God is Not...
Everyone has a burden. And for some of us, our burden is God. The burdens we feel from questions about God like these are heavy – but they are not burdens we need to carry. In fact, these burdens are created by our inaccurate and incomplete understanding of who God is. They make us feel like God is weighing us down. But God is not.
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THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD IS NOT...
Everyone has a burden. And for some of us, our burden is God. Questions like these can reveal just how heavy this burden can be…
Do you ever feel like you couldn’t live up to God’s expectations? Do you ever feel like people who rebel against God are living life however they desire and getting away with it? Do you ever feel like you’re going through life alone because God doesn’t make any difference in your life? Do you ever feel like God’s not really worth talking about? The burdens we feel fromquestions like these are heavy—but they are not burdens we need to carry. In fact, these burdens are created by our inaccurate and incomplete understanding of who God is. They make us feel like God is weighing us down. But God is not. These burdens are why we want to spend four sessions exploring what God is not. This series is designed to help us question our ideas and assumptions about God so that we can let go of the burdensome pictures of God that are weighing us down.We need to cast off and strip away these burdens so that we can see God as He really is. When we finally choose to honestly face tough questions about God—questions about whether God is careless, or clueless, or useless, or speechless—we discover that God is not burdensome. His yoke really is easy, and His burden really is light.We discover that, thankfully, there aremany things that God is not. ABOUT THE ART
Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom --Søren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Anxiety
Things I am afraid of (short list):
Do I ever feel like I can’t live up to God’s expectations? Yes. Do I ever feel like I’m going through life alone? Yes. Do I ever feel like God doesn’t make a difference? Yes. And that is where my anxieties come in. I was created for freedom. I have total freedom. Uber-freedom. I have the freedom to fail and the freedom to miss the mark. I have the freedom to be embarrassed and the freedom to fall on my face. I have the freedom to hurl myself from the ledge but also the freedom to be quiet and remain still. And in those still, quiet moments, something happens. I begin to see all of the things that I’ve wrongly believed God to be hovering around. Mocking, taunting, intimidating, provoking. God is embarrassed. God is unavailable. God has no idea… And then… I realize how wrong I am. God is not ashamed. God is not useless. God is not clueless. And as I start to identify those things, they begin to be cast off, giving me a clearer view of who God is and who I am. The responsibilities I have felt for God begin to shift toward response to God. I do not love out of responsibility, but in response. I do not give out of responsibility, but in response. I do not share out of responsibility, but in response. The Dizziness of Freedom is the collision of my faith and my doubt. My belief and my disbelief. My conceptions and my misconceptions. God is not my doubt, not my disbelief, and certainly not my misconceptions. As I lay those to rest at the bottom of the ocean, Dizziness turns to Sturdiness. Fear turns to Hope. Anxiety turns to Peace.  SESSION OUTLINE
Session One
Is God Careless?
Hebrews 11:13-16
The question of whether God is careless plagues us because we wonder whether God cares about us or even notices us. But in this session we find the strong statement that God is not ashamed to be called our God.
Session Two
Is God Clueless?
Galatians 6:7-10
The question of whether God is clueless makes us wonder if God really knows how the world works. But Paul tells us how God is not mocked and how His grace determines the way the world really works.
Session Three
Is God Useless?
Luke 20:27-40
The question of whether God is useless enters our minds and hearts when we don’t see God working, and this question can cause us to try to take care of ourselves. But when Jesus said that God is not a God of the dead and proved that God is alive and active in our world and in our lives.
Session Four
Is God Speechless?
Matthew 5:13-16
God might sometimes seem speechless because we don’t speak on His behalf. But Jesus taught us that God is not a secret to be kept, and so we are to respond by sharing the secret with others.
TEACHING GUIDES and LESSON SAMPLES
Master Teacher's Guide [ view sample ]
The Master Teacher's Guide is designed for use in large-group settings such as Wednesday night gatherings, combined Sunday School classes, summer camps, and other worship gatherings. It contains background information, explanation and application points, opening illustrations and stories, prompts for personal stories, and life-changing Turning Point activities. Leader's Guide [ view sample ] The Small Group Leaders Guide is perfect for use in Disciple Now settings, in-home small groups, individual Sunday School classes, and other settings with one leader and 10-15 students. It contains background information, explanation and application points, group activities, discussion questions, and life-changing Turning Point activities. Gathering Tool The Gathering Tool is designed to provide an opening illustration for groups that meet together in a large group before dividing into small groups or Sunday School classes. This will allow small groups to experience the series video and will add to the overall experience of going through the series. Supply List |
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