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At Jesus’ death, the temple veil was torn in two from top to bottom, declaring the inauguration of a glorious new era of open access to God, the simultaneous demise of the rule of sin and death, and the removal of the barrier between Jews and Gentiles. The mystery of the ages, until that very moment, had been kept hidden away in the heart of the Father. The newly revealed grace, with its myriad, life-transforming details, was immediately, and fully, in operation yet the discoveries were but beginning, like those of excited, party children on a backyard treasure hunt. Romans 1:5-7, Ephesians 2:11-18, Romans 8:18-30 Romans 1:5-7, Eph. 2:11-13 – Discovery of _______________ Ephesians 2: 14-18 – Discovery of ______________________ Romans 8:18-30 – Discovery of ________________________

For its first nine months, a baby is nurtured by an intimate connection, a reassuring swaddling, in its mother. The initial moments following birth are a disconnect from that vital environment. Finding reconnection is high priority, to feel the mother’s warmth, her heartbeat, to hear her familiar, caressing voice. Our new birth, as Jesus called it, calls for a similar knowing of our being connected, of not being all alone. Especially this is so, when trials and difficulties assail us. We were designed for connection, to not be alone, to be ‘with.’ Jesus came to us as Emmanuel, God ‘with’ us. Genesis 2:18-25, 2 Kings 6:8-23, Isaiah 43:1-7 Genesis 2:18-25 – Connection for mankind – ________________ 2 Kings 6:8-23 – Connection for wartime – __________________ Isaiah 43:1-7 -Connection for a lifetime – ___________________ ‘ . . . be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:20, NLT

God chose to reveal Plan ’A’ to Saul/Paul, who knew ‘everything’ there was to know about God, His ways, His laws, His expectations. No intervention could have been more shocking or humiliating. A Pharisee of Pharisees, confident in all the teaching he’d had, proud of his lineage, zealous for the truth, and then . . . God stripped it all away in a 72-hour period of blindness. His sight was returned through the prayerful obedience of one of those followers of Jesus he’d come to arrest. He got up and submitted to baptism - in Jesus’ name! He must have felt uprooted. Psalm 1:1-3, Ephesians 2:17-3:21, Colossians 2:6,7 Psalm 1:1-3 – Rooted through _______________________ Ephesians 2:17-3:5 – Rooted through _________________ Ephesians 3:6-21, (Colossians 2:6,7) – Rooted through _____________ ‘Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your

Believers in Jesus live with the staggering reality of being in the world and at the same time, not being of it. The now and the not yet. The time between the times. We are being impacted by the fallenness both in us and around us and we celebrate the reality of our hope of Kingdom Shalom. We are those peculiar people who hope patiently and confidently for something we do not yet have. We are painfully aware of the lamentable, inglorious realities of our present day and we await the celebrative glory that is to come at the end of the story. Philippians 2:3-11, 3:9-16, 4:4-7, Matthew 28:18 Philippians 2:3-11 – Loving submission ____________________ Philippians 3:9-16 – Perseverant pursuit ___________________ Philippians 4:4-7 – Determined removal ___________________

With the Help of Job Chris Mabey shares on the topic of pain in our lives, starting off by asking us, "Think back to a time when you were walking closely with God and you really felt Him nearby, and it was a time of intimacy with God." Intro: Job 1:1-22 Eight insights into pain God allows it Pain is a great leveler, Job 2:6-10 Pain is a part of the package Pain trains, Job 5:17 Pain reveals true friends Pain spans despair and hope at the same time, Job 23:1-10, 1 Corinthians 10:13 Pain pierces pride, Job 40:1-7 Through pain, God confronts---pain has a purpose, Job 42:1-5

The Law of Moses was stringent, with rules far beyond the abilities of the Jews to satisfy. It functioned as an endless system of sacrifices that God required for the Israelites to maintain sufficient, albeit temporary, cleanliness before Him. Jesus came with liberating grace for those struggling beneath the Law’s many demands and with a grace-filled offer of freedom for all outsiders to faith. Jesus’ death and resurrection presented before God a pure blood sacrifice fully satisfying the requirements of the Law once for all time. His sacrifice was also a gift to us, the Gift of our Salvation. 2 Peter 1:1-11, TPT (Ephesians 1:3-6) 2 Peter 1:1,2 – Gifted ______________________ 2 Peter 1:3,4 – Lavished ____________________ 2 Peter 1:5-11 – Furnished __________________

Jesus told his disciples: ‘Don’t worry or surrender to your fear.’ John. 14:1 TPT. Later, Paul would give instructions like: work out your salvation, make every effort to put on, cast off all fear, etc. Other verbs included; pray, obey, trust, believe, persevere, clothe yourselves, be holy, etc. These all indicate our invitation to active participation in the maturing process in the new life Jesus has given. The natural person finds these aggravating, oppressive, overwhelming, impossible. The Spirit-filled person thrives on, is thrilled at, the perfection of God’s Plan ‘A’ in calling us to ‘active duty’ in the moving away from the world’s system and toward that of the Kingdom. ‘Where your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be,’ Matt. 6:21, NLT. James 1:17-21-27 James 1:17-21 – Cherish ______________________ James 1:22-25 – Respond _____________________ James 1:26,27 - Cultivate ______________________

