Invited to Know God (Deuteronomy)



MEMORY AS A MEANS TO KNOW GOD (1-4)



One of the primary purposes of Scripture, A.J. Culp says, is “to produce a ‘world’ for the faithful to 'live in.'” Scripture is not simply a mine of information nor is it merely a thought for the day. Rather, it is the foundational story that one builds their life upon and imagines themselves in.


Chapters 1-4 of Deuteronomy are a deliberate travelogue that brings us to key events in Israels history from the Exodus until the present sermon. In particular it brings us to key moments of decision that demonstrate God’s character and also the character of Israel.


We remember in order to see ourselves in the story: Deuteronomy is our story too and finds its greatest fulfilment in Christ. In it we see God’s faithfulness to us and our welcome into God’s covenant people. We remember God’s New Covenant through the incarnation, death, and resurrection, of Jesus and our entrance into that covenant as we identify with Christ in baptism. We see our failure to trust God’s faithfulness and love and yet we remember God’s continued faithfulness. Finally, we see How Christ bids us to come and die to our own selfish ways and to come and find life in him. To live with him now and someday in the land he has promised.





Invited to Know God (Deuteronomy)



WORSHIP AS A MEANS TO KNOW GOD (5-11)



You and I were created to worship; therefore, It is never a matter of if we will worship, rather it is always a matter of what we will worship. Worshipping God rightly is important; worship is a way to give God his deserved glory, but more than that, it is also the place we encounter God and are invited to know him more deeply.





Invited to Know God (Deuteronomy)



LAW AS A MEANS TO KNOW GOD (12-26)



We know and remember through the body, not just our brains.


Chapters 12-26 invite us to know how we should live in the light of God’s revealed character and past faithfulness. One of the primary ways we know and learn things is through our bodies. The instructions of 12-26 are meant to be lived, to become habits—ways of life. This would give the people of Israel a lens for understanding the world they were not even aware they were wearing.


We are no longer under the burden of the law; In other words, Jesus has freed us from the necessity of the ceremonies and sacrifices as a way to keep the covenant. We are now free, but we are free to live under the grace of Christ and to live for him instead of sin.


We must continually remember what we have been saved from and what we have been saved into. Remembering what we were saved from reminds us of God’s incredible grace and motivates us to be just and graceful people. As we remember we more and more come to the knowledge of God and our place in his Kingdom. As dearly loved children, rescued by his grace and called to life with him. A life to the full—full of the joy of his presence where we enjoy him forevermore.





Invited to Know God (Deuteronomy)



COVENANT AS A MEANS TO KNOW GOD (27-34)



We are invited to know God through His covenant. God’s covenant is rooted in His unchanging, unfailing, and perfect love. It’s not a question of whether God will keep His part of the covenant, but whether we will keep ours. God desires to be our God and for us to be His people.





Invited to Know God (Deuteronomy)



GRACE AS A MEANS TO KNOW GOD



Deuteronomy and the New Testament ground the hope of humanity in the very same thing: God’s grace. We are invited to know God through his grace.

In Jesus, we are invited into the story of God’s redemptive work. We are invited to worship God as the promise-keeping, saving God. We are invited to experience the new life God desires through the Law of Christ written on our hearts and empowered by the Spirit. And into relational covenant with God through Jesus’ sacrifice. We are invited to know God through his grace and mercy towards us in Christ.





Invited to Know God (Deuteronomy)



FORMATION THROUGH OBEDIENCE (CH. 6)





Invited to Know God (Deuteronomy)



FORMATION THROUGH HABIT (CH. 6)



Whether intentional or not, you are being formed/trained into a person who loves. The only real questions will be: What am I being trained to love? And, how do I love rightly? How do we become people who love rightly? We centre our whole selves on Jesus (with all of our heart and soul). We fix our eyes on Jesus and develop new habits that lead us to know him and be like him. But, this is only possible because he first loved us. (1 Jn. 4:19) “We love because he first loved us.”





Invited to Know God (Deuteronomy)



FORMATION THROUGH SONG (CH. 32)



Songs allow us to experience not only God’s past actions but also God’s current and future reality. Songs powerfully get stuck in our heads and can stay with us throughout the day. Songs are, therefore, a powerful tool in the war against sin and the reformation of lives. Never underestimate the power of song in the formation of our lives.


Deuteronomy 32 is a song, written by God, to teach and remind the people of Israel of who God is—the faithful rock and covenant father. And to remind them who they are—a people prone to wander and rebel. It paints them a picture of a bleak future if they rebel, but does not leave them without hope.


For people who struggle and fail this passage offers hope. We find hope in God’s covenant commitment and his great compassion, which, we see most fully in Christ. Judgment will not be the last word for the follower of Jesus. And, one day, the entire universe will be transformed into a new creation where rebellion, heartbreak, and pain are no more. Through the work of Christ, God has judged and been victorious over all the forces of evil and made a way of reconciliation for his people. This is the hope offered in Christ.


This is the ultimate vision of this song of Moses, it is one we will sing in the new creation, and it is a truth worth singing in/over our lives constantly.





SPECIAL EPISODE - Interview with AJ Culp author of Invited to Know God



This is an interview Stephen did with Dr AJ Culp, the author of, Invited to Know God. In it, they discuss the importance of developing good habits, how prayer is the key to knowing God, and how the sabbath is an incredible gift of resistance in a world of constant work.





Community Christian Church



Unit 2 Gáirdín Mháire, Moycullen, Galway

086 737 1443

info@communitychristian.ie