Roast Preacher

March 7, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus commends John the Baptist; Matthew 11:7-19; Luke 7:24-35

Matthew 11:18-19 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁸John the Baptist did not go around eating and drinking, and you said, "That man has a demon in him!" ¹⁹But the Son of Man goes around eating and drinking, and you say, "That man eats and drinks too much! He is even a friend of tax collectors and sinners." Yet Wisdom is shown to be right by what it does.

We as a people tend to complain too much. Especially the place that we worship at. And especially the person that does the preaching. I cannot tell you the amount of times that people have tried to invite me to a meal of roast preacher for Sunday supper.

The fact is that Jesus dealt with it as well. John the Baptist was wild and they said he had a demon. Jesus heals people and they complain that He hangs around those who need to be healed. If Jesus could not escape it then you must stop and think about His words.

The next time you want to complain about a service or a preacher, think of the words of Jesus here.


Read for tomorrow: Jesus Rebukes 3 cities; Matthew 11:20-30;

The little details

March 6, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: John sends 2 disciples to question Jesus; Matthew 11:2-6; Luke 7:18-23


John the Baptist, who Jesus calls one of the greatest that ever walked the earth, had his doubts when it came to Jesus and why Jesus was here. He wanted to know who Jesus was and what He was doing. John wanted to know if he had backed the right person. In prison, not sure why he was there, and knowing that if Jesus was the son of God Jesus could get Him out, John sends messengers to ask Jesus if He was the one John had been seeking. And Jesus replies:

Luke 7:22 (Amplified Bible)

²²So He replied to them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (the Gospel) preached to them.


It so easy as we walk in our day to day lives to look at what is happening around us, the problems that we face personally and as a people, and say, God, where are you in all of this. Why are there so many problems out there?

But Jesus tells us not to look at the big picture, but to look at the little things that make up life. It is hard, for example, when a marriage is falling apart, to go back and look for the things that made you fall in love with that person in the first place, but they are still there. It is hard when you have a problem with a child to remember the thrill you had when you saw him or her take their first breath and your heart had such joy.

There is good news around us every day. Look for it. In it you will see God. Do not ignore the CNN's and Fox News, we need to know what is going on in the world we live in. Just realize that God will not be found in the big picture.





Read for tomorrow: Jesus commends John the Baptist; Matthew 11:7-19; Luke 7:24-35

Touching the dead

March 5 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Widow of Nain's son is raised; Luke 7:11-17

Luke 7 14-15 (ESV)

14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."

15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Jesus was a teacher to the people. By nature He would have to keep himself clean. Clean meant not touching a dead person. He would then be concidered unclean till He went through the ceremony to be cleansed. To any other minister this would be a high risk move. Not Jesus however.

Jesus knew who He was and what power He walked in. To Him, touching the dead would not be a risk, for the power of life was (and still is) in Him. Like this young man, our state of death can be ended and we can live, if we trust in Him.

Read for tomorrow: John sends 2 disciples to question Jesus; Matthew 11:2-6; Luke 7:18-23

Keep the faith

March 4, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today:Jesus heals a Centurion's servant; Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10

Today's readings deal with the Centurion's servant and how he got healed. The Centurion has a servant and wants him healed. He feels he is not worthy so he sends some Jews to Jesus to get him healed.

Now growing up in the church that I did, when we heard this story, we knew the sermon that went with it. As Jesus is approaching the house, the centurion comes out and says that he is not worthy for Jesus to come into his house. Likewise, our sermons would say, we are not worthy to have Jesus under our roof (in us). While this is true, stopping there, we may cut the message short.

In my adult years, the church and the sermon changed. The emphasis changed to the chain of command that the centurion talks about. He is under authority and has those under him. All Jesus had to do is say what He needed to and it would take place. The sermon would say that we had to learn about the chain of authority that was available to us and how we had to work in it. Again, we loose so much.

Luke 7:9 Common
9 When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that followed him, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."


Here is the big point of the story. FAITH. The servant did not get healed because of the pious nature of the centurion. And he did not get healed cause of a knowledge of chain of command. While they are important, it was the faith that did it.

Faith, it is important. Keep the faith.

Read for tomorrow: Widow of Nain's son is raised; Luke 7:11-17

The law

March 3, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Sermon on the Mount; Matthew 5:1-8:1; Luke 6:20-49

Matthew 5:17 GodsWord
17 "Don't ever think that I came to set aside Moses' Teachings or the Prophets. I didn't come to set them aside but to make them come true.


We never could fulfill all the law. God knew that. He tried to show His people that through Moses but they could not understand. Jesus now makes it clear.

Jesus did not come so that we could escape following the law, He came to follow it for us.

Read for tomorrow: Jesus heals a Centurion's servant; Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10

Discipleship

March 2, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus ascends to address the multitude; Matthew 5:1

Matthew 5:1 ESV
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.


So many years I have seen the model of discipleship. An older man in the faith is to find a younger man in the faith and teach them what they know about their faith. In doing so, the discipleship is passed not from generation to generation but from person to person. While this is a good thing to do, it is not what Jesus did. The disciples came to Him and he taught them.

Some of the best teachings that I have are from people that I have sought out to for council on what I am to do in a certain situation. I think it works better that way. I am the one seeking out the help. I am not going through a ritual simply because that is the way it has always been done.

We get in ruts sometimes. Maybe both methods can and do work. You think?

Read for tomorrow: Sermon on the Mount; Matthew 5:1-8:1; Luke 6:20-49

Helpers

March 1, 2009

February 28, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jesus descends and heals the multitude; Luke 6:17-19

Luke 6:17-19 ESV 
 17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,
18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. 


Ok , night in prayer, pick the guys, now time to get some sleep, right?  Nope.  Jesus now had a multitude of people gathering around Him to be healed.  This is why He picked the men in the first place.  He was training them to go out and change the world, but also to do the 'work' of the ministry. 

When you have people around you doing the work, then you can do the ministry.  Does someone around you need a work helper so they can do the ministry they are called to? 

Read for tomorrow: Jesus ascends to address the multitude; Matthew 5:1