Well, good morning everyone.
As Nick has said, we're kicking off our annual vision series today.
This one is, in my view, particularly special
because it's the final one for Follow 25.
Follow 25, if you're relatively new around here,
is our five-year strategic plan
that was launched four years ago
to see the majority of us at St Paul's
growing in faith, growing in God confidence.
And over the past five years or four years,
we have learnt quite a lot
in terms of what does that look like in our day and age.
And so this vision series,
we're going to build on that work
by digging a bit deeper
into how we follow Jesus here at St Paul's
in this season, 21st century,
as we live out our purpose
of treasuring Jesus together for the joy of all people,
which is our purpose statement.
It's our statement which tries to capture, if you like,
both the great commandment and the great commission.
That is, the great commandment to love God and love people
and to make disciples of all nations.
So, you know, worship God, love each other,
and serve the world.
That's really what the three things
that we're on about here at St Paul's.
And so as we do that in our vision series,
we are planning to take our collective next step
to see lives flourish in Jesus in our city.
And the key to that,
which we want to get down to the nitty-gritty
through this vision series,
that for us to see lives flourishing
and for us to collectively take our next step,
we individually need to be intentionally
taking our next step to grow as disciples of Jesus.
So the thrust of what I am calling us to
over the course of this term
is to intentionally practice rhythms of grace,
what have been called godly habits,
spiritual disciplines over the centuries.
And this is a need for all of us.
None of us have got any of this right.
Some of us are stuck in a rut
and happy to be there.
Some of us don't even realise we're stuck in a rut.
So my call throughout this series
will be for us to intentionally follow Jesus
and to fulfil his purpose for us in life.
And that is that we would be transformed
into his image day by day.
Now, this is my 15th vision series at St Paul's.
It's been my privilege and my honour
to lead St Paul's for almost 16 years now.
It'll be coming up real soon.
The Ad of Mercy for that.
You're not marking it.
It's in my calendar.
I am so, so personally confident
that pursuing intentional Jesus,
intentional discipleship in Jesus Christ
is so absolutely right
in terms of what God has called us to.
It is my strong conviction
after nearly three decades of pastoral ministry
that treasuring Jesus above everything else
is what we all need
and to do it in every aspect of life
to him to be,
for us to fully surrender to him
is what every one of us needs to do
and yet it's the thing
that is often lacking in Western Christianity.
You may or may not remember
but back when I launched Follow 25,
my personal commitment
was that I was going to read
the Old Testament once
and Psalms and New Testament twice
every year
for the course of Follow 25
and so far I've been on track
for the past four years
and it's become more of a habit now
and much easier to do
after four years of slogging away at it.
I'm glad I've done it.
Over the past four years,
in conjunction with that,
I have faced many personal challenges
that have forced me
to go deeper in understanding myself
of seeing areas that needed to be changed in my life
and working on those areas.
And I'm grateful for God and his spirit.
I'm grateful for the community of saints
who have assisted and walked with me
and mentors and coaches
who have helped me through that process.
And so after four years
of following Christ in this process,
of Follow 25,
I have seen change in my life.
I feel more stable and content.
I have more mystery in life,
in the things of God.
I feel like I'm more restful in him
after four years of Follow 25.
And yet,
I come to this series
very conscious.
After walking with Jesus
for over three decades,
I struggle day by day
to live out the life of discipleship.
I am like you,
a sheep before I am a shepherd.
I'm conscious of the setbacks.
I'm conscious of the apathy
and the battle in my life to change.
And after 16 years of leading St. Paul's,
for those who've been around
the whole time of that,
you know that.
You can see straight through me.
That's the difficulty of standing up here
almost week after week after week.
I feel exposed and vulnerable
as I call us to surrender everything to Jesus.
I am a sheep like you
and I struggle to do that too.
I can bring it to you
with an element of sharpness
and clarity and humour
and conviction
and yet struggle to do it myself.
I'm a flawed saint
journeying with you.
For instance,
I need to crucify the love
of praise and affirmation
every day.
I have to crucify the desire
to make a name for myself
rather than a name for Christ.
I am drawn to security
and comfort and possessions.
I struggle with some of the fears
at 55
that I struggled with at 15
and I'm frustrated
by the lack of change in those areas,
the fear of rejection.
The fear of rejection.
