What is your greatest need?

Some might answer this question by pointing out our physical needs:  food, water, oxygen, or shelter.

Others might be a bit more metaphysical, thinking our greatest need is truth, hope, or security.

Still more may be a bit more practical and focus on common cents, thinking our greatest need is money to pay the bills or a job that provides a reliable income.

A few more may think relationally, and identify our greatest need as love or companionship.

But I believe there is a more fundamental need that runs back even further than this list.  If you deprive someone of love or companionship, they may be lonely or depressed.  If you take away funding, they may be stressed and desperate.  If you take away access to the right information or hope or security, they may be unstable.  And if you take away oxygen, food, and water, people would DIE … but then what?

Even after this life is over, we spend eternity someplace.  Therefore, we have a deeper need than just what we experience here in this life.

I believe our deepest need is FORGIVENESS.  After all, the Scripture tells us that we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that the “wages of sin is death.”  Just as we all need nutrition to survive in this life, so we need forgiveness to thrive eternally.  We have sinned before a holy God, and because of that there is literally hell to pay.  That is why I would say that forgiveness for our sins is even more important than the air we breathe.

So if that is our greatest need, where do we find it?  Can we find it?  Is it possible for you and I to be forgiven before God?

The answer to this is an emphatic YES … we simply need to come in faith before the One who has the authority on earth to forgive sins.  And who is this One?  None other than Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, May 10, at Wildwood Community Church in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 worship service, we will be looking at Luke 5:17-26 in part 5 of our “Launch Day” sermon series.  So far in this series we have seen that Jesus has authority in His teaching, authority over demons, and authority over disease.  This week, we will see that He also has the authority to forgive us our sins.  Make plans to join us this week on Mother’s Day weekend … and bring friends!

In order to truly evaluate your story, you need to stick with it to the end.  Just think about the classic tales told in Disney movies.  Many begin with tragedy but end with triumph.  We cry with Simba, Bambi, Elsa, Cinderella, Ariel, Tarzan, and Mowgli as they lose a parent early in life … and (if you are like me) we sob when Mr. Fredricksen loses his dear wife Ellie during the opening credits.  But we don’t think of “The Lion King,” “Frozen,” or “Up” as tragedies.  Why?  Because what began in the valley ends on the mountaintop.

In order to evaluate the story, sometimes you just need to let it go.

Let’s be honest … real life has plenty of moments when we are in the valley.  Maybe you are in one right now, laid low by the grief of loss, an illness, a vocational setback, or a broken relationship. Or perhaps you find yourself crying tears of regret over sin you have committed that leaves you embarrassed, exposed, and feeling lost.  When we are in one of these valleys, we may classify our personal story as a tragedy.

But what if your current valley was not the end of the story?  What if the sun was getting ready to rise?

You may say, “Not my story.  You don’t know the depth of this depression, the isolation of my situation, the sorrow of my regret.  My story is not salvageable.”

But, what if …

What if there was One who could bring hope to the hopeless?  What if there was One who could bring community to the isolated?  What if there was One who could forgive our sin? What if there was One who could give life to the dead?

AND … what if that One who was ABLE to do all this was WILLING to do all this for you and for me?  Well that would change everything, wouldn’t it?

This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church we will be in part 4 of our “Launch Day” sermon series looking at Luke 5:12-16 as we see Jesus bring cleansing and hope to someone in the deepest, darkest valley in the first century.  Join us Sunday in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 service as we see Jesus able and willing to help the helpless, and what that means for you and for me.

See you Sunday … and bring friends!

Imagine you are with a group of people, and I ask you to turn toward one another and share prayer requests. If you were with 10 friends of yours and everyone could share one request, what would it be?  What do you and your crew most often pray about?

If your experience matches mine, the most common item on prayer lists relate to people’s physical health.  Pray for Bob, he is having surgery on Tuesday.  Pray for Sally, she struggles with chronic pain.  Pray for Beth, she is having complications during pregnancy.  Pray for Jim as he awaits the results of the blood test and CT scan.

Sure, we would also hear prayer requests for financial matters, directional decisions, broken relationships, sin that easily entangles, or evangelistic concerns … but I would guess that at least 75% of the prayer requests would be health related, and that would be true no matter WHO I am circling up to pray with.  Illness related requests are at the top of the list when I pray with pastors, elders, AND congregants … when I pray with neighbors AND family members.

Have you ever stopped to ask the question, “why?”  Why is it that so many of our prayer requests deal with physical health?

Well, we live in a fallen world and sickness is prevalent around us.  We are just AWARE of many needs in the physical arena.  Add to that, disease sometimes runs its course to death, so the “sickness situation” is both prevalent and serious.

That explains WHY SICKNESS IS ON OUR MINDS, but why do we frequently bring these requests to Jesus?  Why would we think He can do something about our illnesses?  Why would we assume that He cares?

This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church we will be in part 3 of our “Launch Day” sermon series as we look at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  This Sunday we will be in Luke 4:38-44 as we see that FROM THE VERY BEGINNING we are not unique in bringing our sick before the Lord.  As we look at these verses we will see how Jesus responds to the sick around Him in the first century, and what that means for you and me today.

Hope you are able to join us Sunday in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 service.  See you there … and bring friends!

Do you like “authority”?  Well, it depends on who has it, and how they are leveraging it.

In the New Testament, the word commonly translated “authority” has two key concepts connected to it:  someone with authority has the ability to do something, AND they have been assigned the task to do it.

