Lost Sheep, Silver, Son

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 15:1-10

Lost sheep, silver, son

 ~Sinners listen to Jesus. Pharisees complain to and about Jesus. Which are you more like?

 ~The: shepherd, 99 sheep, 1 lost sheep

Which are you?

Conundrum: No one needs Jesus more than I do. Many people need Jesus more than I do…because they are lost.

 ~How OCD are you?

Can you stand the sound of one bleating sheep?

Have you forgotten how valuable you are?

 ~You will never find joy by searching for it. You will only find joy by searching for others.

Hebrews 12:2

Joy will not come by anything you do for yourself, only by what you do for someone else.

Conditions of Discipleship

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 14:25-35

Today’s text is about being a disciple of Jesus. Romans 10:9-10 is about salvation in Jesus. They should be the same thing but are usually not.

Discipleship conditions:

~Vs 26 Loving Jesus more than those you love. Jesus does not just ask you to love Him more than bad things, but also more than good things.

~Vs 27 Loving Jesus more than yourself. The discipline of putting Jesus and others before yourself. “Our cross” is not about us, but others. We shape our own cross for Jesus and others.

~Vs 33 Loving Jesus more than everything.

Oswald Chambers, "Jesus said it is going to cost the natural in you everything, not something."

Everyone starts out not one. “Great multitudes” will never be disciples, only a few of them will.

So, according to these very demanding conditions, what is the only thing worse than being a disciple of Jesus? ____________

Billy Graham, "Salvation is free, but there is a price to pay in following Jesus."

Serving Jesus in a self serve world.

Message: Serving Jesus in a self serve world.

Text: John 12:1-8

Jesus had a lot of_________

He requires that we be___________

Following Christ requires that we__________

Serving = Sacrifice

It looks different for everyone, but it’s the same…it’s all we have.

The jar can’t be poured out, it has to be broken.

What are you holding onto?

What are you waiting for?

Don’t live with regret!

Vaclav Maly (Czech Priest), "They stripped our faith of all the superfluous things.  They took away church property.  Only someone willing to make a personal sacrifice could make a confession of faith.  Young people entered the church because they understood this sacrifice."

The Good Things That Hinder

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 14:1, 15-24

Church members shouldn’t need to be invited, they should be inviting.

 Looking at them. Looking at you:

~Hands that are already so full there’s no room for anything more. A calendar that is already so full…

For many of us though, the cause and affect has been turned around.

~Need is the great spiritual game changer. When you see need, that is your sign from God.

Mother Teresa, “I knew that God had something for me to do, because He gave me the health to do something.”

~Strangers. Unexpected opportunity. What is your most important ministry opportunity__________?

Apostle Peter, “Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you…”

Golden Rule

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 14:1, 7-14

Jesus, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

How to Win Friends and Influence People-Dale Carnegie

~Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.

Fenelon, "Satan is the one who torments us with trivialities.  And he often transforms himself into an angel of light, and bothers us with endless self-examinations and an over-sensitive conscience which allows us no peace."

A challenge:________ How hard this challenge is for you is telling

~Go do something! Bless those who cannot bless you back. This is a long term investment.

A challenge:________ How hard this challenge is for you is telling.

Trust

Message: Father of Faith

Text: Genesis 22:1-13

How men pack for a trip…

In a test of faith, who is being tested?

Do I really believe? Is God believable?

Do I really trust Him? Is God trustworthy?

Do I really have faith? Is God faithful?

Abraham’s faith in God is being tested. Isaac’s faith in Abraham is being tested.

Isaac sees and hears faith in action.

Vs 2, Just start walking

Vs 3, Immediate obedience

Vs 5, Believed God, but what does that look like?

Vs 7-8, Statement of faith

Perspective

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 14:1-6

~Perspective of the Pharisee:

How do you see them?

How does Jesus see them?

How would you treat your animal that has fallen into a ditch and can’t get out?

~Perspective of the man needing help:

How do you see you?

How does Jesus see you?

Outcast, misfit?

Desperation overcomes the difficulty.

Presenting yourself to Jesus, again.

A.W. Tozer, "In every generation, the people who have found God have been those who have come to the end of themselves."

Eugene H. Peterson, "A religion without miracles has only marginal worth; why bother with religion if you can do it all yourself anyway?"

Expect the unexpected.

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 13:27-30

~There is a heaven and a hell…there is a difference! (What story does vs 28 remind you of?) There is a consequence for everything we do.

~The Kingdom is huge, a vast number from everywhere. Everyone in the family is not like us. Who is the common denominator in this Family?

~Heaven will probably not be what you expect. God is not always what you expect. God will not always do what you wish He would…He does not always care about what you care about, and He may care very deeply about some things you are indifferent toward. God does not always see things as you do.

Heartbreak and Joy

Message: Heartbreak and Joy

Text: Genesis

2:18, 24  Society is not complete without each other…male and female.

Fruitful, multiply, build, produce…

4:1-2  Children.

Sin wants to ruin everything for everyone.

4:25-26  More children and grandchildren.

Heartbreak finds you. You have to look for joy. You have to fixate on the good.

“Call on the Name of the Lord”…worship…pray…

Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You. Because he trusts in You.”

Walking on Air

Message: Walking on air

Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Virgin birth; sinless life; death on a cross that pays sin debt; resurrection; ascension; coming again.

No one thought Jesus could do any of it!

Jesus’ parables about His 2nd Coming:

~There is a beginning, Genesis 1:1

There is an end, Revelation 22:20-21

~A definite period of time, an ending, a reckoning…these things help create consequence. There’s a consequence for everything we do and are, everything we do matters.

 ~Jesus doesn’t tell us to “get ready” but rather “be ready, be watching.” There‘s a difference between “getting ready” and “being ready.”

