Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty

Following each teaching session is a collection of comments from interviews with contemporary Christian leaders who explain how a biblical appreciation of God’s character has affected their own lives and ministries. Among these men are Sinclair Ferguson (Dundee, Scotland), Steve Lawson (Dallas, TX), Joel Beeke (Grand Rapids, MI), Anthony Mathenia (Radford, VA), Conrad Mbewe (Lusaka, Zambia), Jordan Thomas (Memphis, TN), Ian Hamilton (Inverness, Scotland), Geoff Thomas (Aberystwyth, Wales), Jeremy Walker (Crawley, England), Garry Williams (London, England), and Andrew Davies (Cwmbran, South Wales).

A NOTE FROM DR. JOHN SNYDER

When the Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically study was released in 2013, we felt (as did many others) that the evangelical churches needed to face some hard questions. Many had carefully traced the symptoms of an internal decay within evangelicalism, a decay that was occurring even while outwardly there appeared to be continued successes. Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically was written with the desire to help stir God’s people by pointing them back to the fountainhead—God Himself. Precious time was being wasted as Western evangelicals attempted to fix the external problems. It was our belief that the surest hope of a cure was to deal with the root issue, and that root issue appeared to be an inadequate understanding of our own God.

The response to that study, by God’s grace, has been far greater than we could have imagined. During the last five years the emails, letters, and personal testimonies of those who have benefitted from the study have been gratefully received. It is always humbling to see God use our efforts as a part of something far greater than anything we could accomplish. Within these communications there has been a recurrent question: where do I go to find more resources on the character of God? Thankfully, there are many fine treatments of God’s perfections. Often, however, they are either very large or very complex books. In response to this question, we have put together this new study dealing primarily with the attributes of God rather than ways the evangelical church often lives below His self-revelation. In a sense, The Weight of Majesty is a continuation of the theme we explored in week one of Rethinking God Biblically—that God Himself is the great attraction of the Christian life. By His help we hope to continue going deeper into the themes that were introduced in the original study through several forthcoming installments in the Behold Your God series.

Nothing is so satisfying for the true Christian as an ever-increasing and experiential knowledge of our God. This cannot be gained safely without diligently searching the Bible. Therefore, the real purpose of this book is to guide you back into those passages which contain some of the most significant descriptions of God. Avoid the temptation to merely get through the exercises without wrestling honestly with these matters. Sit long at the feet our Heavenly Father and ask Him to tell you about Himself. We know it is too easy to check a box, fill in the blank with the correct word, and move on unaffected. Don’t settle for undigested concepts or merely emotional responses to passages. Plead with God to help you adjust everything in life to fit what you are learning about Him. Bring both your mind and heart together, and bow before God in real worship as you study each day, until like Job you feel compelled to say, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You!” You will not be disappointed with the Living God.

May this study be a lifelong friend as we labor to live unto God.

— DR JOHN D SNYDER

NOTE

The Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty 13-DVD Set does not include a Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty workbook. The Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty 13-DVD Set does include a leader’s guide. The leader’s guide is packaged within the 13-DVD Set.