AFTER THE SERMON-Wholeness Is Essential
We hope today’s message was encouraging and helpful. Take a moment to process and discuss what God may be trying to say to everyone in your home or your community group. If no one is with you, have a personal conversation with God. He is with you.
Scripture: Genesis 3
(Other Scriptures: Psalm 42:5; Psalm 51; Psalm 139 (vs 23-24); Psalm 23:2; Hebrews 4:12-13; Romans 8)
(If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week, consider taking the time to read or paraphrase through some of the provided scripture to catch everyone up!)
Overview:
In this series, we are asking ourselves, “What Is Essential?” The first message Pastor Ryan preached showed the value of rest – making room to live and breathe. In this week’s message, Pastor Jody and Dorothy shared with us that WHOLENESS IS ESSENTIAL. When our soul is not at rest, when we are unsettled, ashamed, feeling guilt and condemned, we want to run and hide. God asks, in a loving fatherly way, “Where are you?” God wants to make us whole, complete in Him.
God created us to have a relationship with Him. When Adam and Eve ate from that tree, disobeying God’s command, sin entered this world. Sin causes us to have a disconnected relationship with God. God pursues us – fiercely – because He loves us unconditionally. He wants to restore, renew, refresh, and reenergize our relationship with Him. This means inviting and allowing God into our inner core to search us and show us what may be hindering a full connection. God wants to take us deeper. He is our Redeemer.
Takeaways:
Wholeness is essential. In God, we have peace, provision, healing, fullness, and relationship.
God wants us to be whole.
God will use “life” to expose what is harmful in our relationship with Him.
We have to face what God brings to our attention to be whole.
We have to push past our comfort zones to allow God to create wholeness.
Discussion:
What stuck out to you from the message?
Pause and consider – On the inside, are you restless? Disturbed? Unsettled? Feeling guilt, shame, unforgiveness, anger, etc.? What might you be hiding from?
What “life” circumstances or experiences have squeezed you to expose what is really inside of you?
What coping mechanisms do you use to avoid dealing with the reality of your soul?
God took Adam and Eve’s fig leaf outfit and exchanged it for animal skins – a full covering. From the list in #2, what does God offer to you in exchange? (i.e., Peace for Restlessness; Fullness for Emptiness)
God is our Redeemer. He calls to you today, “Where are you?” Pursue wholeness. Pursue release. Listen internally. Watch for what triggers you. Talk to someone. Journal your thoughts and feelings.
Prayer:
Search me, God. You know my heart. See if there is anything that is standing in the way of fully connecting with you. I don’t want to hide from you. I want to be made whole, to be sanctified, to be renewed, to be complete. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. I submit myself to you today and the process of making wholeness essential in my life.
Challenge:
Share this sermon or this message in your own words with someone you know who is disconnected from God!
We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you find ways to apply it this week!