This session has not been translated into your language yet, so it is shown in English.

Same World; Same People

1. CONNECT

   10min
   It should be obvious that the circumstances of God’s people in the Old Testament were different from our circumstances today and that ancient people led very different lives from our own. But, as we discussed in our last session, we know that we are connected to the Old Testament because we serve the same unchanging God. In this session we’ll consider two more ways we are connected to the Old Testament. First, we live in the same world, and second, we are the same kind of people.

2. Reflection

   When you think about it, our world and the world of the Old Testament are fundamentally the same. We don’t live on another planet. We have a shared human history that takes place right here on Earth. In addition, although our lives are different from the lives of people in Old Testament times, when you look just beneath the surface of these differences, you see that we are still the same kind of people as they were. In light of these connections, we can be confident that the teachings of the Old Testament still apply to us today.

3. Guiding Question

   How is our world today like the world of the Old Testament? How are we like the people who lived in Old Testament times?

4. WATCH

   15min

5. DISCUSS

   15min
   1. Many Old Testament characters, events and teachings provide historical backgrounds for what we experience today. Read the following passages and answer the questions:
      1. Genesis 8:22 — What does God’s promise to Noah tell us about the connection between our world and the world of the Old Testament?
      2. Ex 20:1-17 — How are the Ten Commandments still central to the ethical norms of today?
      3. 2 Sam 7:16 — How does God’s promise to sustain David’s dynasty provide the background for Jesus’ kingship?
   2. What parallels do you see between the following Old Testament events and our day?
      1. Adam and Eve’s fall into sin (Genesis 3)
      2. Abraham’s justification in God’s eyes through faith (Gen 15:6)
      3. David’s sacrificial giving for the temple from his personal wealth and his call for others to give as well (1 Chronicles 29:3-5)
   3. How do the following passages reveal that, as New Testament believers, we are the same kind of people as people in Old Testament days?
      1. Gen 1:26-30; James 3:9
      2. 1 Kings 8:46; Romans 3:12
   4. Why is it correct to say that all people are in covenant with God in Adam and Noah?

6. APPLY

   15min
   1. What does it mean to you personally that you are made in the image of God?
   2. The apostle Peter taught that we are joined to God by the new covenant in Christ; therefore, we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s] own possession” (1 Peter 2:9).
      1. How does this covenant relationship with God in Christ connect us to the people of the Old Testament?
      2. What does our covenant relationship in Christ mean for how we are to live in the world today?

7. CHALLENGE

   Take some time to write down several similarities between our world today and the world of the Old Testament. Consider how these similarities connect you with the teachings of the Old Testament. Finish with a time of prayer.