Being Human Pt. 2
Speaker: Pastor Pierre du Plessis
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In what ways did the sermon and recap resonate with you?
2. What aspects of being human do you most enjoy? Find challenging or troubling?
3. God has allotted us as human beings time, opportunities, choice, free will and vision, (as imagination, not sight).
a. Why is time considered a gift?
b. How do the choices we make and the exercise of free-will influence opportunities?
c. What has God given you a vision for?
d. What raw talent do you have that you assume everybody has?
4. It has been said that absolutes keep us from making room for growth. Do you agree? Why or why not?
5. What do you think is the purpose of being human? What school of thought, so to speak, do you subscribe to?
6. What do you think God’s “dream” for mankind is?
7. In what practical ways can you cultivate and protect the earth that was broken by sin? How does doing so bring back order and glorify God?
8. In what ways are humans God’s crowning glory of Creation?
SERMON RECAP
Scripture References: Psalm 139:14-16; Deuteronomy 28:15; Genesis 2:15, 19 paraphrased Jeremiah 29:19; Isaiah 58:11
“Being human, from God’s perspective, is the crown jewel of all that God has made; being human far surpasses the beauty and awe of creation.” Think about it... What a marvelous creation we are! When God made you, He broke the mold. God’s artistry and precision in design and makeup are revealed in Psalm 139: 13,14... For you created my inmost being ; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God, in His omniscience has allotted humans time...the number of our days for us to use for a purpose and reason; opportunities, the potential for advancement, which is impacted by choices and free will; vision, which only humans possess, (not sight, but imagination between what is and what can be), and raw talent, gifts that we did not ask for, but come so naturally to us, that we expect everyone to have the same capability. People who have the gift of organization, for example, wonder why some people struggle with finding their keys, if they would only put them where they belong. In addition to our complex physiological make-up, (read Psalm 139: 13-16), the beauty of being human encompasses a collective range of experiences, emotions, and thoughts that are part of the human experience....Yet, ask yourself, “What is the purpose of being human on the earth?” This is where being human comes into practice. Though this question has been pondered since the beginning of time, where you “land” on this question is influenced by an acceptance of an existential school of thought that boils down to this: whatever people believe, they seek to find a collection of scriptures to bring conviction to their perspective, making those scriptures absolutely right and by default, them as well. When you think you are absolutely right you make no room to grow in your understanding. The world will care what you believe, once who you are becomes attractive. When God created the heavens and the earth...God had a dream...a place of utter beauty! For whom did He create it...Himself? No, He created man(kind) to inhabit the earth and to cultivate and protect it. (See Genesis 2:15). “The glory of God is man fully alive” said St. Aranaeus. Being fully alive is intimacy with God and enjoying His creation. When we cultivate and protect God’s creation, we bring glory to Him.
