Preacher’s Corner

SUNDAY EVENING GROUP GUIDES – FIRE

June 5
Seeking, part one: Choose you this day… Seeking starts with a focus and a decision. Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. When did you start seeking God’s way for your life?

Suggested group activity: Seek and Find!  Read Matthew 13:44-46 (Just 3 verses with two powerful parables).

Since this is an inter-generational group – Those who are older lead the activity.  Form 2 groups of those who are under 18.  All those 12 years and older are to search for a hidden prize (suggested prize: $25 gift card).  All those 11 years and younger are to search for a hidden prize (suggested prize: $25 gift card).

Older adults supply the funds for the prizes and hide them.  The youth must ask for clues from the adults to help them find the prizes.  In order to get hints from the adults, them must be willing to give up something they have.

(Or another option can be several smaller prizes hidden that are age appropriate).

The two youth groups will need to have separate locations to do the searches.

Once the prizes have been found, gather everyone together and discuss the parables and how the kingdom of God is worth giving up all we have to get it.

Do the following as time permits: 

Discuss the lessons from Wednesday evening and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
What does choosing have to do with seeking?
Why is it important that we come to a place of decision in this?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action individually on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week:  (These may be modified as needed)

1. Share your faith story with your family.  Over dinner, take turns and have each family member tell why seeking God’s kingdom is important.
2. Pray together about growing stronger in your relationship with the Lord. Take turns praying for one another before dinner each night.
3. Each family member choose a Christian character trait they would like to improve on and share it with the family.  At dinner have a special prayer asking God to help each family member grow stronger in the Christian character trait they choose.
4. Choose a section of scripture to memorize. (Suggestion: Philippians 3 – 4 has some great verses).  Share your verses with one another at dinner each night.
5.   Other… _________________________________________________________________        Come prepared to share about it next week.

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June 12 Open with members sharing the FIRE from last week.

Seeking, part two: Saying No to all competing gods. Seeking grows with loyalty and singleminded determination. Paul said that he counted everything garbage compared to knowing Christ and being found in Him. How is Jesus Christ your life?

Suggested group activity: Following One Voice!  (Read John 10:27) The object of this activity is to learn how to listen to directions from one person while others are trying to distract you or steer you the wrong way.

Set up an obstacle course (in homes, this can be a walk from one room to another, through a hallway, etc.).  One person (a traveler) is blindfolded and must walk through the course while listening to instructions given by a guide.  The guide is not allowed to help guide the blindfolded person except by speaking instructions.  The rest of the group (who can also be used as obstacles are allowed to distract the blindfolded traveler by saying things that contradict the true instructor).  The blindfolded traveler must listen only to the true guide and follow the ONE VOICE.

Go through this letting several of the youngsters be blindfolded, and letting different older adults be the VOICE of instruction.

When finished, gather together and talk about listening to the Good Shepherd and turning our ears away from distractions around us.

Do the following as time permits:

Discuss the lessons from Wednesday and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
What does saying no have to do with seeking?
Why is it important that we turn away from competing loyalties?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week: (Modify as needed)

1. Pick out something you can give up for God this week (TV, Coffee or Soda, deserts, games, etc.). Share it with your family and ask for their support.
2. As a family, have a night where you all share one boiled egg and one glass of water for dinner.  Talk about those who are hungry in the world and pray.
3. Pick a night to watch a Christian movie together.  Talk about it afterward and pray for one another.
4. Take a walk with a Christian friend or family member and talk together about your commitment to Christ, end the time by praying for one another.
5. Other… ___________________________________________________________                   (come prepared to share about it next week)

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June 19 Open with members sharing the FIRE from last week.

Seeking, part three: Finishing well. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Seeking lasts a lifetime. We never stop till we arrive at home with the Lord. What is your vision for the long haul of your life?

Suggested group activity: Finish the Race!  (Read Hebrews 12:1-2)  The object of this activity is to learn to keep going when we are tired.

If possible do this activity outside or in the fellowship hall.  The older members are the goal posts.  The younger members are divided up into groups of two with this in mind: One will have to carry the other.  Put a bigger, older partner with a younger smaller partner.  This will be a relay, where the bigger partner carries the smaller partner back and forth between the goal posts for as many times as they can by hopping on one foot.  (Be careful not to fall with or drop your passenger!).  See who can make the most laps in five minutes.  Give a big applause to all who participate along with water to drink.

AFTER THE RACE: All who are over 50 number off.  All who are under 50 number off.  Get in groups of 4-6 with about half older and half younger.  The younger are to ask the older questions about their faith and why they continue to walk with Christ.  Then the older are to ask the younger questions about their faith and what challenges they face.  Close with prayer for each one.

Suggested questions (younger to older):  When did you become a Christian and what are some challenges you  have faced?  Why have you remained faithful?  What advice would you give to help younger Christians stay loyal to Christ?

Suggested questions (older to younger): When did you become a Christian and what challenges are you facing now?  What do you think would help you stay strong in your faith?  How can I help you do that?

