This study was written to help Christians explore the importance of connections. We were designed to connect—with God, with other believers, with the church and with the world around us. When we neglect these connections, we miss out on so many things. We slow down our own spiritual growth, and beyond that, we miss out on being able to work alongside God as He brings His light to the world.
There is power in connections. Let this study help you plug in and go light up the world!
Connecting with God
BIG IDEA: Only by connecting to God can we fill the emptiness inside and tap into what we truly need.
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Key Passage: Acts 17:22-27
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.
This first week we are building our foundation of connections. We all need a strong foundation. But it’s important to remember that anything we build—outside of God—will not last and will not support us when the heaviness of life presses down.
This first week we are building our foundation of connections. We all need a strong foundation. But it’s important to remember that anything we build—outside of God—will not last and will not support us when the heaviness of life presses down.
Section 1
We try to shore up our vulnerabilities in many ways. But what we are all essentially searching for is something—or someone—to fill the emptiness. At times we are all faced with this yearning and it isn’t a new development. Paul addressed it in Acts 17 and people have continued to struggle with this throughout time.
What are some ways we try to fill/mask the emptiness inside?
But the truth of the matter is that this emptiness inside isn’t caused by a lack of things and/or people. It’s a lack of connection with our Creator.
Blaise Pascal once said: “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.” - Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII(425)
Blaise Pascal once said: “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.” - Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII(425)
This yearning for connection doesn’t originate with us. It originates with God. He made us to connect with Him, and fortunately, He is the One who seeks us out. God is never too busy to connect. He is available to us any time of the day or night. All we have to do is call out. But it’s hard to call out to someone when we don’t have a deep relationship with them.
Who are the people you call when times get tough and why?
Seek Him and Perhaps Reach out for Him
In the past, when things got tough, I used to first reach for the phone. I’d call my husband, or my closest friend. My expectation would be that they’d be able to provide the insight and the comfort I needed, no matter what. That wasn’t always the way things played out.
Sometimes the people I called were busy or unavailable. At other times, they didn’t grasp the seriousness of the situation in regard to how it affected me. And other times, they weren’t in the place personally to be able to pour into my life the things I needed right then.
Think back to a time when you called on someone and they let you down. How did you feel?
When that disappointment occurred it just made the need that much more urgent. That was usually the point when I took the problem to God. I’m ashamed to say He was my avenue of last resort. It was several years before I realized that this path of last resort needed to be my first line of defense. And it didn’t come until I began spending regular, one-on-one time with Him.
That was when it clicked. I finally realized what I’d been doing, and more importantly, why. It’s in our nature to turn to those we know best, and those who know us best. Obviously God qualified for the second part of this, but I had fallen down on the first part. I hadn’t taken the time to get to know Him—to build the connection I needed with Him. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I knew about God, but I didn’t have a deep, ongoing relationship with Him.
Share some of the differences between knowing God and knowing about God.
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What are some ways that we can truly get to know God?
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Section 2
God has put into place the tools we need to connect with Him on a deeper level. But He didn’t lay that burden of the initial connection on us. He sought us first. He loved us first. He was—and is—the first to desire spending time with each of us.
Each of us is unique. You are the only you ever—past, present or future—and the same can be said for each of us. This means we each have a priceless opportunity for a unique relationship with God. There never has been, and never will be, someone who can have exactly the same relationship with God that you can. And because we are His personal creation, He loves us with a fierce, jealous love and above all, He desires the joy of our company. And when we refuse to connect, He misses us.
Read Psalm 17:8
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
How does the psalmist refer to us?
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I’ve heard this figure of speech all my life but I had never investigated what exactly “apple of my eye” meant, especially in the biblical sense. I dug deeper and this is what I found: The word used here is ishown and refers to the pupil of someone’s eye. The terminology conveys the word picture of God looking so intently at you that you can see yourself reflected in the pupil of His eye. It is an intimate relationship that excludes and takes precedence over everything else.
We can have confidence that God desires to connect with us on a still deeper level, no matter where we are in our relationship with Him.
