Sadness & Joy APPETIZER: DINE-IN: TAKE-OUT:
SERMON NOTES 07-19-15
Sadness & Joy APPETIZER: • There is risk in choosing to create: “What if people don’t like it?” “It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.” • Architecture evokes emotion… Art evokes emotion. What are you creating? • God didn’t hesitate to create, regardless the risk of people worshiping the creation
DINE-IN: • Atmosphere has meaning. What gives you a sense of awe? • God does not dwell in buildings, but He has sent His Spirit into the hearts of man. The names of the Spirit are: -‐ Comforter -‐ Counselor -‐ Guide -‐ Intercessor (prays for us) -‐ Teacher -‐ Witness
• Some people avoid beauty because it may make them sad (Alain de Botton) • Sadness & Joy each have a place -‐ Hype (negative side of Joy) sometimes used as minimization/denial -‐ Sadness can bring joy of comfort (positive side of sadness) TAKE-OUT: If you know what God has designed you to do, do it. Don’t stop creating! Regardless of your calling or uncertainty of your calling, let your life be your work of art. • Be present! • Be gracious! • Forgive others & love deeply! 1. What do you need to shed? What things are you holding on to (shame, guilt, grudge, etc…) of which you need to let go? 2. What gets in the way of creating? 3. Is there sadness you have neglected? Engage your emotions this week by allowing yourself the freedom to feel. 4. Is someone around you sad? Be creative in how you offer comfort! REMEMBER: God sent his Holy Spirit to us. He is called, “Comforter.” “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:5-7
Village Questions HANGOUT (Warm-up) 1. Describe the last time you felt in awe of creation. HEAR (Listen to God through scripture) 2. Read the following scripture aloud: Job 31 & 38-42. (It’s long, but worth it ☺) 3. Before responding to it, take 1-‐2 minutes of silence to let the words sink in. a. What verse or idea stands out to you? Why? (give plenty of time for people to respond) b. What do you notice about the way God responds to Job? i. Do you think God is angry with Job? ii. What is the final outcome of this exchange between Job & God? c. Why do you think God responds in this way? (Elihu, Job’s friend, also gives some dialogue in the chapters 32-‐37). HUDDLE (Making it Personal & Praying together) 4. What are you trying to control that you need to give to God, the Creator of all things? 5. What do you need to create? 6. What questions do you need to ask God? 7. Joy can sometimes come from expressed sadness. However, if we don’t express the sadness, our joy can be hindered. a. Do you have any sadness you haven’t expressed? b. How can the Holy Spirit be the Comforter in your life? c. How can you be a comfort to others when they express sadness?
QUOTES/SCRIPTURE…
“Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills-‐-‐ to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set
stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.” - Exodus 35:30-33 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-‐-‐ while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'? "Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. - Job 38:1-18 A perplexing consequence of fixing our eyes on an ideal is that it may make us sad. The more beautiful something is, the sadder we risk feeling… Our sadness won't be of the searing kind but more like a blend of joy and melancholy" joy at the perfection we see before us, melancholy at an awareness of how seldom we are sufficiently blessed to encounter anything of its kind. The flawless object throws into perspective the mediocrity that surrounds it. We are reminded of the way we would wish things always to be and of how incomplete our lives remain. - Alain de Botton Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. - Matthew 5:4 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. - Isaiah 64:8
Sadness & Joy APPETIZER: • There is risk in choosing to create: “What if people don’t like it?” “It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.” • Architecture evokes emotion… Art evokes emotion. What are you creating? • God didn’t hesitate to create, regardless the risk of people worshiping the creation
DINE-IN: • Atmosphere has meaning. What gives you a sense of awe? • God does not dwell in buildings, but He has sent His Spirit into the hearts of man. The names of the Spirit are: -‐ Comforter -‐ Counselor -‐ Guide -‐ Intercessor (prays for us) -‐ Teacher -‐ Witness
• Some people avoid beauty because it may make them sad (Alain de Botton) • Sadness & Joy each have a place -‐ Hype (negative side of Joy) sometimes used as minimization/denial -‐ Sadness can bring joy of comfort (positive side of sadness) TAKE-OUT: If you know what God has designed you to do, do it. Don’t stop creating! Regardless of your calling or uncertainty of your calling, let your life be your work of art. • Be present! • Be gracious! • Forgive others & love deeply! 1. What do you need to shed? What things are you holding on to (shame, guilt, grudge, etc…) of which you need to let go? 2. What gets in the way of creating? 3. Is there sadness you have neglected? Engage your emotions this week by allowing yourself the freedom to feel. 4. Is someone around you sad? Be creative in how you offer comfort! REMEMBER: God sent his Holy Spirit to us. He is called, “Comforter.” “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:5-7
Village Questions HANGOUT (Warm-up) 1. Describe the last time you felt in awe of creation. HEAR (Listen to God through scripture) 2. Read the following scripture aloud: Job 31 & 38-42. (It’s long, but worth it ☺) 3. Before responding to it, take 1-‐2 minutes of silence to let the words sink in. a. What verse or idea stands out to you? Why? (give plenty of time for people to respond) b. What do you notice about the way God responds to Job? i. Do you think God is angry with Job? ii. What is the final outcome of this exchange between Job & God? c. Why do you think God responds in this way? (Elihu, Job’s friend, also gives some dialogue in the chapters 32-‐37). HUDDLE (Making it Personal & Praying together) 4. What are you trying to control that you need to give to God, the Creator of all things? 5. What do you need to create? 6. What questions do you need to ask God? 7. Joy can sometimes come from expressed sadness. However, if we don’t express the sadness, our joy can be hindered. a. Do you have any sadness you haven’t expressed? b. How can the Holy Spirit be the Comforter in your life? c. How can you be a comfort to others when they express sadness?
QUOTES/SCRIPTURE…
“Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills-‐-‐ to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set
stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.” - Exodus 35:30-33 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-‐-‐ while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'? "Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. - Job 38:1-18 A perplexing consequence of fixing our eyes on an ideal is that it may make us sad. The more beautiful something is, the sadder we risk feeling… Our sadness won't be of the searing kind but more like a blend of joy and melancholy" joy at the perfection we see before us, melancholy at an awareness of how seldom we are sufficiently blessed to encounter anything of its kind. The flawless object throws into perspective the mediocrity that surrounds it. We are reminded of the way we would wish things always to be and of how incomplete our lives remain. - Alain de Botton Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. - Matthew 5:4 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. - Isaiah 64:8