Do the following as time permits:

Discuss the lessons from Wednesday and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
What does finishing well have to do with seeking?
Why is it important that we stay the course and never give up?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week: (Modify as needed)

1. Talk with a faithful elderly Christian about their life of faith.
2. Read one chapter of 2 Timothy at dinner each night and make talk together about Paul’s end of life words to Timothy.
3. Discuss this together with your family: What do you hope to have accomplished for the cause of Christ before you die?
4. With open Bibles at home, talk together as a family about Jesus’ preparation for His death on the cross.
5. Other…. ____________________________________________________________

Come prepared to share about your assignment next week.

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June 26 Open with members sharing the FIRE from last week.

Saving, part one: Conviction of sin. Men and brethren, what shall we do? The saving work of Christ must be received before it can be shared. The Bible tells us how we become Christians and enter salvation in Christ. The commission of Christ to us is the same, go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. When did you receive the saving work of Christ?

Suggested group activity: Hide and Seek.  Read Luke 15:3-7.  The object of this activity is awareness of God’s joy over when we go from lost to saved.

Pair up everyone with a partner, older with a younger.  If there is an odd number make one group have three.  The younger partners go an hide, and then the older partner must go and find them.  Do this a couple of times and then swap.  Let the older partners go and hide and the younger go and find them.

After the activity gather everyone together and select four or five who are baptized share their story of faith with the rest of the group.

Do the following as time permits:

Discuss the lessons from Wednesday and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
What does conviction and baptism have to do with saving?
Why is it important that we not change this message but obey it and share it?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week: (Modify as needed)

1. At dinner each night, one of the family share with the family about when you obeyed the gospel and received Christ’s saving gift.
2. Make a list of names of people you know that you would like to see become a Christian and pray for them together as a family every day this week.
3. Pray for opportunities to share your faith with those you know need to be saved.
4. Memorize the locations of salvation stories in the Book of Acts in chapters 2, 8,9,10,16,18 and 22. Study them and prepare a lesson to share with others about what they teach.
5. Other…. _____________________________________________________________

Come prepared next week to talk about how you did your assignment.

__________________________
July 3 Open with members sharing the FIRE from last week.

Saving, part 2a: Sharing our faith. Go and make disciples of all nations. Paul’s story of conversion is told three times in the Book of Acts alone. God uses him as a model of His grace (see 1 Timothy 1:15-16). After receiving the saving work of Jesus Christ, we are commissioned to share it. When is the last time you shared the gospel with a lost person?

Suggested group activity: Taking it on the Road!  Read Romans 10:14-15.

The object of this activity is to get involved in the gospel call.

Everyone in the group meet at Pruetts or Walmart parking lot.  Have a group prayer.  Take an invitation to Church for everyone who came to give out.  Break up into groups of two or three and go give out your invitation to someone there.

Optional activity: gather and talk about our mission works and what it must be like to live in a foreign place working to share the gospel.  Write letters of encouragement to our missionaries and their families and mail them.

Finish by gathering together and praying for those you have invited or written to.  Discuss the feelings and struggles of those who share the gospel with others.

Do the following as time permits:

Discuss the lessons from Wednesday and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
When should I share the saving gospel of Christ with someone?
Why is it important for me to share the saving work of Christ with others?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week: (Modify as needed)

1. Ask three members of the church this week to tell you about how they were saved.
2. Show from scripture how your salvation story matches up with what the Bible teaches about how to be saved.
3. Share your salvation story with a family member or fellow Christian.
4. Share your salvation story with someone who is not a Christian.
5. Other…__________________________________________________________

Come prepared next week to talk about how you did your assignment.

______________________________

Wednesday, July 6 is prayer service for the nation.

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July 10 Open with members sharing the FIRE from last week.

Saving, part 2b: Sharing our Faith. This is a continuation from last week. As we look at the conversion stories in the book of Acts, we discover that the gospel message spread to people all over the Roman empire. What motivated the early disciples to be so evangelistic?

Suggested activity for the group: Saving what Lasts!  Read 1 John 2:15-17.

The objective of this activity is to promote awareness of saving for forever.

Bring copies of pictures of Wedding dresses and Luxury cars.  Give each male a copy with the cars and each female a copy with the dresses.  Starting with the youngest in the group, ladies first: share a thought or feeling about the picture of the dress (ladies)/ car (gentlemen):  What makes these things important to some people?

Now pass out copies of cars in a junk yard and worn out or tattered dresses.  Starting with the oldest in the group, ladies first: share a thought or feeling about the picture of the car in the junk yard/ or tattered dress:  Why are these not important to people?

Pass out copies of pictures of people.  Discuss: Of these three images we’ve seen, which one represents what will last forever?  Which does God want us to save?  Have a prayer for us to have God’s priorities and work to save others.

As time permits do the following:

Discuss this morning’s lesson:

What thoughts or questions do you have about it?
How did it help motivate you to sharing the saving work of Christ?
What challenges do we face today in doing this?
Why are some people more motivated to share their faith than others?

