powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2012 Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2012

Contributor Jo Ann Davidson Principal Contributor

Glimpses of Our God Contents 1 The Triune God 2 In the Beginning 3 God as Redeemer 4 The God of Grace and Judgment 5 The Holiness of God 6 God the Lawgiver 7 Lord of the Sabbath 8 Creation Care 9 The Bible and History 10 The Promise of Prayer 11 God as Artist 12 Love Stories 13 The Promise of His Return

Glimpses of Our God Our Goal {5} How grateful we should be for every bit of light He casts our way. We’ll look at some of that light. How faithfully we walk in it, is up to each of us individually.

Glimpses of Our God Lesson 12, Marso 24 Glimpses of Our God Lesson 12, Marso 24 Love Stories

Key Text Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’ ”

Love Stories Initial Words {139} Love is, perhaps, the most readily recalled attribute of God. And, indeed, we cannot over- estimate God’s love, nor exhaust the depth of it. But perhaps there is one aspect of His deep love that is not duly regarded; that is, God as a romantic.

Love Stories Quick Look 1. Biblical Romances (Genesis 2:23) 2. A Book of Romance (Song of Solomon 7:10; 8:7) 3. The God of Romance (Exodus 20:5, 6)

Love Stories 1. Biblical Romances Genesis 2:23 NKJV “And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.’”

1. Biblical Romances The First Romance {140} Adam breaks out into what has been called the Bible’s first “love song” or “love poem,” in which he openly acknowledges just how closely tied each is to the other. In Hebrew, the word for “man” in verse 23 is ish; the word for “woman” is ishah, again showing just how closely tied they are.

1. Biblical Romances The First Romance {140} Verse 24 says that a man will leave his parents and cleave unto his wife, and they shall be “one flesh,” another powerful indicator of the intimacy meant for them. Finally, their nakedness also revealed the intense closeness and intimacy between this first couple.

1. Biblical Romances The First Romance {140} Whatever else their relationship originally entailed, romantic love was certainly a major part of it. God is not against romance. On the contrary, He created us as beings capable of experiencing it. In fact, that seems to be one of the basic elements He created in us.

1. Biblical Romances Other Genesis Examples {141} 1. Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 16). 2. Isaac and Rebecca (Genesis 24). 3. Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 29). Whatever the love that existed, these people faced many challenges and suffered from the mistakes of one or both parties. The good news is that God not only forgives, He heals.

Love Stories 2. A Book of Romance Song of Solomon 7:10; 8:7 NKJV “I am my beloved’s And his desire is toward me.” “Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised.”

2. A Book of Romance Song of Solomon {143} No book of the Bible deals with this topic better than the Song of Songs. It is a book of sheer romantic pleasure. All the sexual pleasures included in the book have no connection to child-bearing. The book explicitly reminds us of the specific pleasures God designed and intended for husbands and wives.

2. A Book of Romance Song of Solomon {143} The effervescent springs of romantic love can be traced to their source in God. Christian ideas about sex, marriage, and physical pleasures, come from the One who created our physical pleasures, the One who knows how they can best be enjoyed.

Love Stories 3. The God of Romance Exodus 20:5, 6 NKJV “I, the L ORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children…of those who hate Me, but showing mercy…to those who love Me and keep my commandments.”

3. The God of Romance God’s Love {142} Many times God expresses His jealousy over His people. Jealousy is a feeling lovers get when they think that their beloved is not faithful to them. God is not a distant, nonfeeling, impersonal benign “force.” God does love us and, like any lover, He is pained by our unfaithfulness.

3. The God of Romance God’s Love {142} God has not only declared His love for us, He has shown it to us in many powerful ways. The greatest, of course, is the Cross and what happened there. What more proof do we need of God’s love for us than what we have been given at Calvary?

3. The God of Romance A Wedding at Cana {144} Jesus, who officiated at the first wedding in the Garden of Eden, now performs His first miracle at a wedding meal. In this miracle we can see God’s creative power. Romantic love and marriage are, indeed, wonderful gifts from God.

Love Stories Final Words {145} For many moderns, God has dwindled into a noble “example.” Or He has been diluted into a concept useful for organizing world peace. He’s not, however, seen as a Personality whom we can feel any love for. But Scripture insists that God is a passionate lover.

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