Making God the Center of Our Lives

 

Summary

The sermon begins with the speaker emphasizing the importance of seeking God and making Him the center of our lives. The speaker encourages the audience to prioritize God's voice over the various voices of family, critiques, social media, and news. They explain that surrendering our lives to God means recognizing His rightful place as our leader, creator, redeemer, and sustainer. The speaker also uses the analogy of a storage unit to illustrate how we sometimes treat God as something valuable but not central enough to be actively engaged with on a daily basis.

The speaker then describes the layout of the church and its significance, emphasizing the importance of connecting with and worshiping God. They also describe an adjacent building, which includes a gym, a middle room, a kitchen, and a basement bowling alley that hasn't been used in decades. The speaker uses this as a metaphor for how we sometimes relegate God to the sidelines of our lives, rather than making Him central.

The sermon continues with the speaker reading from the book of 2 Samuel, specifically chapters 5 and 6. The passage describes how all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and acknowledged him as their ruler. The speaker emphasizes that David was chosen by God to shepherd and lead the people of Israel. The king then made a covenant with the elders of Israel and was anointed as the king over Israel. The passage also mentions that David gathered 30,000 able young men of Israel to bring the Ark of God from balah in Judah.

The speaker then discusses the temptation to put ourselves at the center of our lives, focusing on our own desires and whims. They use the analogy of a puzzle to illustrate this point, explaining that just as the frame and the cornerstone are the most important pieces in a puzzle, Jesus is the cornerstone of our lives. By putting our lives together around Jesus, we can make sense of all aspects of life and determine how to allocate our time and energy.

The sermon concludes with the speaker emphasizing the importance of making God the center of one's life. They explain that although there will be challenges and struggles, there will also be joy and peace that surpasses understanding. The speaker prays for those who feel distant from God, asking for a breakthrough and a rearrangement of their lives according to God's design.

Key Takeaways:

- Prioritizing God's voice over the various voices of family, critiques, social media, and news is crucial in our spiritual journey. Recognizing God as our leader, creator, redeemer, and sustainer is the first step towards surrendering our lives to Him. We should not treat God as something valuable but not central enough to be actively engaged with on a daily basis. [49:33]

- The layout of a church and its significance can serve as a metaphor for our spiritual lives. Just as the church is designed to focus on the pulpit and the table where the sacraments are held, our lives should be designed to focus on God. We should not relegate God to the sidelines of our lives, but rather make Him central. [19:55]

- The story of David and the Ark of the Covenant serves as a reminder that God chooses leaders to shepherd and lead His people. Despite the people's desire for a human ruler, God's chosen king was David. This shows that God's plans and purposes are always superior to our own. [49:33]

- The temptation to put ourselves at the center of our lives can lead us astray. Just as the frame and the cornerstone are the most important pieces in a puzzle, Jesus should be the cornerstone of our lives. By putting our lives together around Jesus, we can make sense of all aspects of life and determine how to allocate our time and energy. [26:08]

- Making God the center of our lives brings joy and peace that surpasses understanding. Despite the challenges and struggles we may face, having God at the center restores life to its original purpose and ensures that our value is never lost. We should trust God for the results and believe that He is guiding and working all things out for good. [32:38]

Study Guide

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
- 2 Samuel 5:1-5
- 2 Samuel 6:1-5

#### Observation Questions
1. What did the tribes of Israel say to David when they came to Hebron? (2 Samuel 5:1-2)
2. How long did David reign over Judah and over all Israel and Judah? (2 Samuel 5:4-5)
3. What did David and the men of Israel do to celebrate bringing the Ark of God from Baalah in Judah? (2 Samuel 6:5)
4. According to the sermon, what is the significance of the Ark of the Covenant in David's time? [17:23]

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why did the tribes of Israel acknowledge David as their ruler, and what does this signify about God's choice of leaders? (2 Samuel 5:1-3)
2. How does the analogy of the storage unit relate to how we sometimes treat God in our lives? [31:58]
3. What does the speaker mean by saying that Jesus should be the cornerstone of our lives, similar to the most important pieces in a puzzle? [27:25]
4. How does making God the center of our lives bring joy and peace, even amidst challenges and struggles? [35:12]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on the voices you prioritize in your life. Are there specific voices (family, social media, news) that you need to tune out to better hear God's voice? How can you make this change? [29:28]
2. The speaker mentioned the temptation to put ourselves at the center of our lives. Can you identify areas in your life where you have done this? What steps can you take to re-center your life around God? [26:08]
3. Think about the analogy of the storage unit. Are there aspects of your relationship with God that you have relegated to the sidelines? How can you bring these aspects back to the center of your daily life? [31:58]
4. The sermon emphasized the importance of making God the center of our lives. What practical steps can you take this week to ensure that God is central in your decision-making and daily activities? [33:21]
5. The speaker used the metaphor of a puzzle to describe our lives. What are some "pieces" of your life that you need to align around Jesus, the cornerstone? How will you start this process? [27:25]
6. Reflect on a recent challenge or struggle you faced. How did having (or not having) God at the center impact your experience? What can you learn from this for future challenges? [35:12]
7. The sermon concluded with a prayer for those feeling distant from God. If you feel distant, what specific actions can you take to seek a breakthrough and rearrange your life according to God's design? [36:02]

