Don’t Make a Name For Yourself
We all wear a bunch of names. Each person share some names that describe you. (Things like friend, boss, parent, tennis guru, pinball wizard...)
Some follow up questions: What names have you picked up along the way from other people? Are you wearing any names you’re not happy about?
In five minutes as a group, list as many names for Jesus as you can. (The bible has almost 200!) And if Jesus is new to you, no worries. Just share whatever comes to mind when you think “Jesus.”
Some follow up questions: Why do you think there are so many names for Jesus? How did his name become a swear word?
Read John 1:12-13 out loud. What sticks out to you about this passage?
Some follow up questions: What does it mean to “believe in his name?” (We just listed a bunch of them.) What would it mean to be “born of God?”
What name did you write on your nametag at the end of service? Why?
Some follow up questions: How is this name different from the names you shared earlier? What if the name your wrote down is how God sees you?
“Get out there and make a name for yourself.” It’s the advice we give graduates, entrepreneurs, and anybody else with ambition and big dreams. It sounds poetic and inspiring; it’s also dead wrong. All those labels we use to define ourselves, those slurs we wear close to the vest, those descriptors we carry with pride—all of them will ultimately leave us empty and lonely. God invites us to lay those names down and receive the new one he’s offering.