Section 3
Read Deuteronomy 6:5
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
According to this passage, how are we to connect with God?
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We see in this passage that God wants us to get to know Him through His word. But this isn’t the only way to nurture that connection.
Read I Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
According to this passage, how are we to connect with God?
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We see in this passage that prayer is another way we connect with God.
Read James 1:22
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
According to this passage, how are we to connect with God?
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Like all relationships, beyond spending quality time together, there is the process of doing things together. We get to know God by joining Him as He works around and through us.
Bottom Line: Just as we connect with the people around us, we must make an effort to connect with God. We can have confidence that He desires that relationship with us and has provided the means for that connection. But as much as God seeks our company, He doesn’t force it.
Read Revelation 3:20
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
What is our responsibility in our relationship with God?
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Like any relationship, we get out of it what we pour into it. But unlike our relationships with people, we can have confidence that if we drift apart from God, it is we ourselves who have moved.
Our Lesson this Sunday: Connecting with God
We use this phrase “connect the dots” sometimes to draw pictures - you can't really see the picture until you connect the dots. We even see this in life. I like mysteries—either books, TV shows or movies, and even in real-life situations—detectives collect some clues, and you know the clues are important, but they don’t make sense to us at first. But when the detective “connects the dots” we can see the solution to the mystery.
Throughout our lives, we have collected bits and pieces of information that affect us spiritually. If you’ve been in Sunday school, you’ve studied the Bible to some degree. You’ve probably listened to numerous sermons, and while you may not remember any particular sermon, I’m sure you’ve gathered some tidbits of information from many of them. The hymns and Christian songs you here or sing add to this spiritual knowledge that you have. Radio and TV ministries have given you additional information.
So, we may have all these bits and pieces of spiritual information from all these different places, and yet we often still feel like God has little or nothing to do with our lives. We feel like He’s a million miles away. We’re so busy with school, work, family, friends, or leisure that we fail to connect with God. We’ve got a lot of the dots there, but things are so scattered in our minds and hearts and lives that we can’t connect with God the way He wants us to.
I want to share with you three ways to help us pull these “dots” together, so we can consistently connect with God.
I. Love God More
Our Lesson this Sunday: Connecting with God
We use this phrase “connect the dots” sometimes to draw pictures - you can't really see the picture until you connect the dots. We even see this in life. I like mysteries—either books, TV shows or movies, and even in real-life situations—detectives collect some clues, and you know the clues are important, but they don’t make sense to us at first. But when the detective “connects the dots” we can see the solution to the mystery.
Throughout our lives, we have collected bits and pieces of information that affect us spiritually. If you’ve been in Sunday school, you’ve studied the Bible to some degree. You’ve probably listened to numerous sermons, and while you may not remember any particular sermon, I’m sure you’ve gathered some tidbits of information from many of them. The hymns and Christian songs you here or sing add to this spiritual knowledge that you have. Radio and TV ministries have given you additional information.
So, we may have all these bits and pieces of spiritual information from all these different places, and yet we often still feel like God has little or nothing to do with our lives. We feel like He’s a million miles away. We’re so busy with school, work, family, friends, or leisure that we fail to connect with God. We’ve got a lot of the dots there, but things are so scattered in our minds and hearts and lives that we can’t connect with God the way He wants us to.
I want to share with you three ways to help us pull these “dots” together, so we can consistently connect with God.
I. Love God More
If you LOVE chocolate, raise your hand. Now, before I go any further, look around at those whose hands are not raised—these are the heathen, non-chocolate-loving people! Now, if you have your hand raised, and you have had some chocolate at least once in the 12 months, keep your hand up; if not, put your hand down. How about 6 months, month, week, day, at breakfast. If any hands are left up - these are the ones who REALLY love chocolate!
If I changed the question and asked, “Is there a person that you LOVE—husband, wife, mom, dad, kids, grandparents, grandkids? And then I asked, “How often do you see that person—once a year, twice, once a month, once a week, once a day?” I realize that distance may hinder us from seeing some of the people we love as often. Or “How often do you talk to that person—once a year, twice, once a month, once a week, once a day?”
