What Great Love

In one paragraph

On July 21, Brian Hunter preached from 1 John 3:1-3, using a running Toy Story illustration to ask a simple question: if you lifted the sole of your boot, whose name would be written there? The conversation moved between scripture, congregation voices, and a charge to reject the names the world and the enemy try to paint over what God has already written. Brian opened by grounding the whole...

Read together

1. 1 John 3:1-3 central passage read aloud by Zoe, anchoring the whole conversation on identity as children of God
2. Matthew 21:44 fall on the rock and be broken, otherwise the rock will fall on you and crush you
3. Habakkuk 3:3-6 read aloud as a prophetic picture of Christ returning in power, splendor, and judgment
4. Isaiah 49:16 your name is written on the palm of his hand
5. Revelation 1 referenced for John falling as dead when he saw the glorified Jesus, and descriptors of Christ like eyes of fire and hair like wool

What was said

• Pull up Isaiah 49:16 this week and sit with the truth that God has written your name on the palm of his hand.
• When a lie about your identity bubbles up, take a moment to repent of it out loud and ask God to speak your true identity over you instead.
• Find the song 'I Was Made For More' on Spotify and let it run in the background as a way to keep this conversation going past Sunday.
• Come to the prayer night on July 23 from 6 to 7 pm right here at Tribe and pray alongside others for specific things the church is carrying right now.
• Look at the serving opportunities posted on the fridge as you leave and pick one date to show up, whether that is a meal at Wind River or serving at the Good Samaritan Mission down the road.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the tension of 'already and not yet' in how we understand our identity as children of God. Where do you find yourself right now: more living in the 'already' of who God says you are, or more stuck in the 'not yet'?
2. Joy pointed out that the world tries to speak identity over us in ways that serve its own purposes rather than reflecting how God sees us. What names or labels has the world, or other people, tried to write on the sole of your boot, and how have those stuck with you?
3. Brian described what happens when we refuse to be conformed into the image of Jesus: that by default we reshape Jesus into our own image instead. Where do you see that tendency in yourself, and what does it look like practically?
4. The diamond illustration described how the attributes of Jesus are so numerous that for all of eternity we will keep seeing new facets of him. Which facet of Jesus feels most alive to you right now, and which feels hardest for you to hold onto?
5. Brian said God does not write his name on our boot until we surrender ourselves into his hands, and that even then the world or the enemy may try to paint over that name. What helps you rub away that fresh paint and remember whose name is actually there?