Letting the ANGRY God Go

Sunday, Sep 24, 2023

Series: At Commons - Part 3 Scripture: Romans 1:18-19, Romans 5:9, 1 John 4:16-18 (NIV11) 

Community is shaped by the conversations we share. These questions are a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.

• Summary

  Message Summary: This week we look at the third affirmation from the journal: “Because of that we have abandoned the idea of an angry, violent God in order to fully embrace the good news brought forward by Jesus.” In the sermon, Bobbi explores what it is that we want to abandon and what it is that we want to embrace and the reasons for those choices.

  • Our Shady Past - the violent parts in our Bible remind us that violence comes to us naturally. “We live with a text that contains violence, just like our own hearts and histories.” Bobbi walked us through some points in the history of Christianity that show - we need no help with being violent. “But our violence does not make God violent.”

  • Decluttering Violence - we need help decluttering violence in our lives and communities. In Rom 1:18-19, we are reminded that the wrath of God is not directed at us, but at what harms us. Further in the chapter, Paul shifts the source of wrath from God to us, and eventfully it becomes an impersonal force that just is. “It’s wrath with a capital “W.” We could call that “consequences” of “comeuppance!". Wrath is the name for what can go horribly wrong.” Then in Rom 5:9, we see that Jesus saves us from [God’s’] wrath, but the word “God’s” isn’t in the original text. It takes the work of a lifetime to declutter the violence in our hearts and on the pages of scripture.

  • All There is to Embrace - we locate our work of interpretation in love. In 1 John 4:16-18, people in 1 John community had a twofold concern: “What do we believe? And how does that shape how we live?” Over and over, the writers and leaders, and community builders of those early christian communities spoke against vengeance and fear. 1 John uses the word “love” 46 times. It is the heart of the Jesus community. “And it is our right and our duty to abandon the idea of an angry, violent God in order to fully embrace the good news brought forward by Jesus.”

  • Jesus: Friend Bobbi is a proponent for this work of abandoning and embracing, especially when it comes to our ideas about God. She even has a list of bad metaphors for God, and we could have one too. Seeing God as a friend, seeing Jesus as a friend can be a great source of healing in our lives. “It’s good news to be the friend, not the enemy, of God.”

• Discussion

  Connect: Bobbi mentioned this idea of embracing patience in our own transformation. Here’s the quote: “Embrace the patience of God in your own transformation. What’s the hurry?” How does this apply to you today? How has being patient with yourself in your journey served you? And where are you currently giving (or want to give) yourself space and time to grow or change?

  Share: What place does this image of an angry, violent God have in your story with faith? And what do you think about Bobbi’s quick sweep through the history of Christianity and the legacy of violence that we carry? How does the interpretation of wrath in Rom 1:18ff and 5:9 change and/or challenge this idea of an angry God? Reflect:

  Reflecting on John 1, how do you see the role of community in reshaping our understanding of God and moving us away from a fear-based faith to a more love-based Christianity?

  Engage: Bobbi talked about some personal struggles with certain language used to describe God. Are there metaphors or descriptions of God that you find challenging or hard to relate to? What’s on your “bad metaphors for God” list and why?

  Take away: How does the idea of Jesus as a friend shape your understanding of your relationship with God? In what areas of your life do you see God as your friend, and how does it impact you to see yourself as a friend of God?

• Prayer

  Pray: Christ our friend, We confess the centuries of our history where we have wandered so far away from your love We confess the ways we drag your holiness into our horror We confess our own anger that fails to propel us toward love and justice For the work of abandoning ideas that take us into shady places For the work of embracing all there is in life – the good and the hard parts Remind us that we are not alone Draw us into community Spark in us the confidence of your love Spirit of the living God, present with us now, enter the places of our shame and insecurity, and heal us of all that harms us. Amen.

• Liturgy

  CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 9

  MUSIC Curated by Curt Muller
  Phil Wickham - This Is Our God
  Cody Carnes - Simple Kingdom
  Mission House - Whole Heart
  Brooke Ligertwood - Ancient Gates
  Citizens - Good Ground

  PRAYER FOR THE NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION Written by Yelena Pakhomova

  This coming Saturday, we will mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day and the whole week leading up to it give us an opportunity to remember the harm caused by residential schools and to commit ourselves to the ongoing work of reconciliation and building a better future for all.

  As a faith community, we meet on Treaty 7 land, and as part of our liturgy today, we want to reflect on our shared story and pray in support of our indigenous neighbours, friends, and siblings.

  Let us pray.

  Creator God, whose love infuses and sustains all things,

  We give you thanks for this land where our lives are planted

  and for the original inhabitants of this land

  who have always held all creation as sacred

  and from whom we have much to learn.

  We ask for receptive hearts that we may never take

  the generosity of the land and the indigenous communities for granted.

  Divine Healer whose love sets us free,

  We confess that our nation and our communities need healing and peace.

  We acknowledge the painful legacy of broken promises and treaties,

  the injustices brought against the indigenous peoples,

  and the lasting harm of residential schools.

  We ask for courage that we may remember our history

  and commit to the patient work of mending relationships through justice.

  Gentle Spirit, whose love never gives up,

  As we express our desire to pursue peace,

  We ask you to renew our imagination for what is possible,

  that we may not give up on shaping a better future,

  by listening to the stories of truth with humility,

  by upholding the dignity of all people,

  and by committing to walking together

  with our indigenous neighbours in mutuality and respect.

  In the name of Christ, we pray.

  Amen.