This month at Forsythe Church of Christ I’m going to be talking about recovery, but the truth is that is the subject of every sermon. We can say that we preach “Gospel” at our church, and that’s true. Gospel means “good news,” and specifically the good news about our Savior Jesus Christ. The very fact that we need to be saved recognizes that we are in recovery.
We’re recovering from self-inflicted wounds, poor choices, the hurts that other people have heaped upon us, addiction, and the abuse we’ve suffered from people we trusted. Even if you do not have some amazing recovery story, you have your own story of what you have overcome in your life - and what you are continuing to overcome.
I can’t tell you how blessed I have been to be surrounded by the recovery community over the past five years or so. Daily recovery meetings at our church have given me insight into the courage that men and women have when they work hard to overcome alongside others who have the same struggle.
Whenever the church became a place for all the good people to gather, we took a wrong turn. When I look at the twelve apostles I do not see a dozen amazingly good people who didn’t have to struggle much to follow Jesus. The opposite. I’m amazed that Jesus selected this rag-tag cadre of ragamuffins to be the team to bring the gospel to the world!
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. - Acts 4:13
More than just recognizing the rugged road we’ve all traveled, we need to think about today. Every one of us is living one day at a time. I can’t relive yesterday, and tomorrow is never promised.
“But for these 24 hours, we decide not to drink. No matter what the temptation or provocation, we determine to go to any extremes necessary to avoid a drink today.” - Living Sober
What I’ve witnessed in the recovery community is the support and togetherness, and the frank way that people talk to one another. There is a lack of acceptance of vague excuse-making and at the same time a rigorous cheer even for one who just has a desire to be sober.
When you meet someone at church this week, realize you are meeting someone in recovery. Someone who has hurt in the past (and maybe the present). Someone who needs to know that you are with them and for them. Maybe walking into worship, for some, is a desire chip - just an acknowledgment that I’d like to live my life for Jesus today. Tomorrow is a heavy burden and yesterday is a done deal.
For our first message, we will be going back to the beginning. There was one man, one woman, one forbidden tree. You know how that went down.
Recovery Month is meaningful in a lot of different ways. Mainly, the thing we forget, is that we are all in recovery. When we see that reality, we can operate from grace into the lives of all those around us.
If you’re interested in the sermon notes, they will come across on the Forsythe Sermons substack. Thanks for reading and hitting that heart.
This is a beautiful message!
God bless the message. 💗🙏💗