Call to worship:
1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!Psalm 111:1-10
Gathering Video
Questions for reflection:
What isn’t contentment? What is contentment? Where do we find it?
Do you wrestle with wanting to know the plot line?
If we learn Jesus over a lifetime, what lessons is He teaching you these days?
Corporate Prayer:
Our Father in Heaven,
We thank you for this advent season that reminds us of who You are and what You've done. We ask that by the power of Your Spirt, we'd be enabled to behold the beauty of your Son and apply His work to our lives. Please give us patience as we wait for His glorious return, and use us for the good of those around us.
In the name of Jesus we pray,
Amen
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Notes//Quotes//Slides:
Phillipians 4:10-23 - Jack
Title: The Good Life
“For the Stoics, self-sufficiency meant becoming independent from all external circumstances and from material goods. As Seneca expressed it, “The happy man is content with his present lot, no matter what it is, and is reconciled to his circumstances” Through discipline and inner strength, individuals could master their own universe. The Stoics’ aim was to become serenely indifferent to anything fate tossed their way.”
- Dean Fleming
“We are often more frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.”
- Seneca
“Two elements must therefore be rooted out once for all, – the fear of future suffering, and the recollection of past suffering; since the latter no longer concerns me, and the former concerns me not yet.”
- Seneca
“The apostle does not seek detachment from life’s circumstances. Instead he has learned to see his hardships as a part of God’s great drama of salvation… Above all, 4:13 reveals that Paul’s contentment comes not from his own inner resources, but from God. Fee puts it well: “[Paul] uses the language—and outwardly assumes the stance—of Stoic ‘self-sufficiency,’ but radically transforms it into Christ-sufficiency. The net result is that Paul and Seneca, while appearing to be close, are a thousand leagues apart”
- Dean Fleming
“Our disciplines don’t address our deepest longings.”
- Ruth Chou Simons
“Christ in me, not me in a set of different circumstances”
- Elisabeth Elliot