Jesus Over Everything Week 5 — Changing Your Heart

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. — 1 Thessalonians 4:7 ESV

WELCOME

We could probably spend a whole weekend retreat together talking about choices from our past we’re not proud of and still not have enough time to share all our stories. If your early college years or young adult seasons were anything like mine, there’s a good chance you may not even remember some of those poor choices. But our life as a follower of Jesus isn’t just about making good choices; it’s about making the best choice. And the best choice is to pursue God.

Our pursuit of God can best be explained by our commitment to holiness. It is the choice that uncomplicates our life because when we pursue life God’s way, his way works. And what could be better than an uncomplicated life, ordained by the divine creator? But choosing holiness comes at a cost to our human desires, because the path to holiness requires us to give up our personal freedom and requires long-term commitment over our short-term mood swings. If only we’d understand that choosing holiness over freedom is choosing freedom—what comes on the other side of our pursuit of holiness is ultimate freedom in Christ.

That’s the paradox of a holy life. We give up our personal freedom in order to get greater spiritual freedom. It’s hard to put words to that kind of greater freedom unless you’ve experienced it. And that’s the goal of this entire study: to experience a life of spiritual dependence on God and a greater freedom than we’ve ever before known. Some of us have known Jesus for a long time and not yet known the full scope of the joy of what that relationship is meant to be.

Let’s take a closer look together as we continue to uncomplicate our life and put Jesus first by choosing holiness over freedom and commitment over mood.

This week in your study:

1. Watch the video for session five of Jesus Over Everything on our study home page and take notes in your study guide on pages 93-101 but DON’T GO AWAY just yet! Hang out for the conversation with our OBS community afterward!
2. Grab your Bible and enjoy your personal study this week on pages 102-114.
3. Join the conversations about this week’s teaching and get to know our community in our private Facebook group.