FIRE (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week: (Modify as needed)

1. Look up every scripture that has the word “saved” in it and share a few of them each night at dinner before offering thanks and eating.
2. As a family, make a list of 10 people who you know need the gospel and pray for them together.
3. Pick out one of our missionaries and pray for them together as a family each night this week.
4. Make plans to go on a mission trip with the church.
5. Other… ________________________________________________________

Come prepared to share about this next week.

_______________________________
July 17
Saving, part 3: Suffering for Christ. All who would live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). No one wants to suffer persecution and hardship for their faith, yet the Bible tells us over and over to rejoice when we do. Jesus is the prime example of suffering for God’s glory. He did not want to drink the cup, but gave up His will to do the will of the Father. Was it worth it? How have you had to endure difficulty for the cause of Christ?

Suggested group activity: His Pain, Our Gain.  Read Isaiah 53:5-6.

Items needed: a block of wood, hammer, and nails, paper and pens.  Objective: to impress us with Jesus sacrifice and pain for our salvation and ultimate joy.

After the reading of Isaiah, everyone take a piece of paper and write on it something you have done that was wrong.  If there are children too young to write, someone help them by writing it for them.  After everyone has written their sin on the paper.  Starting with the oldest, take the hammer and a nail and nail it to the block of wood (three strikes: one for his feet and two for his hands) and say, “Jesus paid for my sin.”  All the rest say, “Amen.”  (The youngest may need help, but let them at least hold the nail and paper and say the words).

After everyone has participated, sing: Amazing Grace together and have a prayer.

As time permits, do the following:

Discuss lessons from Wednesday and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
How do we identify with Jesus in His suffering?
What does our willingness to suffer for our faith demonstrate about it’s worth to us?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week: (Modify as needed)

1. As a family, pray for a Christian who has been missing church services and go visit them and encourage them.
2. Carry your Bible (not a cell phone version) with you everywhere you go this week and observe the responses of others.
3. Talk to three friends who do not attend church and invite them to come visit our services.
4. Try to set up a Bible study with someone who needs to obey the gospel.
5. Other…_________________________________________________________

Come ready to share about your assignment at next week’s meeting.

________________________________
July 24
Serving part 1: Looking like Jesus. Philippians 2 tells us to have the same mind in us that was in Christ Jesus who emptied Himself and became a servant. Summer work camp’s slogan is: You are never more like Jesus than when you serve. Jesus came here not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. Serving may not be a glamorous or popular way to live, but it certainly can identify us as followers of Christ! How are you loving like Jesus through your serving others?

Suggested group activity:

Loving Your Neighbor.  Read Matthew 22:36-40.

Go to Martin Boyd Nursing home (Alexian Village or another nursing care facility) together as a group and go back to the Alzheimer’s unit. Bring some treats to share, sing some songs with them, and pray for them.  Then go out to a local restaurant for dinner together and talk about how God has blessed us and how He wants us to care for the needy.

Discuss: who is my neighbor and what is my neighbor like?

Do the following as time permits:

Discuss lessons from Wednesday and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
How do we identify with Jesus through serving?
Who have you served in the name of Jesus lately?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week: (Modify as needed)

1. Make a meal (or purchase one) and bring it to someone you know. Include a note that says, “It is my blessing to give this to you, in the name of Jesus.”
2. As a family, go by and visit someone who is sick or in the nursing home. Say a prayer with them, for them before you leave.
3. Gather your family together and read John 13 to them. Bring out a towel and warm water in a bowl and wash their feet. As you wash each one’s feet, say a blessing upon them in the name of Jesus.
4. Go to visit someone in the hospital or nursing home and read John 13 to them. Bring out a towel and warm water in a bowl and wash their feet. As you wash their feet, say a blessing upon them in the name of Jesus.
5. Other… ___________________________________________________________

Come ready to share about your assignment at next week’s meeting.

_____________________________
July 31
Serving part 2: Sharing our Stuff Jesus said, “To whom much has been given, much will be required.” Luke 12:48. Giving is at the very heart of the gospel. God so loved, He gave… God is the ultimate giver. As men and women created in His image and likeness, we are designed to be givers too. Jesus also said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” God’s giving is more than just surplus donations, where He cleans out His divine closet from time to time. God’s giving is sacrificial. When is the last time you gave sacrificially?

Suggested group activity: Sacrifice!  Read Luke 12:31-34.

Everyone bring something special that was given to you (or a picture of it) to the group meeting to share about it.  Alternate between oldest to youngest in the group.  Sit in a circle and as each person shares their treasure, have the next two who are sitting on the left ask questions about why it is special.

Or, take a ball of yarn and have everyone sit in a circle.  Starting with the facilitator: hold the end of the string and toss the ball of yarn to a person of your choice and say something you have learned about that person during the past weeks of the group.  Then whoever received the yarn ball passes it to another and so on until all have received the yarn ball, the last person to receive it has to say something about the facilitator.