The fear of looking foolish.
I have battled personal insecurity,
identity and social anxiety
all of my life.
I am prone to self-pity.
I feel it quickly
if I don't get the love
and the respect
the way that I want to.
I'm a lover of progress
and productivity
and so I constantly battle
the guilt around the use of my time.
procrastination is one thing
that I hate about myself.
I'm generally quick
on critical analysis
and problem solving
and decision making
and slower
on listening and compassion.
I love to praise God
with you
in this setting
and I'm very conscious
that I feel a constraint
in my own soul
when it's just me and God.
I constantly question
the motives of my heart
and so I question
the motives of yours
and others too.
I've loved my wife
imperfectly for 26 years.
and my children
imperfectly for 17 years.
I want to know God.
I want to know myself
and I want to see the gap
and the difference
between who I am
and what he's called me to.
And so I say all of that
and have it included everything
just simply to say
I'm with you
and I invite you
to take your next step
with me.
In the embrace
of our Saviour
who knows us
Saviour who is gentle
and humble
and tender
towards flawed saints
like me
and you
as we are made more
in his image this year.
so you will hear
tenderness
in this series
but you will also hear
or feel
some boots up the backside.
It's in the context
of a tender boot
if you like
because after 16 years
of leading St Paul's
I can say
that some of us
here have not even
moved to scratch.
I can say
in reflecting
in 16 years
there's been
no change
in some people
at St Paul's
in 16 years.
Your value systems
are still the same
your habits
are still the same
your priorities
are still the same.
in fact
for some of us here
I'm actually
seeing it get worse.
I'm seeing a decline
in discipleship.
There may be
a growth in
knowledge
but don't make
the mistake
that a growth
in knowledge
means transformation.
That's the mistake
of Western society.
And so
I invite you
to come on this
journey
and take your
next step.
And so today
we're really
just going to
start at the
beginning
of Christian
discipleship
where it all
begins
before we go
into the details
which is
following Jesus.
And so
four points
today
you'll see
them up
on the screen
and the first
point
who is Jesus?
Who do you
say I am?
That's the question
Jesus asked
his closest
followers
in Mark 8.
But just
before that
question
he also
asked them
the question
so who
do
other people
say I
am?
What's
people's
opinion
to me?
Now
Jesus of
Nazareth
is undoubtedly
the most
popular
most
recognisable
most quoted
the most
admired
the most
controversial
figure in
all of
history
and human
society.
no other
person
has been
more
scrutinised
or studied
ever
in the
history
of
humanity.
Entire
philosophies
and religion
have been
founded on
his teaching.
More books
have been
written about
him than
any other
person who
has ever
lived.
Every day
his name
is spoken
more than
any other
name from
affectionate
admiration
and worship
to absent
minded
curses
and
denouncements.
The large
figures of
history
have had to
acknowledge
him from
communist
dictators like
Fidel Castro,
Napoleon
Bonaparte,
Donald Trump,
I mean
name them,
Caesar,
Charlemagne,
they've all
had to
reckon with
Jesus Christ.
No message
has ever
been used
or exploited
more than
that of
Jesus Christ.
Politicians
grab some
of his
quotable quotes
to prop
up their
political
platform.
Every religion
in the world,
whether it be
Christian or
not,
has to
factor in
some appraisal
of Jesus
himself.
It might
be to
honour him
as one
of the
God's
great
prophets
or as
an
enlightened
man
or to
reject him
as a
fraud
or to
hail him
as the
king of
kings
and the
saviour
of the
world.
A person
is more
misunderstood,
marginalised
or
commercialised
than
Jesus.
He's
been
fictionalised
in the
last
temptation
of
Christ,
humanised
in the
passion
of the
Christ
and
satirised
by the
Simpsons
and South
Park.
He's
viewed as
either a
stern
taskmaster
or a
moral
jellyfish,
willing to
hand out
forgiveness
and to
turn a
blind eye
to anyone,
anyone who
prays just a
simple shallow
prayer of
confession only
to live a
life from
that moment
devoid of
his presence
at all.
And there's a
summary of
Western
Christianity
since the
1970s.
you see,
the point
is,
you get
Jesus
wrong
and you
get the
meaning of
the Christian
faith and
what it
means to
be Christian
entirely
wrong.
