Connect What is one way that you can enjoy Jesus’ presence and also prepare for his return?

Warm-Up

1. What is the most ‘glorious’ thing that you’ve seen? Did that help point you to the glory of God in any way?
2. Do you think humanity ever looks pretty glorious? In what way does humanity seem inglorious? 

Read Psalm 8

3. According to the psalmist, what are the various ways in which humanity has been crowned with glory? Who has crowned us with that glory? (Look for all the signals of the ‘source’ in the psalm.)
4. What does the Psalmist mean when he says humanity is made ‘a little lower than the angels’?
5. What is meant by being ‘crowned with glory and honour’? What are some of the implications for human dignity and the value of life? How is this relevant on some of your frontlines?
6. Do you think we ever consider ourselves to be the source of our own glory? Why is this dangerous?
7. Why is it surprising that God would be mindful of us? How extraordinary is it that God cares for us?
8. What do you think are the key ways that God cares for us? How have you known his care in your life?
9. Why is it such good news that God is mindful of us and cares for us not based on our merit?
10. Read Romans 3:23. How is it evident that we fall short of God’s glory? How far do we fall short?
11. Why is the ultimate DIY project of being self-reliant for salvation so perilous? 
12. How can recognising our situation—along with our powerlessness to remedy it on our own—actually help us to grow in our dependence on God? 

Read Hebrews 2:5-11

13. What psalm is quoted here? How does the author of the letter use the Psalm to point to Jesus?
14. In Jesus Christ, what glory do we have already? What glory do we have yet to come?
15. What various dimensions of future glory do we have to look forward to? What amazes you most?
16. How did Jesus bring us to glory? Why was it ‘fitting’ that God should be at work this way in Jesus?
17. In what way did Jesus exchange his glory for our shame? How does this make you feel?
18. If our future is glorification in Christ, how should that shape how we live now (in the Spirit)? If we are being continually transformed, does this mean we can attain perfection before Christ’s return?
19. How can we reflect God’s glory? How is proclaiming Jesus a key way of reflecting his glory to the world?
20. In what ways does the promise of future glorification in Christ change how we should treat one another now?

Apply What is one way this week that you could reflect God’s glory on one of your frontlines

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On Your Front Line this Week

Spend some time identifying your frontlines. Where do you spend the most time each week? What are the places and who are the people God has placed before you?

For Families

• Download: some of the family resources to use at home: stbartskids.org

Listen, Watch, and Read

• Listen (sermon): “Moses’ Prayer for God” by Tim Keller:
  https://gospelinlife.com/sermon/moses-prayer-for-god/ 
• Listen (sermon): “Moses and the Glory of God” by Tim Keller:
  https://gospelinlife.com/sermon/moses-the-glory-of-god/ 
• Listen (sermon): “Praying like Moses” by Chris Wright:
  https://www.allsouls.org/Media/AllMedia.aspx?show_media=316444&show_file=350298 
• Listen (sermon): “When only the deepest reality will do” by Os Guiness:
  https://stebbes.org/sermons/when-only-the-deepest-reality-will-do/ 
• Listen (sermon): “Seeing God’s glory” by Pete Wilkinson:
  https://stebbes.org/sermons/seeing-gods-glory/ 

Series Resources

• Read (book): “Epiphany” by Fleming Rutledge.
• Read (book, more technical): “Glorification: An Introduction" by Graham Cole 📚

📚 Available to borrow in the Church library