 16 and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the 17 garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. 18 Then the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him. 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all
5 livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 3 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? 2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. 4 But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? 10 And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. 11 He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? 12 The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her
6 offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. 16 To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you. 17 And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. 20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
7 REFLECTION 1. At the heart of a covenant is a promise. What promise does God make to Adam? What are the implications for us that life is found on the other side of God s promise? 2. What happens directly after God s promise of life and death is given to Adam? How does this affect your understanding of the way that Adam relates to the covenant differently than Eve? 3. Theologians have historically referred to Adam as humanity s representative head. Knowing that the serpent (the devil, Rev. 20:2) is deceptive, crafty, and intentional with his evil schemes, why do you think he would attempt to disrupt the covenant by going to Eve first instead of Adam? 4. Genesis 3:14-19 are God s curses for the serpent, Eve, and Adam. One part of the curse for Satan can be found in verse 15. This verse is known as the protoevangelium (proto: first, evangelium: good news). Why do you think this is? 5. Compare Genesis 3:15 with 1 John 3:8. What confirmations and similarities do you find? 6. Paul the apostle paints his biggest portrayal of the similarities and differences between Adam and Jesus. Read Romans 5:12-21 and write down the ways that the coming of Christ gives you reason to say Yes! Amen! to the promises of God in Christ.
8 FAMILY DEVOTIONS Pray Ask God to help you understand the way that he always keeps his promises. What is a promise? Ask your kids if they can explain what a promise is. Give them an example of what a promise is. Then talk about how important promises are and that we keep them. They introduce the big idea. BIG IDEA God makes promises; God keeps promises. Covenant with Adam The most important promises that God makes are called covenants. The first covenant that God makes with a person is Adam in the Garden of Eden. The very sad thing is that Adam and Eve broke God s covenant that he made with them. God s greatest enemy Satan got Adam and Eve to break God s covenant. The amazing thing is that God never gave up on them. Jesus Storybook Bible God loved his children too much to let the story end there Even though he knew he would suffer, God had a plan a magnificent dream. One day, he would get his children bac. One day, he would make the world their perfect home again. And one day, he would wipe away every tear from their eyes. You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. And though they would forget him, and run from him, deep in their hearts, God s children would miss him always, and long for him lost children yearning for their home. Before they left the garden, God whispered a promise to Adam and Eve: It will not always be so! I will come to rescue you! And when I do, I m going to do battle against the snake. I ll get rid of sin and the dark and the sadness you let in here. I m coming back for you! And he would. One day, God himself would come. What promise did God make? God would come and fix the world that Adam broke. How did God keep the promise? He sent Jesus to fix what Adam could not fix: us. Pray Thank God together that he kept his promise to give us Jesus to fix what Adam had broken.
9 COVENANT ABRAHAM WEEK 2: December 3-10 READING (Genesis 12:1-9; 15:1-6; 17:1-8) Genesis 12:1-9 Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, To your offspring I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great. 2 But Abram said, O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my 4 household will be my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir. 5 And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 17:1-8 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly. 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of
10 nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. REFLECTION 1. What seems to be the most important word in God s covenant with Abraham? What is the antonym of this word that you find? 2. What do you think are the implications for us that God s gracious blessing of Abraham was for the nations, not just he and his immediate family? 3. Read Galatians 3 and write down all the ways that Jesus connects us to God s covenant with Abraham. 4. Which of them blesses you personally the most? Why? 5. Read Galatians 3:13-14. How does the gospel of Jesus Christ relate to God s covenant with Abraham? 6. In what way does the blessing of the Spirit of God in your life free you, not only to bless God in worship, but also to bless others in your life?
