The Comfort Zone
Empty Nester's Class 4: "Godliness"
The Comfort Zone: A Radical Faith That Lifts This Generation
[Slide 2] As a class review, what we have constructed thus far is having more closely examined our own God-ness, wisdom, discipline and attention to parenting as a means of growing our "pyramid of faith." Tonight we will be adding the next tier [Click]: godliness.
[Slide 3] What is godliness? [Click] A dictionary definition might go something like this:
[Slide 4] Godliness: a careful observance of the laws of God and performance of religious duties, proceeding from love and reverence for the divine character and commands; Christian obedience.
But [Click], here is my personal definition or description of what godliness is: [Slide 5] "God Awareness." I usually go about gauging my level of "God Awareness" by simply asking myself:
"How often each day do my thoughts drift back toward who God is, what He has said, where He is present, why I am here and how He desires I respond to His grace?"
And what I am suggesting is that this is a radical faith - to simply be more and more aware of God in each and every situation of your daily life. Have some fun with your spiritual imagination. For instance, here is what I imagine the expression will be for every Christian when they finally see God face to face [Slide 6] - courtesy of my grandson Cameron. The Bible also has a lot to say about what godliness is. However, for the sake of brevity I would like to center our discussion on just one Scripture citation - Titus 1:1-3 [Slide 7]. Which reads,
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness - in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
Since our last class, I trust all of you have enjoyed your study of the Apostle Paul's method of training the young evangelist Timothy. In this letter to his other protege, Titus the Evangelist, the Apostle Paul described three key elements [Slide 8] that would be helpful for promoting godliness in the lives of those Titus ministered to. They are as follows:
- [Click] Furthering your faith.
- [Click] Furthering your knowledge of the truth.
- [Click] The hope of eternal life.
These three elements - faith, truth and hope - form what I refer to as the [Slide 9] Titusian Triangle of Godliness. For the remainder of our time together this evening I would like you to share with the entire group your own impression about these fundamental elements. To facilitate this being a more interactive discussion time, I would like to ask everyone to turn their chairs so that they face the center of the room.
Here are the questions I would like you to consider:
- What feedback do you have regarding how these breakout classes have benefited you in furthering your faith?
- What do you suggest would be beneficial for promoting further knowledge of the truth in the Empty Nester's Group?
- What are you personally hoping to get from eternal life?
[Slide 10, Click] For your homework assignment [Slide 11], I would like to encourage you all to be more conscientious about how you can further one another's faith, knowledge of the truth, and hope of eternal life - i.e., what it may take to get you out of your Comfort Zone!
