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Christlife Posture: Submitting to God's Love and Leading

Topic: Submitting My Identity / Holistically God's

 

Suggested Approach: Choose 1 thing from each of the three boxes

OR Choose 1 from Media or Reflection + 1 from Scripture 

Media Excursions (Choose 1 or more & watch/read/listen and be ready to discuss Q's)

Still Image/Painting

  •  Van Gogh’s Work in 3D Do you think there is an “original” of you in God’s kingdom and your identity journey is to match  that (like these 3-D replicas)? How is this like or unlike finding your identity in Christ?

Video Clip

  • Your Identity in Christ  (Cleon Alleyne) Which way we tend to define ourselves is most natural to you (what I do, what I have achieved or who others say I am)? Look up several of the scripture passages in this video that speak to how God defines you.

  • Testimony: Tim Tebow (I am Second) How does this athlete see his sports identity in relationship to his faith identity?

  • Tony Evans (I am Second) How would you explain what helped Tony get beyond the identity others wanted to impose upon him?

Song

  • I Surrender All (Faith Hill on the Oprah show).  Both these women and the song talk about identity in Christ.  What part of the song or story is most powerful for you?   

Poem

  •  Wonder Rush-Rilke (Letters to the Exiles)  How does this video speak to you about your identity? What stands out to you?​

Article

  • What is the Image of God? (InterVarsity) How does being created in God's image inform your understanding of your identity? What aspect of the Imago Dei do you tend to ignore or focus too much on? 

Video Teaching

  • Identity in Christ (Tim Balow) Let these truths wash over you.  Which ones do you have the most trouble believing? Make note of and look up any scripture that stands out to you. 

  • Identity (Freedom Church) How easy is it to believe that your identity is not about what you do? What did you learn about your new identity from this video? 

Reflection Options  

Journal  (reflect on one or more of these questions)

  • Where do you tend to compartmentalize your identity?  In other words, in what parts of your identity do you take your cue from God and in what parts do you take your cue from elsewhere?

  • Growing up, what were the strongest messages you received about who you are? What part did scripture or the church play in sending you those messages?

  • Analyze which ideas about your identity are based on lies, or are based on truths.  

  • Young Adult: Ask 3-5 people who know you well to describe you in either 4 words or 2 sentences. Or tell a trusted friend 2 of the strongest messages you believe about your identity and ask them to speak into them (are they based on truth? Do you have a skewed understanding of them? Do they reflect you as an image bearer of God?). Discuss the answers you got with your mentor.

Quote Interaction (Interact by agreeing, disagreeing or otherwise engaging with the quote/quotes)

  • It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction. --Norman Vincent Peale

  • “...Like the God in whose image people are made, people are irreducible. There's always more to a person - more stories, more life, more complexities - than we know. The human person, when viewed properly, is unfathomable, incalculable, and dear. Perversion always says otherwise.” ― David Dark, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything

  • You have to keep unmasking the world about you for what it is: manipulative, controlling, power-hungry, and, in the long run, destructive. The world tells you many lies about who you are, and you simply have to be realistic enough to remind yourself of this. Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: ‘These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting belief.’ --  Henri Nouwen

Reading & Reflection from the book, Shaping The Journey of Emerging Adults

  • Read “The Development of Emerging Adults” (pp. 26-29) Mentor: What in this description can you identify with, or could you have identified with as a young adult.  Young Adult: What in this section describes where you are? What doesn’t describe you?

  • Read “Shift 3: From the Great Untruth to Grace and Truth” (pp. 49-52) How much has your identity been shaped by “the great lie” identified here?  How did any of the scriptures explored in this section speak truth to your real identity in Christ?

  • Read “Identifying Challenges in Identity and Purpose” (pp. 110-114). Which of the three identity areas are you most settled or secure in?  How did you get there? Which one is least secure?

  • Read the story of Lee and Jim (pp. 117-119).  Have there been any ethnic or cultural messages that have complicated your own understanding of your identity in Christ? What were they?

  • Read the Intentionality ideas for Identity and Purpose (pp. 120-122).  Are there any you want to discuss or pursue with the young adult or as a young adult next time you meet?

  • Read “The Courage to Be” (pp. 124-125).  Where in your own identity are you so secure that you would be able to stand up against an attack (violent or otherwise)? In what aspect of your identity would you like to be that secure?

 Explore Scripture

Meditate on one or more of the following passages. Always look them up in context.  Take some time to really explore the verse in relation to this topic.  Look for markers of your true identity in Christ in these verses.   Make a note of what you discover to share later.  See "Learn More About Ways to Study Scripture" below for help in getting the most out of the verse.

  • Genesis 1:27-31

  • Psalm 139:13-18

  • Luke 12:6-7

  • Romans chapter 6 (especially verses 6 & 7)

  • Romans 9:19-22

  • 1 Peter 2:9-10

  • I John 3:1-2

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