Contentment in the Father's presence
One of the abiding questions that a preacher always faces is, 'What did they hear/interpret when I said ______________ ?' As I was writing the sermon for last night's Theophany service, I was especially curious to know how the community would respond to this statement I made: 'Jesus is completely comfortable with His Father and because of the great amount of time he spent in his presence, he knew the Father’s heartbeat for his life and for the world.' I believe many people who are seeking to be faithful to the Lord would want the same thing to be said of their life with the Father.
Now I present that question to you for another purpose than simply satisfying my curiosity as a preacher. I present this question because I believe it would be a good conversation to continue as a community, and I believe the Holy Spirit will 'guide us into more truth' if we continue talking about this issue.
To set up the topic a bit, I believe it would help us to consider a few traits of Jesus' relationship with the Father. The first thing I notice about Jesus is that he repeatedly referred to himself as 'the Son' throughout the Gospels, especially in Mark and John. That's important because it shows us that the core of Jesus' identity is being the Child of God. Secondly, it shows us that, no matter how many ways Jesus was pulled, no matter how many demands he had on his time, he never compromised intimacy with the Father. He was completely free to admit that his relationship with the Father was more than a 'priority'--it was breathing life.
As we consider those two ways that Jesus related with the Father, I offer these two questions for discussion:
1. What challenges or distractions in our lives keep us from remembering that our core identity is simply being a daughter or son of the Father? Have requirements on us(whether from work, family, or society) to be 'productive' or to maintain a certain image held us back from the freedom of simply being a child of God?
2. When we talk about 'knowing the Father's heartbeat for our lives and for his world,' what excites you about hearing the Father speak in this way? What have been some difficulties in the past that keep us from hearing the Father speak to our hearts like he spoke with Jesus?
As usual, if those questions aren't that clear, I'll change them around a bit if you all ask me to. If not, I'll look forward to hearing God speak through our discussions. May the Lord lead us into deeper intimacy with him and deeper relationships with one another.
Blessings
Jack
Now I present that question to you for another purpose than simply satisfying my curiosity as a preacher. I present this question because I believe it would be a good conversation to continue as a community, and I believe the Holy Spirit will 'guide us into more truth' if we continue talking about this issue.
To set up the topic a bit, I believe it would help us to consider a few traits of Jesus' relationship with the Father. The first thing I notice about Jesus is that he repeatedly referred to himself as 'the Son' throughout the Gospels, especially in Mark and John. That's important because it shows us that the core of Jesus' identity is being the Child of God. Secondly, it shows us that, no matter how many ways Jesus was pulled, no matter how many demands he had on his time, he never compromised intimacy with the Father. He was completely free to admit that his relationship with the Father was more than a 'priority'--it was breathing life.
As we consider those two ways that Jesus related with the Father, I offer these two questions for discussion:
1. What challenges or distractions in our lives keep us from remembering that our core identity is simply being a daughter or son of the Father? Have requirements on us(whether from work, family, or society) to be 'productive' or to maintain a certain image held us back from the freedom of simply being a child of God?
2. When we talk about 'knowing the Father's heartbeat for our lives and for his world,' what excites you about hearing the Father speak in this way? What have been some difficulties in the past that keep us from hearing the Father speak to our hearts like he spoke with Jesus?
As usual, if those questions aren't that clear, I'll change them around a bit if you all ask me to. If not, I'll look forward to hearing God speak through our discussions. May the Lord lead us into deeper intimacy with him and deeper relationships with one another.
Blessings
Jack
posted by Theophany@Church Street | 11:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home