Series: Luke
Sermon Title: A Glimpse of Glory
Passage:  Luke 9:28-36

Reno Campus
Pastor Dusty Braun

Carson Campus
Pastor Tom Chism

Campus Announcements / Service Moments

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Carson Campus

• Carson Movie Night
• Carson Movie Night Volunteer

 

Series: Luke
Sermon Title: A Glimpse of Glory
Passage: Luke 9:28-36 NIV

1. The Transfiguration: The Fulfillment in Jesus
   Luke 9:28-36
   Exodus 33:10-11; 15-23  
2. The Transfiguration: God of the Miraculous
3. The Transfiguration: God of the Whisper
   I Kings 19:11-13
   2 Corinthians 3:18 
4. The Transfiguration: God of the Mission
   2 Peter 1:13; 16-18
   Exodus 33:10-11; 15-23
   I Kings 19:11-13

 

DISCUSSION | PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Read Luke 9:28-36. Why do you think Jesus chose to make himself known to his inner circle in this way?
2. Considering the parallels between Moses’ encounters with God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 33) and Jesus’ transfiguration (Luke 9), what do these events reveal about Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises and the ultimate revelation of His glory?
3. God often interrupts our life ‘routine’ with a time of revelation, to deepen our life and work. Does this pattern hold in your life, and can you cite examples of it?
4. Reflecting on Elijah’s experience with the whisper of God (1 Kings 19) and Paul’s teaching on transformation into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3), how does God’s “still small voice” manifest in our lives today, especially in moments of doubt or difficulty?
5. It’s often thought that Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the prophets from the Old Testament.  What do you think the significance is that Jesus was talking with these two particular men?
6. Peter’s account of the transfiguration emphasizes its significance in confirming Jesus’ identity and mission. How does the transfiguration narrative inspire us to embrace our own calling and mission in light of Christ’s glory and the empowering presence of God’s Spirit, as seen in these passages?
7. What do the words, “This is my Son, my Chosen One, listen to him!” stir in your heart and your mind? How do these words speak to you? How might the Lord be calling you to live in light of these words? 
8. How can we cultivate a deeper sensitivity to God’s voice in our lives, similar to how Moses and the disciples experienced God’s presence and voice during the Transfiguration?
9. In what ways can we actively cooperate with the Holy Spirit to experience ongoing transformation into the likeness of Christ, as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 3:18?
10. God may enunciate something in our lives by using a miraculous event, but, most often he speaks in a whisper. How have these two methods fit together in the tapestry of your life, and what stands out to you
11. How does the knowledge of Christ’s transfiguration and God’s call on our lives (2 Peter 1:16-18) compel us to actively engage in fulfilling His mission of love, reconciliation, and discipleship in our communities and beyond?
12. It seems strange that the disciples could be sleepy in the presence of such glory.  How have you been spiritually asleep in your life and missed out on the glory of God?
13. Reflecting on God’s promise to Moses in Exodus 33:14, how can we trust in God’s provision and presence, especially in times of uncertainty or difficulty, as we seek to follow Him faithfully?
14. The phrase “mountaintop experience” comes from this event.  How can it be easy to get stuck in the “mountaintop experience” and miss out on the mission that God is calling you to?

 

SCRIPTURES TO MEDITATE ON:

• 2 Corinthians 3:18
• Exodus 33:14

 

RESOURCES:

• ARTICLE | MULTIFACITED GLORY | JUSTIN DILLEHAY
• BOOK | THE GLORY OF CHRIST | R.C. SPROUL
• PODCAST | THE GLORY OF JESUS | TIM KELLER
• VIDEO | THE GOSPEL PROJECT | LUKE

 

MONTHLY SPIRITUAL PRACTICE TO TRY: Worship

“To worship is to experience Reality, to touch Life. It is to know, to feel, to experience the resurrected Christ in the midst of the gathered community. It is a breaking into the Shekinah of God, or better yet, being invaded by the Shekinah of God.” (Foster, Richard J.. Celebration of Discipline) 

We so very often declare with our attitudes that worship is for 25 minutes on Sunday. Our design as humans made in the image of God shouts in opposition to that idea. God desires worshippers, and our response to a Holy God can be nothing short of worship. It does not matter what form worship takes, reading scripture, singing, enjoying God’s creation or other ways, what does matter is that we develop a intentional response to the Glory of God and his work in and around us. When God moves in us our response is to respond to his glorious working in our lives. It becomes the natural response. 

This week I encourage you to open your heart and risk allowing God’s love to invade it and then respond in any way shape or form. Worship in nature, alone, or come together in a group. Have different experiences in your expression of worship. 

To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God. —WILLIAM TEMPLE