WEEK 1 LESSON
I. WHAT CONSTITUTES A GOOD SELF-IMAGE?
QUESTION: Are People Basically Good or Basically Bad? (Gen 1:26-27)
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QUESTION: Can People Improve Themselves?
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QUESTION: Does depression, drug addiction, sexual experimentation, child abuse, bad marriages, alcoholism all stem from a poor self-image?
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When people are confronted with the emptiness and meaninglessness of their own existence, they often turn in on themselves.
In order to escape, they go in search of a new life.
The answer to the need of this, and any generation, is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
QUESTION: Are there human needs and problems not specifically addressed and answered in a relationship with the living person of Jesus?
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The essence of Christianity is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a result of Jesus dwelling within the life of a believer.
II. WHAT IS YOUR IMAGE OF GOD? [Read 1 Cor 13]
QUESTIONS:
How do you imagine God to be when you pray?
Is He far from you or near?
Is He powerful or passive?
Is He disgusted with you or in love with you?
Is He a mean old man, or a kindly grandpa-type, or neither?
Is He listening?
Does He care for you?
Can He help you?
What you believe about God is the most important thing contained in your mind. It affects everything about you. Specifically, what you believe about God affects the way you pray.
Unfortunately, there are many wrong perceptions of God that are commonly believed. These misconceptions distort our prayers and, in some cases, prevent people from praying altogether.
Our prayers are shaped by the way we picture God. A dysfunctional picture of God results in a dysfunctional way of praying.
Jesus Christ is:
Very patient, Kind, Never jealous or envious.
Never boastful or proud Never haughty or selfish or rude
He doesn't demand His own way He's not irritable or touchy
He doesn't hold grudges He is never glad about injustice.
He rejoices whenever truth wins out. He loves you
He will be loyal to you. He will always believe in you.
You can always expect the best of Him
He will always stand His ground in defending you.
And because of this Jesus Christ is your:
Righteousness Identity Life
Fulfillment Pride Hope
Peace Joy Worth
God, the Father, identifies us in Christ Jesus.
"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." (Eph 2:6-7 NIV)
"'…let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord." (Jer 31:34)
"He is merciful and tender toward those who don't deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him." (Ps 103:8-14 TLB)
God's Plan
For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest. (Jer 29:11-13 TLB)
"When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
"Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen." (Eph 3:14-21 NLT)
