Introduction: Encountering the Living God

"When the angles had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'" Luke 2:15

Happy New Year!  I hope you have enjoyed the Jesse Tree study over the Christmas season, and are excited to continue studying scripture as a family in 2011.  We are making the commitment to engage with scripture more individually and as a family this year, and I look forward to you joining us on this ride.

If you are new to this site, let me give you a brief introduction and some suggestions on how to use this tool.  Each day you will find a scripture lesson and devotion that is geared towards you as an adult.  I will then offer a set of questions for you to consider.  Take time to think and reflect on the lesson and prepare to share what you have learned with your family on the following night.  Included with each devotion will be three sections of questions - one for preschoolers, one for elementary students, and one for teenagers - to help start discussion among your family.  The goal is to be studying and discussing the same passage of scripture as a family in an age appropriate manner.  It is possible!

Much of our Jesse Tree study was spent looking at passages of scripture that showed the need for a Messiah and the fulfillment of God's promises throughout history.  Many of the lessons came from the Old Testament and culminated in the birth of Jesus Christ.  This month we are going to spend time studying those that encountered Jesus, the "Living God," and how this experience effected their life.

Take some time tonight to reflect on these definitions of the word encounter.

en·coun·ter

–verb (used with object)

1. to come upon or meet with, esp. unexpectedly: to encounter a new situation.

2. to meet with or contend against (difficulties, opposition, etc.): We encounter so many problems in our work.

3. to meet (a person, military force, etc.) in conflict: We will encounter the enemy at dawn.

 

–verb (used without object)

4. to meet, esp. unexpectedly or in conflict: We were angry when we encountered, but we parted with smiles.

 

–noun

5. a meeting with a person or thing, esp. a casual, unexpected, or brief meeting: Our running into each other was merely a chance encounter.

6. a meeting of persons or groups that are in conflict or opposition; combat; battle: Another such encounter and we may lose the war.

7. Psychology . a meeting of two or more people, as the members of an encounter group or a number of married couples (marriage encounter), conducted to promote direct emotional confrontations among the participants, esp. as a form of therapy (encounter therapy).