Eat This Book #3: Formation

2015/10/25
Christ Church, Mountain Top

Call
to Worship, Psalm 119.129-136 (137-144)

Children, 1 Samuel 3

Message, 2
Corinthians 2.12 – 3.6

Review:

            Word of God/the Word

            Meditate

            Incarnate

                        Metaphor for process of
inspiration, interpretation

            Today: biblical authority

            “Getting into” the Scripture, word
of God

The first step
toward what is much more important:

            The word of God “getting into” you
and me

“Eat this book”

            Ezekiel 2-3 – eat this scroll

            Jeremiah 15.16 – words came, I ate
them

            Revelation 10.9 – eat this scroll

Take it, and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey
in your mouth.

            You ARE what you EAT – Popeye

Internalize

            Smell like Christ

            You are our letter, written on heart
(not stone)

            What is important is not information
but transformation, inside-out

External process of
reading and studying

linked to internal (meditate, obey)

            Timothy: public reading, 1Tm 4.13

            Nehemiah, reading of the Scriptures

            Bereans, Acts 17.11

Focus on internal:

            Living and active, pierces to
dividing soul and spirit, Hebrews 4.12

            Will not return empty, Isaiah 55.11

EAT this book –
internalize – let it form you

      Jesse – labyrinth, minotaur

      Robin – the Lord’s Prayer (boring,
meaningless words in worship?)

Authority of Scripture

Indigestion

      Me
– MLK’s Stride Toward Freedom
(as writing pastoral letter)

            For my own life’s inconsistency

Internalize

In the interaction of text with experience, particularly pain

In spiritual practice, repetition (those boring, meaningless words!)

      Robin, with the Lord’s Prayer

On delay – like getting a joke

      Don’t give up when it doesn’t
“do anything for me”

In a group –spiritual practice in the ancient church was in community

Dmitri, heartsong in Russian prison

http://kingdomcivics.com/2014/07/23/things-that-happen-in-russian-prisons-and-minnesota-malls/

http://www.toddsmithmusic.com/dmitris-song-jesus-is-alive-brandon-heath.html

From The Insanity of God, one of mom and
dad’s books

            Internalized

            Indigestion, do you think?

            Smell like Jesus

            You are our letter, written on the
heart