And Mark
longs that
we get an
accurate picture
of who
Jesus is
and what
he came
to do.
So Mark
8,
it's the
pivotal
chapter,
take those
off the
screen,
it just
really
freaking
me out
a little
bit.
It's the
pivotal
chapter in
the gospel.
Jesus'
early followers
begin to
see the
true identity
of who
he is
and in
verse 29
Peter answers
the big
question of
the identity
of Jesus.
He is the
Messiah.
It's a
word that
literally means
the anointed
one.
You're the
anointed
one.
You're the
Messiah.
You're the
Christ.
You are
the king
to end
all kings.
You are
the long
promised
ruler of
the world
and Jesus
accepts the
title.
Doesn't reject
it in any
way.
But the
next thing
that comes
out of
Jesus'
mouth is
shocking.
Verse 31,
he then began
to teach
them that the
son of man
must suffer
many things
and be
rejected by
the elders,
the chief
priests,
and the
teacher of
the law,
and that
he must
be killed
and after
three days
rise again.
He spoke
plainly about
this and
Peter took
him aside
and began
to rebuke
him.
He
must
suffer.
And what
he does
here is he
takes up
not just
the identity
!
He
is given
by Peter
in this
moment,
but he
actually
applies a
new one
to himself
when he
calls himself
the son
of man,
which is
Daniel chapter
7 in the
Old Testament.
The son of
man in
Daniel 7
is a
divine
Messiah
figure who
comes with
the angels
to put
everything
right in
a world
that's
horribly
wrong.
The son
of man in
Daniel 7
is God
himself
in the
world.
So,
how could
the
promised
Messiah
defeat
evil and
suffering and
injustice
by suffering,
by dying?
The
concept of
a suffering
Messiah,
a dead
Messiah,
a dead
rescuer,
makes no
sense.
And yet
Jesus is
explicit.
He's
planning to
die.
He's not
predicting that
he will
die.
I mean,
we can all
predict we
will die.
There's no
prophecy in
that.
I'm going
to die.
Ratio is
one out of
one.
He's a
plan.
It's one
thing for
Jesus to
say that
he will
fight for
justice and
he will be
defeated.
It's
another
thing that
he says
that I
will fight
for
injustice,
I will
overturn
evil.
It's the
very reason
I came
and the
way I'm
going to
do that
is through
my
death.
He is
the
Messiah.
But he
came not
to live
and reign,
but to
die and
reign.
Not to
take power,
but to
lose it.
Not to
subjugate,
but to
serve.
And the
word must
there in
those
sentences
controls the
whole sentence.
It controls
everything.
It's the
main word.
Jesus
must suffer.
Jesus
must be
rejected.
Jesus
must be
killed.
Jesus
must be
resurrected.
All of
those
musts
have to
happen
for
humanity
to be
forgiven
for crimes
against God
and saved
from God's
judgment
and for
evil to be
defeated and
for the
world to
be renewed.
And Peter
takes Jesus
aside and
says,
whose side
are you
on?
And he
condemns
him in
the
strongest
possible
terms.
And Jesus
says,
get behind
me,
Satan.
He
speaks
to
one of
his
closest
friends
and
gives
him
the
name
of
his
worst
enemy.
Don't
you
dare
stand
in
the
way
of
my
mission.
It
makes
no
sense
to
Peter.
But it
does
make
perfect
sense.
You see,
Jesus'
death
makes
perfect
sense
on
a
whole
different
levels.
But let
me just
focus on
one,
the
legal
level.
If you
were to
grab my
phone right
now,
take it
and
break it
so you
destroyed it,
there are
two things
that can
happen in
that
moment.
Either
I
pay for
it and
I say
to you,
don't worry
about it,
it's fine,
it's only
an iPhone
12,
there's
16 now.
I
forgive you.
If I
do that
for you,
what happens
in that
moment is
I pay
the debt.
I pay
the debt.
the other
alternative is
I say
to you,
you owe
me a
new iPhone
12.
And in
that instance,
you pay
the debt.
The value
of the
phone itself
doesn't just
disappear,
doesn't just
go.
Someone
has to
pay the
debt.
I can
choose to
forgive you
and then I
pay the
debt.
And I
can do
that in
a variety
of ways.
