The Greatest Hook

In one paragraph

This message came from an outdoor Sunday service in a Jackson Hole park, part of an ongoing series Tribe has been working through called "Hanging Your Hat on God's Truth." Brian Hunter used a passage from Isaiah 22 about a royal gatekeeper being replaced to build a picture of what it means to rest your deepest beliefs on something that can actually hold the weight. The question running through the...

Read together

1. Isaiah 22:15-25 core text for the sermon, read aloud as the basis for the hat-on-a-hook teaching
2. John 1:1,14 cited to explain that the Word was God, was with God, and became flesh and moved into the neighborhood
3. Matthew 3:17 or similar quoted as God speaking at Jesus' baptism or transfiguration: 'This is my beloved son, listen to him'
4. Habakkuk 2:14 closing prayer reference that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God's glory as the waters cover the sea

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about how people tend to hang their hat on whoever presents the most compelling narrative, whether that is parents, science, social media, or government. Where have you found yourself doing that, and how did it work out?
2. Brian described worshiping creation, specifically the mountains, as a weak hook because it has no personhood and cannot fulfill the deep longings of the human heart. Do you agree with that, and why or why not?
3. Brian laid out three options for what to make of Jesus, that he was a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Which of those three did you find the most challenging to think through, and what brought you to where you land?
4. Brian shared that he was living in a way that did not line up with his faith when he first moved to Jackson, and that conviction hit him before he had his life sorted out. Have you ever experienced a moment where you felt invited to trust God before you had everything figured out?
5. Brian closed by saying some people in the service may have rehung a hat they had taken down for a while, meaning they had trusted Jesus at some point and then stepped away from that. What do you think makes someone pick that hat back up and walk away with it?