The Augusta Church

Wednesday 1-4-2023 Midweek Lesson on Building Friendships

Read John 13, Luke 13 and Hebrew 5: review from prior lesson

• What does it mean to be a humble servant?
• Jesus taught us how to be a humble servant
• First, Jesus relied on God for his ability to serve others
• We could learn from Jesus by personally going to God first to get the strength to serve and take care of others

Read Isaiah 49:1-7

• Was Israel successful in their commission to show the world who God is?
• Although they failed initially, God encouraged them he would send someone to restore them to their task and to an even greater task, to send his message to the whole world.
• God encouraged them that he would send his servant. His servant would be a light to the Jews and to the Gentiles. His servant would bring salvation to the whole world.  Jesus was the servant who came and did this for us. In his humility, he became a servant to all mankind, showing us all how to Love and Obey God. 
• We could learn from Jesus by following his example of humility by being willing to do what God asks of us. 

Read Isaiah 50:4-9

• God gave the servant of the Lord wisdom and ears to listen and to obey his word
• The servant of the Lord was willing to serve because he knew God helped him
• When we follow Jesus’s example of listening and obeying God, we too will also have words of instruction to sustain the weary. We too will have the ability to endure and fulfill the tasks God has given us to do. 

Read Isaiah 52:13-15 and Isaiah 53:1-12

• The Lord’s servant was going to be hated in his life on earth and disfigured in his death
• Isaiah tried to warn the people that the Lord’s servant was coming to bring them back into a right relationship with God but many did not listen to him or believe what he was saying. 
• God promised that his servant would share in the victory of the battle. 
• As followers of Jesus, our life on earth may not be glamorous and may be full of hardships, but we should trust in God’s words. He wants to deliver us and share in the victories of the battles of life. 

Read Philippians 2:1-11

• Jesus was humble and obedient
• He humbled himself by coming to earth and walking among humans, teaching and serving them
• He did not live a glamourous life while he lived on earth, he was familiar with suffering and then died a brutal death. He considered others better than himself. 
• Because of his trust in God and obedience, he displayed the full splendor of who God is. 
• Jesus is still serving us today by interceding for us at the right hand of God.
• We can learn from Jesus how to be a humble servant by trusting in God’s promises and considering others better than ourselves. 
• Honor will be brought to God when we live out these things in our everyday lives. We need this understanding in order to be a true friend to someone. We should first go to God for strength to serve someone else and to consider someone else’s needs above our own. When we remove God from the picture of our lives and become self-reliant, being a true friend to someone else usually becomes an extremely challenging task. 

Conference Theme: WE DO NOT LOSE HEART

Theme Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

From Shawn Wooten, Bucharest Church of Christ

• He moves every 3-6 months to strengthen an eastern european church
• Lives out of 1.5 suitcases
• Founder of REVIVE-asks empty nesters or new college grads to come with him and move to an eastern european church to strengthen and encourage the disciples there for 10 months

Read Matthew 16:15-9

• Peter knew Jesus was the Son of God because God revealed it to him
• Jesus informed Peter that he was going to build his church
• Building his church was the way Jesus would save souls
• The Gates of Hades will not overcome Jesus’s church
• Jesus’s church will pull people out of satan’s kingdom and nothing will be able to stop us from pulling them out, unless they do not want to be pulled out of course
• Jesus’s church is a rescue boat, not a cruise ship, we don’t need all the bell’s and whistles
• Once you are on a rescue boat, you are safe. You don’t care who you are sitting next to, right?
• Peter was given the keys on how to enter Jesus’s church
• In Acts 2, Peter told everyone how to enter into Jesus’s church, they needed to repent and be baptized
• Jesus’s church is the most significant “organization” on this planet
• When someone dies they are either lost or saved no in betweens
• We are not wasting our time helping the lost to be saved. Helping to build God’s church is the most important work going on in any city at any time. 

Read Hebrews 10: 24-25

• We need to encourage each other to keep on loving and doing good deeds
• God loves me and every human being
• We need to understand how much God loves us then we can convince others that God loves them too.
• In the church we are commanded to love God and to love each other
• We were chosen to know God  and God has given us everything we need to love him and to love others and to lead others to Him
• Some Practicals: organize into small groups of 3-5 people and encourage each other to live as a Christian- we should be praying daily, encouraging people daily, just saying hello; grow in our relationship with God weekly and meet new people daily. Practice having temple courts, ie. going to the same cafe or public place and bringing God’s word there to reach the lost.