The truth is—when we LOVE someone, we want to SEE them, TALK to them, and LISTEN to them.
The same thing holds true with God. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:5, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.”
What did Jesus say about this verse?
If I asked the question, “Do you love God?” most everyone here would say, “Yes.” So, why do we feel like God is a million miles away? Why don’t we give more consideration to what God wants in our day-to-day living? Do we REALLY LOVE God with all our heart, soul and strength?
For those of you who are married or have been married—do you remember your dating relationship with your future spouse? You were on the phone for hours, talking about nothing, but you didn’t want to hang up. Or when you were out on a date, and it was time to go home, you didn’t want to say goodbye. And you did little things to show how much you loved each other.
Do we really love God that way? We’re not really going to connect with God if we don’t love Him that way. But when we do, we will express that love in a few ways.
II. We Need to Learn More of God.
Deuteronomy 6: 6-9, “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your home and on your gates.”
What do you see about a person that follows this verse?
When I was growing up, one of the most famous celebrities alive was John Wayne. I loved John Wayne. I loved all his movies. I read articles and books about him. I loved John Wayne. But when I think about it—I never saw John Wayne, I never talked to him, He never talked to me. I never did anything personal for him. Everything I knew about John Wayne came from somewhere else, and not out of a personal experience or a personal relationship with him. So when I say that I LOVE John Wayne, what kind of love is it? It’s not the same kind of love that I have for my wife, or for my kids.
Our love for someone is affected by how personally we know them.
And the same thing is true about God. Our love for God is affected by how personally we know Him. If the only way we know God is through what we learn from other people, our love for God will not be the same as if we talk with Him personally, and hear from Him personally.
How do we get to know God that way?
In order to connect the dots with God, we simply MUST get to know Him personally. How do we get to know God that way? Preachers say it all the time and you probably get sick and tired of hearing it. PRAYER and BIBLE STUDY—You talk to God, and let Him talk to you.
How do we talk to God? The word "PRAY" can help you know how to talk to God.
P-Praise & Thank God
R-Repent of any sin and ask for God’s forgiveness.
A-Ask for God’s provisions for others and yourself
Y-Yearn (have a deep desire) to Love, Know, and Obey God
How does He talk to us? The word "STUDY" (from ’study the Bible’) can help you know how to do a simple but meaningful Bible study.
S-Select a passage of Scripture.
T-Talk with God to ask for understanding
U-”Unearth” the truth(s) God wants you to know.
D-Determine the one thing God wants you do.
Y-Yearn; pray for God’s help to do what He wants you to do.
If we will consistently Pray and Study God’s Word, we will begin connecting the dots with God. Notice I said “begin.”
III. We Need to Live More the Way God Wants
Deuteronomy 6:17, “You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the stipulations and laws He has given you.” (NLT)
We show God that we love Him when we obey His Word. Jesus said it Himself in John 14: 15, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” and again in John 14: 21, “Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me.”
Obedience and love cannot be separated. We might say that obedience is when we LIVE our LOVE for God. Using the word, LIVE, obedience to God is when our...
L - Love
I - Is
V - Visually
E - Expressed
If I changed the question and asked, “Is there a person that you LOVE—husband, wife, mom, dad, kids, grandparents, grandkids? And then I asked, “How often do you see that person—once a year, twice, once a month, once a week, once a day?” I realize that distance may hinder us from seeing some of the people we love as often. Or “How often do you talk to that person—once a year, twice, once a month, once a week, once a day?”
The truth is—when we LOVE someone, we want to SEE them, TALK to them, and LISTEN to them.
The same thing holds true with God. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:5, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.”
What did Jesus say about this verse?
- Jesus said that THIS is THE most important thing in connecting with God.
If I asked the question, “Do you love God?” most everyone here would say, “Yes.” So, why do we feel like God is a million miles away? Why don’t we give more consideration to what God wants in our day-to-day living? Do we REALLY LOVE God with all our heart, soul and strength?
