February 14, 21 and 28, 2024
God’s Compassion
- Isaiah 48: 8-16
- God restored Israel
- God kept his promises
- Although Israel did not earn it, God showed them great compassion by restoring them
- Nehemiah 9: 13-31
- The Israelites were guilty of disobeying God: worshiped idols, forgot the Laws of God and killed prophets
- But in his compassion, God brought Israel back from exile, so they were able to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem
- The Israelites confessed their sins, read the Torah, and joined with the Levites to be restored and praise the Lord
- Psalm 51:1
- David called out to God for mercy and compassion
- In Psalm 86:15- God’s compassion
- Psalm 145:8-9- God is slow to anger and rich in love
- Matthew 20: 29-34
- Blind men were begging Jesus for mercy
- Jesus had compassion on them and healed them
- They were physically blind, but spiritually they could see who Jesus really was
- How do you share the compassion of God/Jesus with others
- When we show others the compassion of Jesus, it will help them grow closer to God
God’s Patience
- Acts 26: 9-18
- Paul was busy killing Christians but Jesus showed up and showed him compassion to lead him in the right direction
- God can use anyone to get his message across, this was an great example of the compassion of God to use Paul to spread the gospel to the Gentiles after he was known as a killer of Christians
- 1 TImothy 1: 12-17
- Paul was changed after meeting Jesus
- Paul’s life was an example of how much patience Jesus gives us so that we could repent
- 2 Peter 3: 1-18
- Peter said he was passing on the words he received from Jesus
- God’s word is powerful. God’s word gave life and existence to the earth. God’s word also was able to destroy the earth by a flood. But God is also patient and gives us time to repent
- God does not view time as we do. He is above time.
- When we are patient with others like God is with us, we can give someone a chance to repent
- Who will you show God’s patience to today?
- Romans 8: 18-25
- All of creation is waiting for God’s children to be revealed.
- Our hope is in the resurrection, the redemption of our bodies. When we are freed there will be no more death
- We can be patient and wait on God because God keeps his promises and will deliver
- Romans 2: 1-5
- Because God is kind, he is patient and doesn’t judge us harshly
- The Jews were mistaking God’s patience as God not bringing judgment for their sin.
- Paul had to remind the Jews they were guilty of doing the same things the Gentiles were doing and passing judgment
- Only God’s judgment is based on truth
- God judges us based on what we do, not on what we believe
- Matthew 18: 21-27
- Jesus wants us to be generous with our forgiveness
- We should forgive others in the way God has forgiven us through Jesus, not like this unmerciful servant