I can
go out
and I
buy
myself
a
new
phone
or I
have to
pay the
debt
by going
back
to
paper
and pens
and
pigeons
or landlines,
that kind
of stuff.
I have to
pay the
debt that
way.
I would
absorb the
debt in
some kind
of way.
And that
works on
every level
of life.
If someone
robs you of
an opportunity
of your
happiness,
or of
your
reputation
or something
else,
what happens
in there is
a personal
debt is
accrued in
that moment.
And there
are only two
choices in
that moment.
Either you
make them
pay by
ruining their
happiness,
their reputation,
their
opportunities,
or you
can forgive
them.
Ever had
the experience
of forgiving
someone in
that scenario?
How painfully
hard it is?
true
forgiveness
always
requires
suffering.
Always
requires
suffering.
And so it
makes no
surprise
that God
would say
the debt
of humanity
against God
for crimes
against their
creator,
for not
living under
his rule,
God
doesn't,
you know,
the moral
jellyfish
Jesus,
ah,
don't worry
about it,
you know,
we'll all
make it in
the end,
just get
your own
way,
be fine.
That does
not work
in society.
That does
not work
on a personal
level in
your life.
Why would
we expect
God to
do that?
The only
way that
could,
something
would happen
was God
would say
the only
way I
can forgive
the sins
of the
human race
is either
cause them
to suffer,
judgment
and punishment
or I
suffer.
The only
way God
can
pardon
us
and not
judge us
is for
him to
come under
his own
judgment
for our
sin,
for him
to absorb
the punishment
himself
and Jesus
says that's
what I'm
here to do
on the
cross.
I
must
suffer.
Jesus
is God
and King.
He chooses
to die
to pay
the debt
that we
owe him
and that
makes him
not just
the King
of Kings,
not just
a mighty
God,
but a
merciful
and gracious
and loving
God.
From the
moment his
public ministry
commenced,
Jesus
called
people to
repent,
that is
stop walking
away from
God and
come back
to me,
come back
to him,
to repent,
to turn
away from
rejection and
to find
forgiveness and
new life and
a transformed
life in
him.
Right from
the very go
of his
public ministry,
Jesus was
not interested
in curious
onlookers.
he was
not
interested
in
converts
to pray
a shallow
prayer of
confession.
He was
calling
disciples,
followers,
fully
committed,
surrendered
followers to
himself.
And he
calls all
of humanity
down that
same path
now.
and some
of us
here,
our very
next step
in life
is to
take that
next step,
to come to
Jesus and
we would
love to
talk to
you about
that.
the call
here is
to follow
Jesus.
Now the
concept of
discipleship
was common
in the
Greek and
Roman
empires.
The word
disciple,
which was
not coined
by Jesus,
it's not
a Christian
term,
the word
disciple
literally
means a
student or
a learner.
In the
Jewish
context,
a disciple
would take
the posture
of sitting
and learning
from their
teacher and
following them
in their
daily
activities,
daily
duties.
What is
interesting in
Jewish culture,
it was the
student,
the learner,
who chose
their
master,
their rabbi,
the person
that they
were following.
And so
there was a
saying that
a disciple
should become
dusty with
the dust
of their
rabbi,
dusty with
the dust
of their
rabbi.
That is to
follow them
so closely
in all
of life
that they
would be
covered in
the dust
that was
stirred up
from the
feet of
their teacher
because they
were just
with them
all the
time.
And that
concept has
been flown
over into
the New
Testament.
the word
Christian
which was
first used
in the
book of
Acts
to try
and capture
these
people who
were following
Jesus and
committed to
Jesus.
What do we
call them?
And the word
Christian is a
combination of
two words
from Latin
and from
Greek
which means
Christiane,
followers of
the Christ.
That's what
the word
Christian is.
Followers of
the Christ.
And it
speaks of a
lifelong journey
of following
Jesus and
a 100%
dedication to
him.
That's how
he describes
it in verse
34.
Whoever wants
to be my
disciple must
deny themselves,
take a
follow me.
For whoever
wants to
save their
life or
lose it,
but whoever
loses their
life for
me and
for the
gospel will
save it.
What good
is it for
someone to
gain the
whole world
and yet
forfeit their
soul?
Or what
can anyone
give in
exchange for
their soul?
This is
crucial.
In this
whole section
of Mark
8, we are
told that
Jesus must
die.