Devotional

Day 1: Prioritizing God's Voice
In our spiritual journey, it is crucial to prioritize God's voice over the various voices of family, critiques, social media, and news. Recognizing God as our leader, creator, redeemer, and sustainer is the first step towards surrendering our lives to Him. We should not treat God as something valuable but not central enough to be actively engaged with on a daily basis. [49:33]

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Reflection: What are some voices or influences that you need to prioritize less in your life in order to hear God's voice more clearly?

Day 2: Designing Our Lives Around God
Just as the church is designed to focus on the pulpit and the table where the sacraments are held, our lives should be designed to focus on God. We should not relegate God to the sidelines of our lives, but rather make Him central. [19:55]

Colossians 1:17 - "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
Reflection: What are some practical ways you can redesign your daily routine to make God the central focus?

Day 3: Embracing God's Superior Plans
The story of David and the Ark of the Covenant serves as a reminder that God chooses leaders to shepherd and lead His people. Despite the people's desire for a human ruler, God's chosen king was David. This shows that God's plans and purposes are always superior to our own. [49:33]

Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Reflection: Can you think of a time when God's plans proved to be superior to your own? How can you trust Him more with your future?

Day 4: Making Jesus the Cornerstone
The temptation to put ourselves at the center of our lives can lead us astray. Just as the frame and the cornerstone are the most important pieces in a puzzle, Jesus should be the cornerstone of our lives. By putting our lives together around Jesus, we can make sense of all aspects of life and determine how to allocate our time and energy. [26:08]

Ephesians 2:20 - "Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone."
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you have been the cornerstone instead of Jesus? How can you shift this area to make Jesus the cornerstone?

Day 5: Finding Joy and Peace in God's Design
Making God the center of our lives brings joy and peace that surpasses understanding. Despite the challenges and struggles we may face, having God at the center restores life to its original purpose and ensures that our value is never lost. We should trust God for the results and believe that He is guiding and working all things out for good. [32:38]

Psalm 16:11 - "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Reflection: What is one challenge you are currently facing? How can you trust God with this situation and find joy and peace in His design?

Quotes

"We need to seek God and seek God's glory instead of our own glory and instead of making much of the pieces of Our Lives we have to make much of the center point of Our Lives." [29:28]

"We surrender Our Lives to God, we confess our sin, our Rebellion to stuff other things in the center, to that other things have been leading us and guiding us, and we've been pursuing other things, and we confess to God and he forgives us, he forgives and restores us." [30:06]

"Even as God anoints King and leaders to be rulers, he still calls himself and us to recognize that he is the center of our lives, that our lives are to be guided by God by father son and spirit." [26:08]

"We put the pieces together around Jesus, the Cornerstone. He is the keep, he is the center of our lives or should be, and that's how we make sense of all life, that's how we decide how much time and energy things take." [28:08]

"Making God the center of your life is how your life was meant to be. There will be challenges, there will be struggles, but there will also be joy that surpasses understanding, there'll be peace in the midst of goodness and challenge, and there's purpose, divine eternal purpose, value that no one can take away." [35:12]

"We have to put the pieces of our life together with Jesus. It makes life make sense, it makes us focus on things of importance, things of value, things that won't just go, things that are worth holding on to in our youth and in our older years." [32:38]

"When God is in the center of our life, it doesn't mean that we'll never have conflict, that we'll never have grief, that we'll never have heartbreak. But it means that life will be restored to its original purpose, it means that your value will never be lost, it means that you're living the life you're supposed to live." [34:33]

"Here we remember and worship God and remember and find our place in God's story." [19:55]

"Our lives find lesser purposes when we don't fulfill the design that our creator designed us for. Our god-given potential is undercut by less lofty ambitions. We let the current needs and desires of the day repurpose and relabel us." [24:04]

"The temptation of kings like David would be to put themselves in the center, to fashion a people and to fashion a country that centers around personality, to be king and have everything and everyone serve our whims. We have plenty of dictators currently and in human history who turn their political parties or their nations into a reflection of their personality and personal goals." [25:27]

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Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?