Summary
It can seem in our Western culture there is an obsession with self-identity, so we can be often prompted to think allot about “Who am I?”. Yet the Christian faith is centrally about the “who” of another, someone other than ourselves: Jesus!
So who is he? What defines him? What bible verses would you go to, to reflect on Jesus’ character? A couple of years ago, Dane Ortlund wrote a very helpful book about the heart of Christ called Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers. Ortlund opens in the introduction asking:
“Who is he really? What is most natural to him? What ignites within him most immediately as he moves toward sinners and sufferers? What flows out most freely, most instinctively? Who is he?”
Great questions! Ortlund continues… “This book is written for the discouraged, the frustrated, the weary, the disenchanted, the cynical, the empty. Those running on fumes.” Personally, on reading it after a very exhausting period of time, it was richly encouraging and many other followers of Jesus have found it so too. Hence the book was actually a gift to me, as a gift of encouragement (thanks Geoff!). So over the next term we’ll dig into “Who is Jesus?”
- The Heart of Jesus, Matthew 11:25-12:14; Matthew 14:13-21 (May 7th)
- The Happiness of Christ, Hebrews 11:35-12:13 (May 14th)
- Able to Sympathize and Deal Gently, Hebrews 4:15; 5:2 (May 21st)
- Whoever comes to me I will never cast out, John 6:37 (May 28th)
- He lives to make intercession, Hebrews 7:25 (June 4th)
- The Emotional Life of Christ , John 11:33 (June 11th)
- A Tender Friend, Matthew 11:19 (June 18th)
- Merciful, Gracious, Slow to Anger, Exodus 34:6 (June 25th)
- His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Isaiah 55:8 (July 2nd)
