Linden Road Church
Witness: Growing our Character - Father's Day
Worship Gathering
Locations & Times
Linden Rd Presbyterian Church
160 S Linden Rd, Mansfield, OH 44906, USA
Sunday 10:00 AM
How can we pray for you?
Please use this link to email in your prayer requests. Our prayer team will be praying for you this week.
https://form.jotform.com/60857057937165Digital Connection Card
Let us know who you are and how we can connect with you.
https://lindenroad.churchcenter.com/people/forms/126326Witness: Growing our Character
…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4
Paul suffers knowing that it builds his perseverance.
The Christian life has direction and movement ===>
We become more like Jesus.
What is the Christian life after conversion?
Many Christians have so emphasized the need for conversion, for the opening act of faith and commitment, for the initial statement of that faith (‘believing that Jesus died for me’ or whatever), that they have a big gap in their vision of what being a Christian is all about. It’s as though they were standing on one side of a deep, wide river, looking across to the further bank. On this bank you declare your faith. On the opposite bank is the ultimate result—final salvation itself. But what are people supposed to do in the meantime? Simply stand here and wait? Is there no bridge between the two? What does this say about faith itself?
If we’re not careful … this opening act of belief can become “simply a matter of assent to a proposition (Jesus in Son of God, etc.), with no need for transformation.” …
[W]hat we’re “here for” is to become genuine human beings, reflecting the God in whose image we’re made, and doing so in worship on the one hand and in mission, in its full and large sense, on the other; and that we do this not least by “following Jesus.” The way this works out is that it produces, through the work of the Holy Spirit, a transformation of character.
This transformation will mean that we do indeed “keep the rules”—though not out of a sense of externally imposed “duty,” but out of the character that has been formed within us. And it will mean that we do indeed “follow our hearts” and live “authentically”—but only when, with that transformed character fully operative, the hard work up front bears fruit in spontaneous decisions and actions that reflect what has been formed deep within. And, in the wider world, the challenge we face is to grow and develop a fresh generation of leaders, in all walks of life, whose character has been formed in wisdom and public service, not in greed for money or power.
The heart of it—the central thing that is supposed to happen “after you believe”—is thus the transformation of character. ~ N.T.Wright / After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters.
We are “here” so that we can become more like Christ and experience a transformation of character.
After years of following Jesus your life should look different from the first day you meet Jesus.
“What’s true for me may not be true for you.”
Human machine
▪The head
▪The chest
▪The stomach
▪The Head: the seat of ideals and rationality
▪The Stomach is made up of the human impulses and instincts, cravings & desires.
▪The Chest mediates these two
Two requirements to make its destination
○Must be able to coordinate and communicate their movements with one another.
○Must be in good enough working condition to carry out those maneuvers
The men and women of the bible are not heroes but companions.
●They are not there primarily to teach you but to help you learn something about yourself.
●The goal of the men and women of the Bible is to expose your need.
For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Matthew 13:17
○Scripture really gives us men and women who expose us
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3
Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:14-16
Pay attention to what is actually going on in your life
- self-awareness
Recognize what you have in Christ
•Learn to apply everything the Gospel gives you
Know what Jesus has done…AND work that into your life.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2
…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4
Paul suffers knowing that it builds his perseverance.
The Christian life has direction and movement ===>
We become more like Jesus.
What is the Christian life after conversion?
Many Christians have so emphasized the need for conversion, for the opening act of faith and commitment, for the initial statement of that faith (‘believing that Jesus died for me’ or whatever), that they have a big gap in their vision of what being a Christian is all about. It’s as though they were standing on one side of a deep, wide river, looking across to the further bank. On this bank you declare your faith. On the opposite bank is the ultimate result—final salvation itself. But what are people supposed to do in the meantime? Simply stand here and wait? Is there no bridge between the two? What does this say about faith itself?
If we’re not careful … this opening act of belief can become “simply a matter of assent to a proposition (Jesus in Son of God, etc.), with no need for transformation.” …
[W]hat we’re “here for” is to become genuine human beings, reflecting the God in whose image we’re made, and doing so in worship on the one hand and in mission, in its full and large sense, on the other; and that we do this not least by “following Jesus.” The way this works out is that it produces, through the work of the Holy Spirit, a transformation of character.
This transformation will mean that we do indeed “keep the rules”—though not out of a sense of externally imposed “duty,” but out of the character that has been formed within us. And it will mean that we do indeed “follow our hearts” and live “authentically”—but only when, with that transformed character fully operative, the hard work up front bears fruit in spontaneous decisions and actions that reflect what has been formed deep within. And, in the wider world, the challenge we face is to grow and develop a fresh generation of leaders, in all walks of life, whose character has been formed in wisdom and public service, not in greed for money or power.
The heart of it—the central thing that is supposed to happen “after you believe”—is thus the transformation of character. ~ N.T.Wright / After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters.
We are “here” so that we can become more like Christ and experience a transformation of character.
After years of following Jesus your life should look different from the first day you meet Jesus.
“What’s true for me may not be true for you.”
Human machine
▪The head
▪The chest
▪The stomach
▪The Head: the seat of ideals and rationality
▪The Stomach is made up of the human impulses and instincts, cravings & desires.
▪The Chest mediates these two
Two requirements to make its destination
○Must be able to coordinate and communicate their movements with one another.
○Must be in good enough working condition to carry out those maneuvers
The men and women of the bible are not heroes but companions.
●They are not there primarily to teach you but to help you learn something about yourself.
●The goal of the men and women of the Bible is to expose your need.
For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Matthew 13:17
○Scripture really gives us men and women who expose us
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3
Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:14-16
Pay attention to what is actually going on in your life
- self-awareness
Recognize what you have in Christ
•Learn to apply everything the Gospel gives you
Know what Jesus has done…AND work that into your life.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2