And then
Jesus says,
well,
actually,
you must
die if
you follow
me.
Now, the
word that
is translated
life, verse
35, let's
just hone in
there for a
moment, is
a word that
means your
identity, your
personality, your
selfhood.
He says in
verse 36,
what good is
it for
someone to
gain the
whole world
and yet
forfeit their
soul or
forfeit their
very self?
self?
Now, every
culture in
our world
throughout
history has
pointed to
certain things
and says
that if you
gain those
things or
if you
acquire those
things, if
you achieve
those things
or if you
become like
those things,
then you
will know
who you
truly are
and you'll
become valuable
to us in
this culture.
every culture
says it
differently, what
those things
are, but
ultimately they
say exactly
the same
thing, no
matter what
culture you
come from,
it says
exactly the
same things.
Your sense
of self, of
who you
are, your
identity is
performance
based.
You achieve
your identity.
and if you
perform well
enough, you
will find the
love and the
approval you
desperately need
to feel secure
and valuable
within that
system.
And Jesus
says here,
if you gain
the whole
world, it
will never be
enough.
Because as
you are gaining
the whole world
to pursue
your sense
of self,
you will
entirely lose
your sense
of self
in the
process.
It's
never going
to be
enough to
make you
know who
you are
because
ultimately
you're
pursuing
God.
You're not
pursuing God
who has
made you
and relationship
with him.
You're
pursuing
everything
else, the
whole world.
Jesus
did not
come to
recruit
followers
from one
performance
based
identity
into
another
performance
based
identity
that's
centered
on him.
He
wants us
to lose
the old
performance
based
identity
and base
our sense
of worth
and value
and self
on him
and what
he has
achieved
for us.
Fundamental
to the
Christian
faith
is a
solid
secure
identity
that we
are God's
much loved
children
through
Jesus
Christ
and what
he's
achieved
for us.
That is
the Christian
faith
is a
secure
sense
of self
that is
received.
It's
not
achieved
by
religious
performance.
Notice
verse 35
for whoever
wants to
save their
life will
lose it
but whoever
loses
their life
for me
and for
the gospel
will save
it.
You see
the foundation
of following
Jesus
is the
good news
of Jesus
Christ.
It is
the gospel.
The gospel
is something
that is done
for us
in Jesus.
It is
God's
grace
to us
from
beginning
to end.
We
believe
and we
receive
and we
live
as followers
of Jesus
in the
light
of what
he has
100%
fully
completely
achieved
for us.
It's
essential
to see
Jesus
Christ
as the
king
of
kings
the
son
of
man
the
divine
the
God
the
creator
dying
for
us.
If
we
simply
just
see
him
as
a
king
on
a
throne
who's
calling
us
to
obey
then we
will
obey
purely
because
it will
be
an
obedience
out of
fear.
That
is just
performance
based
religion
and it
is not
the
Christian
faith.
the
Christian
follows
Jesus
because
they
have
received
complete
acceptance
in
him
not
because
we're
hoping
to
achieve
it
and
receive
it
in
the
end.
He
is the
king
who
went
to
the
cross
for
us
and
therefore
we
submit
to
him
out
of
love
trust
and
reverence.
instead
of
negotiating
with
him
what
following
him
looks
like
we
simply
say
Lord
whatever
you
ask
I
will
do
whatever
you
send
I
will
accept.
