Point of Grace Worship 10.24.21 Sermon Notes – “Recover Together 3”
“RECOVER Together” “Recover TOGETHER”
TOGETHER is such an essential part of the meaningful life that Christ intends and the RECOVERY we desperately need.
1 Corinthians 2 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. 12 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
We are the body of Christ … He is the head. His Presence, His message and His Spirit makes us One.
We each matter to each other in ways we can’t imagine. Presence matters. Life is a shared experience.
Jesus led “Recovery” means
- great grace for each other including ourselves,
- active intentionality in the ways of Jesus,
- coming back stronger, deeper, and more potently alive in Christ as individuals and as His church.
Prayer of the Week Father in Heaven, thank You for loving me from eternity. You are my true Father and I love You very much. As I begin this prayer I ask You to come by Your Spirit and fill me afresh with Your presence so that I might embrace and receive all that You have for me. You are love and You are life and I receive You by faith and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day.
Jesus, I thank You for coming in the flesh to be the Way so that I could be reconciled to my Father in heaven who loves me very much. I receive all that Your work and triumph has done for me. I am amazed that You have made it possible for me to be forgiven completely and given a new heart and new life to live. Give me grace today to rest in You. I ask You to search me and know me and reveal to me where You are working in my life that I might join You in the recovery of my soul. Jesus, help me notice the places in my heart and soul that are particularly tender and wounded. Help me be as gracious and merciful with my heart as You are. I invite You Jesus into the places of my being where I need life and peace this day. (Rest for a few moments in His presence inviting Jesus into the places of your heart that need His peace and wholeness as He reveals them.)
Jesus, thank You for making me a part of Your church, the body of Christ, so that I am not alone and neither are my brothers and sisters. Help me see my vital role as I interact with others. I am sorry I have sometimes looked down on others and looked down on myself as being less significant or less important. I affirm that You have arranged the parts of the body as You see fit. I look forward to living this day fulfilling my role as Your servant and member of Your body. I pray that your vision for Your church be realized this day. “That there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Amen
Resources for this Week Here are some suggested readings for each day of this week. The Meditation Hints below may help you listen and receive all God has for you.
Mon – 1 Corinthians 12:3-6,11-20 Tue – 1 Corinthians 12:21-27 Wed – Romans 12:1-8 Thu – Romans 12:9-18 Fri – 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 18-25 Sat - 2 Peter 1:3-11 Meditation Hints:
Solitude – Spend TWO minutes quietly alone. Take some deep breaths… Just be… “Holy Spirit, speak to me through Your Word! I rest in You!”
Scripture – Read the scripture slowly, out loud if possible, listen, reread, dwell, notice words & phrases you are drawn to & return there! Reflect on what you are noticing and where He is leading your thoughts.
Prayer – Have a conversation with God, “What are You saying to me, God?” Talk about what you notice is on your heart. Begin to own the “word of God” being revealed to you.
Finish - Spend TWO minutes again with God, resting and listening and being loved.