This week, Pastor Josh kicks off our new series on the Sermon on the Mount by examining our innate human drive for happiness and why that matters.
KEY IDEAS:
- Though we live in the richest, most comfortable society in history, we are no more the happier because of it.
- But this doesn’t mean we stop trying. Today, we are all searching for gurus to guide us down the path of happiness.
- God actually desires our happiness as well. But his desire is for our wholeness and flourishing rather than the cheap happiness of emotional positivity.
- Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, is seeking to provide us with his divine framework for the good, meaningful, happy life.
COMMUNITY GROUP QUESTIONS:
- Pastor Josh started the sermon by showing how our modern society is deeply unhappy, even though we live in the most rich and comfortable society in history. Have you experienced this happiness gap? If so, in what areas?
- Though happiness can feel far off, we never stop searching for it. Today, we usually do this through social media gurus meant to guide us down the path they recommend. And Christians do this as well, often putting a Christian veneer over someone’s thoughts. Have you done this? What current “gurus” or leaders are you most reliant on for the right path?
- God truly desires our happiness. And he finds that our own desire for happiness is not too strong, but too weak. We settle for such cheap substitutes. If you were honest, what cheap substitutes (sex, money, career) are you currenlty settling for?