So
that's
who
he
is
that's
what
he's
called
us
to
do
what's
his
goal
what's
his
goal
verse
38
if
anyone
is
ashamed
of
me
and
my
words
in
this
adulterous
and
sinful
generation
the
son
of
man
will
be
ashamed
of
them
when
he
comes
in
his
father's
glory
with
the
holy
angels
what
he's
saying
in
this
context
of
calling
his
disciples
to
fully
commit
to
him
and
to
follow
him
he's
saying
there
is
an
end
of
all
this
there
is
a
goal
to
it
all
and
it's
wrapped
up
in
those
words
for
the
father's
glory
for
the
father's
glory
it
gives
us
the
goal
of
Jesus
entire
mission
and
the
goal
of
his
entire
mission
is
not
first
and
foremost
about
sinners
being
saved
it's
about
sinners
being
saved
for
God's
glory
maybe
you've
never
thought
about
it
all
at
all
before
but
Jesus
going
to
the
cross
was
first
and
foremost
not
about
you
or
me
or
humanity
it
was
first
and
foremost
about
God's
glory
it
was
about
his
character
being
displayed
to
all
the
world
Jesus
came
into
the
world
to
reveal
the
glorious
character
of
God
to
a
world
that
is
intoxicated
with
its
own
glory
and
passion
to
gain
the
whole
world
the
late
English
theologian
pastor
and
author
John
Stott
in
his
final
book
a
book
on
whole
hearted
discipleship
of
Jesus
wrote
that
in
his
early
years
as a
Christian
the
question
of
what
is
God's
purpose
for
me
really
dominated
captivated
him
and
his
friends
at
the
end
of
his
life
as
he
writes
his
final
work
that
was
published
after
his
death
he
finally
settles
on
the
answer
to
that
question
the
goal
of
salvation
in
Jesus
Christ
God's
purpose
for
his
people
is
for
them
to
become
like
their
saviour
Jesus
Christ
for
the
glory
of
God
personal
transformation
is the
goal
he
quotes
Romans
8
28
29
in
all
things
God
works
for
the
good
of
those
who
love
him
who
have
been
called
according
to
his
purpose
for
those
God
for
those
God
fore
knew
he
predestined
to be
conformed
to
the
image
of
his
son
2
Corinthians
3
18
and
we
all
who
with
unveiled
faces
contemplate
the
Lord's
glory
are
being
transformed
into
his
image
where
there
!
increasing
glory
2
now
we
are
children
of
God
and
what
we
will
be
has
not
yet
been
made
known
but
we
know
that
when
Christ
appears
we
shall
be
like
him
for
we
shall
see
him
as
he
is
and
all
who
have
that
hope
in
him
purify
themselves
now
just
as
he
is
pure
now
if
being
changed
transformed
renewed
in the
image
of
Jesus
is
the
purpose
for
which
you
have
been
saved
through
Jesus
then
it's
no
wonder
he
calls
us
to
cooperate
with
him
now
to
be
a
Christian
is
to
become
like
Jesus
the
purpose
of
information
in the
Christian
faith
is
transformation
to
become
like
Jesus
in
his
complete
surrender
to
the
father
like
Jesus
in
his
life
of
service
like
Jesus
in
his
love
like
Jesus
in
his
patient
endurance
like
Jesus
in
his
mission
to
the
world
!
And
yet
the
scholars
the
pastors
the
missiologists
researchers
in this
are all
saying
the same
thing
very few
people
in the
modern
world
who
identify
as
Christians
are
taking
the
path
of
personal
transformation
into
the
image
of
Jesus
and
are
more
content
instead
with
the
superficiality
and
discipleship
that
identifies
as being
Christian
intellectually
and
yet
orientation
practically
are
still
trying
to
gain
the
whole
world
still
trying
to
gain
the
whole
world
because
their
vision
of
Jesus
is
the
moral
jellyfish
his
job
is
love
his
job
is
grace
that's
what
he
does
thank
you
Jesus
far
too
many
in
our
modern
world
and
we
can
brain
the
preachers
for
this
have
a
view
that
the
Christian
life
is
just
simply
about
sin
management
he
deals
with
my
sin
that's
what
he
does
rather
than
being
brought
into
a
living
relationship
with
our
creator
who
plans
to
renew
all
things
in
the
end
including
us
and
that
is
his
goal
for
you
right
now
personal
transformation
so
how
do
we
do
!
