The Discipline of the Lord Hebrews 12:3-11 Chris Patton Sermon Main Point: “the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives (verse 6)” Encouragement#1: Allow the reality of the Lord’s discipline in your life to set your heart at peace. Encouragement #2: Treasure the holiness God by His Holy Spirit is working in you through the discipline of the Lord. Encouragement #3: If you know God is disciplining you for a particular sin, repent today and don’t delay. Encouragement #4: In all your afflictions and trials never lose sight of the love of God. Questions for Discussion/Application: *Consider taking time to read Hebrews 12:3-11 out loud. Consider also re-reading all the quotes and four pastoral encouragements. What initial insights or observations of the text do you have? *Why do you think we can be so prone to have hard thoughts of God in trials and difficulty? How can a biblical view of the Lord’s discipline help us to combat those thoughts when they come? *How can the reality of the Lord’s discipline actually serve to set our hearts at peace? How can the truth in the Piper quote below serve to truly help us and strengthen us? "So I see in this passage the precious teaching that God reigns over the hazards of our circumstances and over the health of our bodies and over the hostility of our adversaries and he designs all of life ultimately as a loving father’s discipline." — John Piper *How can treasuring the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctifying us and make us more like Him through trials/discipline serve us to more fully embrace the discipline of the Lord when we experience it? *How is the Father’s discipline of us truly an expression of His love? What does it look like practically, to live life in view of that truth? *Consider taking time to pray, asking God to help us more fully embrace and benefit from the discipline of the Lord in our lives.