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“Have you had an experience of God?” It’s a question that provokes mixed reactions.
The word “experience” may set alarm bells ringing for some Christians, as they imagine the word means supernatural encounters, strange visions, voices or other revelations.
But the Bible, God’s final, complete revelation, reveals a different, yet no less marvellous experience of God. The wonderful truths of the Gospel, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit give Christians a unique experience of God, seen and felt in many ways: A love for Christ and for others; peace in place of anxiety and joy in all circumstances; a passion for doing good; and a deep sense of fulfilment ...and freedom.
These studies stem from the conviction that a deeper understanding of God’s gospel leads us to a genuine, life-transforming experience of the living God in Christ, which leaves us hungry to know Him more, and serve Him more faithfully. Work through them yourself, with a friend, your partner or in a Bible-study group to discover the riches that are yours in Christ.
There's a lot of good about this book. The studies are well chosen, the questions are thought provoking, the study notes are clear and stick carefully to the truth. But I humbly feel it could have been so much better.
Too often the notes go straight to "the right answer" for a situation, without the idea of prayerfully evaluating the actual situation.
Example 1 "What should we do when we are agitated or anxious? - Obey the words of Jesus in Mark 5 v 36: Don't be afraid; just believe". a) Not every imperative that Jesus spoke is a command ...to all Christians; we need to know the context before we apply his words to ourselves. b) Agitation or anxiety could be a health issue; see also example 2. c) Did Jesus really mean his words to Jairus (whose daughter has just died) as a command to be obeyed? More likely IMHO it was a gracious invitation, perhaps with a hand on the shoulder.
Example 2 "How should we encourage someone who is going through a period of despondency? - It may be right to confront [...] to show them that they are valuing other things above Christ." This is terrible advice to give to untrained people (my trained friends share that concern). The idea of a health cause should at least be mentioned, otherwise harm could be done.
But my main disappointment is that the book pulls the punch promised by its title. The study notes continually intellectualise, with a focus on gaining more knowledge and doing/saying the right things, almost to the exclusion of actual experience.
Of course knowing and obeying and bearing witness to the truth are important, they are essential. But they aren't the same as experiencing God. If they were, the Pharisees wouldn't have had a problem.
One study is on Philippians but it leaves out Paul's heart cry "I want to know the Messiah and the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings!" On a good day that's where I am too, and I think Paul expressed what experiencing God was about, better than these notes do.
This study material has prove to be a stimulating course. Whilst being a simple and accessible presentation it opened up thoughts and discussions across the group. The style enabled us to rotate the leadership for each of our meetings.
I do therefore recommend this book as house group material.
We used this study to complement sermon series on the character of God. The studies often used quite odd passages to draw out the themes. The passages used had a lot to teach but weren't completely aligned with the topic. I wouldn't recommend this study which is a shame because most of the studies in this series have been of a consistent standard.
