The Disciple's Life: It's As Easy As Changing Your Clothes... Or Is It?

mom or dad, I feel torn to pieces by all the demands on my time. I try to do a good job at work and be a good parent to my kids and take care of my dad when he needs my help. I have no time for myself I feel overwhelmed. I feel as if I don't do anything well. My life seems to be falling apart into a million pieces."
c. “At work I'm being asked by my supervisors to do things that I think are quasi-moral and maybe even illegal, but basically I like my job, and, frankly, I'm afraid of losing it. I'm not finding any moral guidance at church. The sermons and Bible studies never seem to have anything to do with the situations I'm facing. I'm not sure my pastor has any idea of the issues I face at work."

2. Fragmented lives in a fragmented world-
a. The rapid pace of change
b. Mobility
c. Specialization
d. Diversity
e. Compartmentalization
f. Unrealistic expectations
g. Isolation
h. A climate of fear

3. And then there is Church!

II. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber. Why? Because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
a. The “End” is coming
b. The “End” of the brokenness of this present age
c. The “End” is Jesus

III. Put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
1. Our goal is not a moral life – Acceptance based on performance
2. Our goal is not a balanced life – Show “The Balanced Life” graphic
Jack Fortin puts it this way, “Some social commentators have suggested that the answer to the divided life is a balanced life. Although they have some valuable things to say, I find that the balanced life is finally a myth; it can't be done. In a balanced life, I try to stay in control of my life and try to find ways to balance the various facets of my life: work, family, personal care, friendships, community life, and political involvement. The problem with this is that it keeps us self-absorbed, and the elements of our lives rarely stay in balance. Think of what happens, for example, when you have a sick child. Your goal then is not to maintain a balance, but to take immediate care of that child.”

3. Discipleship is about a FAITHFUL LIFE – “…a life faithful, moment by moment, to the God in whom we live and move and have our being. In other words, it is a CENTERED LIFE."
4. Thus Paul exhorts us to …

IV. Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ
1. Hebrews 1:3 "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word."
2. Colossians 1:15 "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."
3. John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
4. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
5. Edmund Steimle, “It's the story of living, sweating, rejoicing, struggling, dying men and women just like you, just like me. And the story tells of a God not apart from their daily ordinary lives,