Read Hebrews 10:32-39

• Keep moving, don’t get stuck
• Keep getting up despite the storms
• We have places to go to in order to build Jesus’s church
• One day the sky will open and we will see the angels and Jesus coming down and he will claim his people
• When you  see Jesus for the first time eye to eye he will be proud of you for not giving up
• This is why we are here and why we do what we do in order to spend eternity with Jesus

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From Jeanie Shaw

“Filling up on GOD”

• As a leader in the  church it can be difficult to receive from God
• We can feel like we are never enough so we keep working harder and harder
• It is important to remember God loves you for you, not for your activities
• How do you remember God loves you? For Jeanie- it’s by spending time in nature
• Take time to stop and spend time receiving from GOD

Read Psalm 36:8 and Ephesians 3:15-19

• The way we view God can impact the way we live
• If we view God as “judicial” we can feel like he is here to judge us and we have to keep working harder and harder to please him
• If we view God as “relational” we can feel his presence in our lives and that he is loving and delights to be with us
• We can only give to others out of an abundance. If we feel God’s love in abundance we will give abundant love to others. The opposite is true, if we do not feel the abundance of God’s love in our life we will not be able to give to others. 
• Spend time praying to God and dwelling in his presence and being in touch with the Holy Spirit; Feast on God
• Make space to BE instead of just doing
• Sayings to remember: Happy Cows make lots of milk and Happy Chickens lay a lot of eggs. You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip.

READ Psalm 46:10

PRACTICAL WAYS TO RECEIVE FROM GOD

• Be Still
• Spend 30 minutes a day in silence and receive from GOD, do not pray or work, just be still
• God gave sabbath rest so we can be still
• Jesus was in the desert 40 days before he started his ministry so that he could be still 
• Paul spent years alone before he went out to preach
• BE STILL and experience the presence of GOD instead of running around busy. Jesus’s ministry walked at his pace about 3 miles per hour. How fast is your life going, do you outpace Jesus?
• Take time to consider the lilies and notice the rivers that God made. Being in nature helps you to be in his presence and receive from him. 
• We can receive comfort and guidance from being in the presence of GOd. Consider Hannah when she was praying and God heard her. She was in his presence pouring out her heart to Him and he heard her prayers. 
• The more we enter the space of God the more we will receive from God and get closer to the spiritual world of God.

READ Matthew 11: 28-30

• How do you feel after reading this passage?
• Reading God’s word should fill us with contentment
• God’s word keeps us from drying up

We can be filled up with God by using our senses

1. Sense of Imagination: spend time imagining with God
2. Sense of Speech: we can learn from hearing words spoken by God’s spirit (1COR 2:13)
3. Sense of Seeing: Exodus 34:33-35, when Moses saw God he became radiant. When we study God, we can explain who He is to people in detail like an artist. When astronauts experience outer space, they return home and are more kind and are more dissatisfied with the affairs of the world. When we experience God with our eyes, we begin to realize we are part of a bigger picture
4. Sense of Listening: creating space in order to listen to God’s word will help us to experience Him in a new way. Try doing a listening prayer: pray, stop and listen for what God is telling you. 
5. Sense of Smelling God: Revelation 8: the smoke of incense, prayers, imagine smelling prayers to God
6. Sense of Touching God: remembering God made items you are touching
7. Sense of Tasting God: remembering God made the food you are eating and enjoying it

From Pam Skinner

2 COR 4:7-12

As leaders we need to persevere in our marriages.

• We should be devoted to our relationship with God and to our spouses
• Remember to renew your marriage and your friendship with your spouse instead of being isolated and feeling forgotten in a small church
• Don’t just feel sorry for yourself, find another couple to get with to help encourage you in your marriage

BUILD UP YOUR HUSBAND-PRACTICALS

• Be his biggest fan. Our husbands need us
• Criticism and Negativity can destroy your marriage
• We worship Jesus not our husbands
• Have humility toward your husband, don’t take him for granted
• They need to hear what a great job they are doing with leading church, leading your family, etc
• Make a habit of taking time to build up your husband
• If there is a tough item to talk about, call it a friendly challenge
• Call other brothers in the church and ask them  to call and encourage your husband
• Let him lead you even if he makes some mistakes
• Make your marriage a priority: GOD, HUSBAND, KIDS, MINISTRY-in that order
• Have date nights and keep courting or he will be distant and resentful
• Know what your husband likes and participate in things he likes to do

