Kingdom Longings
Exploring how we as Kingdom citizens can bring hope to the world
Discussion
People are created to be amazing and unique! Can you imagine what people would be like in a world where beauty or wealth didn’t define value, without pressures to be more like someone else and where everyone lived fully out of who they were created to be?
▸ What might your community look like if everyone in it lived that way?
Big Idea: Imago Dei
As we can see from our micro-testimonies, we all have different experiences, personalities, and perspectives, yet the image of God (Imago Dei) is reflected in us.
Three ways that we reflect God:
Value: In the same way that God does not have value because something external has attributed it—God’s value is inherent—our value is also inherent, regardless of what external factors say.
Belonging: In the same way that the Trinity loves, upholds, and lives in perfect communion with one another, we are to reflect this with each other and with God.
Co-creation: In the same way that God created the universe and everything in it, we reflect God when we co-create, taking what God has created and making something new of it.
We as image bearers of God are to treat others like true image bearers of God, because what we do for the least of us, we do for Jesus (Matthew 25:40- 45). Whether we feed the hungry, clothe or care for those in need, we do all those things for the person in front of us, and the person of Jesus that they bear the image of. Our evangelism philosophy must be founded in drawing out the imago dei in a person.
There are two primary ways that people
think about growth: punitive and restorative.
To illustrate this, take a look at the difference between an American prison (top) vs. a Norwegian prison (bottom). America has the highest rate of incarcerations per capita and one of the highest rates of recidivism (return to prison after release) of any nation in the world. Norway, on the other hand, has one of the lowest rates of recidivism in the world.
This is primarily due to how the prison systems are set up, American prisons are punitive (designed to punish people), Norwegian prisons are restorative (designed to restore and rehabilitate people to be productive citizens). The Christian faith can be thought of as punitive or restorative. Punitive can be thought in terms of heaven and hell, and restorative can be thought of as restoring God’s creation and the image of God.
Discussion Question
▸ How can we draw out the best in people (their imago dei)?
Activity
Based on the world event we chose as a group last week, we will practice seeing it through our lens of Kingdom Longing. As we dive into this conversation, focus on the longing that the event is producing in people. As we engage with one another and share, ask yourself if this conversation creates space for belonging.
LONGING
▸ What longing led up to this current event? Or what longing is this current event producing in people?
LIES
▸ What lies are people believing?
COPING MECHANISM
▸ How are people coping?
KINGDOM SOLUTION
▸ What can we do as Kingdom Citizens to bring God’s Kingdom into people’s longings?
▸ What difference would this make in people’s lives?
PERSONAL REFLECTION
▸ How do you relate to the world’s longings?
Moving Forward
▸ Cycle through again!
In cycling through, the more you practice seeing the world through longings and the Kingdom, the easier and more natural it will become! Choose different passages, movies, personal experiences, and world events to go through.
For the “Big Idea,” you do not have to go through the material again unless there are new people. However, a recap might be helpful. Here are the short definitions for each week’s big idea:
1. SIN: Sin behavior is often meeting our legitimate needs in an illegitimate way, or finding life where there is no life.
2. KINGDOM OF GOD: The Kingdom of God is what this world was created to be, what it will one day be and what God is working towards bringing into existence in our current reality.
3. REPENTANCE: Paradigm shift, the process of identifying lies that we believe and choosing to trust in God’s idea of what reality is.
4. IMAGO DEI: We are Image bearers of God who are called to draw out the imago dei in others.