 Living with our eye on the sky and our ear for a trumpet blast helps change the way we live.

Seeing Jesus for Yourself

Message: Seeing Jesus for yourself

Text: Luke 24:13-35

You can’t always go by:

1) What you think Jesus should be or do or look like

2) What the situation looks like at the time

3) What others say they saw, what they say He looks like (the Holy Spirit is contagious, but not really)

I want to see, I need to see Jesus for myself.

A radical change that I want, that I need.

Levels of belief

Dave McCasland, "If we want a safe, predictable Savior who always acts according to our expectations, we'll have to find someone other than Jesus."

The Tree of Life

Message: The Tree of Life

Text: Genesis 3:22-24

 ~The Garden of Eden, The Tree of Life Justice + Mercy = Grace

Grace is Jesus paying our debt

 ~The Garden of Gethsemane

Luke 22:39-44

 ~The Tree of Life

Galatians 3:10-13, 2:20, 6:14

When our sin becomes frivolous then the cross becomes frivolous then Jesus becomes frivolous to us.

Growth

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 13:18-21

Natural Growth

Persistent Growth

Quiet and Hidden Growth

Patient Growth

Habakkuk 3:17-18, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor gfruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the gflock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Henri Nouwen, "Sometimes it seems that our many words are more an expression of our doubt than of our faith.  It is as if we are not sure that God's Spirit can touch the hearts of people:  we have to help him out and, with many words, convince others of his power.  But it is precisely this wordy unbelief that quenches the fire."

Go!!

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 13:10-17

Two healings were needed in the synagogue on this Sabbath

The church leader:

~This church leader has lost his value of a human life. Making and keeping rules has become easier than helping people. Or, people aren’t as easy as rules. We start focusing on what we can’t do and won’t do instead of…

~Something has happened to our priorities—“my ox, my donkey”

Because of her infirmity what could the woman see? Because of his infirmity what could the church leader see? Spiritual bondage makes us lose touch.

Ron Hutchcraft, "It is quite possible that the person you are praying with has never heard their name mentioned in prayer in their entire life."

Ask Jesus to help you up.

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 13:10-17

Two healings were needed in the synagogue on this Sabbath

 The woman:

Not always possession but often oppression; afflicted; bound-could not get loose.

 Analogies: a loop; a ceiling; a pit

 There are always 3 people at work in your life: 1_____, 2_____, 3_____

2 Corinthians 12

John Maxwell, "Low self-worth forms an invisible ceiling that keeps a person from going beyond his self-imposed limitations."

Fenelon, "Satan is the one who torments us with trivialities.  And he often transforms himself into an angel of light, and bothers us with endless self-examinations and an over-sensitive conscience which allows us no peace."

Bad things can happen to good people.

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 13:1-9

 Sometimes bad things happen to good people, only God can see that. But surely bad things will happen to bad people, Jesus wants us all to see that.

In some destinies we have no choice, in some we do.

 “You” this message isn’t to someone else, this is to you.

 What does it mean to bear fruit?

Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:16

 Rick Warren, "Why should God give you another day if you're going to waste it?"

 Sheila Gregoire, "TV is a time-stealer that affects our attitudes and expectations.  The average American watches 4 hours of television each day; by the time he's 65, he will have wasted 11 years of his life."

God's ultimate plan for us

Message: Trying to see ahead, what does God want for me?

Text: Romans 8:29

Have you ever noticed that when asked a question, Jesus often answers with a question? He rarely answers directly. Things haven’t changed much.

What do you need to do, what do you need to be, what do you need to change for you to be more like Jesus…what will that look like?  When you see that, you will see other things more clearly, not the other way around. Don’t concentrate on what God needs to show you, concentrate on what you need to show God.

 Examples:

~How long did Moses spend with God on Mt Sinai in order to write The Ten Commandments and other parts of the law? How long does it take you to read that law that Moses wrote?

~Donald Miller, "I am that cordless screwdriver that has to charge for twenty hours to earn ten minutes use."

Be ready, one eye always on eternity.

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 12:54-59

Be ready, one eye always on eternity

The British novelist and playwright David Lodge was watching one of his own creations, a satirical revue, the evening of Nov. 22, 1963.  The theater audience chuckled as an actor in the play showed up for a job interview with a radio clutched to his ear, demonstrating his character's indifference.  The actor then set down the radio and turned to a station, lettings its news, music, or commercials play in the background while the play went on.  This night, however, a voice came on the radio with a live news bulletin:  "Today, the American President John. F. Kennedy was assassinated…"  The audience gasped and the actor immediately switched off the radio, but too late.  In one sentence, the reality of the outside world had shattered the artificial world of the theater production.  Suddenly, whatever action took place onstage seemed superficial and irrelevant.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 12:49-53

“Nominal Christianity” Nominal is a mathematical term which means not enough to make a difference.

Metaphors for the Holy Spirit and you: 1) Baptism, Luke 3:16

2) A tent, 2 Corinthians 12:9

They both mean, “All in!”

Ecclesiastes, Have you ever seen a mouse running in a wheel?

Philippians 3:7-8 We are afraid of “all in” because of what we may lose out on, but in reality we are not losing but gaining.

Soren Kierkegaard, "If the New Testament is to decide what it means to be a true Christian, it would be just as impossible to be a true Christian quietly as to fire a cannon quietly."

Children of God

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 12:41-48

Peter’s question: Experience says that when someone asks if something Jesus said applies to them, they usually hope that it does not.

Born biologically—children of God because we are created in God’s image, made by God. Psalm 139

Born spiritually—children of God because we choose to be, born again by His Spirit. John 3:3

Born twice, die once

Born once, die twice

How do you suppose God feels about those who mistreat His children

God is jealous for us, not of us

1 Peter 2:20-23

Romans 12:19