Series: Home Team
Sermon: Injured Reserve
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:6-10
ICE BREAKER: Would you rather HIT your Funny Bone once a day, every day OR, STUB your Toe once a day, every day??
REVIEW:
In our second week of Home Team, we talked about the power and necessity of authenticity. You cannot be in true community if there is not authenticity! Community requires people to show up with their true self and engage VULNERABLY.
As broken people, we shy away from vulnerability. We don't like for people to see the parts of us that we have worked so hard to cover up. Life is hard, and each of us experiences pain. We spend most of our life trying to cover, deny, suppress, medicate, ignore, run from, or out-achieve these issues. All of that works is to keep us from having to confront our pain and make ourselves vulnerable to those around us.
Is there anything in your life that you try to keep other people from knowing about?
How does covering that up keep you from being truly authentic?
This is not a new issue - the Apostle Paul was dealing with it in the first century! False teachers had come in to the church he started in Corinth and were claiming that Paul was not qualified to be their Pastor. Now, Paul could have put everyone to shame with his resume and reputation, but instead he took a different route!
He began to tell the Corinthians about a "Thorn in his flesh..." Instead of pointing to his achievements, Paul pointed to his weaknesses. Paul was following the example of Humility that Jesus had set for us and decided to show an important truth:
In Our Weakness, God's Strength Shines Through!
We all need a community where we are fully known and loved for our true, authentic self. It is through this vulnerability that we bring our brokenness into the light of Christ and HE can begin putting us back together - stronger and more beautiful than we were before!
When we are willing to live Authentically as followers of Jesus, God's power is shown to the world around us through our shortcomings and weaknesses in a way they might never see God through our strengths and confidence.
APPLY:
HERE IS THIS WEEK'S APPLICATION QUESTION:
WHAT IS ONE AREA WHERE YOU ARE LACKING VULNERABILITY AND WHAT IS ONE WAY YOU CAN BE MORE AUTHENTIC ABOUT THAT WEAKNESS?
PRAY:
Spend some time asking God to show you where you are lacking vulnerability. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you strength to open up and let your community, and the world around you, see God at work in your brokenness.
