Week 2 Summary: Father Heart

Although the speaker during week 2 could probably put the boogie man to sleep with his soothing *cough* * cough* voice, his message was powerful. Maybe even convicting. He spoke on our personal relationship with God.. or lack thereof. Being human, our minds constantly grasp 'formulas' to accomplish tasks, but God is SO different! He doesn't want us to use formulas with him; He wants a relationship with us. We tend to grasp things in a formula sense such as 1+3=4, but God doesn't work that way. We have a big test coming up, "Oh God, help me remember the topic!" BAM! A plus. Really? Is that what we see God as?! Then next time your stuck in traffic, raise your staff in the air.. it worked for Moses and the Red Sea, right? WRONG! A formula is US telling GOD what to do. Going to church, singing on stage, carrying around a Bible, all of it is useless if it's only because we're christians and that's what we're supposed to do! I'd venture to say that there are people in indigenous tribes who have never been to a church, never read a Bible, and probable never heard the name 'Jesus' who have a more intimate relationship with our Creator than some of the pastors in America. Intimacy, Love, Relationship! The opposite of love is not hate... it's self-centeredness. We can't get so caught up in logistics and rules of church that we forget what God really wants! What he created us for! A RELATIONSHIP. It's not about how we compare to others in the Body of Christ. It's not about the formula of going to church every Sunday in order to fulfill your own sense of spiritual satisfaction. That's religion. Religion is not a relationship. Jesus even spent 3 years of his years on Earth unraveling all of the rules and regulations that the pharisees had created. They were ALL formulas! Ways to 'please' God. But all they were really doing was pleasing themselves. We need to die to ourselves.
Yes, week 2 was convicting...