Resolutions

New Year's resolutions are interesting. The new year always seems like a great opportunity to turn over new leaves, try new things, give things up, start things over. That's what resolutions are, right? I resolve to do this, or I resolve to stop that. But even though we fully intend to keep them, most of us who actually make resolutions fail to ride them all the way to the end. Regardless of our best intentions, life intervenes.

And as disappointed as we might be in ourselves when we break our resolution, I don’t think God is disappointed in us. Sure, God wants us to change, to grow, to improve, but mostly God wants us to think. This is why Paul tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) And you’ve heard the words of Socrates - “An unexamined life is not worth living” - both Paul and Socrates are calling for us to examine our lives, examine our direction. 

They’re not necessarily suggesting that we beat every bad habit and overcome every obstacle, but they are suggesting that we should be thinking about it. When we miss the mark, we should at least notice. But how much of our life is on autopilot? How often are we just running along and rolling with whatever comes?

James says blaming the devil is a cop out. He says it’s our own evil desires that drag us into temptation. So maybe recognizing that fact is half the battle. Maybe living the Christian life is mostly just paying attention. Don't go off half-cocked. Live an examined life. Think and go. Pray and go.

Join us on January 3, 3:30 P.M., at 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse, 13 “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” and learn more about what we pray about when we pray for direction and deliverance.

See you then!

Pastor Ed

- - - - - - - -

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

• When have you been really successful with a resolution? Not so successful?
• What’s the difference between temptation and sin?
• What are some tools that help you steer away from particular temptations?

MAIN PASSAGES:

Matthew 6:13, James 1:13-15, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Romans 8:31b

Forget About It

Have you seen those bumperstickers that say, “Not perfect, just forgiven.” 

I’m assuming that anyone who sticks one of these on their car is wanting people to know they’re a Jesus follower. Which is fine. And I guess that’s a pretty good description of personal redemption, because it’s true, we’re not perfect, and we’ve been forgiven much.

But if you have one of these on your car, I have a question for you. Did you really think anyone was mistaking you for perfect? Because they probably weren’t. But this bumpersticker brings to mind a bigger question. 

Do people think Jesus expects his followers to be perfect? Because if people think this, it’s probably our fault. We must be giving that impression. Or we’re not doing enough to dispel that impression. And I think it all begins with our concept of forgiveness. 

The other day, I was at the dentist with my wife, and the only parking spot anywhere near the dentist’s office had a two-hour time limit. She ended up getting a root canal, and it took way more than two hours. 

Now, it wasn’t like I didn’t see the sign. I knew I only had two hours, and I knew it’d been longer than that. So, I knew I deserved a ticket. But when we left the office, and I saw the citation on the windshield, I was still ticked. How dare they? Didn’t they know I was caring for my dear sickly wife? The nerve.

Of course, this is ridiculous. What was I expecting? 

When I went in to pay the ticket at Village Hall, I told the whole sad story to the cashier. She seemed very sympathetic. But I still had to pay. She had no authority to forgive my debt. In order to balance the books, I either had to pay the debt or find someone who DID have authority to forgive my debt and convince them to pretend it never happened. 

Notice how neither of these choices had anything to do with being perfect?  

Pastor Ed

- - - - - - - -

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

• What do you personally need to do to be forgiven?

• If forgiveness depended on a scale with your bad stuff on one side and your good stuff on the other side, how would you be doing?

• What does it mean to “forgive and forget?” Is that even a good thing? Why or why not?

Stuff

“What do you want for Christmas?”

Is it just me, or does everyone have trouble answering this question? I’m always tempted to say something like, “World peace,” or, “An anonymous benefactor who’ll pay off my son’s student loans.” But I know that’s not really what they’re asking. What they really want to know is what I want them to buy me for Christmas.

On one hand, I don’t really want anyone to buy me anything. I’m good. But, on the other hand, if someone’s going to buy me something, I’d rather it be something I want or need. It’s not that I’m unappreciative; it’s just that I know money’s tight, and I’d hate for anyone to waste money buying me something I know I won’t use. 

For that reason, if people ask, I try to think of something I actually need that’s not too expensive. That way, I don’t end up with a kitchen appliance that I’ll never use or a bottle of alcohol that I’ll never drink or an article of clothing that I’ll never wear or a Blu-Ray that I’ll never watch. The last thing I need is more things I don’t need.

When I was a kid, more was better, but now, not so much. What do I really need? A roof? Clothes? Something to eat? Someone to love? If we’re supposed to pray that God would provide our “daily bread,” what is that exactly? What do we need? What sustains us?

Join us on December 20, 3:30 p.m., at 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, IL, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse 11 “Give us today our daily bread.”

See you then!  

Pastor Ed

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

- What was the best Christmas you ever got?

- What’s the most precious thing you ever lost?

- If you were stranded on a desert island with with only a backpack containing three things (so no helicopters or motorboats), what would those three items be? What could you get by with? What could you not get by without?

- If you suddenly lost everything, what would you miss most?

SCRIPTURES TO CONSIDER:

Matthew 6:25-34, 11:28-30, Exodus 16

Whose will?

A pastor I used to work with would often suggest that life would be much easier if God just had a big projection screen, and whenever he had something to tell us, he’d just project it all right there on the screen, in all its beautiful, 70mm, technicolor glory. No guesswork required.

Maybe God would just project something like, “Hey, knucklehead, stop floundering around, and do this…” followed by clear, step-by-step instructions on how to make it happen, and possibly some entertaining YouTube-type videos that would walk you through the whole thing. 

Or maybe it would be more like a cosmic google maps.

Anyway, I used to agree. I used to think it would be cool to have a clear path set before me; but recently, I’ve been less sure about that. I’m not sure I like the implications that come with that level of certainty.

First of all, I like to think that what I do matters. I like to think that, if I feel God leading me in a certain direction, my response to that leading actually has real impact. And I think Scripture backs that up. 

Also, I like to think that God is not directly responsible for everything (for example, mass shootings and genocide and that sort of thing), and those things might muck up our plans without notice.

Finally, I believe that God actually desires that we be discerning and responsive and make good decisions based on our relationship with him and our understanding of his Son, not based on visions and dreams. 

What should I do? What difference will it make? Will God’s will be done in my life regardless of whether I choose to align with it? What if I'm trying to do God's will but I don't?

While I’m not sure I will actually answer all of those questions for you next Sunday, I definitely want to invite you into the conversation. 

Join us on December 13, 3:30 pm, St. Peter Life Center, 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse 10b “…Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

See you then! 

Pastor Ed 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

- Does God make everything happen or does he just know what will happen (or is it neither of these)?

- Is it possible to know, with certainty, what God’s will is for my life? Is it okay to just be pretty sure?

- Does God still do the whole fleece thing (Judges 6)? Is that cool today?