We're wrapping up a series we called a growing relationship, which is a rework of several series our partner church, North Point Community Church, has done (most recently....Five Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith). You can access our series here or North Point's here.
It's no secret to any teacher that when you teach something, you learn. Here are a few reflections/insights that really hit me during the series:
- At the heart of faith in God is trust, not just belief. To trust someone is to have confidence in them. If you don't have confidence in your car to get you to Toronto, it's because you don't trust its reliability. Same deal with God. If you don't trust him, it's basically that you don't have confidence in him. The more I think about that, the more I realize that what I really need to grow is my confidence in God.
- I'm convinced we've totally misdefined spiritual maturity in the church today. I know I've been on this one for a while, but I just get more convinced all the time that many Christians today are missing the boat. Like I said early in the series, many Christians think knowing more makes us mature. Wrongo bongo. Knowing more just makes us more hypocritical. Application grows us. When we apply what we learn from God, it stretches us deeply (Ever read the bible? Seriously, it's stinkin' crazy counterintuitive stuff!) When we get stretched, we have to trust God. And when we trust God, we grow.
- If we're not careful, most of us will become spiritual voyeurs (watching other people grow) or spiritual consumers (getting but never giving and, ironically, never being happy). Jesus is the opposite. He applied. He gave. Maturity comes from giving, not getting. (Thanks to all of you who stepped up to serve for the first time during this series!!)
Well, there's more, but that's enough for now.
What thought is stretching you these days? Any take aways from this or other things that are growing you into a fuller and more intimate relationship with Christ these days?
Maturity comes from giving not getting, wow, never heard that before, great thought, great series, stickin crazy stuff too!! I'm pumped, thanks, hey maybe we should call Connexus the "stinkin crazy Church" makes for a really cool billboard add...LOL
Posted by: Richard Yeomans | February 01, 2009 at 09:11 PM
Maturity comes from giving not getting, wow, never heard that before, great thought, great series, stickin crazy stuff too!! I'm pumped, thanks, hey maybe we should call Connexus the "stinkin crazy Church" makes for a really cool billboard add...LOL
Posted by: Richard Yeomans | February 01, 2009 at 09:12 PM