Connect How have you been strengthened by the gospel, through the letter to the Romans?

Warm-Up

1. When you read a part of the Bible that perplexes you, how do you respond?

2. What do you find most helpful when reading parts of the Bible that are confusing?

3. Is the authority of Godʼs Word dependent on our understanding? Why or why not?

Read Ezekiel 1:5-28

4. How old was Ezekiel (or soon to be) when he received this vision? What is the significance of this age?

5. What should he have been expecting to do as he turned 30? Why was that not going to happen?

6. What had happened to some of the people in Israel? What questions might they have been asking?

7. Do you ever feel like God has abandoned you? How is this a reminder that God is always with us?

Read Ezekiel 1:5-28

8. Step through Ezekielʼs vision and identify all of the main elements. Do you find this hard to imagine?

9. What parts of this vision do you find most strange? What do you think it would have been like for Ezekiel to experience? How would you feel if you experienced something like this?

10. How many times does Ezekiel describe things as ʻlikeʼ something else? How is this a clue that Ezekiel is struggling to put his experience into words? Have you ever struggled to describe something with words?

11. What is the ʻkeyʼ to understanding the ʻbig pictureʼ of what Ezekiel is seeing? (cf. verse 28)

12. What does the word ʻgloryʼ mean? What points to the Lordʼs glory in this passage?

13. What do these three ʻomniʼ words mean? Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent.

14. How does Ezekielʼs vision point to these three aspects of who God is?

15. Can we fully comprehend God? Does that also mean that God is unknowable? (Why or why not?)

16. What is the ultimate cause of the gap between us and God?

17. Why canʼt we stand in Godʼs glory unveiled and live? What are examples in the Old Testament?

18. What was Ezekielʼs response to seeing the glory of God? What should be our response?

19. How has Jesus ʻbridgedʼ the gap? What is our future with regard to Godʼs glory?

Apply What does it look like each day to live in light of the glory of God?

Pray Gracious Father, thank you that you have chosen to reveal yourself to us through your Word, in your Son, and by the power of your Holy Spirit. Help us to humbly and faithfully receive your Word. In Jesusʼ Name, Amen

On Your Frontline this Week

Pray for the children and team at Holiday Kids Club, for discipleship opportunities, fun, and energy for everyone.

For Families • Download: some of the family resources to use at home: stbartskids.org

Listen, Watch, and Read • Listen (sermon): “The Glory of God” by Tim Keller: https://gospelinlife.com/sermon/the-glory-of-god/ • Listen (sermon): “Godʼs Watchman” by Vaughn Roberts: https://stebbes.org/sermons/gods-watchman/#sermons • Listen (sermon): “God arrives in Babylon” by Chris Wright: https://www.allsouls.org/Media/AllMedia.aspx?show_media=49775&show_file=58223 • Watch (video): “Ezekiel 1-33 Overview” by the Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/videos/ezekiel-1-33/

Series Resources • Book: “A Doubterʼs Guide to the Bible” by John Dickson. • Book: “Against the Darkness: The Doctrine of Angels, Satan, and Demons” by Graham Cole. • Book: “The Message of Ezekiel” by Christopher Wright. • Book: “Reading the Bible for All Itʼs Worth” by Gordon Fee. Available to borrow from the St Bartʼs Library (Toowoomba): stbarts.com.au/library