WORK ON YOUR OWN FRIENDSHIPS

• Read  SAM 22:1-2
• Find your group, don’t go at it alone
• Dream for your women to do great things
• Pray for your women 
• 1 SAM 23:16- Get best female friendships, including friendships outside your small church to help you find strength in GOD
• Be intentional about your friendships, don’t neglect them

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MINISTRY WELLNESS

Joel and Christy Peed and Dr. Sean St. Jean

• Ministry Growth does not always equal ministry health
• We should desire to have healthy ministries, lead by healthy leaders

READ 2 COR 4:6-18

• As ministry leaders, we are highly vulnerable to mental fatigue
• We can combat some of this with being highly spiritual and highly structured
  • HIGHLY VULNERABLE
    • Ministry leaders are helping professionals and are therefore subject to personal stress and burnout
    • Burnout occurs when someone feels ineffective, overwhelmed, stressed and feels like what they are doing has lost meaning
    • Comparing yourself to others can also worsen burnout
    • Hearing negative issues daily can lead to a darkening and cynicism of your world view. Cynicism is heart damage that can lead us away from God. Little lies from Satan can rot our hearts and cause us to turn away from God.
    • Compassion Fatigue: compassion  should be action oriented, which does not lead to burnout. We can show compassion and have healthy boundaries; we get fatigued when we have poor boundaries. 
    • 1COR 3: 6-7: God makes things grow, we water and plant. Stop doing tasks that you were not called to do, this leads to burnout.  We should focus on enjoying the planting and watering. God does the growing. 
  • HIGHLY SPIRITUAL
    • The Apostle Paul led his ministry by following the Holy Spirit
    • He did not put confidence in his flesh or eloquent speeches, but in God alone
    • Paul taught about the Holy Spirit 160 times in his letters. Is your ministry spirit lead or duty lead?
    • You have to stop talking, stop being afraid, stop the distractions, stop listening to other voices, stop the disbelief, stop the busyness: in order to hear the voice of God.
    • A loud, overcrowded, hyperactive life is the opposite of a spirit led life.
  • HIGHLY STRUCTURED
    • Read 1 COR 14:33
      • God is orderly and full of peace
      • Paul was a fool for Christ but he was not foolish
      • He instructed all leaders should lead a peaceful and quiet life, not a chaotic and overscheduled life
      • It’s unsustainable to live a chaotic life, ie. always running behind, never caught up, always late to things, this is damaging to your mental health and well being
      • Is your life showing chaos or encouragement to others?
      • As God was creating, he created a daily rhythm to life: night and day, seasons, weeks, sabbath rests. He also provided food, water, work and times to rest. God created weekly sabbaths, sabbaths every 7 years and even a 49th year rest. He created rest for the human kind. Do you rest in God? Humans tend to lean toward greed, chaos, and avoiding God’s boundaries. This leads to busyness and chaos in our lives.
      • What rule of life do you live by? 
      • Stop overfunctioning, work only the hours you are supposed to work, take all your vacation days, take a weekly sabbath day, take a monthly solitude day. Stop doing too much with too many people. Go on nature retreats to spend time with God. Spend special times with your children, spouse and take time to build some friendships outside of your small church.

Wednesday Discussion Notes on  FRIENDSHIP from October 4, 2023

Question: What does it mean to be a friend to someone?

Read Isaiah 5:1-7

• God owns the vineyard in this passage
• The vine is Israel
• God expects Israel to bear good fruit 
• What kind of fruit is this vineyard yielding? Blood shed and distress

Read John 15:1-8

• God is the owner of this vine, He is the gardener
• Jesus is the vine
• The disciples are the branches
• If we remain connected to Jesus, the vine, we will bear much fruit
• Jesus tells us how to be effective in our lives, remain in Him, know Him and follow his teachings
• We can only bear good fruit if we stay connected to Jesus. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. 
• God, the gardener takes care of the vines, he prunes it by cutting off branches without fruit

Read John 15: 9-17

• How do we remain connected to Jesus? By knowing and keeping his commands
• In order for us to be effective and to be a true friend to someone else we have to be attached to the source that will allow us to be a true friend. 
• Human friendships without God as the center are based on common interests, shared goals, money, status etc. 
• Friendships among Christians should be based on our relationship to Jesus. Jesus is a true friend to us because he shares his relationship with God with us. Jesus tells us that God is his source of life. He is one with God and relies on him for everything. 
• Jesus reached down to humans to be our friend and told us about his Father. 
• He said that those who obey him are no longer servants, but his friend
• The more you learn about Jesus and grow in your understanding of who he is and obey his commands, the more effective you will be in your friendships with others

