A Necessary Embrace

Teaching Series
Written By Sarah Green

1 September - 15 September 2024

Genesis 32:22-32 · Have you ever really grappled with God? I mean seriously wrestled with the idea, and reality, of who God is and what that means for your life today? Join us for a short 3-part series, as we meet a man named Jacob, who really did wrestle with God. And life was never the same again.

 

  • Life doesn't just happen to you...you've got to make life happen for you. That's the mantra, isn't it? You can't trust anyone except yourself. And so, if you want to be successful in life, you've got to get out there and make it happen.

    That's what Jacob thought. But he was in for a shock. Join us as we begin this series to discover the shock of discovering that you aren't the one in control of your destiny.

    → Watch here

    → Listen here

    Study Questions

    1. 1. If you were face-to-face with Jesus, what do you think he might ask you?

    2. Read Genesis 25:19-34

    3. 2. These verses are the background to the passage in Genesis 32. What strikes you about these verses?

    4. 3. What is going on in verses 23?

    5. 4. In a sense, God had made a promise about Jacob’s life. Do you think Jacob would have know about the promise as he grew up? And yet, Jacob spends much of his life trying to ‘make it happen’. Can you think of any promises that God has made that you still work to  try and “help” make the promise come true?

    6. 5. Read Genesis 32:22-32. What strikes you about the encounter between Jacob and this ‘God-man’?

    7. 6. How does this encounter change Jacob?

    8. 7. On Sunday, Tim said that ‘An encounter with God will ruin your life in the best possible way’. What do you make of that?

      Pray for wisdom to know when to pursue our dreams and when to be still and trust. Pray that God would change you to be more like Christ.

  • Imagine if you came face to face with God, what do you think would happen? What impact would it have on your life? The ancient figure of Jacob discovered that it changed everything. He was never the same again. That's because once you’ve been face to face with God, you can go face to face with anything.

    → Watch here

    → Listen here

    Study Questions

    Read Genesis 27.

    1. What was your biggest ambition when you were a child?

    2. Were Jacob and Esau seeking God’s blessing or their father’s?

    3. Read Genesis 25:23. Do you think Rebekah believed that this would happen, without her help?

    4. If Isaac’s blessing really meant something, do you think that his intention to give it all to one son and nothing to the other was fair?

    5. What do you think God was thinking, watching all this unfold?

    6. Does your relationship with God feel like ‘peaceful communion’ or ‘a wrestling match that goes on and on’?

    7. Before Jacob came face-to-face with God, he believed he received his blessings through deception, but afterwards he realised that God had intentionally given them to him. How do you think that this changed the way that he felt?

    8. Every time Jacob limped, do you think that he remembered an angry God or a gracious one?

      Pray that God shows us that our true value comes from what He has given us and not by what we have achieved ourselves.

  • There is one flag around the world that signifies surrender - the white flag. In war, when the white flag is raised, the battle is over. What if we could wave a white flag towards God?

    In the ancient story of Jacob, we witness a 'white flag' being waved. But, this white flag is no ordinary flag. In fact, as we look closely, we get to see that the flag is being held by Jacob, and by God! And maybe in that moment we realise something - that faith and struggling are much more closely linked than we would ever imagine.


    → Watch here

    → Listen here

    Study Questions

    1. As Tim asked us on Sunday, what was your worst subject at school and why?

    2. The book of Hosea references the story of Jacob and Esau found in Genesis (Hosea 12:3-6). Why do you think it is significant that Jacob ‘grasped his brother’s heel’?

    3. In the book of Hosea, is God commending or criticising Jacob?

    4. Can you recall a past situation where you wrestled with God?

    5. Did you realise at the time that it was God that you were struggling with?

    6. Read Luke 8:43-48. Why wasn’t Jesus content to know that the woman was well? What additional blessing did she receive by coming face-to-face with him?

    7. Why were Jacob and the ‘God man’ so evenly matched?

    8. Why did the ‘God man’ damage Jacob’s hip?

      Reflect on any questions that have arisen from this series for you. Pray that we might see our doubts as God sees them. 

Sarah Green
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