Roomies!

It was great to see so many of you at ‘The Living Room’ last night. Warwick led us into a really difficult but important subject area…confession. It’s something that can leave us feeling uncomfortable or, worse, like failures. And so, the easiest solution is often to remove any language of confession altogether! Let’s focus on the good stuff…

…only problem is, that if we remove all language of sin and confession, then we actually water down the very grace of God which saves us from the very worst humanity has done! And humanity has done (and is doing) some pretty bad stuff. We need language to express this.

If we talk about forgiveness without sin, we end up with empty forgiveness. If we talk about sin without forgiveness, we end up overwhelmed by our failures and the evil of our world. But if we talk about forgiven sin… then, then, I believe we’re onto something special.

Stranger in a Strange Land series (part 2)

“The Art of Confession”
Devotional notes

Readings to reflect on throughout the week:

Jeremiah 3^19-25
Romans 3^9-18
John 17^20-24

Next week’s readings:

Jeremiah 27
1 Cor 1^18-19
Luke 19^1-10

Personal/group study:

Pray alone/as a group. Thank God for everything accomplished through Jesus, that our sin no longer counts against us.

As a group, share something about yourself that no one there would know. If alone, reflect on the week that’s been. What are you sorry for? What are you thankful for?

Read Jeremiah 3^19-25 – it’s a pretty weighty passage. Read it prayerfully two or three times. Don’t remain at a distance; try to place yourself in the passage. Who are you in the passage? Jeremiah? An onlooker? One of the children of Israel etc.?

What does confession mean for you? What connotations (good or bad) does it have? How does it make you feel?

Based on the reading (and other passages in scripture that you can think of), what do you think is the purpose of confession?[1]

What confessions do you think the Church needs to make today (maybe not specifically Hope but the universal Church)?

What confessions do you think our nation needs to make today? Jordan briefly mentioned our unsustainable consumer lifestyles…do you agree/disagree?

If alone, what confessions do you need to make in your own life? Bring these before God in prayer. It can be helpful to journal them. If you’re in a group and the level of trust and openness is high, you might like to do the same. But make sure this is done sensitively and confidentially. Alternatively you could split up, privately journal, and then come back together to pray.

Close by praying: Suggestion 1 – for the confessions/conversations raised. Ask God to forgive and to bring change and transformation. Rest in the knowledge of God’s unfailing love. Suggestion 2 – for Myanmar and the intense flooding leaving about 100 dead and almost a million displaced. Further information can be found on the Living Room blog post on Myanmar.

[1] For me, verse 19 is really significant. God desires for us to be in close relationship with Godself and call God, “My Father”. Calling God “Father” is rare in the Old Testament. Not until Jesus (and the pouring out of his Spirit) do we come to know God as “Father”. This is important, not only for what we understand the purpose of confession/repentance to be (i.e. restored relationship with God), but also for what God does for us in this process of healing and being made right with God.

An mp3 of the sermon can be found here.