Session 1

GOD'S GREAT DESIRE FOR PEOPLE

The story of the Bible isn't primarily about the desire of people to be with God: it's the desire of God to be with people.

John Ortberg

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

1. It is one thing for us to talk about how much we want to experience God, but how much do you think God wants to be with us? In what ways do you know God desires a close relationship with you?

2. The Bible says that God reveals himself to us. In what ways can we see, hear, feel, or otherwise recognize God's presence? When does God seem most real to you? What seemingly ordinary things in life have made you aware of his presence?

3. Is it possible for God to be with us here on earth, every day, at every moment — and for us not to be aware of it? Explain your answer.

VIDEO OBSERVATIONS

How close is God?

God looks at us through the eyes of a father

Jacob's story — God shows up where you least expect him

The message of the "bear" story: God is always with us

May the Lord's face shine upon you

VIDEO DISCUSSION

1. How did you relate to the scene of John Ortberg speaking from the top of the tower as being a visual image of the way many of us view God? What other visual images or word pictures would you use to describe the ways in which we view God?

2. When we think of God as being far away, how does that view impact our relationship with him?

3. What did you think or feel when John Ortberg talked about God looking at each of us with the loving eyes of a father, like the father with his son's photograph on his screensaver?

4. What if God is really all around us — and we don't realize it? What might we be missing if God, like the adult bear snarling at the mountain lion, really is closer than we think?

5. Michelangelo's fresco of Adam and God in the Sistine Chapel represents the perspective that the Bible is about God's desire to be with people rather than our desire to be with God. In what ways does this perspective change your perception of your relationship with God? What practical difference might this new perspective make in your life?

GROUP EXPLORATION

1. The story of the Bible is the story of God's desire to be with people. He extends himself, reaching out to us today just as he has since the day he created Adam. Let's explore together God's desire to be with us and the impact it can have on our lives.

a. What does the psalmist David say about God's knowledge of us and his actions toward us? (See Psalm 139:1 – 10.) What does this reveal about God's desire for relationship with us?

b. Psalm 89 gives us a picture of the kind of relationship God can have with his people and his people can have with him. Read verses 15 – 17 and 19 – 28 and note some of the qualities of a close relationship with God. Part of this psalm refers specifically to David, who had a remarkable relationship with God, but use the images in this psalm to discuss what a close relationship with God might look like in our lives today.

2. In the video, John Ortberg shared stories that illustrate the heart, character, and commitment of a loving father — the father who kept his son's photograph on his screensaver, the story about the bear cub. In what ways do the following Scripture passages show us that God is our ever-present, loving Father?

3. God's most frequent promise in Scripture is "I will be with you." Let's consider several situations in which God gave that promise and discuss how God's promise to be with us applies to us in similar situations.

a. Note the survival challenge Isaac faced, what God told him to do, and what God promised (Genesis 26:1 – 6). What kinds of external circumstances can cause us to be afraid? What changes when we realize that God is with us in these situations?

b. Twice in Joshua 1:1 – 9 God tells Joshua he will be with him! What monumental task did Joshua face? What were God's instructions and promises related to that task? What impact can God's presence have on our feelings of insecurity when he gives us a seemingly overwhelming assignment?

c. What threatening situation did the apostle Paul face in Acts 18:5 – 11? What did God tell Paul to do, and what did God promise? When we face painful challenges or uncertainty, what reassurance do we need from God to press on? How might we view sharing our faith differently if we know God stands with us?

4. No matter how often we read that God will be with us, there are times when we may not be able to see him, times when we are convinced that he is nowhere to be found.

a. Read 2 Kings 6:8 – 18 to see how the prophet Elisha's servant found out that God is indeed closer than we think! Talk about how this experience can help open our eyes to God's presence in our lives — even in the most unlikely circumstances.

b. If you have time, consider two other instances in Scripture when God was far closer than his people realized: Gideon in the winepress (Judges 6:1 – 16) and the two disciples on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:13 – 35). Talk about how God might "show up" in your life in unexpected ways.

5. Jesus came to earth as "Immanuel," which means "God with us." His life gives us an incomparable example of a life lived in the presence of God. The following verses reveal how the presence of God impacted the daily life of Jesus — his thoughts, actions, and attitudes. Read each passage and discuss how our daily lives would be different if we also sought to live in the presence of God.

a. Everything Jesus did was a result of God's power. (See John 13:3.)

b. Jesus was committed to doing God's work on earth. (See John 5:17.)

c. Jesus said what the Father told him to say. (See John 12:49 – 50.)

6. Read Matthew 28:18 – 20, often called the Great Commission. What were Jesus' instructions and his promise to his disciples? What difference did that promise make in their lives? What difference should it make in our lives today?

PERSONAL JOURNEY: TO DO NOW

1. The story of the Bible is the story of God's desire to be with people. He is determined that each of us be his friend, his companion, and his dwelling place. He is stretching out to reach us and fill our lives with his presence. All it takes is the barest effort — the lifting of a finger, the whisper of a prayer — for us to reach him.

a. Michelangelo's portrayal of God and Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel illustrates God's determination to reach out so that every human being can experience life in his presence. He longs for us to respond to him and close the tiny gap that remains between us. When in your life have you become aware of the gap between yourself and God? What was your response to God, and what was the result? What may be keeping you from "lifting a finger" in response to God?

b. Think about times in life when you have felt God's presence with you, then consider times when his presence seemed elusive. How...