11 FAMILY DEVOTIONS Pray Ask God to help you understand the way that he always keeps his promises. BIG IDEA God keeps his promise to bless us, so we will bless others. Covenant with Abraham The next big covenant that God makes with a person is Abraham. Abraham used to be called Abram, but God wanted to do something special for him, even though he didn t deserve it. This is called a blessing. God promised to bless Abraham and everyone else who believed in God the way Abraham did. Jesus Storybook Bible Guess what! God said to Abraham. I will give you so many children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, you won t be able to count them either. Abraham couldn t help giggling at such a wonderful idea. But he stopped himself. How could we have a family? Don t be silly. He didn t have any children, let alone grandchildren. He wiped away a tear. Anyway it was far too late for him to start having babies at his age, he was 99 years old! What could God mean? Abraham, God said. Believe me. And then God told Abraham his Secret Rescue Plan. Abraham, I will make your family very big, God promised. Until one day, your family will come to number more than even all the stars in the sky. Abraham looked up at the dark night sky, thick with stars. You will be my special family, my people, and through you everyone on earth will be blessed! It was an incredible promise God was going to rescue the world through Abraham s family! One of his great-great grandchildren would be the Child, the Promised One, the Rescuer. What promise did God make? God would bless the whole world through Abraham s big family, those who have faith. How did God keep the promise? He sent Jesus to be the one who would give us the forever blessing of God to bless others. Pray Thank God together that he kept his promise to give us Abraham s blessing in Jesus.
12 COVENANT MOSES WEEK 3: December 10-16 READING (Exodus 19:1-9) On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. The Lord called 7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had to him out of the mountain, saying, commanded him. 8 All the people Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured answered together and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.
13 REFLECTION 1. What are the specific things that God promises to Israel through Moses? 2. What is the significance of God giving them this covenant-promise with the 10 commandments in chapter 20 after God redeemed them from Egyptian slavery? In what way is this similar to the gospel? 3. Compare the promise that God makes to Israel with what the apostle Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:9-12. What similarities and differences do you see? What do you think this comparison means for us today? 4. What do you think it practically means for someone who is not a preacher to proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)? 5. Apart from knowing how to defend the faith with apologetics 2, what do you think is the key to proclaiming the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light in a way that is persuasive and convincing to unbelievers? 6. In what way can you specifically carry on the mission that God gave to Israel for other Gentiles those who are outside of Christ in your sphere of influence? 2 The branch of Christian theology that attempts to communicate the gospel with convincing arguments, as well as defend it from attack.
14 FAMILY DEVOTIONS Pray Ask God to help you understand the way that he always keeps his promises. BIG IDEA God keeps his promise to rescue us, then make us a holy people through his word. Covenant with Abraham The next big covenant that God makes with a person is Moses. He was used by God to rescue the nation of Israel from being slaves in Egypt Jesus Storybook Bible God called Moses up the mountain. The great mountain shook. A thick cloud fell. Thunder roared. Lightning crackled. And God gave Moses Ten Rules, called Commandments. I want you to love me more than anything else in all the world and know that I love you, too, God told them. That s the most important thing of all. God gave them other rules, like don t make yourselves pretend gods; don t kill people; or steal; or lie. The rules showed God s people how to live, and how to be close to him, and how to be happy. They showed how life worked best. God promises to always look after you, Moses said. Will you love him and keep these rules? They said, We can do it! Yes! We promise! But they were wrong. They couldn t do it. No matter how hard they tried, they could never keep God s rules all the time. God knew they couldn t. And he wanted them to know it, too. Only one Person could keep all the rules. And many ears later God would send him to stand in their place and be perfect for them. Because rules couldn t save them. Only God could save them. What promise did God make? God would use us as a light to all the people in the world to meet Jesus through us. How did God keep the promise? He sent Jesus to make us able to know him and to help others know the way to eternal life. Pray Thank God together that he kept his promise to give us the mission that he gave to Moses and the nation of Israel.
