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. 

 

  1. 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!’”
    1. 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?
    2. 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?

 

  1. 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.
    1. 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?
    2. 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??
    3. 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)

 

  1. 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.
    1. 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?
    2. 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?

 

  1. 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.