Posted on January 6, 2019 Posted By: HCCCategories: journey
Heartland Community Church
January 6 – 12, 2019
Walk This Way: With God
By Grant Houske
Power walking is real; it is very hard and I can personally attest to its degree of difficulty. Reading that sentence probably raises more questions than answers, so I’ll need to back up and unpack that. About 19 years ago, I, a recent college graduate, worked in the downtown KC area. After being on the job a few months or so, I noticed a group of women from my department who would go on “power walks” over the lunch hour. I, being in my early 20’s, naïve, a little aloof, arrogant, and kind of going about life in my own way would tend to heckle them and make some snide comments like “more waddling today, ladies”. I was eventually challenged to participate. Given the way I set the stage to describe this event, I can imagine that you already know how it ended. It ended miserably. I was destroyed by a group of women twice my age “waddling” around 12th and Baltimore! Needless to say, I learned a valuable life lesson and got a taste of the real world.
As I was listening to the message today, I was reminded of the power walking challenge. I can see that there are a lot of similarities between power walking and life. They both are very hard, they seem uncomfortable at times, and you will inevitably break the rules because there are so many of them. I lost before I even started.
When we try to win on our own, we tend to lose sight of what it takes to truly WIN with God and tend to end up breaking the rules that enable us to win. Luckily, we have a golden nugget to help us walk and make a new path, which is Jesus. Jesus is that comfortable pair of shoes for our feet. He is the level and paved path for us to follow. He is the cool breeze that keeps us from boiling over. Life can make it easy to allow ourselves to be stripped of these protections, making it easy to fail.
But, what if we didn’t. What if we did things differently? Let’s start a new path. This year, let’s start to walk with “power” as we walk in humility, as we walk in forgiveness, as we walk towards peace, as we make a new self through Jesus.
As we walk down this path together, Jesus asks a few things of us. Do what is right, love kindness and mercy, and live humbly and trust in him, wherever he leads us.
Observe, Reflect, Apply: How can I serve others in love? What is one area in my life that I do not fully believe God is at work? What challenges will I face when I commit to a new path of walking out of God’s love?
NEW RESOURCE: Our own Seth Davidson has begun a Journey Vlog that you can subscribe to. Each day he offers an 8-10 minute overview about the scripture reading for the day. CLICK HERE to check it out. Be sure to click "subscribe" on the page to follow him on YouTube!
{personal reflection and bible reading plan}
As you read the verses each day, make notes of questions you have about what you’re reading as well as answering the reflection questions below. Grab a friend or two to discuss what you are learning and what God is doing in your lives.
Observe, Reflect, Apply: When Cornelius first meets Peter he drops to his knees and begins to worship him. I find it easy to think Cornelius is silly for doing this. However, when I think about today’s culture I realize we worship people all the time. Church people aren’t any different. Sometimes pastors seem to get more praise than Jesus. Have you ever met a celebrity or someone you admire? Share with a trusted group or friend what that experience was like for you?
Observe, Reflect, Apply: “It’s become clear to me,” he said, “that God really does show no favoritism.” Sometimes it is lost on us the societal and political atmosphere which Peter was living in at this time in history. Peter was Jewish and he was speaking to gentiles. At this point in history there was a strong separation between the two cultures. What cultures have you experienced where there seems to be big separation today? If Peter were here today what do you think Peter would say?
Observe, Reflect, Apply: Peter has to explain himself to his peers, because by baptizing Gentiles he had crossed some societal norms. They had not seen his vision and heard what God was telling him. Peter had been challenged by God to do something that butted heads with his culture. Have you ever felt convicted by God to butt heads with our culture? Share with a trusted group or friend your experience.
Observe, Reflect, Apply: By sharing his experience that God put him in Peter was able to make a change in his culture that is still seen today. I am a gentile that worships Jesus because of Peter’s actions. Has God ever called you to act on something? What was it? Did you do it? What changes have occurred in yourself or other people because of it?
Observe, Reflect, Apply: “Each of the disciples determined, according to their ability, to send what they could to help the brothers and sisters living in Judea.” I like that what they gave was according to their ability not some sort of flat fee that blanketed the entire group. It gave them each a more personal connection to helping someone else. God gave to us personally through Jesus. God models this personal connection over and over again. Pray for an opportunity to touch someone else’s life in a personal way that is unique to who God made you.
Observe, Reflect, Apply: Herod had James killed and had Peter locked up. God sends an angel and Peter is freed. One man dies a painful death while another man sees a miracle. We see this kind of story today still. What appears to be God showing favoritism on one person over another can be difficult to understand let alone explain. However, we are told that God is a just God and we read earlier this week he does not show favoritism. Share with a trusted group or friend your thoughts about this. Is death unjust?
{community discussion questions}
We weren’t meant to experience the life of Jesus alone, so we encourage you to rally a few others to discuss what you are hearing, reading, and reflecting on together. Whether you are meeting as a Journey Community group, talking with a few friends throughout the week, or bringing up spiritual conversations around your table at home, feel free to use some of these questions as conversation starters on your journey.
Can you name a takeaway or challenge from the Sunday message?
How has that been relevant, challenging, or meaningful to your life this week?
What have you observed about God, Jesus, yourself, others, or God’s plan for you from these readings?
Where do you need a breakthrough from God this week?
Who do you need to share what you’re learning about God with?
{extra journey resources}
NEW RESOURCE:CLICK HERE to follow our own Seth Davidson on YouTube. He has begun a Journey Vlog that you can subscribe to. Each day he offers an 8-10 minute overview about the scripture reading for the day. Be sure to click "subscribe" on the page to follow this YouTube channel!
CLICK HERE to visit The Bible Project site and explore their super simple, super informative Bible videos (and other resources).
CLICK HERE to get the Read Scripture App, from our friends at The Bible Project.
CLICK HERE for more on how to use the observe-reflect-apply approach to getting the most out of your Bible reading.
The Bible App Get a free Bible for your phone, tablet, and computer. Experience the Bible anywhere, with options to highlight, save notes, and share what you are reading with others.
Bible Gateway Provides advanced Bible searching capabilities, which allow readers to find passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or scripture reference.
Please visit us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and share what you are learning, questioning or experiencing. We love conversations!
