Week of May 4, 2025
Seeing God through the Gospel: The Gospel of God
How we look at God matters. There are certainly valid lenses that Scripture provides to understand and engage with God ... His creation, his law, his relationship with Israel, etc. But central is the Good News of Jesus: the story of his life, death, and resurrection, and the full range of God’s gifts. As theologian Michael Bird puts it: “The gospel constitutes our window into the inner being, the divine work, and even the eternal plan of God, and therein our attention lies.” This week, we consider that the Gospel is from God and we will trace God’s establishment of his covenant with Israel and his new covenant with all believers in Christ.
Monday | Romans 1:1-4
The gospel of God has a two-fold meaning. It is “about God,” as we’ll see in upcoming weeks, that the good news of Jesus reveals the character and plan of God. This week emphasizes that it is good news “from God.” We’ll learn how the Bible story is all about God taking the initiative in saving humanity. Why was it necessary for God to act first? How was Jesus the center of that plan? What was the crucial event showing that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and Savior of the world?
Tuesday | Exodus 19:3-8; 1 Peter 2:9-10
God’s covenant with Israel was not the first one in the Old Testament (see Genesis 15), but it inaugurates his relationship with his chosen people. Who initiated the relationship, Israel or God? What did God do to make the covenant possible (v.4)? What was to be Israel’s response to God’s gift of the covenant (v.5)? Contingent on their obedience, what was to be Israel’s remarkable identity and calling? What is now our identity and calling as God’s church?
Wednesday | Jeremiah 31:31-34
In light of Israel’s repeated breaking of their covenant relationship with Him, God promises to establish a new covenant. What will be the big difference between the former and newer covenant (v.33)? How will God accomplish this (see Acts 2)? What does God desire to accomplish through the new covenant (v.34)?
Thursday | Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Jesus brings covenant language into his gift of the Lord’s Supper. How does Jesus give his body and blood for his disciples and all of humanity? What are we to remember when we celebrate his Supper? What does it mean to participate in the “new covenant” of his blood? What makes this both a serious and a joyful celebration?
Friday | Hebrews 9:11-15
Much of the book of Hebrews connects Old Testament practice with its fulfillment in Jesus. What(who!) is the fulfillment of all the blood that was shed in sacrificing animals on Hebrew altars? What does Jesus accomplish once and for all (v.12, 14)? What does it mean to you that Jesus is the “Mediator” of the New Covenant? What’s your response to the fact that you now possess an “eternal inheritance” by faith?
