Always the Same

Theme: God is Unchanging

Scriptures:

1. Numbers 23:18-20
2. Numbers 23 25-27
3. Jeremiah 18:5-11
4. 2 Timothy 2:8-13
5. James 1:16-18
6. Hebrews 6:13-20
7. Genesis 12:1-3
8. Exodus 3:13-15
9. Lamentations 3:21-26

Objectives: (From the D6 Fusion Sunday School Lesson book)

Know: God never changes and His consistency extends to His whole person.

Think: View God’s unchanging character as encouragement for present and future growth.

Do: Respect God’s unchanging nature and exercise faith through obedience.

A1 Beginning questions

B1 If God never changes and His ways never change, what about technological changes? Are they good or bad?

B2 What about God’s plan for the church (the people)?

B3 What about God’s plan for salvation?

B4 What about God’s plan for anything?

B5 When is change good?

B6 When is change not good?

B7 What do you think about the changes happening in Christianity today?

A2 Numbers 23

B1 Summary: Balak, king of Moab, sees Israel. He knows they have won some important battles. He knows what God did to the Egyptians. He now faces them and thinking, “We will be destroyed, too.” He hires Balaam to curse Israel, but the message given to Balaam was blessing Israel. So Balaam gets another message to give to Balak: Numbers 23:19-20 (NKJV) God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

C1 Name some characteristics of God from Numbers 23:19-20.

C2 Is God going to change His mind concerning Israel?

C3 How can we apply this to our lives?

B2 Numbers 23:27-30 (NKJV) Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar. Why does Balak keep trying to get God to change His mind?

B3 What is God’s plan for Christians?

C1 Some verses:

D1 Titus 2:11-14 (NKJV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

D2 Matthew 6:25-27 (NKJV) Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

C2 Why does God care about us?

C3 Does God’s standard of Christian living change through the centuries?

C4 What about using new technology?

A3 James 1:16-18 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

B1 What characteristic of God is taught here?

B2 Does God’s character change or stay the same?

A4 Truth

B1 Theories (overly simplified)

C1 Correspondence theory: something is true if it corresponds to reality

C2 Coherence: something is true because it agrees with what I believe is true

C3 Constructivist: truth is what society has struggled with and come to a conclusion

C4 Consensus: truth is what a group says is truth

C5 Pragmatic

D1 Positive: a belief works, so true

D2 Negative: a belief does not work, so false

C6 Nihilism: truth cannot be known

B2 The correspondence theory agrees with Scripture:

C1 By example: Samson: Judges 16:17-18 CSB - he told her the whole truth and said to her, "My hair has never been cut, because I am a Nazirite to God from birth. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man." When Delilah realized that he had told her the whole truth, she sent this message to the Philistine leaders: "Come one more time, for he has told me the whole truth." The Philistine leaders came to her and brought the silver with them.

C2 By testimony: Proverbs 12:17 NLT - An honest witness tells the truth; a false witness tells lies.

C3 By departing from what is true: 2 Timothy 2:18 CSB - They have departed from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are ruining the faith of some. There were over 500 people who saw Jesus alive after He had been crucified, buried, and resurrected. The group mentioned in this passage knew that but chose to ignore reality and believe something else.

B3 Are these verses of Scripture true?

C1 Luke 4:18 (WPNT) The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because He has anointed me to evangelize poor people. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to blind people, to send those who are oppressed out in freedom. (If you notice most translations leave out the words He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted. Pickering writes: Perhaps 1.5% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, omit “to heal the brokenhearted” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). So 98.5% of Greek manuscripts include these words).

C2 John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

C3 James 1:5 CSB - Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God —who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.

B4 Does God lie?

A5 Promises

B1 The main Greek word for promise is ἐπαγγελία epangelía which has the idea of what is said will be done.

B2 What good are God’s promises, if God changes?

B3 Why are promises serious?

B4 2 Peter 3:13 (NKJV) Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

C1 Can we (the church) bring righteousness to the earth?

C2 When will there be righteousness on the earth?

B5 Romans 8:37-39 (WEB) No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

C1 What if we feel that God has abandoned us?

C2 How can we use these verses to help someone who feels abandoned by God?

C3 How important is God’s love?

C4 How should we love?

B6 1 Corinthians 1:25 NLT - This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

C1 Does God ever fail?

C2 How can God have a foolish plan?

C3 Why is God’s plan always the best?

C4 How does God’s strength encourage you?

A6 Next week

B1 According to the Scope of Sequence, we will be studying in 2 Corinthians

B2 The believer’s role as a steward of the gospel.

B3 Theme: The believer’s quest

B4 Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18