Messy Spirituality || The Inconsistent Disciple

Here is part 4 of my sermon series inspired by the book of the same name, "Messy Spirituality" by Mike Yaconelli. As always, I enjoy your feedback.


Check out part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Oh Peter, talk about an inconsistent disciple. You can read a few examples in Matthew 16:13-25; 26:31-35, 69-75. A couple things we might be able to take away from this.

Christianity is an equal opportunity faith.
-God chose us first, which creates a place for those who have no place
-I wonder how many of us have given up on being spiritual because we don’t seem to fit?
-There can be freedom in the inconsistency because we know it will come
-we encourage people to grow knowing they will fail
-Discipleship is a journey, which makes spiritual growth look different for each of us

Lessons from being stuck.
-Getting "stuck" reminds us of the need to slow down
-“Spiritual growth does not happen by running faster” (Yaconelli 96) or by “inviting Jesus to speed through life with us” (Yaconelli 97)
-Learn to rest means realizing how unnecessary we are
-Jesus came to give us rest (Matthew 11:28)
-Sometimes 70% is 100% of what we have to give
-“The spiritual life is not a life of success; it is a life of faithfulness” (Yaconelli 110)
-As long as we want to grow, Jesus will show up

Discipleship as imbalance?
-Redefining “balance” (Matthew 16:24-25)
-Do our attempts at seeming "all together" polish the life right out of the Church?
-Being a disciple means we should be a little odd; the world should notice we're a little different shouldn't it?