7 June 2020 - 11am Service
Living Inside Out | Identity
Tim and Laura are hosting this morning from Laura's garden in Clutton. The service will include worship led by Luke Wareham with our Woodlands worship team, plus Clare will be kicking off our new preaching series 'Living Inside Out' and sharing a message about our identity in Christ. Rob and Jen will be leading us as we pray for our world, particularly focusing on racial injustice.
STUDY NOTES
Introduction
The events of this Spring, the pandemic, a lock-down and the challenge presented to organisations, including churches and businesses, have all conspired to shake people's identity. We take our significance from our relationships and our activities, the things we do in work & recreation. We have often been separated from key relationships and communities. We have become unable to work as normal and may not able to enjoy some of our sport and leisure activities.
From an eternal perspective what counts is who we are becoming. It's an inside out life, knowing God is our Father and living out of a relationship with Him through what Jesus has done in giving us His Spirit.
This is a great time to develop a life in Christ that is for eternity, not just a pandemic. Over June we will be looking at 'life inside out'. We will reference different verses from the New Testament around our titles, but Matthew Chapter 6 (which can be described as a secret history with God) frames some practices linked with the principles we are teaching about.
Read the passage in Romans 8:15-17.
Questions
How do I get my identity without being over dependent on external voices and circumstances?
These verses speak of 'the spirit of sonship'. What qualifies us to be identified as children of God?
Jesus demonstrated a unique relationship with God, calling him 'Abba'. At His baptism (Luke 3:21-22) we see the Father's relationship with and the Father's pleasure in Jesus. What was the source of that pleasure? Can you identify times when you have felt that sort of intimacy and God's pleasure in you?
What had Jesus done to earn his identity as God's son? Do you feel you still need to earn the right to be called a child of God?
What place does baptism have in shaping our identity as followers of Jesus? Have you been baptised as a grown-up follower of Jesus? What is your story?
How does knowing you are God's child and loved by Him help you cope with external pressures from people, and the need to earn the affirmation and popularity of others?
A key dynamic in knowing our identity as children of God is that we pray with confidence to our Father. Jesus taught his disciples to use the simple Aramaic baby phrase for Father, abba, (like daddy) when he taught them to pray (Matthew 6:9). How confident are we to pray to God with that simplicity?
Practice
Romans 8 goes on to speak about prayer, and Jesus in Matthew 6 tells us to pray in secret to our Father. This week practice prayer in 'secret' places. Try and pray out loud. Try calling God 'daddy'. Does that feel Ok or disrespectful? Many Christians are self-conscious praying out loud because they feel their prayers are not theological enough. Try praying simple prayers believing God really loves you and it's ok to ask Him for what you want.