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the promised one :: lesson one

So…how did your first week of study go?

Julie and I met with our community group on Tuesday night and it was so great. We really had no idea what to expect. We had heard maybe a few people would come but no real commitments. We wondered if we would be studying by ourselves. 🙂 But pretty soon there were twelve of us getting to know each other and ready to study Genesis together. I am so thankful that the Lord brought us together this summer. I can’t wait to dive into Genesis with these women and see how it fits into the bigger story of God’s plan for redemption. Are you ready?

Do you read The Jesus Storybook Bible with your kids? It is my favorite children’s Bible. I love how at the end of each Old Testament story it always points us back to Jesus, our Rescuer. This is how it describes the stories in the Bible:

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle–the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

I feel like this is exactly where Nancy is pointing us in this study through Genesis. Here is what she says it will take for us to see Jesus:

We don’t want to read little bits of Scripture and take away an inspirational thought. We don’t want to pluck out Scriptures that make us feel good regardless of whether we’re reading them in context. We want to understand the big picture of what God has done and is doing in the world. But more than that, we want our hearts to burn with recognition that this is not just a story outside us, but a story God is accomplishing in us through Christ.

We do not want to settle for dry doctrine or factual knowledge about the Bible. We want the Word of God to do its work in us, burning away the impurities in our hearts; we want sparks of new insights to fly; we want the flames of our passion for God to be fanned into a raging fire. We want our hearts to melt at the beauty of Christ.

How will this happen? We will go to the Old Testament and read it through gospel eyes. We will ask God to open our eyes to see Jesus, to give us the ability to recognize him in the people, the promises, the stories, the symbols, and the shadows of the Old Testament.

That is my prayer for us as we study Genesis together…that we would read the book of Genesis through gospel eyes.

So here are a few questions from lesson one for us to think about…

Jesus said that the Pharisees studied the Scriptures intently, thinking that their knowledge of Scriptures and tedious law keeping would put them in good standing with God. But there was Jesus standing in front of them, and they rejected him and had him killed because he infuriated them and threatened their power. How do we keep from being like the Pharisees as we study Scripture?

As we begin this study and seek to understand the Scripture, please share what you hope to gain from the investment you will make over the coming weeks and how you want to be different after you complete it.

If you are participating in the study we would love for you to leave a comment answering one or both of these questions. Or, just leave a comment sharing what the Lord taught you this week. Feel free to respond to comments and we will do the same. We can’t wait to hear from you all!

I’m sorry I got this first lesson posted so late today. In the coming weeks I will plan to always post on Friday mornings. This week the garage sale craziness got the best of me and I just didn’t get it done. Next week, I’ll see you on Friday morning. 🙂

Here is the schedule for the rest of the summer:

June 21 – lesson 2

June 28 – lesson 3

July 5 – lesson 4

July 12 – lesson 5

July 19 – lesson 6

July 26 – lesson 7

August 2 – lesson 8

August 9 – lesson 9

August 16 – lesson 10

If you still want to join us it is not too late. The first lesson was an introduction and you just have to do a little reading to catch up. The second lesson is when we will really dive into Genesis. We would love for you to study with us! You can find all the study information here and here.

Have a great weekend!

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  • Mindy - I find myself growing closer to God as the years pass.But,if I am honest I will admit that my knowledge of WHO Jesus is has been limited.I know who he is and what he did and made the decision to have faith in him and love and live for him BUT, I am not always overwhelmed with emotion when I just think of what he did for me.I am just not content with that anymore.I want to KNOW Jesus as deeply as I can.I want to be so overwhelmed with what he came to do and who he is that I am FILLED with joy and excitement every time I think of him ( I am to some extent now,but want more ) I just love him so much and want to know and understand him completely.THIS is just a little of what I hope to get from this study.I hope it makes sense to all of you like it does me.It’s kind of late and I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep 🙂 Thank you Jess ! Your the only blog that I go to everyday.I think God brought me to you last year for a reason and love your passion ! I can’t wait to hear everybody else and their insights during this study.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Mindy – What a great desire! I long to know Jesus and His character in a deeper way too. I’m praying that we would all see Jesus in Genesis this summer. And that as we see Jesus more clearly, our lives would be changed!

