Community Invitations
3 23 2025 - Potent Spirituality in a World of Conflict
Series: How The World is Pulled Apart
Link to Recording
Passages:
Summary - Listen for more
- In Genesis 3 and 4, we see the third layer of alienation—a social alienation that pulls us apart from each other. This alienation and unraveling leads to the active conflict we observe in our world, as well as the apathy we can possess towards the material needs of those around us.
- In response to the widening dysfunction and violence multiplying in the world, God chooses a nation to embody a different way. This different way can be seen in passages such as Deuteronomy 15.
- In Isaiah 58, we see glimpse of God’s desire for a spirituality—a “life with God”—in a world marked by conflict and apathy. It is a spirituality that 1) has eyes for others, 2) is rooted in continuous intimacy with the Father, and 3) delights in grace!
- We can often miss God’s desire in two directions: 1) a religious direction and 2) an irreligious direction. We err in the religious direction when we focus on the rituals of spirituality without allowing our love for God translate into active love and concern for others (Isaiah 58.1-5). We can also err in an irreligious direction, where we seek justice for others but discount the necessity of life with God. We desire to remedy alienation #3—social alienation—but do not address alienation #1—alienation from God.
- Jesus embodies a potent spirituality that both 1) challenges a spirituality that ignores the material plight of others (Mt. 23.23) and also 2) prioritizes connection to the Father. A Jesus-Church*,* following after the way of Jesus, gets to experience and embody the same!
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