Best of Both | June 25, 2023 | Big and Close

What is your view of God? Getting curious about the fullness and the reality of God shapes the way you relate to God, yourself, and others. You need to know God, but more than that, God wants you to know him! When God is only your friend, your friendship can diminish appreciation and awareness of the holiness of God, missing the new and miraculous things he is up to. When God is only majestic and holy, he can feel distant, inaccessible, and condemning. The reality of God is that he is both big and close. Read Genesis 1 this week, and you'll get to know God as Creator of all. He is big! Then, in Genesis 3, you'll see the same God walk in the cool of the day in the very garden he created. He is close. How could a both/and view of God change your pace, your prayers, and your perspective?

KEY VERSES

  • Colossians 1:15-22 NLT - 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everythingin the heavenly realms and on earth.He made the things we can seeand the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else,and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church,which is his body.He is the beginning,supreme over all who rise from the dead.So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullnesswas pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciledeverything to himself.He made peace with everything in heaven and on earthby means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

  • Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT - 28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weakand strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

  • Psalms 139:1-6 NLT - 1 O Lord, you have examined my heartand know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up.You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 3 You see me when I traveland when I rest at home.You know everything I do. 4 You know what I am going to sayeven before I say it, Lord. 5 You go before me and follow me.You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,too great for me to understand!

  • Colossians 1:16-20 NLT - 16 for through him God created everythingin the heavenly realms and on earth.He made the things we can seeand the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else,and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church,which is his body.He is the beginning,supreme over all who rise from the dead.So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullnesswas pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciledeverything to himself.He made peace with everything in heaven and on earthby means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

  • Joshua 3:1-4 NLT - 1 Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing. 2 Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp, 3 giving these instructions to the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. 4 Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about half a mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.”

HEARING WHAT GOD IS SAYING

One of the best ways to hear what God is saying right now is to look at what He has said in the Bible with a few friends. Discovery Bible Study is an easy-to-use way to hear from God, make good changes in our lives, and share with others what God is up to. Grab some friends, pick a verse or story from above and dive in deeper to this week’s message.

Recap

+ Reconnect

To begin the study, each person answers these questions:

  • What are you thankful for?
  • What is causing stress for our neighbors and people around us?
  • What can we as individuals or as a group do to help?

+ Recap

  • Have someone retell the story from your previous meeting.
  • Did you live out your response from last week?
  • Did you tell anyone else about the story from last week?

Discovering What God Is Saying

+ Read and Retell the Bible Story

  • One person reads the story out loud to the group.
  • Someone else in the group retells the story in their own words as they remember it, and others fill in what’s missing.

+ Read and Look

  • Read the passage again (different version if possible)
  • What does this passage say about God, Jesus, or His plan?

+ Read and Look Again

  • Have 1-2 more people retell the story as if they were telling a neighbor outside their home.
  • What does this passage say about people in general?

Doing What God Is Saying

+ Consider

  • What in me needs to change to better DO what God is showing me today?
  • How will you respond to/obey this passage in a tangible, perhaps even costly ways in the next 47 hours?
  • Have someone record these for prayer time, and for the beginning of the next meeting.

Sharing what God is saying

+ Praying Together

  • Take prayer requests
  • Pray together

+ Share

  • Who in your life needs to hear this story?
  • Who could you invite to study the Bible like this?

GIVING

Everything that happens at Canyon Ridge is because of your generous gifts. When you give to God through Canyon Ridge, you're helping reach thousands with the Gospel each week and making a difference for the people of Las Vegas and around the world!

Best of BothConnor BeckBest of Both