that's
fundamentally
what this
series
how do
we
follow
Jesus
basically
what it
means is
we need
to relearn
a whole
heap
of
things
and we
need to
when I say
relearn
we need
to
reform
a bunch
of
rhythms
and habits
in our
lives
over the
decades
Christians
in the
western
church
have been
sucked
into a
culture
of
instant
gratification
we
have
turned
the
church
in the
western
world
into
another
consumer
product
that we
consume
week in
or once
a fortnight
or once
a month
depending
on how
I
feel
our
lives
are so
busy
that the
Christian
or
spiritual
part of
our
life
has been
set out
to the
margins
a Christian
bit
in the
spirit
where we
just
include it
in just
things like
activities
like
Sunday
worship
or a
community
group
or
serving
morning
tea
following
Jesus
is just
one of
the
activities
amongst
many other
activities
in my
given
week
and so
we talk
about
a
prayer
life
is like
a love
life
or a
work
life
or a
social
life
as
opposed
to
a
life
of
prayer
superficiality
is the
curse
of our
age
the
doctrine
of
instant
gratification
is our
primary
spiritual
problem
the
desperate
need
for
you
in your
own
life
for
your
for
settledness
for rest
rather than
restlessness
the need
for your
families
the need
for your
friends
for this
church
for society
at a
large
is not
for more
and more
intelligent
entrepreneurial
hard
working
gifted
people
but deep
people
in Jesus
that's what's
needed
deep people
people who
know God
and know
themselves
learning new
behaviors
rhythms of
grace
are crucial
to the
disruption
of those
old habits
and behaviors
that we are
so committed
to
that are so
habitual in
our lives
and yet
block
personal
transformation
there are
three dynamics
that work
together to
bring about
personal
transformation
personal
transformation
happens best
as an
inside out
process
of obedience
to God
in his
word
a commitment
to obey
everything
that he says
and he's
calling me
to
personal
transformation
happens best
in the context
of a loving
community
of truth
and grace
personal
transformation
happens in
the context
of a
reflective
life
it's a
dynamic
where they
are all
working
together
we need
all three
operating
together
personal
transformation
happens
as we
intentionally
slow down
commune
with God
in the
Bible
and prayer
and to
understand
ourselves
and our
weak
and our
reactions
and our
relationships
and our
habits
and to
obey
his
call
to take
our next
step towards
transformation
and yet
with that
reflective
intentional
deliberate
life
we need
the
fellowship
of community
of brothers
and sisters
in Christ
who lovingly
speak the
truth to us
of things
that we
cannot see
but do so
in a loving
way
as sheep
on the
journey
with us
transformation
does not
come from
merely learning
new
information
or from
developing
some extra
skills
it is the
work of the
Holy Spirit
as we
intentionally
keep in
step
with what
God is
teaching us
through his
word
together
now we
have a
tendency
to think
that if
we have
mastered
the
information
then the
personal
transformation
just happens
and so
if I'm
stuck
what I
need to
do is
I need
to buy
another
book
I need
more
information
I need
new
information
we need
to know
God
we need
to know
ourselves
and we
need time
and space
to reflect
on both
of those
things
and a
community
of spiritual
friends
to help
us do
both
so for
the solo
flyers
there is
no such
thing as
personal
transformation
with our
corporate
disciplined
slow
thoughtful
life
so what
this series
is going
to be
with
everything
is a
push
against
the
habits
we have
formed
in life
that
ultimately
declare
that
we're
still
pursuing
to gain
the
whole
world
and
just
hoping
Jesus
helps
us
what
we're
going to
be
exploring
in the
coming
weeks
are
rhythms
of
grace
God's
gift
to
us
his
means
of
gracious
transformation
in our
lives
this is
not new
information
if it's
new to
you
it's
I
want
you
to
go
this
stuff
has
been
around
for
centuries
and
we're
trying to
work on
it
in this
context
21st
century
life
we're
exploring
rhythms
of
worship
and
devotions
and
rest
and
friendship
and
generosity
and
service
and
mission
rhythms
that
get us
to
look up
to
God
worshipping
him
rhythms
that
get us
to look
at
ourselves
and
rhythms
that
get us
to look
out
to
love
all
people
these
rhythms
carve
out
a
pathway
for
God
to
do
the
work
of
transformation
these
rhythms
are
uniquely
designed
by
God
to
help
us
receive
his
grace
by
putting
us
in
the
place
before
God
where
he
can
transform
us
the
path
itself
does
not
produce
the
change
we
need
it
puts
us
in
the
place
where
the
change
can
occur
but
we
need
to
get
on
the
path
of
following
Jesus
change
all
of
our
lives
is
right
where
you
are
right
now
right
now
we're
all
in
different
stages
it's
where
you
are
right
now
not
where
you
want
to
be
some
here
have
not
yet
started
but
you
long
for
real
change
in
your
life
some
are
stalled
some are crawling, some are walking and some are running the race of faith and the constant call
throughout this series is for all of us to take our next step and get covered, I mean doused,
completely covered in the gracious, merciful, kind dust of our Lord Jesus Christ as we follow him in
2025.