Finish activity with a echo prayer: The facilitator opens the prayer and then names everyone present.  After He says the name of each person he pauses and everyone in the group says that person’s first name.

Close by reminder that our greatest treasure in the Lord is our relationship with God and one another.

Preview for THE FINAL WEEK’S (NEXT WEEK) activity:

Have a final dinner together at a place of your choice. Each family at the meal feeds another family by taking the check or bringing the meal, depending on if this is at a home or a restaurant. In preparation, facilitator can assign who hosts who, or you can draw names. Then take time to find out what that family likes to eat. Also, have each person in your family write out a blessing for each member of the family you are hosting and read those after the meal.

As time permits:

Discuss lessons from Wednesday and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
How does giving help us identify with God?
Who do you know that exemplifies the character of God in their giving?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week:

1. Go through your checkbook or credit card bill(s) and mark the items that were gifts.
2. Look up as many verses in the New Testament as you can find that talk about giving.
3. Go through your house and list items that were given to you.
4. Take something you really treasure and sell it and give the money to the poor.
5. Other… _________________________________________________________

Come prepared to share about your assignment at next week’s meeting.

_____________________________
August 3
Serving part 3: Storing up Treasures Jesus makes it clear that what we do for the least of His brethren (other Christians) we do for Him. Jesus identifies with all who are in the Christian family. When we serve the needs of our needy brothers and sisters in Christ, we are directly serving Jesus and are storing up treasures in heaven. What are you doing to serve the saints in need?

Suggested activity: Read together Romans 12:9-13 

Have a final dinner together at a place of your choice.  Each family at the meal feeds another family by taking the check or bringing the meal, depending on if this is at a home or a restaurant.  In preparation, facilitator can assign who hosts who, or you can draw names.  Then take time to find out what that family likes to eat.  Also, have each person in your family write out a blessing for each member of the family you are hosting and read those after the meal.

As time permits: Discuss lessons from Wednesday and Sunday morning:

What thoughts or questions do you have about those lessons?
How did they build on one another to get ready and aim?
How does serving the needy identify us with Jesus?
What are some things you have done lately to serve Christians in need?

FIRE: (Here’s where we get to take action on what we’ve heard – see Matthew 7:24-27)

Select one or more of the following to practice this week:

1. Get some Magi boxes from Joel and Nancy Baxley and fill them up for Healing Hands to take to poor children.
2. Go to Martin Boyd and volunteer to read the Bible, pray with and visit an elderly Christian saint there.
3. Visit the Tennessee Christian Children’s home and take some gifts to the care givers that work there.
4. Plan and go on a mission trip to a poor country.
5. Other… ___________________________________________________________

Take time to review the past assignments and plan to continue seeking, saving and serving. Join with others and make it a part of who you are in Christ!

Scripture readings: 1 Corinthians 13:13, Colossians 1:4-5, 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 5:8
Here we see how Paul presents hope, faith and love together over and over in his letters.
How confident do you feel about your knowledge of the Bible?
I have been hearing and learning from and studying the Bible all my life. I’ve grown up learning the Bible in elementary, middle and high school with daily classes there plus church Bible classes on Sundays and Wednesdays, plus I majored in Bible and biblical languages in college, plus I received an M.A. in biblical studies, plus I finished a Masters of Divinity in biblical theology; I have read through the Bible several times in at least 5 different translations and I still feel like the Bible is a deeper well of wonder than I can fathom. The more I drink from the well of scripture, the more I want to do so.
On one level the Bible is literature, ancient and foreign. It is composed in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It was written by about 40 authors who lived at various places and times. In fact, it took over 1400 years to complete. The vast majority of it was written to the people of Israel, God’s chosen people. It consists of history, law, prophecy, theology, poetry, proverbs, songs, parables, sermons, biographies and epistles to groups and to individuals. It has been put to the test by critical scholarship and has endured. It enjoys being translated into literally hundreds of languages. There are over 40 translations of it into English alone, some of which translations are very literal and others are extremely paraphrased. Today, there are study Bibles, devotional Bibles, Bibles for newborns, Bibles for widows, Bibles for teens, Bibles for men’s groups, Bibles for women’s groups and on and on. The chief differences in those Bibles is mainly the notes, pictures, and study tools within them.
I am often asked, “What is the best Bible to get for this person or that?” I want to say, “Whatever Bible they will read and obey!” Some translations are certainly better than others. I prefer comparing two or three at a time from those that are most literal with those that are somewhat less literal, but better English. Having had training in the original languages helps to add another layer of confidence because I can check out the original languages to see what they said and compare it with the translation I’m using. You can do that too! Just get the KJV touch Bible app on your smart phone and you can touch any word in the text and it will pop up the original word with a dictionary definition and show some of its usage in other places in the Bible. You may not have the feel for the language, but this still helps. It’s amazing how accessible the Bible is for us today. My cell phone will even read it to me!
It is easy to forget the price many paid to give us the Bible in our language. With the Bible so available, there is no excuse for anyone not to read it, or listen to it.
On another level the Bible is the God breathed voice of truth. It is the heavenly message that has the power to save our souls if we will humbly receive it planted in us. The Bible is the word of God. In it we see who God is and what He has done and how He created us to be like Himself. The Bible tells us what happened to ruin our relationship with God and mar His image and likeness that we bear. We discover who and what we are in relation to God and why it is good to kill and eat an animal but why it is wrong to do so to another human being. We learn of God’s plan and purpose for our being and that we are eternal creatures who will continue on even after our bodies die. The Bible is the collection of Holy Spirit inspired books, letters, and documents that explains the reason for our existence and points to the great hope of glory for the faithful and the terrible condemnation of the unbelieving. It is complete, not to be added to nor taken from. It is exclusive, no other writings are its equal. It stands alone in its authority: it has the power to judge even the thoughts and intentions of the human heart. It has been preserved by God and is to be proclaimed to people. It divides the saved from the condemned and is the standard by which we will all be judged. In it is instruction, encouragement, rebuke, correction in righteousness. In it is the voice of God for His people, the seed of life for anyone who will receive, believe and obey it.
I say all this by way of introduction. The Bible has many themes and yet one story line. Today, let us begin to consider what the Bible says about these three great themes: hope, faith and love.

