Application Guide: “Blessed are the
Peacemakers (Part 4)…”
Nov. 21st,
2004: Kimber Kauffman, Sr. Pastor of
College Park Church, presented a message on the peace of God, based on Mt. 5:9, Phil. 4:6-7 and several other
passages. The bulk of his message contrasted God’s peace with a life filled
with worry, which is the opposite of peace. He presented four types of views
about God and the universe to flesh out why people worry, or why they do not
have hope. He also compared different uses of the word “worry” to show that
there are good and bad types of worrying.
- Pastor
Kimber said, “Worry is a great offense to God, because essentially you are
saying to Him, ‘I can’t trust your promises. You can’t take care of me!’”
- What
are some areas in your life that you find it hard to trust the promises
of God? How does worry manifest itself in your life? What are the
emotions, life circumstances, or choices that come with worry?
- In
these cases, where do you find yourself placing your trust (instead of in
God)? What can you do to help you combat the temptation to not trust
God’s promises?
- Pastor
Kimber presented four “worldviews”: 1) The Open Universe where God
is aloof and our role in life is to try to appease him, 2) The Closed
Universe where there is no God and life is driven by science and
humanism 3) The Modern View where God [of our own making] exists
but has little or no effect on our lives and 4) The Biblical View
where God is wholly other from his creation yet is actively involved in
the world he created.
- Compare/Contrast
these views: How do the different views effect the way people live? The
way people interpret catastrophes and life circumstances? The way they
view religion? They way they view the value and purpose of human life?
- We
would all say, “Yeah, I believe in the Biblical view.” But what would
your life look like if every moment you lived by the Biblical view? How
do you see the other views infiltrating your daily actions and views
about life? How does your view of life (whichever one of the four it may
be) influence your view of medicine, shopping, Creation, abortion, work,
children, education, food, prayer, worry??
- Kimber’s
comment on the 3rd Commandment (Do not take the Lord’s name in
vain) is pertinent here: When it all comes down, does what you say you
believe really make a difference in your life? If you say you are a child
God, can it be proven by your actions? How do you know? (Matt 5:14-16)
- Based
on Matt 6:5, 30, Pastor Kimber stated that people worry because they don’t
know that they have a heavenly Father who wants to know us and is
interested in every detail of our lives. In light of this, he challenged
us to grow in our personal devotions, as peace comes from intimacy with
God.
- How
does God’s peace that transcends all understanding come by doing
spiritual disciplines (prayer, Bible reading, memorization, etc)? How can
practicing spiritual disciplines effect our view of life, worry, &
how we understand peace?
- Share
personal experiences of how you have implemented the disciplines into
your own life in order to grow closer to God on a daily basis. How do you
keep it from becoming a routine? How do you keep devotions from becoming
a legalistic, outward mark of spirituality?
- What is
the ultimate difference between good worry (2 Cor 11:28; 1 Cor 7:32-34;
12:25) and bad worry (Phil. 4:6; Mt. 6:30; Lk 8:14; 21:34)?
Resource: For further study, visit http://www.bsmi.org/prayingcontinually.htm.