1: Hearing the Voice that Calls Us "Beloved"

The Neighborhood Church

Lent is a season to re-center our hearts, habits, and lives on God. We begin this 40-day season at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. When Jesus was baptized, he heard a voice call him "Beloved" as the Spirit confirmed his identity. In many ways, our journey with God doesn't really begin until *we* hear the voice God say to us, "You are my dear child I love"...and then actually believe it. So, wherever you are on your journey, listen closely for the voice of Love. Let the words echo in your heart as you face the wilderness ahead. NOTES -- // SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Mark 1.9-15 // The practices of giving, praying, and fasting during Lent put us in a position to be acted upon by God. They are like a "re-center" button that brings us back to the Way and Center of our life. // BIG IDEA -- Our journey with God doesn't really begin until we hear Him say, "You are my dear child I love"...and actually believe it. // QUOTE -- “Jesus is the Messiah, and the Messiah represents his people. what is true of him is true of them. Look at this life & learn to see and hear in it the heavenly vision, the heavenly voice. Learn to hear these words addressed to yourself. Let them change you, mold you, make you somebody new, the person God wants you to be. Discover in this story the normally hidden heavenly dimension of God’s world.” (N.T. WRIGHT, Mark for Everyone) // Jesus withstood the rejection of the world because he knew the acceptance of his Father. // Our journey with God is about learning to live in a reality we don't always see.