We’ve changed the format of our evening service at church. We’re calling it Quest. It has a discipleship emphasis, so after the sermon we provide questions which people discuss around their tables afterwards. It’s been well received by all ages and I’va had a lot of good feedback from young adults. Our current topic is “Meeting God” and we’re discussing the three persons of the Trinity. These are some notes and questions from my talk/sermon at Quest:

God created us as relational beings—we naturally want friends and relationships.

mySpace—Facebook—myChurch
I am on all three “social networks” so I can connect with people. I love getting “friend requests” and connecting with new people or old friends. But there’s definitely a dark side to the web and what one can see on sites like mySpace. While we can argue about whether Jesus would be on mySpace, but we can also see how God becomes flesh and enters our space. John 1: 14 reveals that He’s become part of mySpace…OurSpace…. God, in the person of Jesus, came to “friend request” us.

Everything in Xnty hinges on Jesus—it’s what separates us from other religions. Jesus is not just a prophet, wise man, etc. He is the centerpiece of Christian faith and who He is affects everything we know about God

Colossians 1:15-19 reveals that if we want to see, know understand God the Father, we need to look at Jesus—who loves us & pursues (friend requests) us.
Jesus is special: 2 natures—human and divine
Some of us don’t have a problem admitting his divinity…it’s the other part of his nature that is hard for some people to comprehend at times, but Jesus was human too (Philippians 2:6-8).

For a time, Jesus gave up his position and humbled himself, took on Humanity and “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). If Jesus is really human—then we can admit we are too.

We clean the house when guests are coming, but friends know how you live. We can’t be ‘super spiritual’ and don’t have to “because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18).” and Jesus calls us friends ( John 15:14-15) when we follow Him. We don’t need to impress Jesus (or others) with how spiritual we are, we need to run to him.

When we deny the humanity of Jesus, we teach ourselves that to be human is to be the opposite of spiritual. Jesus was as spiritual as we can be, but he was also fully human. We don’t want to embrace a lifestyle that embraces sin (Romans 6:1-4), but we can admit that we all struggle and fall. Jesus understands (Hebrews 4:15).

Discussion Questions:
The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully human and fully God. Which part is easiest for you to understand or emphasize? Is it easy to emphasize certain aspects of who Jesus is and ignore others?

Have you, or someone you know, ever felt the need to be “super spiritual” and deny the struggles people go through—anger, depression, etc.? Why do some people seem to think that not having struggles makes them more spiritual?

Read John 15:14-15. Describe your best friend growing up. What was your relationship like? Do we spend time with Jesus? Are we often in a hurry to get through our time with Him in order to get to something else? What does this tell us about our relationship with Jesus? If you’re bored, tired, just ‘blah’ or losing ground in your relationship with Jesus, what can you do to get back on track?

Read Philippians 2:5-11. Everything we want to avoid—pain, loss, hurt—is what Jesus chose for himself when he became like us. Why would he do that? When we suffer, our comfort is in that he lived, suffered, died and rose again. We have a “high priest” who can sympathize with our suffering. How is that comforting?

Bonus: Let us know what you’re thinking…
What things are hard for you to understand about Jesus? Does Jesus ever seem different to you than the God of the Old Testament? Post your struggles/questions or email me.

We’ve been working on a series of messages on Sunday night centering around the theme of “getting off the sidelines and into the game”—of serving God with everything He created you to be.

The main ideas of series: You are a Minister—not about a title (our human nature often makes us want one), but about living the calling God has on your life. Everyone has a ministry (place of service) where God calls them. Check out Ephesians 2:10 to see what I mean.

Growing up, I had a mechanical monkey that pretty much only did one thing: clap. (Except when it was broken!) That’s what it was wired for—and that’s what it did. God has wired us for a purpose–we’re meant to do something.

Recently, I read on a Chipotle cup: “if your life’s work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you’re not thinking big enough.”

We’re hardwired to love, serve & know God—if you are a believer, it is our second nature.

Psalm 139 reads, in part…
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:14

If we want to get into the game, we need to know what position to play
To know what position to play, we need to know how we were built.

A guitar chord is a combination of notes all played at the same time. It sounds best when all the right notes are played together. (In other words, when I’m not the one playing!) Just as each note contributes to the chord, each unique thing about how God created us contributes to how He has created us to serve. If we’re looking to get into the game, we need to use all the notes in the chord. We’ve talked about passion (holy discontent), personality (during VBS) and we’re now looking at talents.

talent: “a skill or ability placed in the core of your being, designed to enable you to fulfill your God intended purpose.”

In order to maximize our God-given talents, we need to:

Embrace how God created you
—instead of coveting the talents of others
Two Wolves

One evening an man told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, adultery, lust, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old man simply replied, “The one you feed.”

We need to feed the right wolf!
1. generally we need to choose what is right
2. learn to be satisfied and EMBRACE who God created us to be
–not who He created someone else to be
–not who we sometimes want to be
–not who we settle for being

Take time to develop talents so you’ll be ready

Use your talents, but rely on God

The talent you use at work may not be the one you use to serve/minister in church or to others.

How do I find my talents?

Discerning Questions:
What do you do well?
What interests you?
What do you enjoy doing? What brings you a lot of satisfaction?
What have you always wanted to do?

Sometimes our talents get labeled as weaknesses…
o Bossy—strong leader
o Over talkative—tells great stories
o Workaholic—exceptional producer
o Unrealistic person—dreamer that can inspire

I just can’t help, but wonder:
What if we used talents…what if we ALL used our God-given talents…

What do you do well?
I have the ability to consistently ______________ very well.
___________ has the ability to _______________ very well.

Challenge:
Find your talents and use them to serve God and others.
Good Books:
What Now by Marc Estes
Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
In the Meantime by Rob Brendle
(who I once saw at Wahoo’s while eating tacos with my friend Nate in Colorado Springs)