As part of participating in One Prayer with over 1700 churches and more than 1 million people around the world we are also focusing on "God is..." for the sermon series. This was originally a four part sermon series for the month of June but will extend a bit longer now. How much longer? I'm not sure. I just feel a peace about not rushing a sermon series about the person and character and deity of God. Wonder why?
Part of this is also due to the fact that while I was at Ollie's the other day, and for those that don't know Ollie's is a buy out store that sells just about everything, and I came across a book titled "The Deity Formerly known as God". At first glance I figured it was an emergent's attempt at redefining God and I just wasn't interested in that. But my attention was drawn back to it as the Holy Spirit only can and I picked it up. I read a little about the author Jarrett Stevens and figured it might be worth the $4 the book was selling for. Boy was it! Now that I'm about half way into the book I realize I think I heard him do a catalyt lab a few years back but I can't be certain about that.
Anyway this book is SOLID. Some quotes from it.
- Have I crafted my own version of God? Where did it come from?
- You can tell you have created God in your own image when it turns out that he or she hates all the same people you do. -Anne Lamott
- Accumulated "goodness", and/or lack of "badness," defines our depth of devotion to God. (catch the point, please)
- While it's true that most of us have a decent sense of reverence and respect for the old man[God], few of us really believe that he's got a grip on what's going on in our world, and fewer still would be willing to bank their one and only life on a God who seems to be in the twilight of his eternity.
- The "Grand Old Man' is treated with reverence and respect- look at what a help He was to our forefathers- but He can hardly be expected to cope with the complexities and problems of life today. J.B. Phillips.
- God is not dead but you'd never guess it by going to church.
- There is a Grand Canyon-sized gap between busyness and godliness, intimacy and insanity.
- We have found ways of making almost everything around us somehow about us.
- It is possible to spend your whole life filling your plate with your favorite parts about God, while your soul slowly starves from divine malnourishment.
- The trouble with many people today is that they have not found a God big enough for modern needs. J.B. Philips
- There is no more powerful force in the universe that shapes your perception of and experience with God outside of your parents.
That's what I've got from the first half of the book. I'll be back with the second half.
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