Sermon: Majesty – Jesus Engaged Culture
Text: Colossians 1:13-14, John 3:19, Genesis 3:1-6, Proverbs 14:12-13, Ezekiel 36: 26-27
Introduction
In the message this week, Pastor Charlton reminds us of how we are rescued from the darkness of our culture. A darkness that is subtle but permeates our thinking and action and draws us away from God. Many times in church, our focus has been on doing the right thing, rather being the right people. We encourage behavior modification without engaging the heart. Only when we deal with our hearts and turn it towards God, can we experience lasting joy and peace in our lives.
Discussion Questions
- When you think of heroic rescue, what movie or movie scene comes to your mind? What happened in the movie?
- What does “having faith” mean? In what situation is having faith in God easy for you? What does that look like? In what situation is having faith in God difficult for you? What do you do in those difficult situations?
- What does authenticity look like? How can we encourage more authenticity within our group? What are some of the things that stand in the way of authenticity?
Moving Forward
One of my favorite hymns is “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” In particular, there’s a line in that hymn that says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” It describes the natural tendency of the human heart, especially the Christian heart. Our tendency is to chase after the next best thing we think is going to make us happy. But these things have only external and ephemeral effects on our well-being. They only give us an excuse not to deal with the root of the problem, our hearts. So it’s important to re-examine our hearts each day as we live in God’s presence.
