Stuck in Transformation

In the conversation for Sunday, October 15, 2017, Pastor Stuart Nice shares some strategies for aligning our perspective regarding transformation, which is the first step in getting unstuck in the process of becoming more like Jesus in our daily lives.

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Sacred Reading 00:00-12:55, Conversation 12:55-42:36

When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?
Romans 7:19-24 (NLT)

Sacred Reading

A note about the recording of the Sacred Reading:
The reader will pause between each of the four readings. The pauses have been left in the recording so that the listener can experience the rhythm of the gathering and even participate in the reading. Below are the guidelines for each of the four readings of the practice. 

  • Read: Read the passage and receive it as God’s message to you.
  • Reflect: Read the passage again and look for the word or phrase that the Holy Spirit highlights to your heart.
  • Respond: Take the highlighted words and make them a prayer.
  • Rest: Rest your heart in God’s promises.
The truth is that no condemnation now hangs over the head of those who are “in” Jesus Christ. For the new spiritual principle of life “in” Christ lifts me out of the old vicious circle of sin and death. The Law never succeeded in producing righteousness—the failure was always the weakness of human nature. But God has met this by sending his own Son Jesus Christ to live in sinful human nature like ours. And, while Christ was dealing with sin, God condemned that sinful nature. Therefore we are able to meet the Law’s requirements, for we are living no longer by the dictates of our sinful nature, but in obedience to the promptings of the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4 (PHILLIPS)