Our reading today shows how Paul often put these three together in his letters. They are central to our growing up in Christ. Each of these is integrally connected with the other two.

1 Corinthians 13:13 show us that faith, hope and love remain, but that the greatest of these is love. That’s because hope that is seen is no hope at all, and faith that is sight is not faith but experience, but love not only remains in this life, love continues into eternity.

But until we see Jesus, we need that hope as a rope to hold us and faith as an evidence of things not seen to motivate us to good works, and love to guide those good works in God’s will.

Colossians 1:4-5 remind us again of how faith, love and hope work together in us to drive us toward the things of God in the here and now and in eternal life to come.

Notice in 1 Thess. 1:3 how they form a kind of trinity of Christian motivations toward God’s mission for us in this world. Paul thanks God for their work of faith, labor of love and endurance of hope. J.B. Philips translation says: we never forget that your faith has meant solid achievement, your love has meant hard work, and the hope that you have in our Lord Jesus Christ means sheer dogged endurance in the life that you live before God, the Father of us all.

If we want to grow up in Christ and have a Church that works, labors and patiently endures, we need to feed hope, faith and love.

Finally, 1 Thessalonians 5:8 shows us how faith and love protect our hearts as a breastplate, and how hope protects our heads as a helmet.

Hope, faith and love. Just think of it! These are all at the very center of Christian character and identity in Christ. They reflect Him. Christ our hope, Christ our faith, Christ our first love! Hope, faith and love: these are embedded in the mission of God for His people. They are perfectly aligned with seeking, saving and serving. In hope we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first. We keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. We set our minds on eternal things in hope, not on earthly temporal things. In faith we are saved by God’s grace. We’ve been justified by faith and have peace with God. The saving work of God in Christ is only bestowed upon those who have faith. The saving ministry of the gospel is then to be shared by we who have faith. By faith we become the light of the world and the salt of the earth. He hold out the saving gospel to a lost and dying world. Finally, in love we labor in serving. The serving ministry of the Church is perhaps the most powerful testimony to the truth of the gospel. Jesus said it best, “They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another.” Serving the saints is the same as serving Jesus Christ. See Matthew 25. Jesus said: In as much as you did this to the very least of these my brethren, you did it unto me.

Contrast that with Ephesians 2 where God’s word describes our condition without Christ. It is without hope, without faith and without love. Hopeless, faithless, loveless? Could there be any worse condition than that?

I find it amazing that what God wants for us is actually what we already want for ourselves. Next week we will dive into what the Bible says about hope in Old and New Testaments.

How do these three great themes of scripture connect with our mission as God’s people?

We’ve just finished a 90 day reading of the New Testament where our focus was on God’s vision and mission for His people.  We discovered that seeking, saving and serving do indeed sum up God’s mission for us here today.  Just as God’s vision for us is to be like Jesus Christ, His Son, also our mission is to do His will and be the body of Christ in this world.  Seeking, saving and serving are words that truly describe Jesus working among us, for us, with us and through us.  Now that we know these things, we will be blessed if we DO them.

Jesus told us, “Not everyone that says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he that does the will of the Father who is in heaven.”  Jesus makes it clear that Christians have a mission.  That mission is to do the Father’s will!  Jesus accomplished His mission by seeking and saving the lost, humbly and obediently serving among us, doing the will of His Father.  He is our model and example.  He is our life. All scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that every Christian can be equipped and complete in Him, made ready by God’s grace to accomplish God’s mission.

