Authentic Faith: Heartfelt Giving, Prayer, and Fasting
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "We live in a world where our identity is often wrapped up with our outward appearance, our outward measurements of importance, our wealth, how many followers we have on social media, how big our car is, our house is, the labels on our clothes. We exhaust ourselves trying to get an identity through performance and accomplishments. But this often comes at the expense of our interior life. Jesus invites us to counter culture." [34:47]
2. "Faking things ultimately harms us. Just take our food industry. In the last 50 years, we have deemed it a really brilliant idea to replace real food with food-like items. Highly processed, chemical-laden, eternally shelf-stable, plastic-wrapped products. Fake food might look good, it might taste good, but it will ultimately hurt us. A doctor recently commented that we should put a warning sign on processed foods like they do on cigarettes. This food may be detrimental to your health." [35:43]
3. "We are really good at messing things up, at distorting God's way, and then covering it up with a shiny religious veneer. Jesus wants to liberate us from it. He invites us to cultivate a healthy inner life, our true identity, out of which then can grow healthy fruit. The enemy of our soul is more than happy for us to fake it, to go through the motions, to act religious, as long as our core being is not transformed into the likeness of Christ." [36:23]
4. "Jesus warns us of the danger of seeking the approval of others because of its intoxicating and self-deceiving powers. I must say that this passage has really humbled and convicted me the weeks I was preparing. Where am I going?" [37:10]
### Quotes for Members
1. "True giving needs to be marked by self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness. The emphasis is on what the heart is thinking, while the hand is doing. And we might just discover when we do that, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I was stunned the first time I learned of a person who would like to stay anonymous, who paid for a separate postbox so that the recipients of his or her donations would not know who the donor is." [19:16]
2. "Jesus said that these hypocrites sought the most public place. And in contrast, Jesus urges us to find the most private place. The word he uses here for room can mean an inner room, a pantry, or a storeroom where treasures might be kept. We know that the enemy of our soul will put effort into keeping us from praying." [22:45]
3. "Jesus warns us of the danger of seeking the approval of others because of its intoxicating and self-deceiving powers. I must say that this passage has really humbled and convicted me the weeks I was preparing. Where am I going?" [37:10]
4. "Jesus invites us away from mere external law-keeping and religiosity to a deep, internal love relationship with him, out of which Jesus. And then can grow healthy fruit. Just think of our kids. We don't want our children to just obey externally. When I was five years old, my best friend Claudia and I, when we were in kindergarten, we decided that the day was far too beautiful and sunny to go to kindergarten." [07:13]
5. "Jesus came to save us, to give us abundant life with him. He didn't come to give us religion, but he came to give us full life in his kingdom. Don't be content with less. So, let's leave the acting to the actors, the hypocrites, and daily humble ourselves and enter the presence of the only people pure and righteous one, Jesus the Christ." [39:46]
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1. "We live in a world where our identity is often wrapped up with our outward appearance, our outward measurements of importance, our wealth, how many followers we have on social media, how big our car is, our house is, the labels on our clothes. We exhaust ourselves trying to get an identity through performance and accomplishments. But this often comes at the expense of our interior life. Jesus invites us to counter culture." [34:47]
2. "Faking things ultimately harms us. Just take our food industry. In the last 50 years, we have deemed it a really brilliant idea to replace real food with food-like items. Highly processed, chemical-laden, eternally shelf-stable, plastic-wrapped products. Fake food might look good, it might taste good, but it will ultimately hurt us. A doctor recently commented that we should put a warning sign on processed foods like they do on cigarettes. This food may be detrimental to your health." [35:43]
3. "We are really good at messing things up, at distorting God's way, and then covering it up with a shiny religious veneer. Jesus wants to liberate us from it. He invites us to cultivate a healthy inner life, our true identity, out of which then can grow healthy fruit. The enemy of our soul is more than happy for us to fake it, to go through the motions, to act religious, as long as our core being is not transformed into the likeness of Christ." [36:23]
4. "Jesus warns us of the danger of seeking the approval of others because of its intoxicating and self-deceiving powers. I must say that this passage has really humbled and convicted me the weeks I was preparing. Where am I going?" [37:10]
### Quotes for Members
1. "True giving needs to be marked by self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness. The emphasis is on what the heart is thinking, while the hand is doing. And we might just discover when we do that, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I was stunned the first time I learned of a person who would like to stay anonymous, who paid for a separate postbox so that the recipients of his or her donations would not know who the donor is." [19:16]
2. "Jesus said that these hypocrites sought the most public place. And in contrast, Jesus urges us to find the most private place. The word he uses here for room can mean an inner room, a pantry, or a storeroom where treasures might be kept. We know that the enemy of our soul will put effort into keeping us from praying." [22:45]
3. "Jesus warns us of the danger of seeking the approval of others because of its intoxicating and self-deceiving powers. I must say that this passage has really humbled and convicted me the weeks I was preparing. Where am I going?" [37:10]
4. "Jesus invites us away from mere external law-keeping and religiosity to a deep, internal love relationship with him, out of which Jesus. And then can grow healthy fruit. Just think of our kids. We don't want our children to just obey externally. When I was five years old, my best friend Claudia and I, when we were in kindergarten, we decided that the day was far too beautiful and sunny to go to kindergarten." [07:13]
5. "Jesus came to save us, to give us abundant life with him. He didn't come to give us religion, but he came to give us full life in his kingdom. Don't be content with less. So, let's leave the acting to the actors, the hypocrites, and daily humble ourselves and enter the presence of the only people pure and righteous one, Jesus the Christ." [39:46]
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