#1127. As chosen and dearly loved (22/8/24)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional and our summer inspiration series. Today, we reflect on how our understanding and enjoyment of God’s love and grace, frees us to be loving and gracious to others. 

To watch this devotional, follow the link below:

i. Therefore as…

The Biblical pattern is that understanding leads to behaviour. We don’t act out of our feelings; rather, we act out of faith in the truth and feelings normally catch up. Our behaviour and relationships are to flow out of the sort of truths mentioned in this section. 

ii. God’s chosen people

We are told that our attitude to our relationships flow out of the truth that we have been chosen by God. I’m sure that we can see that if we live in the joy of grace; if we know that we deserved God’s wrath but He’s saved us by grace, then this will revolutionise how we treat others! Every one of our brothers and sisters, from whatever background, were chosen because of God’s love. If we fail to understand this, we can easily become like the judgemental and surely older brother in The Parable of The Prodigal Son. Paul writes elsewhere:

iii. Holy and dearly loved

Holy means to be chosen and set apart by God for His purposes. Holy and dearly loved tells every Christian that their sins have been washed away and are God’s chosen and special possession. 

In response, it’s on the basis of our new identity that we are to ‘put on the new self’. The bride, on her wedding day, gets dressed because she knows that she’s dearly loved and chosen, so we will only dress ourselves in the beauty of Christ if we know we are chosen and dearly loved. Yesterday, we saw how we are to ‘put to death’ certain things that pollute our relationships, today is positive as we are told to ‘clothe yourselves’. We’ll continue with more detail tomorrow, however, today, I simply want us to rest in the transformative truth that we are, ‘God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.’ Our joy and relationships are transformed by putting our roots into this truth. Like the healthy apple tree that’s planted in rich and well-watered soil, so let’s ensure that we remain saturated in the doctrines of grace. 

Community group notes and study

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Icebreaker

How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week and how has this helped you? 

3. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

4. Study and pray together

Our message on Sunday, Inspired from Psalm 76:4, reflected on what it means for God to be ‘radiant light’. The Bible often uses light to speak of the appearance and ways of God; God’s light draws our attention to His holy and good nature, and, secondly, light speaks of His good ways that cast darkness out of our lives. Our message can be summarised as: God’s light restores worship and holiness. 

Please read Psalm 76:4

• Did God speak to you about anything specifically from Sunday’s message?

• What would you say are the main teaching points of this short section of  Psalm 76?

• Why does God sometimes show His light (His glory) in a visible form? (See Luke 9:28-31 for example)

• What does God’s light and glory teach us about His nature?

• What does God’s light and glory teach us about His will for us?

• What does 1 John 1:5-6 teach about the fruit that must attend anyone’s profession of faith?

• Prayer - It might be good to pray for one another regarding anything that has come out of this challenging study.

• SIV - Why is the pursuit of worship and holiness vital for us to be a light to this world? 

• SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?

• SIV - Spend some time together talking and praying about who and how you are seeking to bring your community to Jesus.