The How of Holiness

In one paragraph

This message was the second part of a series on holiness, picking up from the previous week's idea that God's call to holiness is better understood as an invitation than a demand. Pastor Brian Hunter walked through three practical ways to actually move toward holiness in everyday life. The goal was to answer the Monday morning question: what do you do with this? The recap from the week before set...

Read together

1. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives - the foundation verse from the previous week, revisited as the starting point
2. Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me all you who are weary and burdened - read aloud by a congregation member, used to explore the invitation and yoke of Jesus
3. Proverbs 27:7 A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry - used to illustrate the first practical point of making room for God
4. Romans 12:2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you by changing the way you think - read in NLT, Passion Translation, and The Message to illustrate renewing the mind
5. 1 Corinthians 9:27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should - used to introduce the third practical point of embracing suffering and discipline

Talk about it

1. Brian described how people often read 'God has called us to live holy lives' as a threat rather than an invitation. How have you personally tended to hear that kind of call from God, and what difference does the framing make to you?
2. The proverb from Proverbs 27:7 says a full person refuses honey but bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry. Where in your life right now do you notice your appetite for God feeling full or feeling hungry, and what do you think is causing that?
3. Romans 12:2 says to stop imitating the culture around you and be inwardly transformed by a total reformation of how you think. What is one habit or pattern in your week that either feeds that transformation or crowds it out?
4. Brian said not all suffering is punitive, and that denying yourself, forgiving someone who never apologized, and bearing up under a hard season are all forms of the suffering that pursuit of holiness requires. Which of those examples hits closest to home for you right now?
5. Brian closed by saying the road to holiness was never meant to be walked alone, and he encouraged people to find someone to walk it with them. Who in your life could you be honest with about what you feel like God is inviting you to lay on the altar, and what would it take to actually have that conversation?