On Sunday, January 29, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Mark 10:17-31. This message was part 1 in the “Generous Living” series. Below you will find the sermon audio to listen to or share.
To listen offline, click the link below to download:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, January 29, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Mark 10:17-31. It was part 1 in the “Generous Living” series. Below you will find questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
Have you ever been in a “what do I have to lose” scenario? You know one of those moments where taking a risk is not all that risky because of the desperation of your situation — ever been in a spot like that?
I think about the night in August of 1994 when I asked Kimberly (now my wife) if she was interested in dating me. My desire to be “more than friends” was strong enough that the potential awkwardness of rejection was eclipsed, so I asked her out. (By the way . . . she said “no”. Seriously. Though, thankfully she reconsidered a couple of days later!) The night I drove over to her house to pick her up, I thought – “What do I have to lose?”
At times, though, we do take risks with things that we hold dear:
In each of these cases, we feel like we are taking a big risk . . . because we have something to lose!
Back when Jesus was walking on the earth, a person who had a lot to lose approached Jesus. This person was “rich,” “young,” and a “ruler.” Not only that, he had good morals, good manners, and was standing next to the most important Man who ever lived. This guy seemed to have it all! Or, at least He had it all to lose. And that dilemma caused him to break into a cold sweat when Jesus asked him to do something radical. What did Jesus ask him to do? Well, I’m not going to tell you. 🙂
You can read about it yourself (if you want) in Mark 10:17-31, then come to Wildwood this Sunday morning at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 as we will look in depth at what it means to experience “Generous Living” as we will be in part 1 of this short two week series. We may not always feel like it, but when compared to the rest of the world, we are rich people. Materially speaking, many times we feel as though we have something to lose. This feeling of risk prevents us from living generously with those around us. For the next couple of weeks, we will be reflecting on what a true connection with the Living God does for our attitude about the “things” in our lives. When we understand who He is and what He is offering, investing in His agenda does not feel so risky.
Looking forward to worshipping with you this weekend, and celebrating the Lord’s Supper together. See you Sunday!
I have a good friend who trusted Jesus as her Savior at a missions conference. That’s right. In the midst of a call to a group of 1,500 (mostly) Christian college students to “Go and make disciples of all nations” my non-Christian (at the time) friend decided to trust Christ!
I have been a Pastor long enough to know that in the midst of ANY sermon on ANY topic, the LORD can get His message out to people . . . but this story still makes me smile thinking about it. At first glance, it seems odd that someone would decide to follow Jesus at a missions conference . . . there is not much that feels very “seeker sensitive” about that. I mean if it had been a message about our sinfulness and the forgiveness available through Jesus’ death, it would have made more sense to me. If it had been a message about the uncertainty of the future and the assurance of the Gospel, I would “get it,” but this message was a call to evangelism that many Christians were backing away from . . . yet my friend decided in that moment to run towards the call of Christ, and has never wavered since then — serving years in foreign mission work and sharing Christ in every setting where she has found herself. At first glance, this seems surprising . . . but is it? I think for two reasons, this story should not be surprising at all:
I was thinking about that this week because we are at the front end of an 8 day “Missions Emphasis Week” at Wildwood that we are calling “Living Words.” As we head into this week, I want to remind all of us of two very important things:
That said, there are a few opportunities to get involved this week that I want everyone to be aware of:
I look forward to seeing you at many of these events over the next week or so!
This morning (January 8, 2017) at Wildwood Community Church I preached a sermon based on Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 24:44-53, and Acts 1:8. This message was titled “Famous Last Words” and focused on the Great Commission. Below you will find the sermon audio to listen to or share. (NOTE: I have shared several slides from this message at this post on my blog.)
To download the audio to listen offline, click on the link below:
To listen online, use the media player below:
This morning I preached a sermon at Wildwood Community Church from Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 24:44-53, and Acts 1:6-12. This message focused on the “Famous Last Words” of Jesus, known as the Great Commission. I used a number of summary slides today that I had several people ask me about . . . so I am including them below for you to reference. The sermon audio is found at this post. (NOTE: If you did not hear the message, these slides may or may not make sense to you 🙂 ).
This morning at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 28, Luke 24, and Acts 1 called “Famous Last Words.” Below you will find questions related to this sermon for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions via pdf format, click here.
Are the last words someone says the most important? Honestly, most of the time, the answer is “NO.” Think about it:
Most of the time, we are not known for our last words.
Part of this is because our earthly demise is not our our daytimers. We cannot plan out our “famous last words,” even if we wanted to.
I was thinking about this dynamic today as I reflected on the last words Jesus speaks in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (and also in the book of Acts.) In each of these three passages (Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 24:44-53, and Acts 1:8-10), the authors record the last words of Jesus. Partly because of their dramatic presentation (and timing), Christians for 2000 years have seen this final charge from Jesus as His Great Commission for the church. Since they are the final words of Jesus, the argument is made that this commission must be the most central mission of the church today. However, is that correct? Just because they are His last words, do they really articulate the mission of the church today? I believe they do, but why?
This Sunday (January 8) at Wildwood Community Church, I will be preaching on these 3 passages in a message called “Famous Last Words.” This message will help us see why these words are central to understanding the mission of the church today . . . the Church at large AND Wildwood. They will also point us in the direction of how we can have our lives line up with His mission. Hope to see you this Sunday in one of our 3 morning worship services 8:30, 9:45, 11:00
P.S. This message will serve as a “prelude” to our “Living Words” missions emphasis week around Wildwood . . . running January 14-22.
On Sunday, January 1, 2017, I preached a sermon titled “New Year, Same You?” This topical message on life change scanned a variety of verses in the Old and New Testaments. To listen to this sermon or to share it with others, use the media below:
To download the audio, click on the link below:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, January 1, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon called “New Year, New You.” Below you will find a set of questions for personal reflection or group discussion related to the message.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
