Session #2 - Your Personality

Follow-Up

What did you kid’s learn about your Dad’s?

Session Intro

Video Clip - Disney movie “Soul”

Galatians 4:9

Who is it that God is knowing? Do you know who you are?

Dad’s, do you know your sons?

Being Known

Garden - Adam “knew” Eve (intimacy on every level)

Every hair on your head

What is a Personality?

One’s personality is multi-layered that involves a cluster of ideas

Definition = A unique set of personal traits and preferences

It’s how we react to things, how we do things, how we relate to people, and how we prefer to live

It’s really who we are and what we’re really like

There are different types of personalities

Jacob/Esau = Savvy mama’s boy vs. rugged hunter

Peter/John = Rough around the edges (big heart, raw leadership and tons of energy) vs. apostle of love

Prodigal Son vs. Older Brother

Scripture + history shows us that God uses all types of personalities for His kingdom

Everyone’s Personality Is Broken (“Torn Up”)

Elements of personality are not simply psychological neutralities

No human personality escapes the light of it’s creator nor the darkness of our fall

Our personality is made in God’s image

It reflects Him in ways intended by His design

Genesis 1:27 TNIV

So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Our personality is marred by sin

We are prone to choose autonomy (“me”) over trusting God and sin over obedience

Romans 3:23 TNIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Nature/Nurture = Your own personal brokenness or the brokenness of others has helped shape who you are in Christ

Nature = Choices you have made

Jacob reaching for his brother’s heal at birth

Hosea 12:3 TNIV

In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God.

“Jacob” means = “Take by the heel” w/the derived meaning of ‘to deceive, attack from the rear’ or schemer

Nurture = How people have treated you and how you have reacted to the treatment of others (we adapt in order to be liked)

Genesis 27:1–10 TNIV

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered. Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”

All our personalities stand as evidence of God’s image in us but are corrupt and distorted by sin

Christian worldview = Nature/nurture are both involved in the formation of the personality

Traits spring (to some degree) from God’s custom design for our bodies and souls

Cultivated (to some degree) by the many environmental factors He uses to shape us along the way

Identifying Different Personalities

People have been studying human personalities for thousands of years

Hippocrates (‘Father of Medicine’) was the first to define ‘four temperaments’ (460 - 370 B.C.)

Choleric

Phlegmatic

Melancholic

Sanguine

William Marston (1920’s and 30’s) developed the DISC model of human behavior

DOMINANT personalities like to be in control

RELATIONAL personalities like to be with other people and are fun to be around

STEADY personalities are dependable workers and good listeners

DETAIL people like to do things right

Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life) believes there are four personalities

TALKERS - Love to talkImportant b/c communication is very important in life

FEELERS - Feel things deeplyImportant b/c compassion is so important in life

THINKERS - Analytical people who like to think through thingsImportant b/c reflection is so important in life

DOERS - Get-er-done people Important b/c life works best when things get done

Myers-Briggs (most famous)

Jesus Is Redeeming Your Personality

Through the Gospel, God is resurrecting and renewing us in the image of Christ

Colossians 3:1–4 TNIV

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

“Set your hearts” = Passions and desires

“Set your minds” = Thought life

Set your strength

Colossians 3:5–10 TNIV

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

“New self, which is being renewed” = No aspect of our personhood, including our personality, is left unchanged

Through faith our whole being dies and rises with Christ, including those unique qualities and characteristics that make us us!

Our personalities are redeemed and being regenerated and renewed and reformatted.

How obvious this renewal is depends on how blatantly and observably our personalities had been marred by sin

Salvation does not dehumanize us but makes us more human, the way we were intended to be!

Quote: “Compelled by the holy love of Christ’s Spirit, our personalities, like the rest of us, freely enlist in the glad service of love. No longer do we follow mantras like “you do you” or “just be yourself.” Instead, our personalities mature and grow, with the gospel energy of our regenerate life pressing our temperaments into a cruciform shape and coloring our hearts with a new creation hue. We grow into a vibrant, joyful life of sacrifice, following the promptings of love and happily laying aside even those aspects of our personality or preferences that are uniquely comfortable to us.” - David Gunderson blog Why Your Persoanlity Shapes Everything You Do In Ministry

Example -Esau

God gave Jacob a new name = Israel (“Prince with God” - cf. Gen. 32:22-23)

Jacob seeks reconciliation with Esau (cf. Gen. 33)

Conclusion/Next Steps

Let Jesus Use You

Who you are is a strength to the kingdom of God

Find a place to serve that reflects your personality

Take some time to review/talk about the personality documents with your sons (2 handouts)

Identity your personality and his as well

As you know, we as Father’s have the opportunity to help our boys learn and develop who God has created us to be.

I want to help you facilitate that conversation tonight by having a guided discussion with your sons.