On Sunday, September 24, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 10:26-42. This message was part 7 of the “Follow” sermon series. Below you will find the sermon audio from this message to listen to or share.
To listen offline, click the link to download the file:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, September 24, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 10:26-42. This message was part 7 in the “Follow” series. Below are a set of questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
Are you familiar with the term “bandwagon fans”? Bandwagon fans are people who become supporters of a team when that team is doing well, but show no interest the rest of the time. Back in 2000, when the University of Oklahoma won its last national championship, suddenly the Sooner Schooner was crowded with people who claimed to be HUGE OU fans, but knew nothing about the team in the 90’s. These are fans who bought season tickets after the 2002 Rose Bowl victory, but sold them after our quarterback separated his shoulder in 2009. We might think of “Bandwagon Fans” as opportunists, people who want to share in the excitement but skip out at the first sign of loss.
Interestingly enough, Jesus talks about bandwagon fans in His sermon preached at the ordination of the 12 disciples before their first mission trip. Jesus gathered His followers and told them that they were going to experience a few “losses” as they followed Him. Because they follow Jesus, they may be rejected by their family, arrested by their government, or disciplined by their “church.” Because of those losses, His followers might have been tempted to hop off the schooner at the next turn, and find the next exciting opportunity to leach onto.
As Jesus continues to preach, though, He clarifies to His disciples why they should still Proclaim Him in the light, and not cower in the dark; why they should Prioritize Him in their life above all else, and wait for His greater reward.
How about you? Are you a true follower of Jesus, or simply a “Bandwagon Fan”? Will you follow Christ even in hard times, or only when it is easy or exciting? As Charles Spurgeon said:
“Lord, let me never blush to own Thee in all companies! Work in me a bold spirit by Thy Holy Spirit. Let me confess Thy truth whatever the spirit of the age may be, uphold Thy church when she is most despised, obey Thy precepts when they cost most dear, and glory in Thy name when it is most reproached.”
This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship services, we will be wrapping up our “Follow” series by looking at Matthew 10:26-42 and seeing how we can have no fear and put Jesus in a position without rival in our lives. Join us for worship this week as we praise the Lord through song, celebrate the Lord’s Supper together, unite our hearts in prayer, and look deeply into God’s Word to see what He has for us. Join us this Sunday!
On Sunday, September 17, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 10:5-25. This message was part 6 in the “Follow” sermon series. Below you will find a set of questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
150 years after His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus Christ was still building His Church. Jesus had not retired to heaven, He had ascended – and as He did, He sent His disciples into all the world to make more followers of Him. This Gospel expansion had taken the Truth to modern day Tunisia, and had seen a young woman named Perpetua place her faith and trust in Jesus by the end of the second century. This conversion brought eternal security to Perpetua, but it also brought temporal trouble. The Romans began a new round of persecution in her city and she was arrested for her failure to worship Caesar. Perpetua’s father (a non-Christian) begged her to renounce her faith in Jesus and save her life. Perpetua refused to do so, telling her father that just as a vase cannot be anything other than what it is, she could not deny Jesus because a Christ follower was who she was. Ultimately, Perpetua (still nursing a young child at the time) handed her father her child and was thrown into the arena to be attacked by animals and killed by gladiators. Though her earthly life was rough, her testimony still echoes in eternity, where Perpetua now lives eternal at the side of her Savior.
