We hide our brokenness from the world and eventually from ourselves. We are shackled with the chains of perfection in an imperfect world. Our children try to live up to standards that we ourselves have never kept but hide behind a facade of respectability, success and achievement. Unfortunately none of it is true. Perhaps our greatest beauty is our ability to be broken time and time again and yet our resilience to never give up, to learn and grow and experience compassion, mercy and grace flowing out of the broken places.
If you’ve been broken, and who really hasn’t, then the Apostle Paul’s message to his friends in Corinth is something you not only need to hear, but embrace and celebrate.
2 Corinthians 4:5-12 (The Message)
Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
The Church is not made up of perfect people, rather of the broken people who are beautifully mended by Christ into a masterpiece of life, love and grace.
Broken does not mean USELESS, it means ready for REBIRTH
“Trials in life are courses with very high tuition fees, so I don’t cut classes and miss my lessons: on humility, on patience, on hope, on asking others for help, on listening to God, on trying again and again and again.” ― Bo Sanchez
We are Stewards of the BROKENNESS
We carry this treasure in unadorned clay pots, but…
If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness.
We are a fellowship of the beautifully MENDED
Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us.
i. Stay in touch with your limitations.
ii. Let Christ take over.
iii. Boast about the weakness
“Life is filled with unanswered questions, but it is the courage to seek those answers that continues to give meaning to life. You can spend your life wallowing in despair, wondering why you were the one who was led towards the road strewn with pain, or you can be grateful that you are strong enough to survive it.” ― J.D. Stroube, Caged by Damnation
SERMON NOTES: Sermon Notes 05.26.13 Clay Jars
SERMON SLIDES: Worship 05.26.13 Clay Jars
SERMON AUDIO: Clay Jars 5.26.13L
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