    • Jess - Mindy – What a great desire! I long to know Jesus and His character in a deeper way too. I’m praying that we would all see Jesus in Genesis this summer. And that as we see Jesus more clearly, our lives would be changed!ReplyCancel

  • Kim B - I hope to gain a better understanding of the bible. I feel as my daughter gets older it is harder for me to answer her questions. I want to have answers for her and not fear talking about The Lord with her. I want to gain confidence in my beliefs so I can be a role model for her.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Kim – I love how God uses our children to draw us closer to Himself. I think that it is important to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15)” and that includes as we talk with our kids. It is important to know what we believe and why. But we won’t always have all the answers. I think that it is also good for our kids to know when we aren’t sure of the answer to their questions. They can see us go to the Word for answers…and hopefully learn to do the same.

    • Jess - Kim – I love how God uses our children to draw us closer to Himself. I think that it is important to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15)” and that includes as we talk with our kids. It is important to know what we believe and why. But we won’t always have all the answers. I think that it is also good for our kids to know when we aren’t sure of the answer to their questions. They can see us go to the Word for answers…and hopefully learn to do the same.ReplyCancel

  • Linda - Was wondering how your study hands the Genesis Six issue? My daughter and I are teaching an in-depth study on the Nephilim from from Genesis Six, along with Revelation and Daniel. Just curious how your leader handled the issue.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Linda – Our study is just touching on the big ideas in Genesis. We aren’t at chapter 6 yet, but I studied it in BSF this past year. In my BSF notes they covered several possible interpretations of “sons of God” noting that the context is not completely clear. In other words we will probably never know for sure. I think the point is that there was major corruption going on with these people that represented the total depravity of man before the flood.

    • Jess - Linda – Our study is just touching on the big ideas in Genesis. We aren’t at chapter 6 yet, but I studied it in BSF this past year. In my BSF notes they covered several possible interpretations of “sons of God” noting that the context is not completely clear. In other words we will probably never know for sure. I think the point is that there was major corruption going on with these people that represented the total depravity of man before the flood.ReplyCancel

  • Deb H. - I am hoping to be able to look at these Bible stories in a new light as they come up in my curriculum this fall. I have taught most of these stories every year for the past 12 in my classroom, but never really thought much about them. I am looking forward to reading what Nancy has written and hoping to be a better teacher of these stories because of this study.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Deb – I teach Sunday School at my church and am hoping that this study will help me teach the kids how to see Jesus in these stories too. What a blessing it is that you can point your students to Jesus!

    • Jess - Deb – I teach Sunday School at my church and am hoping that this study will help me teach the kids how to see Jesus in these stories too. What a blessing it is that you can point your students to Jesus!ReplyCancel

  • Jody R. - I think what we have to remember is the Pharisees were coming from a religion of law. Keeping the laws were of utmost importance. When Jesus came, he shook things up by changing a law-based religion into a religion who’s basis is grace and love. Before Jesus, the way to salvation was through following laws (and there were lots of them) and offering sacrifices for forgiveness. Jesus’ once and for all sacrifice on the cross brought us into a period of grace. Following the laws is not going to save us. Only Jesus can provide forgiveness of sins and make us righteous before God. The Pharisees were consumed with the law. We need to be consumed with love. Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love God and to love each other. I do believe that there are people in the Church today who are like the Pharisees. They failed to recognize the Messiah when he was right there in front of them. I am so thankful to be living in the age of grace. I don’t think I would have done well living under the Law.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Jody – Though the Pharisees were coming from a religion of law, I so often find myself acting like them. My quiet time becomes a check mark on a long to-do list or I read the Bible because I think it is the Christian thing to do, just looking for ways I can live in obedience. I sometimes forget to read the Bible to embrace Jesus…I want to embrace Jesus and be changed by Him as I read God’s Word.

