Addict, Part 2: SURRENDER
Am I am addict? We love power and control, thinking we can will ourselves towards health and well-being. Yet with every addiction, the first step to healing always begins with “I can’t!” But if I can’t, who really can? The Good News states from beginning to end that God, through Jesus, can and eagerly wants to restore us and help us recover from our addiction to me! Will we give God control?
John 1:10-13
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God
Romans 8:1-4
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b]from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.[c] So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Key Definitions & Ideas
Addicted to ME: Compulsive disowning of God so I can be my own god
Step 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Step 3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Under New Management: (1) Relinquishing any claim to power, we obey the new owner. (2) Seek to better know Jesus and how he cares for and directs what is his.
Audio from Sunday, July 16 Message “Addict, Part 1: SURRENDER”
Click below to listen
For Further Conversation
- Why do you think children (and even adults) struggle to share? When is it difficult for you?
- Read John 1:10-13 Why do you think the world and the Jews rejected the claims of Jesus?
- Read Romans 8:1-4 What does it mean to “belong to Christ Jesus”? What rights and authority typically accompanies ownership? How might that apply to belonging to Jesus?
- 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a says “You are not your own; you are bought with a price.” In what ways did Jesus pay for you? How does Jesus care for what he owns?
- What are some ways for getting to know our new owner better? What is one practice you can begin this week that will help you get to know Jesus better and learn his management style? How can Christ Church help you with your NEXT STEP with Jesus?
