Sermon Guide
FORMED | Into his Image
Teaching Text
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Sermon Recap
This Sunday, Pastor Jon Tyson kicked off our Fall sermon series, Formed, where we will be journeying through the key stages of a believer’s transformation process from dead in their sin to being formed into the image of Christ and sent out as His image-bearers. We are all being formed in one way or another into someone, and Pastor Jon called us to begin this season by leaning into intentional, not accidental, formation in the way of Jesus.
Oftentimes the church addresses change in one of two ways: the “flash” view, that falsely promises everything is set right in an instant, or the “fatalism” view, that has such reduced expectations of what God can do that all hope for change is lost. Both of these views lead to disillusionment and disappointment, but Jesus offers us hope in the “formation” view of change. Out of His love for us, Christ invites us into a lifelong journey of being transformed into His image by His power, not our own.
In order to move forward in change, we have to properly evaluate where we believe our identity is rooted, what is the source of our righteousness, and what gives us power. To take Jesus up on all that He offers, we have to receive His vision for our formation. We were created by God for His good purposes, meaning we are objects of love, not accidents, and intended to be mirrors of His divine glory and representatives of His rule on earth. However, because sin entered into the human story at the Fall, we face the tragedy of deformation in ourselves and in our world. Our lives are often marked by wounds, lies, idols, addictions, and compulsions that result in a shame based identity that deems us broken and enslaved to our sinful nature.
It is out of this reality that we are confronted by our deep need for God’s grace and His work of counter-formation. This is a wildly complex process that requires us to dig into how we have been deformed specifically in order to be transformed intentionally. The impact of our family of origin, traumatic events, personal experiences, education, decision making, cultural norms, places we’ve lived, mentors and relationships, and religious views, on our formation are profound. They affect our temperaments and wiring, and shape how we view and interact with God and people physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Counter-formation is based on God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, and frees us to live into the redemption Christ has made available to us.
From this place, we experience the beauty of transformation. We are built and destined for glory in the future new creation, and the wonder of salvation is that we can begin living into that reality now. Through Jesus’ transformation power our wounds experience healing, lies are replaced with truth, idols are surrendered and worship of God increases, we gain freedom from addictions, and our compulsions are exchanged for disciplines. Jesus’ intention is that we would become like Him in our innermost being, moving beyond impulse, or even reflection, and truly embody His will. Our new creation identity is sealed in Christ, and through His overcoming Spirit our attention, thoughts, desires, and actions shift to align with the Father’s will.
We are called to conform to Jesus’ image by crucifying our flesh, and being unified with Him in new life. Jesus specializes in transforming the human heart, but we have to fully invite Him into our broken, messy lives. The transformation Jesus offers is centered on a union based identity, where our righteousness is settled in Him, and we are empowered to live out of His overcoming love.