This Sunday, I begin a new series called “Repentance: The Theology of Apology”. I invite you to prepare, along with me, to hear and discern God’s Word!
Some Information about this three-part series, beginning September 13
Part of the package in being human is making mistakes. But is it possible to repair our mistakes, especially when they harm other people, and to reorient our lives? How can we be restored when we’ve done something that brings shame to us? How do we deal with the whole mistake-prone, harm-causing nature that comes with being human?
As we will explore in this series, Christian faith offers us a tool—a divine gift, really—that enables us to heal what is broken, through the power of God’s grace. The most common name for this gift is repentance. Doing a 180. A process that begins with God’s reach into our lives, and asks of us a life-altering response that enables us to repair what’s broken.
The secular name for this tool (or “art”) is apology; we’ll use the best of Christian theology, as well as social science, to explore how to use this tool – this gift – in our own life, and in our common life together.
An Invitation to Prepare
1. Read this week’s scripture lesson, on which the sermon will be based: 2 Samuel 12:1-15.
2. Ponder some questions that I’m pondering. Respond below if you’d like.
What prevents David from seeing how destructive his own behavior is?
Why does Nathan use this particular technique to deal with David’s moral blindness?
If there is a first-step to repentance – repairing what’s been damaged and reorienting our life – what is it and why is it necessary?
3. Extra credit. Do some study on the scripture: click here.
