Sunday Flyer

What is God Like?

The Image of the Invisible

Pastor Matt Hammett

"Before you do any work with the people in the area of spiritual disciplines or anything like that, make sure you spend some time with them first on their picture of God."

- James Bryan Smith 

Exodus 34:5-7
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Compassion means to suffer with, to be moved to action. Compassion is an emotional connection to those who are hurting, combined with a deep commitment to respond. 

How does understanding God's compassion shape us?

1. We recognize God's compassion extends to all.

Matthew 5:45b
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

2. We are moved to action for the sake of others. 

Matthew 9:35-36
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

3. We extend grace to ourselves.

Inner Critic messages:
You should know better by now 
You are not good enough
You are too much
You are stupid, ugly or flawed
You are a failure and are unworthy of love

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

One of the most shocking contradictions in Christian living is the intense dislike many disciples of Jesus have for themselves. They are more displeased and impatient, irritated, unforgiving, and spiteful with their own shortcomings than they would ever dream of being with someone else's.

- Brennan Manning