For those of you who are married or have been married—do you remember your dating relationship with your future spouse? You were on the phone for hours, talking about nothing, but you didn’t want to hang up. Or when you were out on a date, and it was time to go home, you didn’t want to say goodbye. And you did little things to show how much you loved each other.
Do we really love God that way? We’re not really going to connect with God if we don’t love Him that way. But when we do, we will express that love in a few ways.
II. We Need to Learn More of God.
Deuteronomy 6: 6-9, “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your home and on your gates.”
What do you see about a person that follows this verse?
- As we read these verses, we can’t help but see a person who is committed to learning more and more of God.
- Sadly, most Christians today only learn about God from other people—Sunday school teachers and class members, preachers’ sermons, hymns and songs, TV, and radio. Granted, this can offer some encouragement, and you can get some wise teaching from others.
When I was growing up, one of the most famous celebrities alive was John Wayne. I loved John Wayne. I loved all his movies. I read articles and books about him. I loved John Wayne. But when I think about it—I never saw John Wayne, I never talked to him, He never talked to me. I never did anything personal for him. Everything I knew about John Wayne came from somewhere else, and not out of a personal experience or a personal relationship with him. So when I say that I LOVE John Wayne, what kind of love is it? It’s not the same kind of love that I have for my wife, or for my kids.
Our love for someone is affected by how personally we know them.
And the same thing is true about God. Our love for God is affected by how personally we know Him. If the only way we know God is through what we learn from other people, our love for God will not be the same as if we talk with Him personally, and hear from Him personally.
How do we get to know God that way?
In order to connect the dots with God, we simply MUST get to know Him personally. How do we get to know God that way? Preachers say it all the time and you probably get sick and tired of hearing it. PRAYER and BIBLE STUDY—You talk to God, and let Him talk to you.
How do we talk to God? The word "PRAY" can help you know how to talk to God.
P-Praise & Thank God
R-Repent of any sin and ask for God’s forgiveness.
A-Ask for God’s provisions for others and yourself
Y-Yearn (have a deep desire) to Love, Know, and Obey God
How does He talk to us? The word "STUDY" (from ’study the Bible’) can help you know how to do a simple but meaningful Bible study.
S-Select a passage of Scripture.
T-Talk with God to ask for understanding
U-”Unearth” the truth(s) God wants you to know.
D-Determine the one thing God wants you do.
Y-Yearn; pray for God’s help to do what He wants you to do.
If we will consistently Pray and Study God’s Word, we will begin connecting the dots with God. Notice I said “begin.”
III. We Need to Live More the Way God Wants
Deuteronomy 6:17, “You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the stipulations and laws He has given you.” (NLT)
We show God that we love Him when we obey His Word. Jesus said it Himself in John 14: 15, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” and again in John 14: 21, “Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me.”
Obedience and love cannot be separated. We might say that obedience is when we LIVE our LOVE for God. Using the word, LIVE, obedience to God is when our...
L - Love
I - Is
V - Visually
E - Expressed
Conclusion
1. We connect with God when we LOVE Him with all that we are.
2. If we love God, we will want to know Him, so we will LEARN more of God through Prayer and Study of His Word.
3. As we know God better, we will discover what He wants us do, so we will LIVE more the way God wants us to live by obeying what we have learned.
So the question I have for you this morning is this: “How connected to God are you today?”
Maybe you don’t have any connection with God. You’re just going through some spiritual motions, and you think that’s enough. Well, it’s not. This morning I urge you to make a commitment to love God with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. You can make that commitment right where you are if you want.
You may have been a Christian for a long time, but you feel “dis-connected” from God. If so, it’s likely because you’re not seeking to learn more of God personally through prayer and Bible study, or you’re not living in obedience to His Word in some area of your life. Confess that to God; ask for His forgiveness. And when we’re sincere in our asking, God will forgive, because He wants us to CONNECT with Him.
This week I challenge you to join me as I make deepening my relationship with God a top priority.
See you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
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