All people long for God. Period. Some may say the exact opposite, but our desires, actions and values suggest something completely different. We all long to connect with something greater than ourselves, we long for the heart of God.
There is simply no better way to connect with God than to learn who God is in His own words found in the pages of the Bible. Through the lives of patriarchs and prophets, sinners and saints, God reveals His love throughout human history in profound and personal ways. I believe that the Bible is God’s autobiography in which the Spirit of God speaks and person of Jesus Christ is revealed. In it we discover the history of humanity, the problem of sin, the path of redemption and the hope for the future.
The Bible may not give you the answer to who you should marry, whether you should make a certain investment or take a certain job. But when you read it, you may find that perhaps there are bigger questions that you should be asking and seeking answers to.
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Americans spend $8 billion per year on self-help books, seminars and inspirational speakers. It’s not that we won’t admit that we need help, clearly we do. We are simply under the impression that we can help ourselves. Yet Scripture, experience and reason tells us that we we’re flawed and just trying harder won’t cure what ails us. In many ways we’re addicted to our own ego; we’re self-deceivers who believe our own publicity. Not only can we not help ourselves, God doesn’t expect us to. Rather, through the power of His Spirit and the encouragement of other believers, God calls us to step out of the shadows into His marvelous light.
This is a risky proposition. It requires that we trade our isolation for community, our shadows for authenticity and our independence for accountability. It means admitting to others we’re not perfect, we seek forgiveness and then learn from our mistakes.
Henri Nouwen once said “Our life is full of brokenness - broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God's faithful presence in our lives?”
At First Church, small groups serve as the space where this type of life-transformation happens. Small group Bible studies offer an opportunity for our church to build solid and lasting relationships as we encourage each other to be more like Jesus in practical ways. We pray together, serve together, and celebrate life together. It requires a level of vulnerability that opens the door to new relationships, new perspective, and new future. You don’t have to be a product of your past, you don’t have become a cliché. You can become God’s vision for the future.
Change doesn’t happen without commitment and commitment doesn’t happen without conviction. What you believe, you eventually become. I believe everyone wants to know God personally, but not everyone knows how. Everyone wants to have friends, but not everyone will risk being vulnerable. Everyone wants their life to have significance, but not everyone will find a place to serve. When you become actively involved in a small group ministry, you’ll become what you believe. So I want to encourage you to join a group, create a new group, or suggest a group to build community and become the people of God.
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