God the Father, Mentor's Guide, MG06

/ 3 5

G O D T H E F A T H E R

* What might it mean to say that God is immanent in the affairs of a community wracked by crime and gang violence? If God is immanent in such situations, how do we recognize his presence among us? * How do you assert the transcendence of God above the chaos of many urban communities without also saying that God has abandoned the city? How can God be both immanent and transcendent in the affairs of our urban neighborhoods today? * How should the doctrine of God’s immanence and transcendence affect us as we minister in our churches in the city? How should they affect our understanding of worship? Of ministry to the hurting? Of dealing with tough situations in the community? Of our own lives and ministries? * How can a person really get the most from studying the attributes of God without focusing on one thing to the exclusion of others? What qualities are associated with God’s greatness, and which are associated with his goodness? * Does your own life and ministry reflect that you understand that God is the unity of all his wonderful attributes, or do you focus on one of his qualities more than the rest? How might you overcome this normal tendency in doctrinal study? In a conversation with one of your friends whom you are sharing the Lord with, they highlight a particular problem that they can’t seem to shake in their thinking about the Lord and salvation. Troubled that there are hundreds of millions of people who have yet to hear of God’s saving work in Jesus, your friend shares that he thinks the Christian faith is terribly unfair. “Okay, I’ll grant you that God has revealed himself in the beauty of creation–it is mighty wonderful. But I have a problem still; if general revelation is not enough to lead a person to believe on Christ, then what is to happen to all of those millions of people who haven’t heard about Christ yet? Are they doomed to die, lost forever? If you need a special revelation to know about Jesus, then what about all those people?” How would you answer the question of your friend? What about All Those People?

1

page 270 12