Below is a summary of the week and some questions to ask in your Tribe. Feel free to use any of the resources at the bottom too! The idea is that we are growing in our connection with God.
Hello, it's great to see you!
This week we continued our series "Jesus the Disrupter." When we think about Jesus a lot of words come to mind. Healer, Redeemer and Savior are some just to name a few. “Disruptor” is not normally a descriptor often associated with Jesus. But it is the best one to describe how Jesus changed the world! He disrupted the status quo when it came to the way people related to God. He came and showed us a better way.
Mike Tyson once said, "Everybody has a plan, until you get punched in the face." This is the same as life. We go about our business and we make plans for the future and along comes something that "punches us in the face" and disrupts our plans. God views us as his children, and just like how our children can disrupt our lives and make us feel like we have failed as a parent, God understands that feeling when we go against him as well. His first kids he formed and placed on the earth were given the freedom to do anything and eat anything, except from one tree. Then the serpent, the enemy, came in and disrupted what God actually told them and made God's word twist into a lie that deceived Adam and Eve into sinning.
KEY SCRIPTURES
KEY POINTS
The Birth of our "sin" Problem:
1. Phase One - The Lie (Genesis 3:4-5)
The devil has two lies that he uses at two different stages. Before we commit a sin, he tells us that one little sin doesn’t matter — “no one will know.” The second lie is that after we’ve sinned he tells us we’re hopeless. Every wrongful pattern in our lives starts with a lie. The lie might be I need this (drugs, alcohol, sex etc.) or I can’t live without this person, therefore I am going to compromise my beliefs to keep them in my life. The lie leads to phase two of the birth of sin...
2. Phase Two - The Lure (Genesis 3:6)
It appears that Adam and Eve never paid attention to this tree until Satan drew their attention towards it. They were so occupied with their life and mission that God designed them for, but Satan draws their attention to this tree. The tree they used to ignore now they are examining and contemplating eating from. The lure is the temptation to defy the boundaries that were laid out for us for our protection.
3. Phase Three - The Lifestyle (Genesis 3:6-7)
Sin enters the world first through the serpent and his pride to overthrow God. And then even Adam's pride to want to have the knowledge of God. And so now sin is available to human beings to pick up and to serve as they live their life. Some people believe we are born into sin already, and some people believe that what Adam did gave everyone the ability to sin. Either way, there is always the temptation of sin in our lives and once we let it in, it is harder to get rid of the sin. Once we let sin become such a habit in our lives, it then turns into a lifestyle and shapes our lives.
But there is hope when we seek Jesus and allow him to disrupt our lives. We can see this in the story of the disciple Matthew, a tax collector who was very wealthy and success, but was hates and did not have a very joyful or fulfilling life.
Jesus's "sin" Solution:
1. Jesus wants to meet us in our mess (Matthew 9:9-11)
Jesus loves sinners. Jesus shows up and connect and help people like you and me get out of places of brokenness and bondage.
2. Jesus wants to mentor you out of your mess (Matthew 9:9)
It has been said, “You can lead someone to a place you have never been." Jesus invited Matthew to follow him into freedom. That's why God often uses the metaphor of sheep and shepherd when it comes to our relationship with his Son Jesus. Because sheep don't intend to get lost when they're just focused on one thing their own food but they meander off and they wander off and it's not until they look up far too late that they realized that they're alone and scared. They need a shepherd to guide them.
For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25
If you haven't yet watched the sermon from this past weekend, we encourage you to check it out. The current sermon video will be available this Tuesday. Click on the link below to view:
Recent TVC Sermon Video
1. Have you ever thought of the story of Adam and Eve as God giving them Freedom?
2. What lies, lures, and lifestyles do you find yourself trapped in? How would it be to let Jesus into that mess?
3. How can your Tribe support you this week?