The following is what I will be presenting and handing out for a family camp I’m speaking at tomorrow morning. What would you say if you were asked to speak on the topic of giving a brief (hour and a half) interactive teaching on the mission of God in Scripture? I’m just tracing the threads through Scripture of God’s purpose to make for himself a people in His image and how this has cosmic reconciling intent. What might you add? What Scripture would you include and why?
Rediscovering the Mission of God in Scripture
Genesis 1:26-28
- Who do we image and why were we made?
Genesis 12:1-3
Genesis 17:1-8
- Abram (later Abraham) would be blessed in order to…?
- Why was he chosen?
2 Samuel 7
- What did the LORD promise David? Why?
Isaiah 16:5
- What will the “son of David” be like?
Isaiah 55:1-5
- What is the message to the nations?
Isaiah 56:6-7
- What was the purpose of the temple according to this passage?
Matthew 12:18-21
- What did Matthew understand the mission of Jesus to be in light of the Old Testament revelation?
Matthew 24:14
Matthew 25:31-46
- How are these two passages about the “message” of the good news connected? What do they reveal about those who hold to this message, and what is the end result of response to this message?
Ephesians 2
- For what end were we created? What is our message? How does it look?
Recommended Reading
Wright, Christopher J. H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006.
Wright, Christopher J. H. The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010.
Wright, N. T. How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels. New York: HarperOne, 2012.
Related articles
- The God of the Gospel: Robert Jenson’s Trinitarian Theology – A Book Review (iheartbarth.wordpress.com)
Rick, I am likely far too late for family camp, but I would deal with 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, which Paul says that we have this treasure in empty vessels so that the power and the glory would be of Christ and not of us. I think this passage speaks very clearly to the image of God as it is being restored in the Christian and in humanity.
Like it. Thanks for the comments.