The Answers to Your Deepest Longings: 40 Days Through the Bible Week 8

OBS Video - Week 8 40 Days HS=Hannah Schindler KS=Kendra Schwarz JM=Joel Muddamalle WB=Wendy Blight EG=Eric Gagnon HS: Welcome to week eight, our final week of our “40 Day” study. I can’t believe it. It’s so surreal. So if you can’t already tell, we brought back our entire content team for our final week. So we have Joel, Wendy and Eric with us. And then, of course, my co-host, Kendra with us as well. So, welcome, guys, I feel very bittersweet, a little emotional, I’m not gonna cry because we’re on camera. But I just can’t believe all that we’ve seen the Lord do through this study in the past eight weeks. KS: Right.

00:37 - And so we have one more longing that we are going to study all together, and it’s the longing for Christ’s return. And so before we get into that a little bit more, I would love to know from the content team, and from, well, Hannah, you’re on the content team. So from everyone here, what was your favorite longing to study? So Hannah, go ahead. HS: I’ll say fulfillment was mine. KS: Okay. JM: I’ll say longing for identity, because while I was with all of you, my identity was shook when Kendra said, I failed my 60 second theology, and I was reminded my identity is in Christ. HS: So proud of you. WB: Mine is Christ’s return this week. EG: Wendy stole mine because mine was Christ’s return as well, because we eagerly await him.

01:19 - It’s a longing that we can be eager about. WB: I’ll share it with you. EG: Okay. HS: What about you Kendra? KS: Longing for purpose? Yeah. HS: The first week. KS: Week one. HS: I love that one. So let me ask you, Joel, Eric, and Wendy, what is something that you want our OBS and First 5 friends to know, as we go into this last week of study? JM: Yeah, I would say in response to longing for Christ’s return, just that we wait patiently, we’re in the already but the not yet. We’re in what’s called often the in between. And so as we wait patiently, that we wait with eager expectation and anticipation for the Lord, but we’re also people who are doing and acting as faithful citizens of heaven and recognize that we live simultaneously as resident aliens on Earth. HS: So good.

02:10 - EG: Yeah, and Revelation ends with a really positive, hopeful word from God. And this passage really reminds me that we’re not only living between two gardens, as we’ve often heard recently, I think, but we’re living between dwellings of God. And God intends to dwell with us. He dwelt with us in the garden. He dwelt with us in Christ. He intends to physically, not just spiritually, but physically dwell with us in heaven. And that’s something that I think we can be excited about. So I’m going to read Revelation 21:1-4. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven, and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

03:00 - And I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’” WB: Wow, thank you, Eric. What gloriously beautiful words we close with today from Revelation 21.

03:40 - And just like Eric mentioned about God dwelling with us, we have watched throughout the study how God found ways to come to his people, despite sin and separation, because He longed to be with them. But it was never a full and complete revelation, first in the tabernacle and the time of Moses, later in the temple in Jerusalem, then by His Holy Spirit in the New Testament today. But in the New Jerusalem, God Himself will be the temple and fully unveil Himself to us. In verse four, our closing verse, John speaks have one more incredible, hope filled promise, “God will wipe away every tear from our eyes”, their eyes, “though now we long for Christ’s return, we should long with great anticipation because for every burden we’ve ever carried, every loss we’ve endured every fear that’s held us captive, every worry that’s entangled us”, John tells us, “He will wipe away every tear. Our new heavenly home will be unspoiled and unsoiled by grief and mourning.

04:47 - Only joy and gladness will remain for all eternity.” HS: Amen. Oh, my gosh, I’m like, I’m choking back the tears because I love that God’s Word did not end without hope. That He gave us such hope in Revelation 21 and 22. And so we see the fall in Genesis 3, and like Joel said in a previous video, sometimes he skips Genesis one and two, and we go right to the fall. And so we see this place where the fall happened and Eden was broken.

05:18 - And so depending on your translation, you may see it as Eden restored, or the New Jerusalem. And so I love that God gives us that. He doesn’t leave us on this world, or on earth, with despair and fear. And so we are so excited that we get to continue studying together. And so Kendra, I would love for you to share a couple of different ways for us to stay connected with God’s Word now that this study is wrapping up. KS: Yes. Okay, I love this. So there are five ways you can get involved.

05:50 - Number one, get involved in your local church. We believe that community is so important. So finding a church that fits your needs, and that you enjoy going to is very, very important. And we would love for you to encourage you to do that. Number two is to join a small group. So it’s important, like we said, with community to have those people that you can share the burdens with and talk through different things that you’re learning.

06:13 - That’s also important whether that small group is online or in person. Number three is we have every book of the Bible in our First 5 app, because over five years, we’ve gone through 66 books, and all those are archived for you if you want to do that plan. Number four is Online Bible Studies has archived studies that you can go back through if, depending on what topic you want to study, whether that be disappointment, or marriage, and you dig right into your Bibles about those specific topics. And then number five is you can go into what is highlighted in your actual study guides. So those things that God spoke to you that maybe you circled or starred or highlighted, those are things that God wanted to speak to you directly.

06:55 - And so maybe go back and unpack those a little bit more. So those are five ways that you can get involved. And we hope you continue to study the Bible when this all wraps up. But everyone, before we close out our video, we have one of the best parts, which is 60 second theology, with Joel. And so Joel, this is the week that you have to redeem yourself. JM: What happened last week? I’m lost? KS: Yes. He went over by two seconds everybody. So can you believe it? So you have time to redeem yourself, like we study the longing of redemption… HS: with an audience. KS: Yes. With the audience. And so… JM: Extra stress? It’s good. KS: Yeah. So we’re very excited for you. So I’m gonna have Hannah hold this, the timer for you. HS: And maybe if you need to phone a friend, you know, we have all of our Proverbs theologians sitting on a couch. KS: Yeah, this is great. So the question we would love for you to answer is, what Bible figure do you most identify with? And why? JM: Do I have to be honest? HS: I hope so, yes. JM: Okay, all right.

07:56 - So I would say, for me, the Bible figure that I want to identify with is Paul, because Paul is ideally he’s Princeton, he’s Oxford, right? He’s like, he writes majorities in the New Testament. Like who doesn’t want to be Paul? And yet I am so not Paul. I think I relate way closer to Peter. Yes, friends, Peter. The one who attempts to cut off Malchus’ head, but cuts off his ear. Peter, home boy, you got no business having a sword in your hand. The Peter who is so excited because he’s got faith to walk on water, and then realizes the waves are a real deal and his faith shatters and he falls, like drowning.

08:34 - The Peter who denies Jesus, but yet what I love about Peter, and what I’m grateful for that we have in Peter in the Scriptures is that Peter is honest, thanks for the time. 10 seconds, Peter’s honest and he asked great questions so that we can get Jesus’s great answers. KS: How do you feel? Did he do it? HS: 58 seconds. He did it! JM: Thanks. Thanks to Wendy because she gave me the 10 second, yeah, she, I mean, she really helped me. Otherwise I would still be talking about Peter. WB: I didn’t want to see you treat him poorly again. KS: I’ve just got to keep him humble. All right. All right. HS: Well, friends, this has been such an honor studying with you, I cannot believe we can’t believe that we are at the end of this study. And so again, God has said something so great. Kendra shared five amazing tips to keep going. This time with the Lord does not stop here. And so we are so grateful.

09:30 - Here at Proverbs, we end every video with this, and we believe this to the depths of our core and so the truth when we share about the truth is God’s Word and that’s what we got to study the past eight weeks together. So here Proverbs, we believe… All: When you know the truth and live the truth, it changes everything. All: Bye. .