Knowing God

Big Question:

What does it mean to have a relationship with God?

 
 

Intro

Question: What’s the difference between knowing someone and knowing about them?

It’s one thing to know about someone, it’s another thing to be able to say that you know them. The first involves information, the second involves a relationship. There are so many wonderful things that we can learn about God. But God is inviting us into something more, he’s inviting us into a personal relationship with him.

 

Exploring the Scriptures

Romans 5:10; Hebrews 12:1-2 (Revelation 21:1-3) | How important are relationships to Jesus?

Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 2:11; John 15:15; 2 Corinthians 11:2 | What are some of the ways that Jesus describes his relationship with us? How might these descriptions help us understand how to have a relationship with God?

Luke 10:38-42 | What does Mary do that Jesus’ says is of highest importance? How might we be like Mary today, especially now that Jesus has ascended back to heaven?

Luke 5:15-16; 6:12 | What can we learn from Jesus about spending time with God?  

Hebrews 1:1-2 (2 Timothy 3:15-17) | What role might the Bible have in talking with God?

Even though we can’t see God face to face, we can get to know him by regularly spending time with him, talking with him, and being aware of his presence as we go about our day.

John 15:5 (Galatians 5:22-23) | What impact might a relationship with God have on our lives?

 

The Gift of Jesus

We can’t understand God without understanding that he is passionate about relationships. When God created the world, he didn’t need to make people. He could have just made really beautiful objects. But his desire wasn’t to have beautiful objects, but to have beautiful friends. Look at the cross. Nowhere else shows this desire more. Think about it, the thought of not being in relationship with us was more terrifying than the thought of dying that torturous death upon the cross. That’s love! That’s our relational God.

 

Living It

Discuss: How might we move from knowing about God to knowing God?

Discuss: What are some practical things that we can do to grow our relationship with God?

Decide: What are you going to do this week to grow closer to Jesus?