Last Sunday we gathered for an outdoor service at the home of Jon & Jacquie Liebold -- we want to thank them for their hospitality and willingness to use their home for the Kingdom.
Consistent with our human nature, we tend to categorize our lives as either "good," "bad," or somewhere in-between. Within our discussion, we examined some of the shared life experiences and emotions that everyone goes through at some point, regardless of the "quality" of our lives. From Ecclesiastes, we highlighted three experiences/emotions that we all share:
1. I’m frustrated
[Ecclesiastes 1:2-4] – “Life is useless, all useless. You spend your life working... but what do you have to show for it? The world stays just the same.”
2. I’m tired
[Ecclesiastes 1:5-8] – “The sun still rises, and it still goes down... the wind blows… round and round and back again. Every river flows into the sea... [then] the water returns to where the rivers began and starts all over again. Everything leads to weariness – a weariness too great for words... “
3. I’m unfulfilled
[Ecclesiastes 1:8-9] – “No matter how much we see, we're never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we're not content. History merely repeats itself...
We then moved over to Paul's teachings in his letter to the church in Rome:
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
[Romans 5:3-5]
and in his second letter to the church in Corinth:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. [2 Corinthians 4:16-18]
This reminds us of two Kingdom truths:
1. Hope is the trust and acceptance of God’s love for me, forever.
2. Hope enables me to live with the eternal perspective Jesus teaches I should have for my life
And this hope is lived out in:
>> Prayer -- hope is renewed and refreshed as we grow closer to Jesus
>> Giving -- hope is demonstrated as we trust God to provide
>> Service -- hope is active as we live fully & freely for Christ
>> Sharing Jesus -- hope maintains its eternal focus when our focus is Jesus
Consistent with our human nature, we tend to categorize our lives as either "good," "bad," or somewhere in-between. Within our discussion, we examined some of the shared life experiences and emotions that everyone goes through at some point, regardless of the "quality" of our lives. From Ecclesiastes, we highlighted three experiences/emotions that we all share:
1. I’m frustrated
[Ecclesiastes 1:2-4] – “Life is useless, all useless. You spend your life working... but what do you have to show for it? The world stays just the same.”
2. I’m tired
[Ecclesiastes 1:5-8] – “The sun still rises, and it still goes down... the wind blows… round and round and back again. Every river flows into the sea... [then] the water returns to where the rivers began and starts all over again. Everything leads to weariness – a weariness too great for words... “
3. I’m unfulfilled
[Ecclesiastes 1:8-9] – “No matter how much we see, we're never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we're not content. History merely repeats itself...
We then moved over to Paul's teachings in his letter to the church in Rome:
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
[Romans 5:3-5]
and in his second letter to the church in Corinth:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. [2 Corinthians 4:16-18]
This reminds us of two Kingdom truths:
1. Hope is the trust and acceptance of God’s love for me, forever.
2. Hope enables me to live with the eternal perspective Jesus teaches I should have for my life
And this hope is lived out in:
>> Prayer -- hope is renewed and refreshed as we grow closer to Jesus
>> Giving -- hope is demonstrated as we trust God to provide
>> Service -- hope is active as we live fully & freely for Christ
>> Sharing Jesus -- hope maintains its eternal focus when our focus is Jesus
Music from Sunday was led by Chris Donahue and Travis Jarrett.
Songs were: "Shadows" (David Crowder), "Eastern Hymn" (David Crowder), "Marvelous Light" (Charlie Hall), "Your Love Oh Lord" (Third Day), "Only the Blood" (Village Church), "The Old Rugged Cross" (Traditional)
Songs were: "Shadows" (David Crowder), "Eastern Hymn" (David Crowder), "Marvelous Light" (Charlie Hall), "Your Love Oh Lord" (Third Day), "Only the Blood" (Village Church), "The Old Rugged Cross" (Traditional)
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