Jesus’ brief, but highly impactful, life birthed a new-life movement empowered by the Holy Spirit. The learning curve of this Kingdom-compliant life was steep. It involved a radical departure from social and moral and religious norms. It demanded a total rethink of ways that were set in stone, so total in fact, that a regular review was necessary of the entirety of the new normal, the ABC’s of this new relationship-enriched lifestyle. James 1:1-16 James 1:1-4 – Staying _____________________ James 1:5-8 – Growing ____________________ James 1:9-11 – Perceiving _________________ James 1:12-16 – Speaking _________________

Far from being a religious system of beliefs and rituals connecting us to God, Christianity is comprised of followers of Jesus, his ‘little children,’ all invited to share the resurrection life of Jesus in rich and deep relationship, him knowing us and we, knowing him as our Salvation. He’s personally, and fully, invested in us, in the brotherly love shared between us, in our spiritual growth, in our discipleship. No other world religion can boast a living, personal Savior. No other religion enjoys the abundant, Spirit-filled life offered to us. No other religion provides its followers the joy of intimate fellowship with ‘the Lover of their souls’ and his extended family for all eternity. Deuteronomy 32:9-14, Psalm 145:8-21, Luke 15:17-24 Deut. 32:9-14 – Moses remembers ____________________ Psalm 145:8-21 –King David rejoices ___________________ Luke 15:17-24 – Jesus recounts _______________________

God is love. His story is a story of eternal, undiminishable, unconditional love. The vaguest of distant memories of that perfect love and likeness in which we were created, is within every human heart, even in fallenness. This distant memory seeks, demands, worship. The enemy has, as a goal, to prevent that worship, offering many distractions and disastrous dead ends. The Holy Spirit constantly points our hearts to real, soul-satisfying worship of the One Who is Love. ‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.’ St. Augustine’s Confessions, Book I. Exodus 20:1-17, Leviticus chapter 1-27 – Love ________________ Luke 2:25-35, John 12: 23-33 – Love ________________________ John 13: 31-35, 1 John 4: 7-21 – Love _______________________

Before Adam’s fall, our Eternal, no-time-constraints Creator, had a comprehensive Plan of Salvation in place to restore order to the chaos of fallen creation, to abolish the barrier of sin, to restore relationship between Himself and His people through adoption. Scripture both foretells of this Plan and bears witness to its fulfillment. We, the Church, are the restored-to-fellowship ones, the freed-from-sin ones, the adopted-as-God’s-beloved ones. And our Salvation is Incarnate God. His name is Jesus. Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 52:13-53:12, John 1:1-5, 14, Colossians 1:15-20 Genesis 3:15 – Our Salvation __________________________ Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – Our Salvation ______________________ John 1:1-5,14 – Our Salvation __________________________ Colossians 1:15-20 – Our Salvation: _____________________

There are untold numbers of treasures, filled with mystery, hidden away in the heart of God. For centuries thought to be the exclusive domain of the Jewish people, God revealed that His love extends much further. He has a heart for the entire world, whom he refers to as his children, or as Jesus called them, ‘sheep not yet of this Jewish flock.’ (John 10:16a, TPT) And we, non-Jews, are those of whom Jesus spoke. What a glorious, majestic family in which to be included. Jer. 31:31-34, Ezek. 36:22-26, Luke 22:20, Rom. 11:25-36, 1 Pet. 1:8-12, 2:9,10 Jer. 31:31-34, Ezek. 36:22-26, Luke 22:20 – Age-Old Promise ______________ Romans 11:25-36 – Age-Old Promise ___________________________________ 1 Peter 1:8-10, 2:9,10 – Age-Old Promise _______________________________

The young Church was growing and expanding into new territory at a rapid pace, presenting the challenge of how to integrate the influx of new believers from a wide variety of backgrounds. The apostles were all joyfully exhausted with the task. Peter’s ministry was miracle-empowered and had a newfound ability to preach. Paul, on the other hand, was charged with taking the Good News to non-Jews, per God’s instructions. More was in store for them than they could have imagined. Acts 10:1-35, Romans 10:1-4, 11:11-15 Acts 10:1-8 – A surprise ___________________________ Acts 10:9-35 – A surprise __________________________ Romans 10:1-4, 11:11-15 – A revealed _______________

Throughout Scripture we bump into God-plans that cause us to stop and think, ‘We wouldn’t do it like that.’ But each time this happens, we’re prompted to recall God saying through Isaiah, that He knows better than we do and that we should expect this pattern to continue (otherwise stated, He’s God and we are not). We’ve been surprised as we looked at the choosing of disciples, at Jesus’ death and resurrection, and then at the empowerment of the twelve for the critical work of Church startup; all curious, foreign-to-us types of decisions. This series of Divine ‘unexpecteds’ rolls on as we keep reading in Acts. Acts 9:1-25  Acts 9:1-6 – Divine choice of ___________________ Acts 9:7-19a – Divine choice of __________________ Acta 9:19b-25 – Divine choice of _________________

One could say that, in the earliest opening days of the church, the Holy Spirit was ‘on the loose.’ He ignited the apostles with vast measures of faith and power and fearlessness, enabling them to stand with great courage in the face of the threats and intimidations confronting them. Jesus’ prophetic words may have come back ringing in their ears: ‘You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues . . . But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.’ Mark 13: 9,11, NLT. Acts 6: 1-15, 7:1- 2a, 51-56, 7:57 - 8:1   Acts 6: 1-15 – Stephen’s ___________________   Acts 7:1-2a, 51-56 – Stephen’s ______________   Acts 7:57 - 8:1 – Stephen’s _________________