Renovation
"It is meant for every one of us who will put our confidence in Christ to easily and routinely walk in the power of Christ in this life." These are the words of Dallas Willard, a wonderful teacher and writer of our generation. These words come from his book Renovation of the Heart. My primary objective in this sermon series is to help people grow to experience this quality of life in the power of Christ. This material is worth a dozen sermons, but these 5 serve as a wonderful starting point unpacking what it means to live a Christian life in the holiness tradition.
I consider this a very important series that fits almost any time in the Christian calendar. In my case, I took advantage of a weak lectionary connection and preached it in Year B Lent (2006). Another somewhat stronger lectionary connection point is Year A or Year C Ordinary Time early,
Mark 2.1-12 (Four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing.)
Thesis: It is meant for every one of us who will put our confidence in Christ to easily and routinely walk in the power of Christ in this life.
Mark 8.34-35 (... if you give up your life for my sake...), Colossians 3.1-10 (Paul's description of the New Life in Jesus)
Thesis: The ultimate freedom we have as humans is the power to select what we allow or direct our minds to dwell on.
1 Corinthians 1.18-25 (the wisdom of God is compared to that of the Jews and the Gentiles), Matthew 7.24-27 (don't build your house on sand; build it on solid rock).
Thesis: A renovated will is one of instinctively single-minded and joyous devotion to God, his will for us, and for the world around us.
Psalm 51 (David's psalm of confession))
Thesis: Apprentices to Jesus join with God to eliminate all flavors of assault and withdrawal we find in our lives.
There's also a handout that I used in this one: How to Bless Others.
Romans 8.3-4 (The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.[a] So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son...)
Thesis: The death and resurrection of Jesus offer us a current life where we can easily and routinely live as Jesus would live if he were in our place.