Midweek Lesson Notes from October 11, 2023

JESUS and PETER’s FRIENDSHIP

Read John 13: 33-38

• We are called to love each other the way Jesus loved us, he laid down his life for us
• Was Peter really ready to lay down his life for Jesus?
• Are you really ready to lay down your life for Jesus? For your brother or sister in the church? For a stranger? For someone who does not know God?
• Peter was quick to say he would not abandon Jesus but he was not ready. Jesus told him he would disown him three times. 
• Did Peter take the time to evaluate his heart and make some changes so that he would be ready to die for Jesus? Do you take time to evaluate your heart so that you could be ready to serve someone in need?

Read Luke 22: 31-34

• Jesus told Peter the truth about himself. It is very loving of someone to tell you the truth about your heart so that you would have the opportunity to change. Jesus followed up by also giving Peter hope that he could and would make changes and eventually get to the point where he would be able to die for Jesus. 
• Do we give people hope that they can change? Do we see people for you they could become or for who they are with their shortcomings? How loving are you to someone else? Do you speak the truth in love to others and encourage them to follow Jesus? This is true friendship. Jesus showed his disciples how to be a true friend to him and to each other.

Sunday Lesson Notes from October 15, 2023

Read John 11: 1-47

Discuss some Key Lessons from the passage:

• Even when we spend time with Jesus, we can be doubtful like Thomas
• Martha and Mary believed Jesus was the Messiah but they still did not believe he had come to raise Lazarus from the dead
• Jesus was really good friends with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He wept when he saw how sad Mary and Martha were at the death of their brother. Jesus had real emotions. 
• Jesus was really confident in his relationship with God. He prayed for Lazarus to be raised from the dead to show them that he was the Son of God and came from God. 
• Jesus promised that  when we believe in him we will live and never die. Live- spiritually, we will not experience a spiritual death. Physical death is not a final event, the way humans think of it. We will live forever spiritually, if we do what God says.

• Thomas was doubting and focusing on going to Jerusalem to die. He also doubted when Jesus came back from the dead. This is another example of being around Jesus and not really understanding his power. 
• When God allows us to go through suffering, it is usually for a larger purpose; for example to help us know him better and believe in him more. Suffering can lead to growth. 
• The religious leaders of the time knew it was the power of God that raised Lazarus from the dead yet they knowingly rejected Jesus as the Son of God. They were more interested in keeping their position and status in society. 

Lesson Notes from Sunday October 1, 2023

Read Matthew 9:27

• Could these blind men see Jesus? Explain
  • These blind men knew that Jesus was the son of David, which was a huge accomplishment for this time among the Jews. Many of the Jews did not see Jesus as the son of David and should have known because the Torah predicted he would come and do the things he was doing. 
  • These blind men, although physically blind and likely needed help to get to Jesus, were not spiritually blind. They could see that Jesus was special and could heal their blindness.

Read Matthew 1:1

• What does this verse proclaim about Jesus? Why did Matthew start out his gospel writing like this?
  • This verse proclaims that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of David
  • Matthew wrote his gospel especially for the Jewish readers who did not believe Jesus was who he said he was, the son of David, the Messiah, the son of God whom the prophets foretold his coming. 

Read 2 Samuel 7: 1-16

• Why was Jesus called the son of David?
  • In this passage David decided to build a house for God but God turned it around and told David he would build a house for David. As a matter of fact, he promised David he was going to build him a royal dynasty that would last forever and his bloodline would always rule. Jesus came from this line and was known as the son of David as a result. 
  • Although David was not perfect and fell short several times, he always repented and sought to maintain his relationship with God. Therefore, God chose him and blessed him and his future descendants with this promise. 
  • This covenant that God made with David was not dependent on David’s actions but it was dependent on God’s faithfulness. 
  • The blind men that Jesus healed must have known their old testament scriptures well enough to recognize that Jesus was the son of David and called out to him for healing. 

