This teaching helped me to understand the humanity of Jesus exponentially better and thus, has drastically changed how I relate to Jesus now. (Which appears to be be the goal of the series, so, yay! Job well done!).

The Sunday this was preached I was at first dumbstruck with the humanity of Jesus and really imagined, for the first time, him as ACTUALLY human. Sinless of course, but truly truly human. This made it feel like he was standing next to me in church and when we sang worship songs, I imagined holding his hand while I worshipped him and was completely overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for his sacrifice, my redemption, and, as I was newly aware of, his companionship, strength and support in this human existence.

The following morning I listened to a Mars Hill sermon titled “Jesus, Without Sin” (http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/luke/jesus-without-sin). I was convinced of my need to repent of my idolatry of food (junk food in particular) and, again, overwhelmed with the humanity of Jesus and the support he provides to conquer sin and death. Since that morning I have been on a junk food fast, turning to Jesus and to scripture when I am tempted to seek comfort in unhealthy food. I am following an eating plan I know to be healthy and nutritious, doing what I’ve known I should for a long time.

I have been AMAZED at the results. My hunger for junk food has been replaced with a voracious hunger for Jesus and the Bible. Because I depend on him EVERY hour of EVERY day for my comfort, strength and support I HAVE to have the things that will support this wonderful wonderful addiction. My life seems alive again. My heart is joyful. My faith and spirit renewed and growing.

I can’t say thank you enough. Thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit, for preaching what God has intended for you to preach. This is one sister who has been tremendously blessed by it.

Cons…
1) If I’m on too much I find myself thinking about what I am doing throughout the day and what would be status quality. Me,me,me. next thing I know I’m caught up in the world of me and not focusing on Christ and the important investments in front of me, like my family, friends, and personal responsibilities. I can’t help but wonder if it is the enemy’s way of fattening a self-centered culture. I am aware it is a gray issue…I just can see it swing that way sometimes. Too much on the me thing can lead to depressed people who in turn become even more unsatisfied.
2) There is such a wide range of people on there that it is so hard to invest personally in a few. I used to pick up the phone, have more people over. Facebook makes it so convenient to get to the point and be done with it. It leaves you with a feeling that you have invested alot in relationships, because of the quantity of people you have spoken with. While this may be great on the surface, I wonder how many encouraging phone calls or deep conversations over a cup of tea I’ve missed out on.
3) I see people with concerns, prayer requests, fears, and want to help them, but too much time doing that and I spread myself thin at home. I can leave it feeling guilty of not being a good friend by not helping them.
4) Sometimes it is too personal. The personal advertising can just freak me out! It accommodates your age, your area, and your stores. Whoa, too much info and you’re pegged. Kind of like a Big Brother feeling. Everyone you accept as a friend knows you, your friends, your family, etc…It can be a shocker at first, if you don’t have an understanding of what the computer is capable of.
5) Hackers. People can get your password and have conversations with others pretending to be you or others. We tend to trust the computer more than people and then bam, we realize that we must be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, even on-line as well!
5) Not enough oversight to my kids. There are so many avenues my kids can take on Facebook. Trying to set up guidelines and perimeters can be challenging if I’m not computer aware of what is out there for them to expose themselves to. I’m still trying to process through that.

Pros…
1. There are more people you can impact with the Gospel, or engage in conversation on your status. Those that do not comment can read from the outside and hear the good news; like a fly on the wall, without the feeling of needing to engage. Basically, it allows people to hear conversations that take place in a church without actually stepping foot inside of one just yet.
2. Because people feel alone in front of the computer, those that are introverted tend to feel less threatened and will speak more freely. It is a small gateway to connecting with those in the church body and seeing ways to minister to them.
3. If you are sick, bed ridden, or way too busy at home it is a great way to keep in touch with family, friends and fellow believers.
4. I now have conversations with family members, and friends in the church I would not have if it were not for Facebook. That has been a neat experience for me. While the depth of them may not be much, it is a start for when I do see them in person.

Still left with wrestling between the 2 sides. Thanks for posting this, my mind has needed to put these thoughts in writing.