God created us like Himself and then called us to continue imitating Him. Yet, in the Fall Adam imitated the rebel Satan rather than the creator God. As a result our natural propensity to imitate was and is hijacked by sin and Satan. Now, we are often prone to gravitate toward and imitate those who are negative influences in our lives. Yet, God sent his son into this world partly for the reason of giving us a tangible example to follow. One day Christians will be like Jesus completely, but in the meantime we are called to strive toward his likeness. We are called to intentionally invite ourselves into His circle of influence. We are called to imitate him. (Eph. 5:1; John 13:15)
Part of this pursuit of Christ-likeness is intentionally choosing fellow Christians to imitate. In Philippians 3:17 Paul makes this abundantly clear. The question is not should I imitate but rather who should I imitate. We are all imitating someone and some group. We are called to intentionally imitate Paul and those who behave according to the example that he has left us. Listen to this sermon to discover how to find these people worthy of imitation.
General Reflection Questions
As you reflect on last weekend’s sermon, what one principle or insight stands outas being particularly helpful, insightful, or difficult to grasp?
Was there any one thing that you most agreed with or disagreed with from the sermon? What was it and why?
What’sone thing from the sermon that you want to talk more about?
Specific Reflection Questions
In choosing an individuals or group to imitate, are we looking for a perfect person?
If we aren't looking to imitate perfect people, what characteristics should we be looking for?
What did Pastor Brandon mean when he said we are looking for someone who is marked by both humility and intensity?
Do you have an individual to imitate in following Christ?
Would you willing to ask someone to mentor you?
Are there friendships that you need to rupture for Christ's sake? Have you gravitated toward individuals who challenge you to run harder after Christ? Or have you surrounded yourself with others of like sin with yourself.
Are you worthy of imitation? Are there areas of your life that are not pressing toward Christ with intensity and narrowness of focus?
Does your lack of intensity in the pursuit of Christ stem from a belief that you have attained to maturity already?
Christ is our ultimate role-model, but we certainly are not capable of attaining to his likeness this side of heaven. So, how does Christ save us from that failure? how does he motivate us to move forward in spite of the failure?
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