Series: Grow Strong
Sermon: Growing What
Speaker: Jessyka Albert
Writer: J. Murdock
Refresh: Begin today in prayer. Ask God for understanding through the Holy Spirit.
Read: Jeremiah 1:14–19 (ESV) As you read through the conclusion of the first chapter of Jeremiah, note 1 to 3 questions or insights that arise.
Reflect: The most successful self-help strategies are those that give “three/four/five simple steps to your success” which can be recited using short and pithy descriptions. Follow these few steps and you will find your entire life turned around before you know it. Often these trends in personal improvement ebb and flow out of the New York Times Best Seller list as the seasons change, but for the time they are in the national spotlight, they take root in the mind of those seeking change they can consume like fast-food.
Here at Boulder Church, we are attempting our own version of self-help by producing a daily newsletter for you to read before you start your day. Inside, five words to frame a conversation we hope you’ll have with God: Refresh, Read, Reflect, Recalibrate, Respond, Research. Our goal in providing quick hits in each of these categories is to guide you closer to another mantra we practice here at Boulder Church; Live Love. Love is an action and it seeks to permeate our entire being which is supplied endlessly by Jesus who offers it as a directive to show all of Creation, through your presence in it, that God so loves the world. The only way we know best to allow the Lord to saturate your life is by committing your entire life to following Christ. every aspect of it. Jesus. All.
We’re good at mantras here at Boulder. The Lord is also good at mantras as Jeremiah finds out in verse 17 of chapter 1. Dress for work. Arise. Say only what I tell you to say. Do not be afraid. Maybe not as punchy as WWJD . . . but these are the early cuts of things to come!
Jeremiah is facing a cliff face where he must walk out into the nothing possessing the faith that God would provide, or retreat back to the comfort of being too young to launch. The young creatives of our church find themselves in this stage of life today as they explore what God seeks to create in their lives through new jobs, new relationships, new family structures, new normative behaviors, new requirements of maturity, and new challenges to their personal faith. Unsure of what the future holds, God speaks out into the abyss and offers a foundation to build from. It all starts by recognizing God’s will for your life is the only way. From there, the steps are simple: Get dressed. Get focused. Get ready. Get confident.
Boulder Church is beginning a new season of ministry rooted in the principles of Jesus. All. and Live Love. It is our intention to follow Christ in all things, believing that He will create something beautiful if we fearlessly focus on the movement of His Spirit.
Recalibrate: Are you ready for what God has in store for your life next?
Respond: Ask for God to consecrate your whole life to serve him.
Research: Read Ellen White’s prayer. Allow her words to provide the pathway for living in a renewed spirit, filled by the power of God. Note how your vision has changed as we begin our Sabbath rest this evening.
Live Wonder (ages 0–3):It’s a daily chore to get your kid dressed, fed, shoes on, and clipped into their car seat. It’s like they’re somehow pre-programmed to shed their clothes and shoes and reject the restraints of anything put upon them (be it mashed peas or a seat belt!) In these moments of frustration, take solace in knowing that you are following the will of the Lord for their life. In the moments when resistance threatens to steal your patience, pray to God for the support to follow in His will and that your wisdom in knowing what to do will be transferred to your child whether they know it or not.
Live Adventure (ages 4–11): There are lots of changes happening to you these days as you grow taller, lose teeth, outgrow shoes, and start seeing a slightly different person in the mirror every time you look. Changes are good thing even when they make you feel uncomfortable. When you were a little kid, your faith was very simple, but its not only your body that’s changing, it’s your mind too! How has your relationship with Jesus changed as you’ve grown up? What are the differences you see between your faith before and now?
Live Purpose (ages 12–16): Everyone seems to want to know what you want to be when you get older. We spend to talk a lot about what’s next and not so much on what’s going on now. Tomorrow will come for you whether you’re ready or not. You can choose to spend time worrying about what tomorrow brings, or you can decide to be prepared to take on the world one day at a time. When you slow your life down to right this very moment, what do you think your purpose is? Not what do you think it will become, but what is it right now? Living only in the moment allows you to put things into perspective in a way that you can’t if you’re always trying to keep up with the future. Jesus wants to have a relationship with you right now. Are you ready for that type of commitment? What’s keeping you from saying yes?