2. 34. Holy Love
Mark 15:21-41
p. 941

3. God in control Celebration Why did Jesus die on the cross?
What did it do for me ?
How should I talk about it to others?

4. God in control Time Magazine: “The Me, Me, Me Generation”
Society has become self-absorbed, needy, self- focussed
Experience a disconnect between Jesus’ work and daily life.
SELF is where we connect with the Gospel & discipleship.

5. 1. Who Am I? Mortimer & Rakesh go to Google
Oprah Website – “Who am I meant to be?”
Psychology Today – “What you’d like to experience”
Not realize how fragile their “Selves” are.

6. 1. Who Am I? . . . Contradiction: Builds identity on shifting sand
Deep inside you is the “Real” you
Can create the self you want to be – the “Ideal” you.
Builds identity on shifting sand
Am I the “Real” me or the “Ideal” me ?
“Jesus died for you” - no place to connect with this dilemma.

7. 1. Who Am I? . . . Previous generations –
Morality / Virtue a key part of human identity
“Jesus died for your sins” has clear connection
Now no innate sense of sin
A sense of Failure / Lack but in a very different way.

8. 2. The New Struggle
(1) Gap between the “Real” self and the “Ideal” self.
People are dissatisfied with who they are
The disconnect leads to SHAME
Fear people will find out
(2) Used to define ourselves in relation to “other”
Now define ourselves by looking WITHIN.
There is no location, no root, no anchor to who they are.
They are alone.

9. 2. The New Struggle . . . Assumption about the purpose of life:
“Fulfilling your potential”
“Facilitating emergence of what you’d like to experience”
Also no outside referent. I’m here to self-actualize.

10. 2. The New Struggle . . . Three parts to the struggle:
Gap between “Real” and “Ideal” self  SHAME
Identity without foundation  LONELINESS / DISCONNECT
Purpose of Life = Fulfill desires  MEANINGLESSNESS
RESULT – isolation, disorientation, fear

11. 3. Story of the Cross Good News – God loves you. Speaks into our fears
He knows about the disconnect and loves you anyway.
Helpful – but we are still isolated, lonely, scared.

12. 3. Story of the Cross . . . The rest of the Dilemma:
Identity has to be rooted in a reality outside ourselves
Purpose is redefined: “deny self, take up cross, follow me”
Integrates “Real” and redefined “Ideal” self into “WHOLE” self
Integration of self – is a process not an event.
Jesus’ healing, story, and the power of the Spirit restores.
Happens through Scripture, prayer, service , worship, fellowship.

13. Holy Love
We only have something to say when Jesus has become the foundation of our Identity & Reality
We get out of the vortex by living in the process of restoration (transformation)
Jesus work on the cross is not a “pill” we take – it invites us into relationship.