Session 4

SESSION 4: AN UNSHAKABLE CALLING • If we have built our faith on the firm foundation of Jesus and trusted Him as Lord of our lives, then we know that He has a very important calling for us… to share the ROCKSTEADY hope of Jesus to the world through the unique gifting, skills and interests that He has graciously given to us.

John 14:5-14 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Luke 15:8–10 (NIV)

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Romans 10:13-15 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Loneliness epidemic Earlier this month, the Surgeon General — America’s “top doctor” —  Vivek Murthy, released an 81-page advisory report on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation, bringing attention to the concerning trend of social disconnection in America. In a guest essay in the NYT, Murthy cites several studies that show how prolonged loneliness affects our physical and mental health negatively, reportedly akin to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, with higher risks of heart disease, stroke, anxiety, depression, and dementia. While it's true that the percentage of Americans who report feeling lonely has fallen from the very peak of “pandemic loneliness”, the trend of increased disconnection arguably started years before lockdown. Indeed, the average time spent alone increased by 12 hours a month between 2003 and 2019, per the report. Searching for friends Although obviously not a perfect analysis, this trend can even be seen in data from Google, which shows a surge in searches for phrases like "where to make friends", "how to meet people", and "social groups near me”. In battling this epidemic the Surgeon General is calling for an improvement in "social infrastructure", such as sports teams, religious groups, libraries, and parks, where people can more easily connect. Would anyone be interested in a meetup for chart-lovers?