JR. Forasteros - May 18, 2014

YHWH Nissi - Banner

YHWH Nissi - Banner

Branding is a dirty word these days - it smacks of consumerism. But what every company wants is to get you to commit. To devote. And this whole-life allegiance is exactly what God demands of us. If we are to find the life and flourishing God desires for us, it's only found under God's banner, in a whole-life devotion to God's way.

From Series: "Hello My Name Is..."

Who is God? The answers to this most basic human question can be found in the Scriptures. Over and over, God comes to humanity, interacts with us in ways we can understand, and we learn more of who God is. Often in these interactions, the people who met God would give God a name - a way to describe how God had worked in their lives. As we explore these stories, we'll learn that God is the same God for us today. God is our provider, our shepherd, our banner, our peace, our mother and more!

Sermon Manuscript     Discussion Guide

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Rag n Bone Man’s “I’m Only Human” tells a fascinating story of a broken relationship. Or rather, it implies that story, since to listen to the song is to feel as though we’re listening to one side of the end of a long, painful conversation.

Again and again, he insists that, whatever happened, “Don’t put your blame on me… I’m only human.”

I’m sorry I couldn’t solve your problems. I’m only human.

I’m sorry I couldn’t figure it out. I’m only human.

I’m sorry I couldn’t be honest. I’m only human.

I’m no Messiah. I’m only human.

The song expresses a sentiment we’re all well-acquainted with: we’re not God.

We can’t save the world – we can’t even save ourselves. So be careful not to put too much faith in me.

There’s some truth to that. We do often tend to put too much faith in other people, which can lead to a lot of heartache.

But that’s not what this song is about. This song is a person who has let someone else down. A person who doesn’t believe in himself. A person who says, “I’m only human.”

Rag n Bone man believes that to be human is to be a failure. To be human is to let other people down. To be human is to be limited, small, insignificant, unworthy of trust or faith.

When’s the last time you let someone down?

Maybe you didn’t return that phone call, or didn’t make it to their house. Maybe like me, you live far away from family and couldn’t make it back for a holiday. Or you failed to keep a promise.

We’ve all been where Rag n Bone man is – feeling the weight of our human limitations. We’ve all wanted to shrug and say, “Don’t put your blame on me! I’m only human!”

Friends, I want to offer us a word of encouragement today. To be human is to be finite, yes, but when we shrug our shoulders and say we’re “only human”, we’re lying about what it means to be human.

Today, we’re going to explore what it means to be human, and we’ll see that while to be human is to be limited, it is not to fail. We’ll see that to be human is a sacred calling, and that God wants us to live tall and proud to be human.

To be human is to represent God in the world. That is our sacred calling. There’s nothing “only” about our humanity.

Join us Sunday as we learn what it means to be fully human.

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