Friday First: God's Relentless Pursuit

During April we are learning how Jesus shows us God. Jason Schofield got us started last week with a great lesson out of John 14.9-27. Jason talked about how Jesus demonstrated power under restraint; persistent patience; and exceptional love. What is another aspect in how Jesus shows us the Father?

When we see Jesus, we get a first hand look at the Father’s relentless pursuit of the jewel of His creation … humankind. This is seen throughout Scripture. We ran away from Him by choosing sin. Instead of destroying us on the spot (which we deserved), He took the initiative and immediately began executing His plan to bring us back to Him. His pursuit, His patience, and His love never failed. Even as Israel struggled, He always promised deliverance and restoration.
On Sunday we will take a look at Zephaniah’s prophecy … one of the more minor ones of the Minor Prophets. This short book (about a 10 minute read) describes God’s pursuit of us in an amazing way. Zephaniah 3.17 is a great verse where the Lord looks ahead to a future time of restoration and prominence:

The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

On Sunday we will: 

• Familiarize ourselves with the book of Zephaniah
• Think about what it would be like to hear God singing
• Examine why God sings over us
• Make the connection back to Jesus
• Discover three important applications

As you prepare for worship on Sunday, please give consideration to these questions:

1. After you read Zephaniah 3.17, how does it make you feel? Why?
2. Read Zephaniah 3.18-20. Underline all the I will statements. What do these things say about God?
3. If you could imagine God singing over you, what would it sound like?
4. As you read Zephaniah 3.17-20, how is Jesus the manifestation of these things in His public ministry?
5. What makes it so special to think that we have a God who relentlessly pursues us … despite our weaknesses and failures?

THOSE SERVING:
OPENING / WELCOME
Kody Pritt

SONG LEADER
Eric Renegar

PRAYER OF PRAISE
Justin Spargo

LORD'S SUPPER
Rich Walker

SCRIPTURE READING
Rich Jacobs
Zephaniah 3.14-20

PREACHING
Matthew Allen

CLOSING COMMENTS & PRAYER
Russ Robins

WELCOME CENTER
Rich Jacobs / Kathi Stewart / Pat Reeder

USHERS
Randy Mullins / Jeremy Price

CLOSING THE BUILDING
Jim Grushon