• Read Matthew 9: 27-31
  • The blind men knew who Jesus was despite having a physical disability
  • Sometimes having a disability makes us more in tune with our relationship with God because we can more easily recognize our need for God in our lives.
  • These men could be healed because they already had faith in who Jesus was. Their faith did not come as a result of being healed. 
  • Do you have faith in Jesus that he can heal you? 
  • The Blind men responded to Jesus, Yes Lord, when Jesus asked them if they believed he could heal them. In your life, do you say, Yes Lord, I believe you can heal me?
  • Do you act like you believe Jesus can help you? Faith is not just believing. It includes acting on what you believe. 

Read Isaiah 35: 1-10

• Do you see Jesus in this passage?
  • This passage talks about a future savior that will come and bring spiritual and physical healing to the earth
  • The blind men heard of all the physical healings Jesus was doing (just what Isaiah prophesied): healing the blind, healing the lame; healing the mute.
  • Do you recognize Jesus’s healings in your life?

Sunday Lesson Notes September 17, 2023

Read 1 Samuel 8: 1-22

• Why did Israel want a King? What excuses did they make about needing a King?
  • Israel wanted a king so they could be like the other nations around them that had a person as a king. Having God as their king was not enough for them. 
  • They were making excuses that they needed a king because Samuel’s sons were corrupt and Samuel was old and they needed a king to lead them.
  • The truth of the matter was that they were rejecting God as their king. They were intentionally breaking their covenant relationship with God and demanding a person to be their king. 
  • Fortunately, Samuel was wise enough to seek advice from God with this issue. This shows that although Samuel was old, he was still wise to seek God’s advice in his life.

Read 1 Samuel 10: 17-19

• What is so encouraging about God in this passage?
  • God was very aware that Israel had been rejecting Him as their King since he rescued them from Egypt, yet he remained faithful to his promises to protect them and make them a great nation
  • God is faithful to us even when we are unfaithful to him. His presence gives us protection even when we may not deserve it or we are unaware of it. 

Read John 18: 37-40

• How does this passage relate to the passage in 1 Samuel regarding Israel wanting a king?
  • In this passage, the Jews chose Barabbas over Jesus. Although they accused Jesus of being King of the Jews, they still chose to crucify him and let the worldly leader go free. 
  • The Jews are consistent in the rejection of God as their King. Here they are rejecting the son of God as their King. 

Read John 19: 12-16

• Here again the Jews are rejecting Jesus as their King and choosing Caesar as their king
• Pilate asked the Jews what they wanted to do with their King and they demanded that he be crucified. They claimed that only Caesar was their King.
• Question: Is there a “King” in your life that is not GOD?
• Question: Am I crucifying my “King” or God with the choices I make in my life?
• Question: Do I allow myself to make good sounding excuses to choose who will be the “King” in my life?

Sunday Lesson Notes

September 3, 2023

Read Matthew 9: 14-17

• Jesus referred to himself as the Bridegroom, who was his bride?
• The church- made up of all his disciples- is Jesus’s bride
• We are part of the church, therefore, we will be Jesus’s bride when he returns
• Jesus made his disciples aware of this new teaching
• What did Israel’s relationship with God look like in the Old Testament?
  • Israel was having a hard time remaining faithful to their covenant relationship with God.

Read Hosea 2: 14-20

• Israel was an adulteress wife, yet God still pursued her and claimed her as his own.
• The Israelites were having difficulty staying faithful to God in part because they wanted to be like the other nations around them and have a god they could see and control.
• God promised Israel his marriage to her would be forever, with righteousness and justice and with love and compassion.
• God’s request from Israel was to acknowledge him, to know HIM

Read Revelation 19: 6-9

• This passage describes the wedding of Jesus to his bride the church
• The bride is making herself ready for Jesus
• The bride is clothed in fine linen which is the acts of righteousness of the saints
• The wedding is taking place before the throne of God 
• All the saints before the time of Christianity will be in attendance to witness this event

Read Revelation 21: 1-11 and 22-27

• God will come to earth and dwell with his people, the Garden of Eden restored
• There will be no need for light because God will be the light
• The nations will be renewed and worship GOD with all the splendor
• We have something so amazing to look forward to

• God is clear about his expectations
• He loves us so much that he tells us what is expected in order to dwell with him forever

