Vision + Provision | Message 13

Vision + Provision | Message 13

This new series is called “Vision and Provision.”

By ‘vision’ we mean the big spiritual questions of life:

❔ Why are we here?

❔ What is our dream for our life, and what is God’s dream for our life?

By ‘provision’ we mean the practical resources God provides to make dreams a reality: time, money, effort, energy, etc.

Scriptures | Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 19:32; Matthew 19:14; Matthew 18:3; Titus 2:2-6; Romans 15:1-2

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. ~Exodus 20:12

Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord. ~Leviticus 19:32

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ~Jesus, Matthew 19:14

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” ~Jesus, Matthew 18:3

Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance.  Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness.  By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior.  Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives. ~Titus 2:2-6

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ~Romans 15:1-2

Question 1 | You don’t have to have heard the sermon from Sunday, but if you were in church, watched online, or listened to the podcast, what stuck with you?

Question 2 | The message was based around three words: Developing maturity in community. 

The idea is that in the followers of Jesus and the Kingdom of God on earth is like a healthy forest: with different people in different ages and stages of growth.  We are commanded to honor elders and yet to also become like children.  Jeremy calls this “showing intergenerational honor.”  How can we, as followers of Jesus, show honor to others across the age span here and now?  Both inside and outside the church?

Question 3 | The scripture from Titus shows us clearly that the early church had men and women, young and old.  And the message to them and to us is clear: that the older should mentor the younger.  So the question is:

❔ Who are you mentoring in Christ, and who is mentoring you? 

❔ Who are you pouring into, and who is pouring into you? 

❔ Who are you teaching, and who is teaching you?

Question 4 | The book of Romans is clear that the strong in Christ should bear with the failings of the weak.  The strong should look to the good of other and not just to their own good.  In the message, Jeremy gave practical examples of this with communion: looking out for people who have an alcohol problem, caring for those who have been abused.  This is how we can bear with those who are struggling.  At the same time, it can go too far, like the person “Adam” who asked Jeremy to stop serving communion forever because Adam was triggered by communion. 

❔ Do you have examples of this from your own life? 

❔ Are there times when you have been weak, and a stronger brother or sister has looked out for you? 

❔ How have you, as a stronger brother or sister, looked out for the weaker? 

❔ And how can we bear with the weak without caving in to immature or selfish demands (like cancelling communion forever)?