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April 3, 2022
The Conspiracy of God | Secret Fasting
Our message series, The Conspiracy of God , will take us through the Sermon on The Mount.
A conspiracy involves a secret power at work behind the scenes, undermining those that currently hold sway. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is God’s invitation to participate in his great conspiracy by apprenticing to Jesus.
Listen to an audio version of the message
Songs for this week: Spotify
Matthew 6:16-18
Message Questions:
- Do you have any experience with fasting? What did it teach you?
- Explain how going without food could deepen your relationship with Jesus. See if you can explain it in words that would make sense to your friends who don’t yet believe.
- Three times Jesus cautions us about good behaviour that we can distort by using it to gain other people’s approval. What is so wrong with that?
- Three times Jesus tells us that, “our Father who sees what is done in secret will reward us”. What do you think that reward is?
- Are you considering fasting? What can your group do to support those who want to step into this piece of the Way of Jesus?
Fasting may be new for you. Check out a video by Andrew Allison and Lynnita Weber as they talk about fasting: Habits for Life – Fasting
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Recent Sermons
Ezra 3:10-13 - The book of Ezra tells the story of the return of God’s people from exile. The account details the extra care that was taken by the returnees in doing their best to reproduce what they once had. Very quickly, they got the old altar operational and began to rebuild the temple. Our story is about what they chose to do on the day the foundation of the new temple was in place. There was a party that didn’t feel like a party for everyone, and that’s just honest!
Daniel 6:1-24-The book of Daniel is all about the Sovereignty of God. The God of Israel proves himself sovereign even in faraway Babylon: boys receive foreign favour and are released from having to eat rich and potentially unkosher food. Young men are saved from a fiery furnace, and old man Daniel doesn’t get eaten by a den of hungry lions. God proves he’s not limited by international borders, arrogant kings or wild beasts. All of this points forward to Jesus, who demonstrated his sovereignty (he is God, after all!) in different ways.
Ezekiel 36:22-28- The people of God deserved to be in exile in Babylon. They had betrayed their relationship with God by worshipping idols and committing horrible acts of violence. But instead of giving up on his people, God goes with them into exile. He shows up with a message of hope: he will bring them back, clean them up, and make them new. It was good news for the Israelites, and it’s good news for us today.
Isaiah 6:1-10 - Most of Isaiah’s writings don’t have a timestamp on them, but one event does. The day that he had his most profound encounter with God was shortly after King Uzziah died. King Uzziah would have been on the throne long before Isaiah was born and would have been the only king that Isaiah knew. That’s a big loss. Sometimes, God is able to meet us best when we’re tender from loss or grief.
1 Kings 18:16-39 - Elijah lived at odds with his culture. An evil king (and queen!) wanted him dead, so he went into hiding. After 3 years, God prompted him to set up a showdown: Yahweh vs. Ba’al, good vs. evil, a battle to the death. Sadly, good’s triumph barely left a mark on the life of his country. Thankfully, there was another good vs evil showdown years later, and its impact is still being felt around the world.
1 Kings 12:1-16: King Rehoboam continues the descent that has been the story of the kings since the throne was established. No one seems to be able to get it right. Leadership is tough. It requires listening to God and keen self-awareness. Rehoboam’s legacy is that he divided the people of God. May that never happen again.
