To gain a broader understanding of God's redemptive mission
Before we learn about what it can look like to take our place in God's Redemptive Mission as Asian Americans, it is important that we understand what it means for God's mission to be holistically redemptive. This provides a foundation for a more holistic view of the Gospel and helps to frame missional understanding both during college and post college.
What comes to mind when you hear the words, “God’s redemptive mission"? (If that language is less familiar, consider each word individually.)
Transition statement: In order to see what God’s mission is we have to look at what the world looked like when God first created it & what is in need of redemption
Genesis 2:7-9, 15-25
*Pay attention to any emotions you feel or any kind of physical responses to the words that are spoken: examples of physical response- stomach drop, heart-rate change, facial muscles tensing
What stands out as we read that? Did you feel any emotions or notice yourself having a physical response to the words that were spoken?
*Just as you are sensitive and validating of others’ emotional responses, please engage physical responses similarly - ask follow-up questions if needed (what do you mean when you say…; can you tell me more…etc.)
Today and in the future, we will examine four types of relationships that pertain to God's redemptive mission. Relationship with... God, Self, Others, and Creation.
Grab a piece of paper and pencil/pen. Draw two intersecting lines that form a grid with four quadrants that cover the entire page: fill in with answers from the relationships, write these as categories on the top (Relationship with God, self, others, creation. See picture below for reference.)
Looking through the Bible, what do you see as an image of God’s intended design of wholeness with our relationship with God? With self? With others? With creation? (write these down in the top half of the quadrant.
What are other words or phrases you think reflect wholeness in these four relationships? (continue to add these in top half of quadrants)
God created people to live in harmony with God, harmony with one another and themselves, and to have a symbiotic relationship to the Earth. Why is the world not like this today?
Genesis 3:6-19. Pause at v8.
Can you imagine the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden? What can you see, hear, feel, smell?
(Finish reading passage)
What did the realization of nakedness mean for them? How did even their relationship with their bodies change? (v7)
Not only was their relationship with self disrupted, so were their relationships with God, others, and creation. Now looking back at the four quadrants...
(write these answers on bottom side of the dashed line in each quadrant)
Where do you identify with their experience? (in yourself, in your relationships, etc.)
*This is a vulnerable question. Be sensitive to one another.
Where do we see these disruptions today in communities, society, the world, creation, etc.?
Jesus described the mission of his ministry in many different ways that we will look together over time. One of these ways is in Luke where he says, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Thinking about what we have talked about so far, what has been lost about the way things were created to be?
Revelation 21:1-4
*Pay attention to any emotions you feel or any kind of physical responses to the words that are spoken: examples of physical response- stomach drop, heart-rate change, facial muscles tensing
Revelation 22:1-5
When you read (or listen to) this, what emotions do you experience? In what part of your body do you feel a physical response? (in your stomach, hands, breath, etc.)?
*If there was a physical or emotional response, consider reading parts of that passage aloud again to the student while they close their eyes.
Transition statement: We just finished Revelation which is a picture of restoration. Add any words or phrases that you see in these passages to the top halves of the quadrants.
In which quadrant do you most long for restoration (or wholeness) right now?
When we think about the word “redemption” one of the first things we often think about is the redemption of people’s relationship with God (ie. accepting Jesus etc.); here we see that God’s redemptive mission encompasses all the relationships we talked about. In the future, we will explore more in depth what redemption looks like in each of those four relationships.
