010211 THE DEDICATION (Dress Rehearsal Sunday)

January 2nd (DRESS REHEARSAL) Solomon (Building a place as nice as his house)... Solomon's humility in dedicating the temple.

Place to Call Home: Longing (Revelation)

We live in a world that doesnt' support the deepest needs of our hearts.

??Why wouldn't we feel at home here???

Why do we long for home?

1. All of us were made for a home we lost

Made for a home (perfect, sinless, painless world of Genesis) but lost it.. wanting to be our own bosses, control our own destinies.

ILL: LIke landing on another planet with 50% less oxygen and our lungs can't get enough air, we gasp, we physically deteriorate quicker. Psychologicla breakdown... Like the CASTAWAY.. wilson.... We want marraige, friends, family, but somethings broken.

2. No One Wants to Face the Implications of Death

AUnt LInda and Butch.. Why are you so calm?

ILL: B/c we define death, we cram in all the sex and travel.. and have Elton John sing "THE CIRCLE OF LIFE".... To convince us that it's a good thing that we will one day we be animal fertilizer. Imagine it, a world where everyone you've every loved is manure. We know it, we know that this is NOT a good world, and we Long for a good world, a GOD world. A hunger for beauty lost, love that lasts, a life that counts.