Session 1: Identity

Hearing the Word

Rooting Your Identity in Christ

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” Matthew 5:13

“Man knows that his I is really only in relation with the Thou.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Communion of the Saints

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 1:1-23

Seeking for Wisdom

Discovering Your Real Self in Christ

“The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him [Christ] take us over, the more truly ourselves we become….In that sense our real selves are all waiting for us in Him. It is no good trying to ‘be myself’ without Him. The more I resist Him and try to live on my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity and upbringing and surroundings and natural desires…It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own….Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self….Your real, new self (which is Christ’s and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him…The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Compelled to Look Upward

“Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves…In the first place, no one can look upon himself without immediately turning his thoughts to the contemplation of God…For, quite clearly, the mighty gifts with which we are endowed are hardly from ourselves; indeed, our very being is nothing but subsistence in the one God…Indeed, our very poverty…[and] miserable ruin, into which the rebellion of the first man cast us, especially compels us to look upward…Each of us must, then, be so stung by the consciousness of his own unhappiness as to attain at least some knowledge of God…To this extent we are prompted by our own ills to contemplate the good things of God; and we cannot seriously aspire to him before we begin to become displeased with ourselves…Accordingly, the knowledge of ourselves not only arouses us to seek God, but also, as it were, leads us by the hand to find him…Again, it is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion

Community Discussion

Discovering Your Design

Life Timeline

Take time to think through the timeline of your life. Read through the following process and criteria and then chart out a “Life Timeline” that captures the overarching story of your life.

Contemplate

Think about the major movements of your life. Use the categories/criteria on the following page as a means to help you reflect on the various influences that have shaped your life.

Record

On the Life Timeline that follows, write down the various aspects that have been life-transforming. Move stage by stage up to the present day.

Observe

As you chronicle these formative moments, take note of patterns, themes, or insights that are beginning to become evident across the arc of your life. Document these observations in the space provide on the Life Timeline.

Label

Try to title each life phase with a phrase that captures the overall characteristics of that stage of your life.

Life Timeline Elements

What Happened in Each Phase

Experiences

• Highlights
• Events
• Roadblocks
• Crises
• Turning Points

How You Grew in Each Phase of Life

Growth

• Education
• Work
• Family
• Skills
• Faith
• Character
• Achievements

Those Who Impacted You

Relationships

• Mentors
• Friends
• Family
• Public Figures

What You Learned in Each Phase of Life

Wisdom

• Ideas
• Advice
• Questions

Life Timeline Exercise

Chronicling the Journey

Narrative Reflection

The Road Traveled

The Inner Journey

New Seasons