Let's see what God will build as we put our tools to work! As our series “Toolbox of Faith” enters week 3, we continue to fill our toolboxes with tools that help empower us to build lasting faith. Beyond the weekly message, each week here on our blog we share additional reflections and resources.
This week, Pastor Matt explores the tool of expectation by challenging us to rethink how we measure success. You can listen to the whole message here or an abbreviated version in this week’s Morning Drive.
Quotes to Consider:
“We are in constant pursuit of our own high expectations or the external expectations we feel pressured to meet every day and we lose sight of God’s great expectations that lead us on a path to the greatest, most true success: success that brings you into abundant life.”
“That question—“who is the greatest?”—pulls at us. It changes the way we live and it changes the way we relate to our neighbor.”
“Jesus teaches us, just as he taught the twelve disciples, that, in God’s new reality, ‘the greatest success’ is measured differently.”
“Jesus invites you to pursue God’s definition of great expectations by comparing yourself to a different kind of neighbor: to the neighbor with less. And in doing so, you discover the path to deeper gratitude you walk God’s path toward compassion, toward generosity, toward God’s definition of the “greatest success.”
Question of the Week:
Pastor Matt asked us to live with this week’s question. He encouraged us to think about it, pray about it, share about it with him online, and most importantly act on it. We look forward to hearing about what the “greatest success” looks like in your life and our community.
Resources:
Looking to dive deeper into the tool of expectations this week? Check out these resources:
1. Build A Saint Luke Connection - We live out Jesus’ call to welcome children through our partnership and support of Silver Springs-Martin Luther School. Visit them online and see how you can be a part of the mission to serve and support children as they recover from crisis and experience the love that God intends for them.
2. Learn More Through Great Books - Reading is a great way to explore “greatest success” by God’s standards. Some books that are sure to get you thinking include:
Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals By Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
"Prayer is not so much about convincing God to do what we want God to do as it is about convincing ourselves to do what God wants us to do."
Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks By Diana Butler Bass
“Gratitude and fear cannot exist at the same time…gratitude actually processes fear: effectively driving fear out, taming it, giving us human beings the possibility of acting with courage, hope, joy, compassion.”
3. Visit Christian Simplicity: Conversations About God, Money and Trust - It is packed with knowledge, ideas, and inspiration for those looking to live a different way.