Fast forward 1200 more years to the early 1400’s. The city of Prague was being greatly blessed by a priest by the name of John Huss. Huss taught the Scriptures faithfully and passionately to his people – pointing them to salvation in Christ alone. Sadly, Huss’s message was at odds with the leadership of the Catholic Church at the time – particularly the Pope. Huss cried out against the expoitative practices of the selling of indulgences to fund personal pet projects. Like John Wycliffe before him, Huss became a voice crying out against the twisted doctrine of the church about 100 years before the Protestant Reformation would take full bloom. Ultimately Huss was arrested and brought to trial for preaching “heresy.” The church leaders who were presiding over the trial of Huss mocked him, stripped him of his clothing and dignity, and sent him to be burned at the stake . . . using copies of Wycliffe’s writings as kindling for the fire. Though they lashed out against him, Huss simply prayed “Lord Jesus, it is for Thee that I patiently endure this cruel death. I pray Thee to have mercy on my enemies.” As Huss (whose name meant “goose” in Bohemian) went to the stake, he said, “You may cook this goose, but a century from now, you will have a swan that you can neither roast nor boil.” 100 years later, Martin Luther (known as the swan) would read Huss’s writings, and find in them the kindling for a Gospel Reformation movement that Jesus has used to change the world and continue to build His church.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus commissioned His disciples to share the Gospel with others. The “training run” for this mission was conducted inside the (relatively friendly) confines of Galilee in Matthew 10. But as Jesus sent the disciples out, He knew that though their first trip would be easy, subsequent trips (most likely) would not be. Jesus wanted to prepare His disciples for the rejection that awaited them down the road. I believe not only was Jesus thinking of the rejection the 12 Apostles would experience (imprisonments, martyrdom, etc.) but also He was thinking of people like Perpetua and Huss who would die for their faith down the road. Not wanting His followers to be surprised by the opposition they might face, Jesus preached a sermon to His disciples in Matthew 10:5-42 to prepare them for what lay ahead.
This Sunday morning at Wildwood Community Church, we will be continuing our “Follow” sermon series by looking at the first half of this sermon (from Matthew 10:5-25). Like Perpetua and Huss before us (and countless contemporaries who are persecuted because of their faith in Christ around the world today) we need to hear the words of Jesus who not only tells us of trouble that we may encounter, but also encouragement for how to deal with it. Make plans to join us at Wildwood this Sunday morning in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship service. We will even hear from some missionary partners who are serving in an environment where persecution is “normal” today. Let’s make plans to Follow Jesus into worship, community, and mission this weekend!
On Sunday, September 10, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 9:35-10:4. This message was part 5 of the “Follow” sermon series. Below is the sermon audio to listen to or share.
To listen offline, click the link to download the file:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, September 10, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 9:35-10:4. This message was part 5 in the “Follow” sermon series. Below are a set of questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
In 1940, Great Britain was faced with a terrible dilemma. British troops (together with the remnants of the French and Belgian armies) had been forced to retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk, France after suffering defeat to the Nazi war machine. Evacuation across the English Channel was the only viable option remaining . . . but even that seemed like a longshot.
Nearly 400,000 British, French, and Belgian forces gathered at Dunkirk while the German armored infantry surrounded the perimeter, and the German Air Force bombed the beaches. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered a full evacuation of Dunkirk in late May, 1940, but after one day, only 7,000 troops had made it safely onto evacuation boats. The need was great . . . and the capacity on the boats were limited. In his best case estimate, using only military options, Churchill believed they could get 45,000 (a little more than 10%) of the troops home — but this simply was not good enough. So Great Britain put out a general call to all who owned a sea worthy boat in England. The need was simple – “Bring our troops home.” 800 non-military boat captains answered this call and headed toward the fight. Risking their own lives, these civilians took off for France, and amazingly helped bring back over 330,000 troops in just over one week! This event became known as the “miracle of Dunkirk” and was the subject of one of 2017’s most critically acclaimed movies.
I was thinking of Dunkirk today as I read Matthew 9:35 – 10:4. In these verses Jesus looked out on the masses and saw their great need. Jesus knew that His death would be sufficient to pay the penalty for mankind’s sin, but He also knew that (by God’s design) it would take many “boats” to get people to the safety of saving faith. “The Harvest is plentiful,” Jesus said, “ but the workers are few. Beseech the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into the Harvest.”
So Jesus called to Himself 12 disciples that He would send out on a mission – “Bring God’s children home.” 2,000 years later, the same call goes out to all the followers of Jesus . . . “Go into all the world and make disciples . . .”
Like the 800 civilian captains in 1940, will you heed the call and head to the fight? Will you take the life boat of saving faith in Jesus and offer salvation to those who don’t yet know Him?
This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church, we will continue our “Follow” series by looking at Jesus’ call of the 12 . . . and His reason for doing so. Make plans to join us in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 worship service.
This morning, September 3, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 9:18-26. This message was part 4 in the “Follow” series. Below you will find the sermon audio to listen to or share with a friend.
To listen offline, click the link to download the audio:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, September 3, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a message based on Matthew 9:18-26. This message was part 4 of the “Follow” series. Below are a series of questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