So, just what does the scripture say about God’s plan for us? The Bible begins by telling us how God created all things.  It shows how He prepared a planet for us to live in and on.  It reveals that He then created humanity, male and female to be like Himself.  In the Bible we see that God made man in His own image and likeness: “In the image of God He created man, male and female He created them.”  This tells us more about ourselves than we can fully appreciate!  Just think of it!  The Bible says that we humans were made to be like God.  It also reveals that God had a purpose for us, a plan and goal that would bring us to Himself to enjoy His presence forever.  That’s when we begin to see it.  God gave us a mission.  He blessed us and told us to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it; to rule over all creation… that is, to use and care for this world just as He would.  God even prepared a garden in which we could live and begin to accomplish the mission He gave us.  All was created by God and everything was good, very good.

Where was hope, faith and love in that time and place?

Our hope was given us to accomplish His mission.  Our faith was granted us through hearing His word to direct our lives into His will and learn His ways.  Our love compelled us as the motive of our service to Him in doing His will.  All of these: hope, faith and love, depended on our relationship with Him and our submission to Him in obedience to His instruction to us.  It was all designed by God for our ultimate good and His ultimate glory.  God also ordained that there be space for us to choose His will.  That required risk.  It required that we be able to fall away from Him.  In God’s wisdom, He allowed us to turn away from Him, even while He is not willing that any should perish.  We also discover that He is not willing that we have no will (no choice) in the process.  It had to be so.  In order for us to truly be like our Father, we must have the will and opportunity to choose.  In that case the risks are high: hope could become hopelessness, faith could become unbelief, love could become cold.  God not only allowed this to take place, He planned for a Redeemer to take the responsibility and punishment  for us when turned away.  God would reveal Himself to a lost world and come seeking, saving and serving even those who would crucify His Son.  All things were in place.  The garden of Eden was about to be invaded.

So… enter the tempter.

The Bible tells us that God had given specific instructions about the fruit of the trees in the garden.  Adam and Eve were welcome to enjoy fruit from ANY tree in the garden… except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  God warned them, “In the day you eat of this tree, you will surely die.”  God ALWAYS tells the truth.  Adam and Eve knew God’s word on this and if they believed God’s word in faith, and honored it in obedience, their likeness with God would shine.  If they loved God and would honor His word and keep their hope in Him, all would go well.  But that was not to be.

There came into the garden where Adam and Eve dwelt an enemy who disrupted it all.    The serpent, the tempter, Satan, came and deceived Eve with lies.  Instead of keeping her hope in God and continuing to seek to please Him, she turned her heart to hope for something else, seeking after a lie.  Instead of trusting God in faith that His words were true, she listened to the lies of the serpent and lost her faith.  Instead of loving God in obedience, she let the desires for the fruit make her love grow cold.

Genesis 3 tells the story well.  As Adam and Eve abandoned their hope, faith and love for God, they could not know how terrible was the loss.  But God knew.  His purposes are not threatened, but actually began to be revealed in the fall.  All who come to God do so by His grace, through hope, faith and love.  What God reveals to us is clear: without Him all is hopeless, faithless, and without love.  It is when we are in THAT lost condition, God demonstrates His saving love for us.  See Romans 5:6-10.  God somehow gives us all over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on us all. (Romans 11:32).  Is God therefore the author of sin?  May it never be!  But did God ordain space and a place for temptation and sin to enter?  Of course!  It could never have done so without His permission.  While God is not responsible FOR sin, He does TAKE responsibility and punishment for it through Christ’s death on the cross.  God’s mission is accomplished in Jesus Christ.  God’s vision for us is that we would be like Christ.  That includes choosing the will of God over and against out own will.

1. It means that we put our HOPE in Him as we seek Him, we seek His kingdom first, we seek to please Him and we keep seeking things above, things eternal.
2. It means that we put our FAITH in Him and are saved by His grace, we enjoy His saving work in our lives, we enter the saving ministry of sharing our faith with others and the gospel of God’s saving grace.
3. It means that we LOVE the Lord our God above all else in humble obedience to the greatest commandments as we practice that love in serving the Lord by serving others.

Hope, Faith and Love are expressed by Seeking, Saving and Serving!  God’s mission for us finds fulfillment when we know who we are in Him and follow His will.

In the months of April and May we will be looking more deeply into this connection between hope, faith and love & seeking, saving and serving.  We will be listening to God’s voice through the scriptures about hope, faith and love.  As we hear God’s word, may we be seeking His will, receiving His saving work and sharing it, and serving in His name.  That way we can expect hope, faith and love to grow stronger and be expressed more fully to God’s glory and our good.

This week we will be reading Hebrews, James and 1 Peter.  Only two weeks and a day to the finish line!

Our survey of the New Testament on Sundays has been awesome!  Our focus as we read is: What is God’s vision and mission for His church?  We’ve discovered how the words “Seeking, Saving and Serving” capture essential mission features and how they tune our hearts and minds to harmonize with the heart and mind of Christ.

As we complete this journey through the New Covenant message together, we enter the valley of decision: What will we do with what we have seen and heard?