    • Jess - Jody – Though the Pharisees were coming from a religion of law, I so often find myself acting like them. My quiet time becomes a check mark on a long to-do list or I read the Bible because I think it is the Christian thing to do, just looking for ways I can live in obedience. I sometimes forget to read the Bible to embrace Jesus…I want to embrace Jesus and be changed by Him as I read God’s Word.ReplyCancel

  • Karis - I was a little late joining, but I’m here now! I love you blog Jess, and what I’m hoping to get out of the study is connecting with the Word to be able to be a better role model for my kids (I have a 2.5 year old and a 5 month old). Side note: I had seen your post about the study, and was considering it, and then in church last week our pastor said, if you haven’t read Genesis recently, go read it again! I took that as my sign that I should do this study. I’m excited to see what God has in store for me as He opens my eyes further.ReplyCancel

  • Amy - I’m late in posting too due to a computer crash. 🙁 I’m back up and running now and excited to do this study! I’ve read your blog for a long time, Jess, and I enjoy it so much. Your comments about making our quiet times an embracing of Jesus vs. checking off a to-do list really resonates with my heart of late. As for this (last) week’s study, my favorite part was, “the Bible is not primarily about WHAT God wants us to do but about WHO God wants us to see.” I think that answers the question of “How do we keep from being like the Pharisees as we study Scripture?” I think keeping that in mind would avoid some of the controversy that creeps in at times about which pieces of the law apply today. We need to see Jesus and stay close to Him as we read and learn the Word. Thank you for leading; “see” you Friday!ReplyCancel

  • Amy - Feeling very behind right now but have been wanting to do this study so here I am. :)I am still in the first chapter but hope to catch up within a couple weeks. What I hope to take out of this is more personal knowledge of who Jesus is and apply it to my life as mommy. I desire for my children to grow up with hearts that love Jesus and I know that what they see modeled in me will be a huge foundation for them as to who they choose to follow. And I want for them and me to choose Jesus. Love your blog, Jess. I am often encouraged by you. Thank you for using your blog to encourage people towards Jesus.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Amy-Don’t worry about being behind. We are so glad you are joining us! I love your heart and desire for your kids to love Jesus. I long for that too. And yes! I think it is so important for our kids to see us having an intimate relationship with Jesus and living out our love for Him. I pray that as you study Genesis your eyes would be opened to a clearer view of who Jesus is and that you would grow to love Him in a deeper way!

    • Jess - Amy-Don’t worry about being behind. We are so glad you are joining us! I love your heart and desire for your kids to love Jesus. I long for that too. And yes! I think it is so important for our kids to see us having an intimate relationship with Jesus and living out our love for Him. I pray that as you study Genesis your eyes would be opened to a clearer view of who Jesus is and that you would grow to love Him in a deeper way!ReplyCancel

  • Amy - In this day and age where we can see so clearly how people are rejecting the Bible or reinterpreting it to fit their lifestyle, I think one of the things I need to remember is that I was not called to judge the world but to love. I have enough trouble with doing that all the time so it is best if I not add something to my list that I was not even called to do. God will judge and that means everyone, myself included. For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Pharisees were quick to judge according to their own list of do’s and don’ts and yet how quick am I also to do the same? One of the things that Nancy said that stuck out to me was “And sometimes we think we have Jesus figured out when really all we’ve done is create in our own minds the Jesus we want, the Jesus we can be comfortable with”. And then I think I use this Jesus, this partly made up one, to alienate others or to build up my own self.ReplyCancel

    Jess Reply:

    Amy-Thanks so much for sharing. I do the same thing! And I underlined that quote too…I wish I didn’t do this, but I know I do! I long to embrace the fullness of who Jesus is…not just the parts of Jesus I am comfortable with.

    • Jess - Amy-Thanks so much for sharing. I do the same thing! And I underlined that quote too…I wish I didn’t do this, but I know I do! I long to embrace the fullness of who Jesus is…not just the parts of Jesus I am comfortable with.ReplyCancel

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