Climate Change (2) – An Unstable Climate (Philippians 3:3-8; 4:13)

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers today!  I hope you get a well deserved break today and celebrate with your family!  My prayer to all the fathers is that we will continue to shoulder the responsibility to be the leaders of our families.  Not only that, I pray that God will give us the capacity to also father those that have grown up without a good male model.  This world desperately needs godly father figures who would demonstrate integrity, humility and leadership.  I pray that there will be many spiritual fathers in our midst that will lead our next generation well.

Last week we started a new series called Climate Change and we are talking about relationships.  We said that every relationship has a climate and everyone also has an emotional climate that he/she brings into the relationship.  Today we are going to talk about one of the main climate influencer in our relationships – insecurity.  Throughout life we have failures and difficult experiences, and we hear negative comments from people who are important to us.  These things feed our insecurities.  And we all know it isn’t fun to be on the other side of an insecure person.  An insecure boss is difficult to follow. An insecure spouse is difficult to love.  None of us wants to be that difficult person.

So how do we deal with our insecurities?  Culture tells us that self-esteem is the cure for insecurity.  Scripture tells us something radically different.

Moving Forward

We work for acceptance, yet we already have the acceptance of the one who matters most: God.  The climate of your relationships will change when you see you as God sees you.

Write down the words of Philippians 4:13 and carry them around with you this week.  Use them to help you remember whose acceptance matters most.

Discussion Questions

1. Last week, Kevin challenged you to ask three people in your life, “What’s it like to be on the other side of me?” Did you do it? If so, what happened?

2. What’s something you’re really good at? Do you do it because you love it or because it wins you acceptance from others?

3. Read Philippians 4:13.  We all have insecurities, and the cure to insecurity is knowing that God sees us through Christ.  Why is it difficult for us to believe that God accepts us?

4. How would your relationships change if you stopped seeking the acceptance of others because you knew you already had God’s acceptance?