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1 Kings 19:11-13
Matthew 11:28-30
Jeremiah 29:12-13
Luke 19:29-35
John 16:8
John 14:6
Philippians 4:7
Prv 11:14; Dt 19:15; and Mt 18:16
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God?
You?
The world?
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Handout for Spiritual Examination and Confession
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Sermon has been edited – there was a lot of discussion and participation that didn’t record well.
Luke 12:22-34
Worry: A sense of uneasiness and anxiety about the future. [1]
“You cannot reason people out of positions they didn’t reason themselves into.”
-Ben Goldacre, MD (Paraphrased from Jonathan Swift)
What causes you to worry?
What helps you to stop worrying or to worry less?
More images for Bible verse memorization here
[1] Manser, M. H. (2009). Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser.
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Lord’s Prayer Exercises sourced from Ministry Matters
Go line by line, so that the general structure of the prayer is the same, but think in terms of your own spiritual vocabulary and theological concerns. Read your version aloud in worship and invite others to do their own.
One example:
O God
who reigns over everything,
holy are you.
Help us to live out your kingdom,
seeking your will in all we do,
and bringing the ways of heaven down to earth.
Lord, you know just what we need.
Forgive us for always wanting more.
Help us to forgive others as you forgive us.
Help us to resist temptation
And to fight our tendency toward evil.
For it is you we serve, Lord of all.
You are powerful, you are glorious.
You are the everlasting God.
Amen.
Our Father
How do you address God? What images of God do you most easily connect with? Father?Mother? Shepherd? King?
Who art in Heaven
What is God’s position in the universe? Does God reside primarily in Heaven?
Hallowed be thy name
How do you express God’s holiness? How do you define holiness?
Thy kingdom come
What does the Kingdom of God look like? How does God’s kingdom come to earth?
Thy will be done
What would it mean to want what God wants? How do you know what God’s will is?
On earth as it is in Heaven
How can we make earth more heaven-like? What is Heaven like?
Give us this day our daily bread
Do we really trust God to give us what we need? What would it be like to live with only what you really need?
And forgive us our sins
What do we need forgiveness for? Some Bible translations use the word “debts” instead of “sins;” what do each of these words indicate about the nature of sin?
As we forgive those who sin against us
Why should we forgive others? Why is it so hard to forgive?
And lead us not into temptation
Does God tempt us? Does Satan? Is it wrong to be tempted?
But deliver us from evil
Do you believe in evil spirits or powers? Do you believe there is evil in each of us? How are we delivered from something that is within us?
For thine is the Kingdom
What does it mean for God to be ruler over everything? How does that affect the way we pray?
And the power and the glory, forever and ever
Do you believe God is all-powerful? What does it mean to give God glory? If God is eternal, how do you think God views us and our world?
Read the traditional Lord’s Prayer slowly, pausing after each line to let the words soak in. Read it in a different version of the Bible than you are used to. Read it in a paraphrase like The Message or a totally new translation like the Common English Bible. If you have even passing knowledge of another language, try reading it in that language.
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Text: Luke 9:57-62
Jesus had just sent out the “apostles” without rod, or bag, or bread, or silver, or change of clothes. Yet, they lacked nothing (See Luke 22:35 )
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied…
The first (vv. 57, 58) was eager to follow the Lord, but it seems that homelessness was too great an obstacle to him
Jesus said to him, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but…
The second (vv. 59, 60) wanted first to bury his father. It may be that the man was gravely ill, and required him to stay longer, or that his father was already dead—yet even a day’s delay was too long for our Lord. The man was to begin at that instant to ‘preach the kingdom of God’.
“Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”
The last (vv. 61, 62) wanted to bid his family ‘goodbye’. When Elisha had asked for this long before, the request was granted (1 Kings 19:20). Yet here the Son of God wanted to teach the extreme importance of his message; it was more urgent even than Elijah’s, and he could not wait. Eternity depended on it, and hesitation disqualified people from true service. Such a person was like a man driving a plough and not looking where he was going and beginning to plough uneven furrows.
Are we more committed to our relatives than to Christ?
In sharing the good news of Jesus today, do we sufficiently stress the hardships of following Christ?
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Power is the ability to do something
Authority is the right to do it;
The apostles had both
Compare Apostles’ Audience in Luke’s vs. Matthew’s Matt. 10:5–6
Preach the Good News (What is the Good News so far?)
Heal the afflicted.
Not to be a vacation,
They were exhorted to “travel light”
Live by faith.
As they went out two by two to serve Him, they had to trust Jesus to enable them to do what He told them to do
They Had enough: They lacked ‘nothing’ (Luke 22:35)