The Rewards of The Steward: Diving Deeper
See Jesus
"For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!"
Ephesians 5:8
In the beginning, the world was formless and empty and darkness was over the surface of the deep. In this week's message, Pastor Merodee explained that this state of formlessness and darkness can also be called "chaos." The earth was order-less and chaotic, it's depths were covered in darkness.The Spirit of the Lord was hovering over this chaos, ready to create.
Then the Lord spoke, "Let there be light!" and there was light. And God saw that the light was good and He separated the light from the darkness. God spends the first two days of His creation process in this work of separating and ordering: He separates the light and darkness, the atmosphere from the surface of the earth, and the land from the water.
After this work of creating order, then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.”
First order, then fruit.
There are areas of my life that have seen varying degrees of chaos and orderless-ness. Pastor Merodee defined "chaos" as:
Can't
Have
Anyone
Over
Syndrome
She shared this in the context of housekeeping, but it's true no matter where it is applied! At different times, I have experienced my finances in chaos, my relationships in chaos, my work in chaos, my spiritual life in chaos, and yes, definitely my house in chaos! Anywhere that I've said, "no one can look here!" has been an area of can't-have-anyone-over-syndrome.
Most of the time, when I have chaos it is because I feel ashamed. Just like Adam and Eve in the garden, I run from the light and cover myself in darkness. Chaos thrives in darkness and hiding. In fact, darkness is the only place that chaos can hide! But light drives out that darkness, and the chaos goes with it.
2 Corinthians 4:6 says. "For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ."
God doesn't call us to the light to expose our shame, but to heal it and to free us from its weight. Bringing light to darkness is the work of God's Spirit and Word. We don't need to go searching for chaos, but we can ask the Lord to expose areas of chaos in our hearts and lives and bring the light of Christ to them. Just like when God created the heavens and the earth, the light brings order and peace, and soon after a harvest of good things.
-Pastor Nicole
Know Jesus
This week, you can dive deeper into the message through one or all of the following:
Ask the Lord if there's any area in your heart or life where He wants to bring light to chaos. Consider sharing this with a trusted fellow believer or pastor and asking them to pray with you.
Listen and worship along with "Sound Mind."
Do a DBS on 2 Corinthians 3:16-18.
Consider the prayer prompts given in your time with God this week.
Discovery Bible Study
TO BEGIN
Pray and ask Holy Spirit to teach you about God from His word.
Next, read the verse a couple of times.
Now, ask these questions:
What does this tell me about God/Jesus?
What does this tell me about people?
How can I respond to what I just read?
When you’re done asking these questions, it’s a great idea to pray and thank God for teaching you more about who He is and who you are!
Discovery Bible Study (DBS) is a way for anyone, anywhere to read God's word! You can dive deeper into this week's message by doing a DBS one any one or all of these scriptures. DBS is a great tool to use for your own devotions, as a bible study with friends, or as an evangelism tool!
2 Corinthians 3:16-18
“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
Listen to ‘Sound Mind’ by Melissa Helser
Prayer Prompts
Pray for an outbreak of worship in our church family.
Pray for the upcoming Christmas parade, that our church family would be the light and spread the gospel to our community.
Pray for there to be an influx of souls into God's Kingdom!
Share Jesus
You can share this week's podcast, email, or blog post. Check out volunteer opportunities to get involved in the work of sharing Jesus in our church family and community.
Current Volunteer Opporunities
Saturday, December 10th, 6:30 pm: Christmas Parade. Our church has once again been invited to join the Kipling Christmas Parade! We are so excited for this opportunity to be the light in our community. We are looking for a team of volunteers to decorate the float on December 10th, as well as carolers for the float in the evening. If you would like to be part of the float decorating team, please contact Pastor Merodee at pastormerodee@kiplingchurch.com. If you would like to be part of the carolers, please contact Pastor Nicole at pastornicole@kiplingchurch.com.
Pastor Charla is looking for volunteers for the Christmas season Kid's church schedule. This schedule will be one Sunday commitments rather than a four week rotation. You can sign up to help by contacting Pastor Charla at pastorcharla@kiplingchurch.com.
