Space, Time & the Fire of God's Love
Mark 3:13-15 (TNIV)
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.
Mark 12:29-31 (TNIV)
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”
John 20:31-32 (TNIV)
31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
What are the rhythms of your life? What are the things that give you life? What are the things seem to quench the fire within you?Those are the questions that Paul Jensen explores with us as he shares insights from the scriptures, leads us in prayer, and challenges us to reflect on the patterns of our lives as we see them along side of the pattern of Jesus' life. On this page you will find the scriptures he has invited us to reflect upon, and the questions he suggests we continue to pursue. As you prepare to do this, if you would like to listen to the sermon again, or perhaps even for the first time, you can access our sermon library by clicking here.
Here is Paul's outline of what he is sharing in the sermon, and some questions for further reflection:
We look at the passionate fire of God’s love in Jesus and how this love fueled his engagement with people as well as his withdrawal from people for rest and communion with his Father.
We consider how the cultural “collapse of space and time" as evidenced by the disappearance of 3rd places, the increasing pace of life, "hurry sickness" and the loss of discretionary time so easily quenches the fire of love today.
Finally, we commend practices that can help catch and stoke the fire of God's love in this context. The love of Christ constrains me, the Apostle Paul writes. It is this love’s fire that creates space and time for God and others and fuels this Church's mission "to love God and to love people."
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER PERSONAL REFLECTION ALONE WITH GOD
When have you become aware that God wants and desires you and the pleasure of your presence and companionship? How have you experienced God's passionate pursuit and love of you?
How do you experience the detrimental effects of "the collapse of space and time" in your personal, family, community, or vocational life? What underlying external or internal worldview assumptions and values lie behind these forces?
Read the central texts and quietly imagine yourself in these stories. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to something about Jesus and God's love in these texts that the Spirit is breathing into your life.
Ask God to show you how Jesus' patterns of engagement with people and withdrawal from them for communion with the Father have looked like in your life this month. Are their specific places and times God has been (is) inviting you to be with Him so you can hear his voice of love and He can tend the fire of your love towards Him, others, and yourself?
