14 June 2020 - 11am Service
Living Inside Out | Becoming
Dave and Amy are hosting this morning from the Foyer. The service will include worship led by April Ballard with our Woodlands worship team, plus Philip will sharing a message with us as part of our series 'Living Inside Out' on 'Becoming'. Joe from Devo and Abi, one of our young people, will be praying about on racial injustice. It's also Global Partners Sunday and Johnny Walker caught up with Josh Rutere in Kenya to find out what's happening there.
STUDY NOTES
Becoming | Galatians 5:16 and 2 Corinthians 3:18
'We are being transformed into his image with ever increasing glory'.
Introduction
Most of the things we place our value on are temporary (Marriage, job, location, health, etc). At best they are only for a lifetime. Our souls are made for eternity however, we are on a spiritual journey of soul care, spiritual growth which looks like transformation from the inside out. Who I'm becoming is more important than what I'm doing (though they affect one another).
Questions
How does what I'm doing in life right now affect who I'm becoming (and vice versa)?
Galatians talks about Spiritual fruit. What is the difference between the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit?
It's easy to invest in our 'outer' humanity, to pursue education or physical fitness (or a romance!). How do we pursue and invest in spiritual growth?
Imitating Jesus can be in his character (what he was like) and in conduct (the things he did. How are you pursuing imitating Christ?
One way we can imitate Jesus in character and action at the same time is by being generous and giving to those in need. A book about Mother Theresa was called 'Something beautiful for God'. What have you seen in others spirituality that you could describe as beautiful?
What place does 'dying to self' have in becoming more like Jesus? Do we have to 'die' to our selves or let our selves be full of Him? What's the difference?
Practice
Matthew 6:2-4 talks about giving (almsgiving) to the poor in secret to be rewarded by your Father in secret. It's about doing the things the Father himself does. Review your giving. How much do you give to the poor? Do you know any poor people? What does it feel like to do a generous deed? What might you do with and for the Father this week that is secretly generous? Are you becoming more or less generous as you grow older?
Resources
Woodlands giving page:
https://www.woodlandschurch.net/giving
Woodlands Global Partnerships Fund offering page:
https://www.woodlandschurch.net/offering