Hi, my name is Andrew and I’ve been a pastor at Riverside since we moved here from Michigan in early October. Marcie and I have been married for 17 years and have five kids: Addison (14), Hosea (11), Joel (9), Gabe (6), and Eloise (3).

The passages you are going to read today are Genesis 1:26-31 and 2:15-25. These passages describe the creation of humanity; the crowning jewel of God’s creation. In Genesis 1, God emphasizes that we are created in the image and likeness of God, to watch over and care for the great gift of this world God has made. In chapter 2, the human (Hebrew ha-Adam) is given freedom to eat from the garden and is given a companion Eve so that he will not be alone. So from nearly the first breaths of humanity, God decides that people should be connected in healthy and close relationships with Him and with one another. This is the original picture of God’s shalom, a Hebrew word that describes wholeness in relationships and the flourishing of God’s Kingdom in concrete expressions.

This narrative connects to the birth of Christ because it is the very foundation of the incarnation. Jesus is the Word made flesh, the same embodied humanity of Adam and Eve. And the actively flourishing shalom of Eden is precisely what Christ comes to earth to restore; in fact, a new and greater shalom is made possible in Christ. This new shalom will be the picture of justice and reconciliation and all things made new, and what we see in Eden is a foretaste of the glory that will come on the other side of our history.

• What does it mean to your faith and theology that Christ comes in the same flesh as you and I?

• How is God inviting you to lean into His shalom? Is there something specific you can do to bring about flourishing today?

We did it! We made it through some really hard chapters in Romans- treat yourself this morning with your favorite hot beverage and spend some time worshiping and praising God, who has granted us access into his family!

WEEK 4: MEMORY VERSE 
ROMANS 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

Just like we did at the end of the last devotional, we are going to do some listening. Open up your Bible app, or download a Bible app on your phone. Today, listen to Romans chapters 7-11.

On a piece of paper, jot things down that stand out to you from these chapters.

WEEK 4: MEMORY VERSE 
ROMANS 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

Just like we did at the end of the last devotional, we are going to do some listening. Open up your Bible app, or download a Bible app on your phone. Today, listen to Romans chapters 1-6.

On a piece of paper, jot things down that stand out to you from these chapters.

WEEK 4: MEMORY VERSE 
ROMANS 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

Read all of Romans 11 and do the Know, Be, Do method of study through the chapter.

• KNOW – What does the text say about God?
• BE – What does the text say about us?
• DO – What is the text calling me to do?

Grab a piece of paper and write out the whole verse that you want to stick with you throughout the day today.

WEEK 4: MEMORY VERSE 
ROMANS 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

We are going to watch one last video. It’s actually not from the Bible Project! It is a simple explanation of the last three chapters that I thought would be good to end with!

I like how they use the past (chapter 9), present (chapter 10), and future (chapter 11) explanation of this really challenging part in Romans.

My prayer has been that all of us will walk away with a broad understanding of how we in the church today are connected to the Israelites in the Old Testament, how their good news of a Savior was also our good news in Jesus, and how God has a plan larger than all of us.

WEEK 4: MEMORY VERSE 
ROMANS 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

Read Romans 11:33-36

• What do we learn about God from these verses?

• What do we learn about man/ ourselves from these verses?

• What action can I take as a result of these verses?

WEEK 4: MEMORY VERSE 
ROMANS 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!