The Bible is a photo album of God's only son, Jesus. This album consists, not of colorful, glossy images, but of beautiful 3-D word pictures. We are shown ultrasound photos of His son hundreds of years before he was ever born into humanity. These glimpses into God's pregnant thoughts reveal to us a mighty hope. Listen and picture this … "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6-7) God bragged about His son before he was ever born! He was a proud Father and forever will be.
Each one of you is in God's photo album, too! You are His creation and He loves you with an everlasting love. Listen and you'll see yourself as the person God created you to be … a child of God (John 1:12), Christ's friend (John 15:15), a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), chosen by God, holy and dearly loved (Col. 3:12, 1 Thess. 1:4), a child of light and not of darkness (1 Thess. 5:5), a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession (1 Peter 2:9,10), and born of God, untouchable by the devil (1 John 5:18). These are only a few of the many, many images that show you a glimpse of His love, a gander at how proud He is of you, and an opportunity to grasp His promises for your life.
These are also images of those you know who live each day without hope, without the security of a relationship with their Heavenly Father. These orphans have no need to suffer alone because God signed their adoption papers over two thousand years ago. He is excitedly awaiting their homecoming, the picture perfect moment that will make His photo album complete.
Ask each member of your small group to bring in a photo of someone they know who needs God in their life. These people can be someone who has never had a personal relationship with Christ or someone who has, but due to circumstances has fallen away from that relationship. Collect the photos and make Xerox copies of them, one photo on each half sheet of paper, then staple them together. Give each member of your group one of these outreach albums and ask them to prayerfully write a Scripture, God's descriptive image of who He created them to be, under each photo. Encourage them to pray daily for each person and claim God's promise of the Scripture for their life. Periodically open up your prayer time for the purpose of corporately praying for these select people. Keep track of praise reports as God works in their lives. Encourage those who know the people directly to continue building a relationship with them while showing them God's love in practical ways. If the person lives in the area pray for the opportunity to invite them to your small group.