Easter is a great time to consider this question.  As the witnesses of the empty tomb were told, “Come and see where they laid Him.  Now, go and tell that He is risen.”  We have come to the place in our study where we have seen His vision and mission.  We have heard His call and received His commission.  Now comes the moment of truth.  May His mission be ours and His vision proclaimed through us as we follow Him: seeking His kingdom and His face, enjoying His saving work and sharing it with others, and ever serving one another in love.

Spring’s glorious awakening is upon us! Don’t you just love it? This year I will have experienced 59 Springs and I can’t remember a single one that I have not enjoyed with exuberance. God chose Spring for the resurrection of Jesus to take place. How appropriate! Eternal life broke into the human race when the stone rolled away that day. It was a Springtime to remember.

I find it interesting that the Bible nowhere mentions the time of year for Jesus’ birth, but it specifically locates the season of His resurrection. Passover. My best guess is that Jesus was also born in the Spring when the lambs were born. Shepherds watching in the fields by night may have been there to care for the newborns of their flocks. The night the Lamb of God was born seems fitting for such a season.

Of course this season of the year only applies to those of us in the northern hemisphere.  My daughter in El Salvador experiences only two seasons: wet and dry.  Those living further down in the southern hemisphere are having Fall as we enjoy Spring.  So, while the time of year works the same, the season differs.  Maybe that’s why God didn’t make such a big deal out of what the season was.

One thing’s for sure, Jesus arose from the grave in the Spring in Palestine. It was Sunday morning and it was a glorious awakening for us all!

Who agrees with this?

• Seeking is the awakening of our faith in Christ
• Saving is the reward and commission of our faith in Christ
• Serving is the ongoing nature of our faith in Christ

What is Seeking as a mission for the church?

1. It is Selecting the course of life we will follow (seek first the kingdom of God).
2. It is Saying “no” to distractions and competing suitors (you turned to God from idols)
3. It is Searching actively the will of God to obey (pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus)

What is Saving as a mission for the church?

1. It is Surrendering our lives to Jesus (whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake shall keep it to eternal life)
2. It is Sharing our faith with others (go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…)
3. It is Suffering with Him as we share the gospel (it is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God)

What is Serving as a mission for the church?

1. It is Shaping our lives into Christ’s (be imitators of me as I am of Christ)
2. It is Shining our light for Christ (let your light so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your Father)
3. It is Storing up treasures in heaven (as much as you did this to the least of these my brethren, you did it unto Me)

 

Signal Mountain is a small community dotted with church buildings of various Christian denominations. I serve here as a minister for the Church of Christ and I love our church family and this community. Jesus Christ is my life and the Bible is God’s word.

Jesus said that loving God and loving one another are God’s greatest commandments. We learn in the first pages of the Bible how God created us in his image and likeness then, shortly afterward, we read of how sin entered this world and separated us from God. Sin destroys our love for God. When we stop loving God, we stop loving one another. Then each of us begins to look and act more like God’s enemy than God’s image.

The Bible unfolds the story of how God deals with us as sinners, always seeking to bring us home.

God doesn’t put up with sin, but he sure does love sinners. He seeks us out, saves us and serves us. It’s amazing, but it’s true. How much does God love you? What did he give up to bring you back to himself?

Listen, God has earned us. He’s paid for us in blood. Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son came here and gave up his life for us as a sacrifice for our sins on a cross. Then Jesus rose from the grave and defeated both sin and death for us for you and me. Is that not true love? Doesn’t it feel good to be loved and wanted that much?

Think about it. That’s what God is like, that’s what true love means and that’s also what we were created to be like.

Looking at our community on Signal Mountain the question arises: With all our various churches, how are we doing at loving God and one another? I mean, even fellow believers in Jesus Christ seem to have trouble with this. Other questions come to mind:

What if we all prayed for each other, read together from the same scriptures and actually talked about it with one another? Imagine that. What might God do to draw us closer to himself and closer to one another? Well, guess what? It is happening.

Several church ministers — including Baptist, Bible, Catholic, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and others — have agreed to join together on an adventure through the New Testament in 90 days. From Jan. 1 through March 31, we are encouraging our church members to pray and to read and share the New Testament portion of the Bible, first in our own homes, then talk about it with our neighbors and friends. Some of these ministers are gathering to discuss what we’ve read as we prepare our Sunday lessons. Imagine that.

For a reading schedule see our website at signalcoc.org.

It takes about 10 minutes a day to read the New Testament in 90 days, but the rewards are out of this world.

This is my prayer: O Lord, draw us closer to you and closer together, as by your spirit, through your word, in and with your blood-bought people, you build your church. Through your power and according to your will, please work in us as you seek, save and serve us, bringing light and truth into this fallen world of darkness and lies, all to the praise of your glory and grace, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our crucified, risen and coming Lord, Amen.

Will you please join us in this?

Greg Nance has been minister at Signal Mountain Church of Christ since 1998. He and his wife, Jenny, have three children and 14 grandchildren.

