1. Part 2

2. A
“FIRST-LOVE” LESSON
FROM THE
OLD TESTAMENT!

3. God spoke to Jacob: “Go back to Bethel
God spoke to Jacob: “Go back to Bethel. Stay there and build an altar to the God who revealed himself to you when you were running for your life from your brother Esau.” Jacob told his family and all those who lived with him, “Throw out all the alien gods which you have, take a good bath and put on clean clothes, we’re going to Bethel. I’m going to build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and has stuck with me everywhere I’ve gone since.”
(Genesis 35:1-3, The Message)

4. God revealed himself once again to Jacob…and blessed him: “Your name is Jacob (Heel); but that’s your name no longer. From now on your name is Israel (God-Wrestler).” God continued, “I am The Strong God. Have children! Flourish! A nation—a whole company of nations!—will come from you. Kings will come from your loins; the land I gave Abraham and Isaac I now give to you, and pass it on to your descendants” (vv. 9-12).

5. (Genesis 28:10-19, 22; The Message)
REMEMBERING BETHEL…
(Genesis 28:10-19, 22; The Message)
Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it. Then GOD was right before him, saying, “I am GOD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.

6. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.”

7. Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, “GOD is in this place—truly
Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, “GOD is in this place—truly. And I didn’t even know it!” He was terrified. He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven.” Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it.

8. He christened the place Bethel (God’s House)
He christened the place Bethel (God’s House). The name of the town had been Luz until then…This stone that I have set up as a memorial pillar will mark this as a place where God lives. And everything you give me, I’ll return a tenth to you.
(Genesis 28:10-19, 22; The Message)

9. Jacob’s reaction is understandable:
This “grandson of Abraham” would be given the same promise God gave his grandfather, that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed…
“All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you” (vv ).
Jacob’s reaction is understandable:
He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven” (v. 17).

10. Jacob takes the very stone that had been his pillow and turns it into a pillar of praise to God.
Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar… (v. 18).

11. THIRTEEN
BACK TO BETHEL
“FIRST-LOVE”
INDICATORS

12. BACK TO BETHEL… 1. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR ONE:
“BETHELS REPRESENT DIVINE ____________ MORE THAN SPECIFIC __________.”
ENCOUNTERS
LOCATIONS

13. BACK TO BETHEL… 2. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR TWO:
“BETHELS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS ______________ AND INVOLVE GOD’S __________ PRESENCE.”
SUPERNATURAL
MANIFEST

14. BACK TO BETHEL… 3. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR THREE:
“BETHELS FREQUENTLY OCCUR DURING _________ OF ___________ OR DESPERATION.”
SEASONS
DIFFICULTY

15. BACK TO BETHEL… 4. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR FOUR:
“BETHELS OFTEN INCLUDE ___________ PROMISES FROM GOD FOR THE _______.”
PROPHETIC
FUTURE

16. BACK TO BETHEL… 5. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR FIVE:
“BETHELS ARE RELATIVELY ______ AND ARE OFTEN LIFE-CHANGING, ‘DEFINING __________’ IN ONE’S LIFE.”
RARE
MOMENTS

17. BACK TO BETHEL… 6. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR SIX:
“BETHELS MOST OFTEN OCCUR DURING ________ OF ___________.”
SEASONS
TRANSITION

18. “BETHELS OFTEN INCLUDE A _______ OF THE __________.”
BACK TO BETHEL… 7. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR SEVEN:
“BETHELS OFTEN INCLUDE A _______ OF THE __________.”
VISION
INVISIBLE

19. BACK TO BETHEL… 8. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR EIGHT:
“BETHELS _______ TO US THE AWESOME ___________ OF GOD.”
REVEAL
GREATNESS

20. BACK TO BETHEL… 9. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR NINE:
“BETHELS OFTEN IMPACT ___________ SEASONS OF ONE’S
____.”
PROLONGED
LIFE

21. BACK TO BETHEL… 10. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR TEN:
“BETHELS HELP ________ ONE’S PERSONAL ________.”
CLARIFY
DESTINY

22. BACK TO BETHEL… 11. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR ELEVEN:
“BETHELS ALMOST ALWAYS ________ A PERSONAL _________.”
INVOLVE
SACRIFICE

23. BACK TO BETHEL… 12. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR TWELVE:
“BETHELS SELDOM HAPPEN IN A ________ OF _________.”
CLIMATE
COMFORT

24. BACK TO BETHEL… 13. “FIRST-LOVE” INDICATOR THIRTEEN:
“BETHELS ARE SOMETIMES _______ OR ___________ EXPERIENCES!”
SHARED
CORPORATE