Liberty Fam,
Happy Monday to you guys! We had a powerful, sweet presence of the Lord among us yesterday as we gathered to discuss “Together in Relationships.” There were powerful confessions taking place, resolve to let go of relationships that have ended, and the Spirit breaking in to provide healing over relational pain.
I talked through the story of David, Jonathan, and King Saul from 1 Samuel 18 to 2 Samuel 4. (1 Samuel 18-21 was where the bulk of the story took place that we talked about yesterday.) If you have time, I would strongly encourage you to revisit the text. Maybe listen to it on audio as you are in your car or at the house. It is a story worth reading several times over as you can gain new things from it every time you read it.
Where I sensed the Lord taking us in reflection on David, Jonathan, and Saul. . .
• Cherish the “Jonathans” in your life – honor and renew friendship between those who have been faithful to you.
• Worship the Lord in all the ups and downs of relationships. Some of David’s most precious songs came from the time when he was on the run from his best friend’s dad.
• Focus on what you can control, not on what you can’t. We can often spend our lives trying to influence the people and places where influence is not possible. Maybe shift your focus back to the areas of strength and goodness that are already in your grasp.
• Relationships are messy. Resolve and “together” in relationships may mean radical, miracle-working reconciliation. “Together” may also look like letting go of relationships that are beyond repair or because the other party has moved away or passed on. Together may mean allowing God to take you to new places to risk again in relationships.
Let’s stay “together” this week through a phone call, a meal with one another, a text of appreciation – let’s truly be the sermons we are preaching and hearing. Together in the Trinity. Together in the Church. Together in relationships. Faith means try – not trying is not an option.
A quote I rediscovered recently: “Resilience in the Christian sense is not toughness. It is a lived hope, a way to keep getting up again that has its roots in God’s permanent faithfulness. . . Admittedly, resilience is not the first word that comes to mind to describe Christ-shaped leadership. True, Jesus did get up even from the dead. But this was not resilience; it was bodily resurrection, an act of God strictly and entirely beyond what was possible for a dead man to do for himself.” – Duke Divinity professor, C. Kavin Rowe:
With you guys shoulder to shoulder,
John
John D. Trotter
Senior Pastor, Liberty Vineyard Church
Sunday’s sermon: Together in Relationships (Pastor John Trotter)