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

This January of 2016 we begin a journey through the New Testament in 90 days.  This will take us through Jesus’ life four times as we read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John over the first four weeks.  Every week we will hear from another witness of the life and works of Jesus Christ.  His is the only story in the Bible that has four entire books dedicated to it.  God really, really wants us to know Jesus.  Through Jesus, God wants us to know Himself.  Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”  For anyone wishing to see God, this is it.

Next we will witness the Holy Spirit’s coming to give birth to the church as we walk through the story of the first followers of Jesus and see how His kingdom spread from Jerusalem and Judea into the Gentile world of the Roman empire and all the way to the capitol city of Rome itself.  Paul speaks of members of Ceaser’s household being followers of Jesus Christ (Phil. 4:22).

Then we turn to the letters to the churches, preachers, and individuals and get to read the mail written to fellow Christians of the first century!  Just imagine, this gives us insider information about the faith and lives, struggles and victories of people living almost 2000 years ago.  One thing that is striking is that nothing seems to have changed.  We face the same struggles and enjoy the same victories in Christ that they did.

Finally, we reach the grand finale of the Bible, the book of Revelation.  Jesus gives a message to seven churches in Asia, encouraging them and warning them, with words of authority and divine love.  Heaven is opened before us and we are again given inside information about the workings of good verses evil in our world.  How bad can it get?  Very bad.  But evil does not win.  There is a final end to all evil and a glorious reward to all the faithful.  The path is difficult but the great reward is not worth comparing to the trials along the way.

Do yourself a favor.  Join us in this journey through the New Testament in 90 days.  Take part in one of our small groups that gather to share and pray through this journey.  Listen to the voice of God and discover His goodness and gifts to you.

Revelation in the Bible reveals the workings of Satan and the Sovereignty of God in ways that remind us of this fallen world and where all who refuse to bow to Jesus Christ in faithful obedience will end up. Yet, Revelation also shows that some will simply NOT turn to God’s will and accept His grace. They are deceived and actually believe the lie of Satan that following God’s ways are not worth it. Satan is clearly bent on destruction of everything good. Jesus said that he is a liar and murderer from the beginning, calling Satan the father of lies.

Do not let fear of the enemy be your motivation. Our fears should be directed toward God. He is worthy of all our love, and He is worthy of all our fears. I do not fear Satan. I respect what God says about him and I resist him and am willing to flee from him, but I want to fear God alone. That is my goal. I know that whatever I fear has control over my life, just as whatever I love controls me. I want to give God all my deepest emotions (love and fear) as well as all my strength. Then God can control my whole life and direct my heart and mind.

It is clear that Satan is a defeated enemy. He will ultimately end up in the fires of hell. All who follow his lies will join him there. It is God who prepared the place called hell, just as it is God who prepared the place called heaven. He alone has earned our fears and love. He is worthy to be feared and loved. He is worthy to control my life.

It’s a tough question.  I’m not sure God has dreams.  I know He plans, purposes, performs and participates in our lives and with us.  He made us in His image and likeness, and He is sovereign over all His creation.  Yet we somehow are able to fall and fail, we stumble and even rebel against God’s will.  “We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way… ”  We are sinners.  Our sins separate us from our God.  Does God dream about us coming home?

In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, Jesus pictures God as the father of a youngest son who takes his inheritance from his father, leaves home and wastes it on harlots and wild living.  Does that father dream about his son coming home?

The youngest son, having spent his inheritance, has nothing left.  Can it get worse?  Yes.  A famine hits and he begins to starve.  In desperation he gets a job feeding pigs, and no one gave him anything.  Even the pig farmer won’t pay him.  He’s wasted his father’s wealth, he’s tasted the wild life and lost everything, and now he’s dying, slowly, starving to death.

I’m thankful the story doesn’t end there, aren’t you?

When the son comes to his senses and realizes what he has done he decides to go home and ask for… not a hand out, not a loan, not a restoration to his former position as youngest son…  No.  He knows he can never deserve that.  He will confess his sins and ask for the mercy of a place to work as a hired servant.  That means the position of someone who is employed on a day by day basis and paid at the end of the day.

The father see him coming home.  While the son is still a long way off, the father, filled with compassion, runs to meet him.  The son begins his speech about his sin and not being worthy to be his son, but the father interrupts him, embraces him and covers him with kisses.  The father calls for the best robe in the house to be put on his son, shoes for his feet and a ring for his finger.  The father calls for a celebration, killing the fattened calf, music and dancing!

The father declares: This, my son, was dead and is alive again!  He was lost and is found!  Is this God’s dream come true for all who come home to Him?

Do we share the father’s heart and dreams?  This may actually be the point of the story.  The oldest son did not share his father’s dream.  In fact, the oldest son was completely baffled and ashamed of both his brother and his father’s response to this homecoming celebration.

Maybe Jesus is teaching us how important it is to share the dream of God for those who are lost and dead in sin.  Perhaps this lesson is the one we need to learn and share.