This week we start a new series on rebellion and redemption. Why is the world as messed up as it is today? Are the corruption, disease, pollution, and problems we observe part of God's design? What went wrong in the Garden of Eden? Is God to blame for Adam and Eve's mistake? Why did the tree of the knowledge of good and evil exist? Was mankind set up to fail? Why was humanity given power to choose? How does all this tie in with the Great Controversy and with our lives today?
Why is humanity in crisis? How does this crisis impact the lives of God's people? In what way did Jeremiah face this crisis in his time? How does this relate to challenges the church faces from both the secular world and within the church itself? In what ways can challenges from within be worse than challenges without? In what ways did the history of Israel and Judah show crisis from within? Why did God punish His chosen people through other nations? What was God trying to teach them? As we explore the book of Jeremiah, we will see how many things parallel today.
What can we learn from Peter's outreach to the gentiles? How did it contrast from Paul's? What can we learn from the story of Cornelius and the conversion of his friends and family? What important lessons did Jews of the early church have to learn? What might that mean for the church today? Does culture or race matter when it comes to salvation? This week as we explore these lessons we'll look at the stories of early gentile converts to Christianity.
Is the church really supposed to reach out to people of different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicity, and races? Is God a respecter of persons? Is salvation exclusive based on demographics of a person’s birth? Was it always God’s plan to reach non-Jews? How did Jesus relate to non-Jews? Why did He focus primarily on a Jewish audience? What do his interactions with gentiles teach us about reaching people of different backgrounds? What are the implications for the church today?
Has the plan of salvation always been all inclusive? Was it always God’s plan to save the entire world, or only a select group of people? What can we learn about the plan of salvation from the Old Testament? What was the purpose of the Nation of Israel? How did Jesus fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament? What does the Great Commission reveal about the role of the Christian church and Christianity in Jesus’ mission to save the lost? What can we learn from the parables of Jesus about how Jesus viewed salvation and the role the church should play in it?
How does God use people to witness in unlikely circumstances? How did God use the exiles to introduce Himself to great kings and leaders of empires? What were the qualities of Daniel, Joseph, and Esther that made them powerful witnesses for God while under the rule of those who did not share their faith? Does God use active or passive witnesses? Should one's witness be a formal Bible study series or scattered over time? What can we learn from these examples about sharing our faith and doing evangelism?
What can we learn about missionary activity from the story of Jonah? What kind of missionary was Jonah and how did he respond to his calling? Do missionaries have flaws? What does God's pursuit of Jonah tell us about salvation and who God desires to save? Why was Jonah reluctant to go to Nineveh? In what ways are we very similar in attitude to Jonah? This week we explore the story of Jonah from a missionary standpoint and learn how God shows compassion on the repentant and how His judgments are conditional.
In the story of Namaan and his leprosy, who was the unlikely missionary? What can we learn about salvation and outreach from this example? Why does Elisha have Namaan dip in the Jordan River 7 times? How does this story portray faith, obedience, and transformation? What did being saved by grace mean for Namaan and how did he respond to God's grace? What are the prerequisites for seeing the mighty works of God? This week we explore the little that is said about an unlikely missionary that had a huge impact on Namaan and his encounter with Elisha.
What does the Bible teach us about God and missionaries? What is a missionary and what is their mission? In what ways is God Himself a missionary? What took place in the Garden of Eden that caused humanity to be lost? How did Jesus Christ address that problem? What were the consequences of Sin? Why did Adam and Eve fall? What implications does this have for missionaries today? Why did God choose to operate through missionaries instead of heavenly beings or doing the work Himself? This week we tackle many of these subjects as we explore God as a missionary.