Welcome and Instructions . Welcome back to our Facebook Church online experience for Wednesday, October 22, 2014. Today’s lesson continues a sermon series titled, “Aha: Awakening.Honesty.Action.” The sermon for Sunday, on which this devotion is based, is called, “Brutal Honesty.” . As a reminder, Facebook Church is one long post. Whenever you have to leave this liturgy to watch a linked video, please come back as soon as you can. That will make this devotion more meaningful. Also, the dots between paragraphs are on purpose—they make Facebook provide spaces between the paragraphs, something that doesn’t happen when the dots are absent. After a time, hopefully they won’t be a distraction. do). . To help you and others have more privacy, I invite you to put on some headphones. Headphones can help you from distracting others, if you’re accessing this at work or even at home. . Please join me now for a word of prayer. . . Opening Prayer . Please say or whisper this aloud: “Almighty God, you have sent Jesus to show us how to live. Grant us the power of your Holy Spirit so that we may follow him in faithfulness all the days of our lives. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.” . . Opening Music . “Today is Beautiful,” by David Dunn. youtu.be/hFLgmvzk-ik . . Reading Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:5-7 | New Living Translation . Read this aloud: Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority. . We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. . Say or sing this (if you know the tune) aloud: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.’ . . Video Lesson . Our actions often have severe consequences and this old commercial may remind us of that. “Keep America Beautiful PSA.” youtu.be/8Suu84khNGY . Devotion . In church on Sundays, we’ve been learning more about the parable of the Prodigal Son. The story is found in the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32. We’ve also seen Aha begin to unfold. Aha is a sudden understanding that awakens us to a vital or important truth. In order for Aha to significantly change our lives, it needs three ingredients that come together to produce the revelation. Tthose three ingredients are found in the acronym A.H.A.: Awakening, Honesty, and Action. . Last week we examined in more detail the importance of how an awakening can shape us to the truth of our sins. This week, we’ll consider the importance of brutal honesty. Honesty is the courage to examine our situation and acknowledge the things in our lives that have caused us the most trouble. This stage in the Aha experience is one of the toughest—especially if we don’t want to be honest with ourselves or if we lack the wisdom to understand our situation. . When we’re brutally honest with ourselves, we’re able to see how our actions have caused us harm. Sometimes this happens after we’ve fallen on hard times or harmed someone or been embarrassed. This is when we need to name the attitudes, behaviors, and selfish pursuits that have caused us to lose our way. Being brutally honest means we name the causes of our sin. It means we cut to the chase—and we quit kidding ourselves. Being brutally honest begins with understanding our circumstances. We recognize and acknowledge that we’ve messed up. We name the situation we’re in. Then, we name exactly what caused us to mess up. We don’t mince words. Kyle Idelmann, author of the book Aha: Awakening, Honesty, Action, explains that there is no blame-shifting, no trying to pretend it was an accident, and no passing off the responsibility. There is no hiding, lying, or denying. There is just honesty. Brutal honesty. “I have sinned.” . Besides being honest with ourselves, there is an opportunity for us to be changed by the experience. The final part of our brutal honesty involves being honest about our consequences. It is acknowledging that we truly deserve the consequences of our actions. The Native American Indian in our video lesson is saddened by the pollution that destroyed his world and with empathy, he’s trying to get us to understand the consequences of our actions--throwing garbage on the street affects more than just the polluter. Likewise, when we commit a sin that harms ourselves, we own up to it by recognizing that our sins are seldom private. Our actions very nearly always hurt more people than just ourselves. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the boy knows that he’s sinned against his dad and against God—not just against himself. Through his acknowledgement, he is apologizing. In so doing, he can begin the restoration process because we are all supposed to forgive those who seek it. The Bible reminds us repeatedly that we must forgive who ask for it, even if they askit 70 times 7 (Matthew 18:22). . So then, understanding our consequences and seeking forgiveness from those we’ve sinned against begins the process of recovery. This is one of the toughest things to do—to say you’re sorry and mean it. To humble yourselves and approach others to say you’re sorry. They might NOT be ready to forgive you—as they might still be very angry with you. This process can take time. In our story, it’s just a few seconds. In reality, this can take months or years. But it’s worth it. . My grandma tells the story of how two of her brothers couldn’t forgive each other until one of them was on his deathbed. They let decades of living come between them and their families. If only they had not waiting so long, they could have benefited from their love for each other. Who have you sinned against? Who have you angered, judged, or made to feel inferior? Perhaps now is the time to mend that relationship. Don’t wait until they are on their deathbed. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Perhaps now is the time to get right with yourself, with them, and with God. . . Closing Prayer . Let us pray. . “Holy God, teach me to be honest with myself. May I have the courage to confront my sins and the humility to seek forgiveness. Amen.” . . Closing Praise Music . “Start a Fire,” by Unspoken. youtu.be/xrEzr-rWwe8 . . Benediction . If you are able, please say or whisper this aloud: . “I will live today in Christ’s presence, remembering he is near and will sustain me as I serve in his name. Amen.” . . Closing Thoughts . I hope this service was a blessing to you today. If you enjoyed it, be sure to tell a friend about it and invite them to join you next week. . You can learn more about the congregation I serve by visiting our website at cresskillucc.org. . Please come back next week for a new devotion is posted every Wednesday before 12:00 Noon. If you enjoyed today’s Facebook Church, I invite you to share your experiences on your own Facebook page. Thank you for allowing us to spread God’s kingdom message.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 16:01:24 +0000
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