Sunday Highlights
We continued the Sync series today with Pastor Tom speaking on “Syncing Through Confession”.
Scripture:
- Matthew 18:15-17
- 1 John 1:8-9
- James 5:16
- Luke 15:11-24
Pastor Tom challenged us to not think:
Confession = ‘gottcha’ – people pointing figures at you calling out your mistakes
but to think:
Confession = a huddle; a group of people with whom you can be honest and accountable
Other key points:
- The purpose of confession is not exposure, it’s restoration
- Confession begins with ‘I’m sorry’
- Confession begins in safety and ends in freedom
- Realize that God is in the business of transforming lives not condemning them
So, is there anything you need to confess today?
easy question. hard to answer. ya know?
One thing I thought about as I listened to the sermon this morning is that in order to confess, in order to agree that there are places in our lives where we are unlike Christ, we must really live a self examined life. This is something I would like to avoid at times, you know? Some things are obvious but others are more insidious, buried deeper, harder to recognize. And we also spend alot of time justifying our actions and words. So to face the truth about ourselves is painful and takes courage. I think the last verse of Psalm 139 is a very courageous prayer – “search me, know me, try me and see if there is anything within me that is displeasing to you.” Self examination is crucial and yet so hard to do.
One of the most touching and powerful moments of confession I have ever been a part of occurred in my retreat group. It’s filled with Christian leaders. During a worship service we each (not forced to) at different times confessed a place in our lives where we were unlike Christ. For me this was my addiction to approval. I struggle with this and it was terribly embarrassing for me to say this out loud. This participation in confession was powerful. But more powerful still was the affirmation shown to everyone who confessed by the others present – there were smiles, hugs and many tears. It was beautiful. Our leaders led the way. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done but it was incredibly cleansing.
A great book that touches on confession in community is “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It’s not long, but it’s profound.
“* The purpose of confession is not exposure, it’s restoration
* Confession begins with ‘I’m sorry’
* Confession begins in safety and ends in freedom
* Realize that God is in the business of transforming lives not condemning them”
love it! about a year ago i confessed one of my darkest secrets to someone i was close with….but i had been testing her out. She said almost those points exactly.
Confession is so healthy. secrets are dark and hard to maintain. even if you are not lying you feel the need to hide certain things. confession and living in the light is the best way to live.
reminding me that i have some things i need to confess today.
Confessing that there are areas in my life I need to work on.
Being accountable, honest, and deep
Thanks for something to chew on tonight
The idea of confession is really overwhelming to me. I’m wired to keep things in. Like Lynse said, oftentimes we just hide certain things that really need to be confessed. Thanks for that @Lynse!
So so so good! i recently built an awesome friendship with someone who I can confess to and it really has brought so much restoration. I know that this friend will pray with me and will always point me to the bible for the right answers…thank God for awesome Godly friends.
Restoration is something I am fervently praying for right now. This is the elusive part of the confession equation for me. Jenni, you and I have talked before about keeping things inside, and I have made more of an effort to bring things out in to the light of day. I feel that has really helped. I have learned that I have a lot of support that I wasn’t aware of before. What do you do though when restoration just does not come? It has been over a year now, with several attempts on my part to reach some middle ground, and still my mother and I are not speaking. I don’t know that this is really the forum for this, but I am aching for some peace with it; for the safety and the freedom. I am trying to be patient, and continue my own journey in striving to be more like Christ. I just can’t ignore the fact that this is still going on, and it’s now having an effect on others in our family. (not the least of which are my girls.)
So yesterday stirred something within me. I hadn’t thought of the word restoration in conjunction with this situation, and now I want to keep it in mind when hearing the confession of others. And the “we” and “us” in 1 John 1:8-9 ~ there is some peace in knowing that none among us are perfect!
Thanks again Jenni!