Examples are myriad.  Parents have the task of raising their children.  A President, Prime Minister, or King is given the job of leading their nation.  A business owner bears the responsibility of guiding their enterprise.  Pastors and Elders are entrusted with the shepherding of the church.  Principals are delegated the job of running a school, and teachers of overseeing the classroom.  In each of these examples someone (God, the state, the constitution, the board) has handed a baton of “authority” to an individual or group of individuals and asked them to lead.  In these situations, the responsibility is limited to a particular jurisdiction, and for a particular term.  The leader of one country does not run another country.  The parent of a seven year old child does not bear the same responsibility for all kids that age.  The school does not manage the home.  The church does not control society, etc.  But in their area, they are given the authority to lead.  And the business leader gives up his/her authority when they retire, the politician when their term runs out, and parent as their child hits adulthood.  In most human examples, authority has limits in both time and space.

But do they have the ability to lead?  Well some have this ability better than others, and it makes a huge difference in the experience of authority.  Companies that are run well, have lines of workers looking for their employment, but companies that are corrupt at the top are termed toxic.  Churches that are led with character and wisdom are a blessing to their congregation, while those who are deceitful at the top frustrate the lives of those they seek to shepherd.  Parents who are full of truth and grace raise up children in the way they should go, while parents who neglect or abuse their children push their children away.  Political leaders who enact sound policy and lead with integrity usher their people toward prosperous lives while corruption at the top casts a dark shadow over the nation.

So, when the right person has authority, it is a blessing.  When the wrong person has authority it is painful.

But even then … it isn’t that simple.  After all, sometimes good leaders make good decisions, but we still don’t like it.  Why?  Because it may not be exactly what we want.  We are all sinners after all, and one of the chief expressions of sin is selfishness and self-focus.  So I may find myself rebelling against authority because of preference, not because of the performance or identity of the leader.

Why do I go into all this today?  Well Sunday at Wildwood Community Church, we will be in part 2 of our “Launch Day” sermon series.  This series is walking us through the opening events of Jesus’ public earthly ministry as recorded in Luke 4:14-6:16.  Last week we saw Jesus preach His homecoming sermon in Nazareth, declaring that He was the promised Messiah.  This meant that Jesus had been given authority.  But how much authority had He been given?

All of it.  Jesus had been given all authority.  There would be no end to His jurisdiction in time, place, or sphere.  As the Son of God, He had been given ALL AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth.

Is this a good thing?  Absolutely!  Jesus is not just “good-ish,” He is perfect!  Not only that, He is both just and loving; both omnipotent and compassionate;  both omniscient and gracious.  We should REJOICE at the announcement of Jesus’ authority.

But, not all do … and not all did.  Last week in Nazareth, we saw that they wanted to kill Jesus for claiming such authority.  So Jesus slipped through their midst and resettled to the north in the fishing village of Capernaum.  In this Sunday’s message, we will see Jesus begin to exhibit His authority over various realms in Luke 4:31-37, to be reminded again why it is such a GOOD THING that Jesus is in charge.  Join us in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 service as we see Jesus’ authority over the spirit world.  Join us as we sing, study, and share the Lord’s Supper together this weekend.  See you there … and bring friends.

On April 1, just over one week ago, the world watched as 4 astronauts boarded the spaceship Artemis II to be a part of the first manned journey to the far side of the moon in over 50 years.  This is the farthest journey mankind has ever taken from our planet!   

In order to achieve this feat, Artemis II was boosted out of the earth’s atmosphere with the help of the SLS Rocket and four other engines, designed to collectively provide 8.8 million pounds of thrust.  If you think your SUV gets bad gas mileage, know that the SLS rocket system and engines require over 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen.  They don’t sell those at On Cue, so I am not certain the price per gallon, but it is safe to say this was not a vacation on a budget!

Because of this tremendous show of force, and unique journey, the Artemis II has captured the imaginations of many.  Maybe you found yourself outside looking upward at the sky trying to see our fellow Americans as they headed to space last Wednesday or splash back on earth sometime tomorrow.

Why do I share this story?

Well, 2,000 years ago there was another launch that captured the imaginations of many.  This launch was not a space ship, but it was out of this world.  Existing eternally as the Son of God, Jesus came to earth.  He humbled Himself and took on human flesh to reveal God to us, and ultimately to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  Jesus’ arrival on the planet and early years of life are recorded in Luke 1:1-4:13, verses we looked at during Christmas last December in our “Christmas Morning” sermon series, and in January and early February in our “Prepare the Way” sermon series.  After arriving on the earth and growing over 30 years of life, the public ministry of Jesus was getting ready to launch.

Far more than being powered by jet engines and liquid fuel, Jesus was powered by the Spirit of Almighty God, a propulsion system that knows no limits.  When we get to Luke 4:14 – 6:16, we see Jesus on the “launch pad” of Galilee ready to blast off on His mission to seek and to save the lost in His public ministry.  Over the next 8 weeks at Wildwood Community Church in our Sunday services, we will witness the “Launch Day” of Jesus’ public ministry, the beginning of a movement that would change the world forever.

As we prepare for part 1 of this series, would you read Luke 4:14-30 before Sunday?  In these verses we see Jesus “go to church” (as was His habit), read the Scripture and apply it (identifying Himself as the Savior), and be rejected by His neighbors and classmates (in His hometown of Nazareth.)

Last Sunday (Easter Sunday) was such a blessing to gather and worship with so many of you.  I so hope you come back this week as we look more deeply at the One who would ultimately rise from the dead on the third day.  Let’s find ourselves looking up to Him in worship as we splash into our next series in Luke’s Gospel.  See you Sunday at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 … and bring friends!