Sift (Week 5)

Introduction:

Welcome

Show my work care package that Samie made for me

Self-love

Modern solution to discouragement/mental health issues

How think as Christians?

Completely disregard, or some merit?

Sift

1 Peter

His solution: encouragement to the church

1 Peter 1:3–9 (NLT)

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

Q. How have we been born again?

“His great mercy”

God’s love = mercy

Primary concern already present: God’s love for us

Q. Why have we been born again?

“Because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead”

The definitive Christian claim

A shared resurrection

Q. What is it that believers have?

An inheritance

Q. What type of inheritance?

An eternal one that can’t be taken away

How we feel about ourselves can change

Our inheritance can’t

Q. What is it that the church will endure?

“Many trials”

Trials = discouraging

Have to figure out how to deal with

Q. What does God offer us during the trials?

Protection

God does it; not us

Nothing that happens to you on Earth can steal your future.

A new creation

Saved from death

Adoption

You are precious to God

He is your identity

Your identity is found in God alone.

[Leader Note: tell a story here about your struggle to believe what God says about you.]

Sift “self-love” through the Bible

Q. Did passage say to not show ourselves self-love?

Nope!

But the Christian context for it is different than the secular context

8 Principles About Self-Love:

God is the authority .

Q. If God is the authority, who defines the laws about value and identity?

He does!

Q. If God is the authority, should our primary source of value come from how we feel about ourselves, our about how God feels about us?

How God feels!

And how does God feel?

We are made in the image of God.

Genesis 1:27 (NLT)

27 So God created human beings in his own image.

In the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

Q. Because every person is made in the image of God, what does that mean every person has?

Inherent value

Love from God

Proved by Christ’s death

Instead of trying to prove to ourselves that we are lovable, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us what God has already spoken over us.

We love ourselves because He does.

Because of this broken and fallen world, mental health conditions exist.

Learning to love yourself = helps with mental health

Psych Central’s ways to love yourself:

Forgiving yourself when you mess up

Meeting your own needs

Being assertive

Not letting others take advantage of or abuse you

Prioritizing your health and wellbeing

Spending time around people who support you and build you up (and avoiding people who don’t)

Asking for help

Letting go of grudges or anger that holds you back

Recognizing your strengths

Valuing your feelings

Making healthy choices most of the time

Living in accordance with your values

Pursuing interests and goals

Challenging yourself

Holding yourself accountable

Giving yourself healthy treats

Accepting your imperfections

Noticing your progress and effort

Q. Are any of these things bad?

Nope!

Biblically wise

But have the complete picture in mind

We show ourselves love because of God’s love for us.

Talk about depression and the importance of counseling

Being valuable to God is different than all our desires being valid.

Secular context: self-love = doing whatever you want

Q. Why did Jesus go to the cross?

Jeremiah 17:9: “Our heart is deceitful above all things”

James 1:14: “Sinful desires have dragged us away from Him”

Individualism and moral relativism

Expressing your “deepest desire” = true self-love

“The danger of focusing solely on self-love is that God doesn’t want you to accept your sins. We forget the crucial difference between Christ’s invitation to come as you are and the unbiblical invitation to stay as you are.”

-James Beevers, Desiring God

Desires point to need for Jesus

Talk about dating in a Christian context

Self-love alone will let you down.

We were created for an even bigger love

We could never love ourselves as much as God loves us

Temporary relief vs. overwhelming relief

God’s love satisfies us more than self-love ever could

Self-love alone can distract from Jesus’ command to love and serve others in a sacrificial way.

Being inconvenienced

Service: Looking more like Jesus

Serving can actually help mental health

We are not legalistic.

Not putting yourself down

Not correcting self-love

The Jesus way = humility

Humility:

Not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less

How: Simply coming to Jesus

Matt 11:28: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

Focus on Jesus

Ask the Holy Spirit to align your values with His.

The fruit of the Spirit

We value the wrong things

Need God’s help to value the right things

Valuing the right things helps us to find our identity in God’s love for us

Q. Who is love?

God

Q. Who are we?

Children of God

We are free from having to prove anything to anyone, including ourselves, because we are His.

Only God can satisfy

Not all bad

Need to sift

PRAY