Worship through giving.
Will you partner with us as we respond to the critical needs of our community as we face this season together?
Discussion Prompts
- “Join together in following my example. For I press on, no matter what.” (v.17)
- “It’s not that I am already perfect, but I press on, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” (v.12).
- “Our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a savior from there” (v.20)
The title of the Ted talk would probably be something like …
Press On and Take Hold of Jesus
It almost seems that Paul was obsessed with this Jesus. And he is. Paul has all the reason to be obsessed. There is no greater success story than the one been told in heaven. The story of how Jesus saved us, humans, from eternal extinction. THIS is what Paul is obsessed with and consumed by – the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What are you obsessed about? What is on your mind, day in and day out? Is it also the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Here is a question Pastor Bryce left us with:
Would someone describe you as being obsessed by something other than Jesus, and could it be a distraction to what really matters?
Today’s tasks (discussion question) are personal ones:
- Become vulnerable and ask someone that knows you well: What do you think is something I am preoccupied with? What am I spending a lot of time thinking about, talking about, and doing? – Then, ask yourself: Is it an unhealthy obsession? Does it distract me from God? If so, then it is time to let go of that one thing.
Our tendency is to replace that one thing with something else. Something irrelevant in God’s eyes. Some other hobby, habit, or thought. The goal though is to be obsessed with Christ and his gospel.
- On a piece of paper (or in your smart-phone) answer these questions: What would be different if I didn’t know the Good News of being saved? What would be missing? Is it time to embrace the gospel with a new passion? Is it time to press on with actually having Jesus in my life?
The gospel is the Good News, and there is nothing better to have as number one in our lives. Ponder on this one, and I hope you come to the same conclusion that Paul did when he says “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21).