The Perfecting Church

There are times when heart wounds — places of unprocessed pain, hurt and hardship effecting the way we see, feel, believe and ultimately behave — are caused by despair  and disappointment over what God did or didn’t do. But God never intended on meeting our deepest needs with what could be found in this world. His plan has always been to give us a peace unlike anything in this world.  

Scripture(s):

• John 14:25-28 

Slide(s):

The vision of wholeness, which is the supreme will of the biblical God, is the outgrowth of a covenant of shalom. Where persons are not only bound to God but to one another in a caring, sharing, rejoicing community with nothing to make them afraid.  

 — Walter Bruggemann, Peace

God created the world in a web of relationships that overflowed with forceful goodness. These relationships are far reaching: between humanity and God, between humanity and self, between genders, between humanity and the rest of creation, within families, between ethnic groups, and between nations.  These relationships were “very good” in the beginning.  

— Lisa Harper, The Very Good Gospel

9.22.2024 Message Takeaways  

Some of our deepest hurts are tied to our deepest disappointments. 

We were created for a peace that can’t be found in this world.

We’ve been restored and we are a part of His restoration plan.

When our hearts (soul and spirit) are wounded it hinders and corrupts our thoughts actions and motives. Oftentimes, what we describe as, “the way God made us”, is more accurately described as the way life has wounded us. But there is healing for our wounded hearts. God wants us to be made whole. God wants us to learn to live whole. 

Scripture(s):

• Matthew 25:24-30

• Philippians 2:12, 13

• Proverbs 4:23

Kevin Brown

Sep 5, 2024, 6:30 PM (4 days ago)

to Christopher, Deborah, Joy, Michael, Jill, Lee, me

Introduction:

We live from the heart. It’s the innermost part of our being. We may think with our minds and act from our physical bodies, but we live from the heart. When our hearts are whole, healthy and pure we think and act as powerfully as we were designed. But when the heart is wounded, weighted down and broken it hinders and even corrupts our thoughts and actions. Oftentimes, what we describe as, “the way God made us”, would be more accurately described as the way life has wounded or broken us. But there is healing for our wounded and even broken hearts.  God wants us to not only be made whole; God wants us to learn to live whole. 

Scripture(s): (NKJV)

• Matthew 25:14-30

• Psalm 34:19

Slide:

“If your concept of God is radically false, then the more devout you are, the worse it will be for you.” — Dany Akin, A Theology for the Church 

9.8.2024 Message Takeaways

1. God hasn’t given us all the same gifts but God has the same expectation for us all.

2. We're concerned about what we experience but Jesus is more concerned about what we conclude.

3. Disconnecting from our feelings is not an act of faith; it’s an act of avoidance.

The need for comfort reflects a deep-seated desire that drives people to seek environments that offer safety and peace. Comfort provides a sense of stability and emotional solace which is crucial for coping with life’s challenges and stresses. How does the church create that environment? 

We all experience it at some point in our lives, the pain of loss. But how we manage it is critical to our faithfulness to God. Discover the Kingdom keys to fully embracing your grief while receiving grace to keep growing through it, so God can get the glory out of it.

Society says leadership is about ruling or lording over one’s subordinates. However, true leadership requires that a leader is a servant first. That is often exhausting, especially when one is leading stubborn and foolish individuals. Therefore, to radically love these individuals, leaders must intercede on their behalf, as Jesus interceded for us on the cross. 

Loving each other well is part of the foundation of our rootedness in Radical Love. We cannot live radically through love without radically loving each other. The world will know our radical love through the radical love we show to one another. Jesus reminds us that the world will know what we show.

There will be traumas, tragedies, and excruciating transitions in our lives that God allows and authors — to get us to the places He’s pre-ordained and to make us into the people He’s pre-ordained. There’s pain in the plan, but because God has determined to stand with us there is no force in the heavenlies, in the cosmos, in the earth or beneath the earth that can stand against us. Our great call in this life is not to live trying to avoid pain but to remain inseparable from He who will not separate from us. 

The Lord is our keeper. He keeps us in distinct ways. He keeps some things from us. He keeps and protects us in the midst of some things. He keeps some things set aside and reserved for us. But we’re not naturally given to being kept. Too often we believe the lie we must keep or are capable of keeping ourselves. Being kept is the art of abiding in trust and dependence on the Lord God. We must learn to live kept lives.