Senior Pastor Damein Schitter, dedicated to guiding his community in understanding the Lord's Prayer, dives into how this prayer can transform daily life. He explores the significance of knowing God as our Father, drawing from key insights on divine adoption. Through engaging thought experiments, he illustrates the security of our identity as God's children, offering hope during times of anxiety. The discussion encourages listeners to reflect on their journey 'home' to the Father, emphasizing the peace found in reconnecting with divine love.
Understanding the Lord's Prayer serves as both a lofty aspiration and a practical guide for deepening our daily spiritual life.
Recognizing God as Father through adoption enhances our identity, fostering courageous vulnerability and grace-filled relationships within the community.
Deep dives
Vision of New City Church
The vision of New City Church is centered around the Lord's Prayer, which serves as both a lofty aspiration and a concrete guideline for the congregation. The church emphasizes this vision by aiming to see God answer the Lord's Prayer in their community and beyond, embodying the call to make disciples who in turn make disciples. This dual aspect of the vision highlights its relevance over time, suggesting that while it aspires to the divine kingdom, it is also applicable in daily life, engaging each member in their personal prayers and family practices. By encouraging the community to actively partake in prayer, the church seeks to deeply root this vision in the lives of its members.
Understanding God as Father
At the core of the podcast is the notion that God as Father provides profound intimacy and belonging through adoption into His family, which is a foundational element of the Christian faith. The speaker illustrates this concept by discussing the legal aspect of adoption, where every believer inherently becomes an heir through their trust in Jesus, enjoying infinite wealth in God's love that is freely given and cannot be earned. This relationship emphasizes that no one has to compete for their place in God's family, as every person is accepted unconditionally. Such understanding fosters a confident approach to prayer and spirituality, allowing individuals to fully embrace their identity as beloved children of God.
The Importance of Knowing God
Knowing God as Father goes beyond the acknowledgment of relationship; it invites believers to genuinely reflect on their connection with Him. This section emphasizes that knowing God engenders a lifestyle that mirrors Jesus' relationship with the Father, enhancing one's understanding of grace and acceptance. It highlights the importance of experiencing God's love as a source of assurance, freeing believers from the compulsive needs for self-validation and performance. The dynamic encourages continual turning towards the Father, reassuring individuals that they do not have to strive for approval; they are inherently loved and accepted as children of God.
Living as Sons and Daughters
To live as sons and daughters of God necessitates a transformation in outlook, shaping one's identity and interactions with the world. The speaker points out that being secure in God’s fatherhood allows for vulnerability, humility, and an openness to growth and correction, as believers trust in Christ's perfect standing rather than their own efforts. This leads to a community characterized by grace, where individuals can share joys and struggles without fear of condemnation. Ultimately, embodying the essence of sonship and daughtership invites a more profound expression of faith, where reliance on God leads to spiritual renewal and authentic connections among believers.
Senior Pastor Damein Schitter begins our fall Vision series, centered on the Lord's Prayer. At NewCity our vision is to see the Father answer the Lord's Prayer. With this, we might ask, how does understanding the Lord's Prayer transform our daily life? The Lord's Prayer is not just a grand vision but also a practical guide for our daily walk, aligning with NewCity's mission to form and send disciple-makers.
Pastor Damein digs into the profound concept of knowing God as our Father and the unique relationship we have with Him through adoption. Drawing insights from J.I. Packer's "Knowing God" and Dane Ortlund's "Gentle and Lowly," he discusses the deep security and identity that come from being adopted into God's family. Through a thought experiment, Pastor Damein illustrates the irrevocable nature of our place in God's family, emphasizing that truly knowing Him as Father can transform our lives and make us reflections of Jesus’s relationship with God.
Ultimately, embracing our identity as God's children provides strength and hope in times of anxiety and uncertainty. We can all "return home" to God, once we recognize signs of living in the "far country" and long for the peace found in returning to the Father.
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