Sharing our experiences

The Facebook group is a safe place where we can discuss the prompts, ask questions, and share our thoughts and our artwork from our study on Identity from Ephesians.
I am not a therapist or a counsellor but I hope that I can support and encourage you as we study together. If anything arises that you can't deal with, and that I feel I cannot deal with, please find someone in your church who you trust and ask them to help you.

Monday, 10 February 2014

Identity: Recreated

Welcome to the second of six sessions on Identity.  These messages were brought at Jubilee Church Solihull.  There are some great discussions going on in the Facebook group and some wonderful artwork being shared.

If you haven't already, please download the podcast and listen to it.  

Ephesians 4:17-19
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

Ephesians 2:1    John 3:19    1 Cor. 3:4    Jeremiah 17:9    Ezekiel 36:26-27

Ephesians 4:20-24
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Galatians 5:24    Galatians 2:20

Ephesians 4:25-32


Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.


Worship Song



Journaling
In your journaling you may want to write your feelings and your prayers and ignore the prompts.  The prompts are to help you and you can choose those that speak to you most.  You can download these prompts as a PDF.

How you feel about yourself affects how you live your life.  What does this mean for you?

What comes to mind when you read about your old attitudes and lifestyle?

How has your life changed since you were 'born again'?  Do you relate to the changes that Rob talks about?
  • our desires being different
  • we want to change
  • awakened conscience
  • attitude to church
  • hatred of injustice
  • other people notice you are different
Being recreated is an ongoing work.  What area of your life is God working on at the moment?

Are your preoccupied with your condition?   How does that manifest in your spiritual life?

What thoughts try to undermine your identity?   How can you counteract these thoughts?

How can you focus on your position instead of your condition?

Illustrated Letter
I have designed a letter for today's session to be used in any way you choose.  Download it by right clicking on the image and saving it to your computer.  Print it off, colour it in and glue it into your journal.  As it is a jpeg you can resize it to fit your journal.  You can see how I used it here.


I hope you that you have found today's message and journal prompts useful.  Share your thoughts, questions and journaling in the Facebook group.

1 comment:

  1. What a beautiful demonstration of your page! Watching it grow was wonderful. I'm looking forward to today's journaling prompts, and I appreciate the tips on the hearts!

    ReplyDelete