Our role in this story is to simply choose life. Choosing life means to love God more than anything else. So often we believe that our role is to be obedient and follow the commandments. We have it backwards. Our role is to choose life, and God will give us the power to be obedient.
In this message we will see How God has made it possible for us to choose life.
Message Outline:
1. We have chosen death.
We are like the Israelites. We have heard and seen God’s glory yet we choose death.
Deuteronomy 29: 2–4
2. It's not about you.
When we return to God, he will show us love and mercy.
He is going to make a new covenant with us if we choose Him. Sneak peak: this covenant has nothing to do with what we can do.
Deuteronomy 30:6
3. Life is found in Love.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Bottom Line: We chose death, and this leads to life apart from God. Jesus chose death so that we may live a life with God.
Discussion Questions:
Would you say it is hard or easy to choose life? (i.e. Choosing to love God).
When is it hard to choose life? When is it easy?
Often times we believe we can do “things” in order to love God more. What are some things you are tempted to do in order to gain God’s love?
Think about a time that you have failed and chosen to love something more than God. What was the result of this experience? What happens when we decide to return to the Father after our failures?
The Bible is one cohesive story written over the course of 1500 years, by 40 different authors recording the history of God’s unwavering extension of His love to humans who immediately chose to go their own way when given the choice. The Bible isnt just a history book or a self-help novel. It is a record of God’s love being made known and available to humanity. Long Story Short is an effort to give teenagers a general handle on the expanse of biblical history with a special focus on events & people that are foundational for an accurate Christian worldview. We hope that students walk away from this summer series with a greater hunger to dive into God’s word, learn more about God’s love for them, and live their lives in light of the love they have experienced.
