series TITLE
The God I Wish You Knew
sermon title
Bravely Forward Short Film/He Speaks
series introduction
The way that people, even church people, understand God is all over the map. To some, God is the violent dictator crushing people under his feet. To others He’s like a capricious child, subjecting the world to His whims. Still others believe him weak and impotent or removed and distant.
This series is designed to help you encounter the God we wish you knew, the God who is personal, present, caring, and powerful, the God who fills the void in your soul.
BRAVELY FORWARD
Bravely Forward is all about how we as the church can engage in the pursuit to end homelessness in Orange County.
What has been your experience and interaction with people who are homeless?
One of the officers says that the people who are homeless in the community he patrols don’t necessarily want to leave because it’s their community, and some of them have known the people in that community for their whole lives. It is one of the challenges of helping people to get off of the streets.
What do you think about that idea? Does it change your perspective on people who are homeless?
In the movie, Brad Fieldhouse, founder and executive director of City Net talks about what we can do to help end street level homelessness. He says that people who are homeless don’t need turkeys and toys. Homelessness comes from brokenness and fractured relationships. What they need is community.
He talks about having small groups of people check up monthly for six months with people who have recently gotten off of the streets.
What are some things that have kept you from engaging in local compassion causes in the past? Is there a perspective or priority shift that might help your group to move bravely forward?
What would it take for your group to commit to engaging in being a part of the effort to end homelessness? Visit eastside.com/localserve to learn more about what your group can do.
take action
At some point in the next month, invite someone who is homeless to lunch. Have a conversation with that person. Get to know them not as a statistic or a panhandler but as a person with a story and a history.
APPLICATION
Set aside one hour this week to seek God’s will for a decision you are facing. Schedule this hour on your calendar. We don’t do the things we intend to do. We do the things we plan to do.
Pray and ask God to speak to you. Spend some time searching the Bible to see what God might have already said about it. Take some time to quiet your mind and heart and simply listen, and throughout the week, try to be aware that God may be prompting you in some small way.
Outside of this hour, reach out to a Godly, trusted friend or mentor. Ask them to pray about your decision, and then follow up and see if God has spoken anything to them. If not, simply ask what their advice would be given that they’re also a follower of Jesus and someone whose opinion you value. And of course, be sure to check any advice against the Bible and the promptings of God’s Spirit in you.