See notes from July 5th online

Sunday Sermon Notes July 30, 2023

• READ 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
  • Why did Paul use the phrase “uninformed”
    • His audience did not understand fully about the resurrection of Jesus, he was trying to correct their incorrect teaching
    • The people were wondering what happened to Jesus and when was he coming back
    • They were also wondering what would happen to the people that died before Jesus died and was resurrected
    • Paul was giving them a reminder that they had something more to look forward to than just the life they were living here on earth
  • People who do not follow the teachings of the bible have no hope, why not?
    • They are living for the things in this world, for example, money, jobs, family, friends etc. 
    • They believe after they die, they will cease to exist
    • They do not believe that they will live forever in a permanently resurrected body
• READ 1 Thessalonians 4:14
  • As Chrisitians, believing in the fact that Jesus rose from the dead gives us hope of a life after death
  • When Jesus returns, dead Christians will be risen, and then those who are alive in him will be caught up to Jesus to the clouds in the air

• READ 1 Corinthians 15: 51-55
  • It is important to remember that in the end death will not win
  • Jesus came to the earth, died and was raised to a new life to give everyone the same opportunity. As christians, we can die to our old selves, get baptized and be raised to a new life. We will have the ability to live a repented life on earth and a hope of resurrection with Jesus when he returns.
• READ 1 Thessalonians 4:8
  • Paul wants us as Christians to encourage each other regularly with what he said in verses 13-17 

Sunday Lesson Notes from July 16th

• Read Ephesians 4: 1-6
  • What is the “calling” that you have received?
    • To be a disciple of Jesus
    • To imitate the way Jesus lived
    • To make Jesus the Lord (ruler) of your life
    • This is essential to the core of the Christian Faith

• Read 1 John and discuss some passages that describe this core of the Christian Faith, living like Jesus
  • 1 John 2: 3-6 is a great example, if you claim to be a Christian, you must live like Jesus did.

• Describe some ways you can tell if someone is living like Jesus, refer back to Ephesians 4: 1-6
  • The person would be humble and gentle
  • The person would be patient and bearing with others
  • The person would be forgiving and turning to God for answers

• Describe some ways you might act if you are not trying to live like Jesus, again refer back to Ephesians 4: 1-6
  • The person would retaliate and become defensive in relationships
  • The person would be quick to anger, judgmental and impatient
  • The person would be unforgiving and turning to their own methods to solve problems
  • They would damage the unity in relationships for the sake of winning or being right

• What is so great about making every effort to “keep unity”? What is “unity”?
  • When Paul told the readers to keep unity, this implied we are already unified with each other. Working to keep unity is the challenge, but it is encouraging that God has already given us the gift of unity in our relationships.
  • Unity is working together with others to reach the same goal. It does not mean we have to have the same exact ideas, thoughts or feelings. It means adjusting our ideas, thoughts and feelings as necessary to reach a common goal. Our relationship with God and our relationship with each other is essential to maintaining unity. 
  • God has given us one Body, Spirit, Hope, Lord, Faith and Baptism. God has made us all-everyone. 
  • God has made us all and as disciples we belong to Jesus. Because we belong to Jesus, we can imitate his humility and keep peace in our relationships.

Sunday Lesson notes from July 9th, 2023

• Read John 3: 22-30
  • How does John view himself in relation to Jesus?
    • As a servant, lower in status
    • As a best man to the bridegroom
• Read Ephesians 5: 22-32
  • What is the profound mystery?
    • That the church is Jesus’s bride and he is the bridegroom
    • Jesus gave his life up for his bride, the church
    • Are human marriages like Jesus’s marriage to the church or is Jesus’s marriage to the church like human marriages?
  • What can we learn from the example of Jesus’s marriage to the church?
    • Jesus gave up his life for the church
    • Jesus cares for the church like he cares for himself
    • There is no price Jesus was unwilling to pay to serve the church
    • Jesus called himself the head of the church, the church members are his body. There is a deep connection between Jesus and the church.
    • As a church we should strive to follow and be lead by our head, Jesus and not a human leader
    • We should respond to Jesus with humility and reverence
    • Jesus uses his words to take care of the church and to make it radiant

• Read Isaiah 54: 5-8 amd Ezekiel 16: 1-14
  • God is our husband and looks after and takes care of our needs
  • He brought us out of a lonely broken place and provided us with everything that we need to live
  • God has a personal and intimate relationship with us and his concern for us is deeply personal
  • God gives us time to grow and seeks us out when we are ready to receive him
  • It is easy to forget how much God loves and cares for us.
  • When Jesus returns, we will have full redemption and will experience the full treasures from God. As members of the church we will one day be married to our great bridegroom Jesus. 
  • God has made us his Queen and the future bride of Jesus, how do you respond to this gift from God?