15 COVENANT DAVID WEEK 4: December 17-23 READING (2 Samuel 7:1-29) Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent. 3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. 4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. 18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you,
16 according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its 24 gods? And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, 25 became their God. And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is God over Israel, and the house of your servant David will be 27 established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore, your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever. REFLECTION 1. What seems to be the repeating promise God makes to David? 2. In the first part of the passage, what initiative does David take and how does God respond? Why does he respond this way? In what way do you think we try to do the same thing in our relationship with God? 3. After God is finished speaking, how does David respond in prayer? What seems to be the overall tone of David s prayer? Why is this? 4. In what way does David s prayer teach you how to pray, especially in light of the fact that in Christ Jesus we are included in the steadfast love promised to David? 5. Look up the following verses and identify the uniqueness of each reference to God s covenant with David: Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Luke 1:31-33; and Romans 1:1-6. Which of them seems most applicable to you now? Why?
17 FAMILY DEVOTION Pray Ask God to help you understand the way that he always keeps his promises. BIG IDEA God keeps his promise to be our king forever to give us his Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. Covenant with Abraham The next big covenant that God makes with a person is David. God promised to make David s kingdom last forever and that Jesus would sit on his throne to give us the great love of God. Jesus Storybook Bible Jesse s youngest son came running up, and God spoke quietly to Samuel, This is the one! His name was David. He has a heart like mine, God said. It is full of love. He will help me with my Secret Rescue Plan. And one of his children s children will be the King. And that King will rule the world forever. Samuel anointed David s head with oil which was a special way to show that you are God s chosen king. You will be the new king one day, Samuel told him. And, sure enough, when he grew up, David became king. God chose David to be king because God was getting his people ready for an even greater King who as coming. Once again, God would say, Go to Bethlehem You ll find the new King there. And there, one starry night in Bethlehem, in the town of David, three Wise Men would find him. What promise did God make? That David s kingdom would last forever How did God keep the promise? He sent Jesus to be the great King to sit on David s throne forever with love. Pray Thank God together that he kept his promise to give us the greatest King Jesus so we can experience his Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.
18 NEW COVENANT WEEK 5: DECEMBER 24 READING (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:22-27) Jeremiah 31:31-34 31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Ezekiel 36:22-27 22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
19 REFLECTION 1. Read both prophetic passages and identify the similarity in God s promise of a new covenant. 2. Read Jeremiah 31:32. Why does God need to do a new covenant? How would writing the law of God on the heart fix the problem with the older covenant with Israel? What would God s law on a human heart fix about God s law merely on tablets of stone (10 commandments)? 3. Jesus has an interesting conversation with one of the great Jewish teachers of his time (Nicodemus) about being born again. Read John 3:5-6 and identify which new covenant passage above (Jeremiah or Ezekiel) most overlaps with Jesus teaching on the new birth. 4. Jesus makes another reference to the New Covenant in Luke 22:20. How does the promise of a new heart/new birth/new Spirit within us relate to the cross? 5. Read 1 John 5:2-4 and identify how the new covenant relates to us today. 6. Do you personally find the commands of God burdensome or liberating? How does the Spirit of God in the New Covenant help us find joy in God s commands?
20 FAMILY DEVOTIONS Pray Ask God to help you understand the way that he always keeps his promises. BIG IDEA God keeps his promise to be our king forever to give us his Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. Covenant with Abraham The next big covenant that God makes with a person is David. God promised to make David s kingdom last forever and that Jesus would sit on his throne to give us the great love of God. Jesus Storybook Bible Dear Little Flock, You re all wandering away from me like sheep in an open field. You have always been running away from me. And now you re lost. You can t find your way back. But I can t stop loving you. I will come to find you. So I am sending you a Shepherd to look after you and love you. To carry you home to me. You ve been stumbling around, like people in a dark room. But into the darkness a bright Light will shine! It will chase away all the shadows like sunshine. A little baby will be born. A Royal Son. His mommy will be a young girl who doesn t have a husband. His name will be Emmanuel, which means God has come to live with us. He is one of King David s children s children s children. The Prince of Peace. Yes. Someone is going to come and rescue you! But he won t be who anyone expects. He will be a King! What promise did God make? He will come to make things new, especially our broken and sinful hearts. How did God keep the promise? He sent Jesus to be come and give his life to make our hearts new and love God again. Pray Thank God together that he kept his promise to make us brand new on the inside with his Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.
CHURCH AT BERGEN