This week we’re exploring how to become a church community united by common learning goals, even when we are busy!
We’ve seen that the church is made up of many different complementary gifts and passions, but all put to use pursuing the same goal. The Bible described this as “maturity, the full stature of Christ”. The learning goal is learning and emulating Jesus’ character in everything life throws our way.
How?
Well, most topics are learned through a mixture of learning styles, like a textbook, lectures, discussion and homework, and experience.
These are many different learning styles, but the same content is meant to be communicated through them all.
Textbook: We’re going to start to read Bible together. We study it in in our challenges, but only a little snippet at a time. Now we’re going to start reading longer portions in sync together.
Lectures: These challenges are obviously one form of teaching, and our live Christianity 101 course that just concluded in Whitby. Take advantage of whatever future learning opportunities you can!
Discussion: This is critical, so I encourage you almost every day to start a discussion group based on our challenges. Have you? This means you’ll be getting encouraged and challenged by those you know, and can see and learn from others trying to follow Jesus. Make sure to contact Ryan with the good news, and to enjoy some leadership coaching and encouragement.
Lab Experience: Every Thursday we give a challenge, and although they are easy to ignore, this learning process depends on you actually trying to live out Jesus’ teachings in your life, where they will transform you!
In our case, Jesus’ character, lifestyle, spiritual maturity that comes from God alone, is learned through many forms.
Challenge: Start with the textbook learning. We are going to start to read the Bible in sync as a community every day. We will add a Bible reading plan to our web site and app, where you’ll find a daily Bible reading starting next Monday!
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Will we ever make ourselves sinless and perfect? Not in this life. Our hunger and thirst for righteousness is meant to be ongoing
But this really is God's plan for us. He wants to make us perfect by his Holy Spirit.
We were made for perfection, but gave it up. Like a rebellious child who needs to learn from their own mistakes. But we were in such trouble, we can’t help ourselves out. God intends for us to enjoy his care, kingdom again.
Made it possible by coming to earth as Jesus, the perfect man and perfect God, and destroying the power of sin and death to separate us from him. He's working on perfecting us, to be ready for his return.
He will make us perfect.
Open ourselves to him...ask him to...allow him to.
To do the impossible.
To love our enemies.
To do everything else in the Sermon on the Mount so far!
The underlying truth behind everything he's said is that he intends for us to be perfect.
Become perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect.
Become acceptable to him, to live in his kingdom of heaven.
Back to Day 1: How do you react when you fall short of that standard? One way is to look for help.
Jesus says he is the help we need: “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me”.
If you’re finding perfection, fixing yourself, trying to make yourself holy far too challenging, impossible….Jesus says, "Try me!, I’m the way!"
He is the way, and the destination. He will help shape your life move in this direction as well…as long as you are willing to follow him.
Challenge: Go through the last few weeks worth of examples. Anger, Lust, Lying, Retaliation, Loving Enemies. Rate out of 5. Which lowest? Recognize imperfect, and ask God to begin perfecting that area of your life.
