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SUNDAY RECAP: 03.18.12

03/18/2012

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Last Sunday, we continued our Lenten teaching series as Pastor Travis preached from John 3:1-17.

In this passage, Nicodemus - a prominent Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council - comes to Jesus in the night, and says, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him."

If you had a "one-on-one" with Jesus, 1) what would you say, and 2) what would you ask?

We can learn a lot from Nicodemus when we come to spend time with Christ:
1. Nicodemus recognized the importance of COMING, 
regardless of time and situation
Some debate why Nicodemus came to Jesus at night: was it fear of persecution? Was he worried about losing his prominent status? Was it simply a convenient time and place? Whatever the reason was, the important thing is that he came and spent time with the Lord.
2. Nicodemus came HUMBLY and 
acknowledged Jesus for who He was
Given his lofty status, his extensive doctrinal and theological background, his impressive career and accomplishments, it would have been expected that Nicodemus come to Jesus as a peer, not as a student at the feet of the Master. But that is exactly how Nicodemus came, and reminds us of how we should come as well; not as equals to Christ, but as disciples.
3. Nicodemus came LISTENING
This might be our greatest challenge yet: to come into the presence of Christ and leave everything - our thoughts, our questions, our debates, everything else spinning through our head - leave it to the side. Nicodemus acknowledges the Person of Jesus, then... waits. He says nothing more, asks nothing else. Just waits for the words of the One sent from God.
Jesus responds to him with the most fundamental, basic truth: there is a Gospel and there is a Kingdom, and you need 
to be part of them. Without them, you are not with God.

Listen here for the breakdown of what it means to be part of the Gospel and the Kingdom.
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SUNDAY RECAP 11.13.11

11/15/2011

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Last Sunday we welcomed Mark and Deb Schory to NewSong. The Schory's will be spending the next few weeks at NewSong as they reacquaint themselves with the greater Boston area and seek God's leading for ministry and church-planting opportunities in New England.

Mark joined me in teaching this week from 1 Thessalonians 4 -- if you have missed a Sunday or want to listen to a previous message, you can find the message podcast here. Last Sunday, we walked through chapter 4 and discussed some of Paul's teaching in light of our big idea: that we begin to live for God fully when we are captivated by the story of what He has done for us.

This means that many of us find ourselves in an awkward situation - we realize that the Gospel has not really captured our heart and life, and we discover that we are not really living for God, we are merely imitating a life of faith. And we're not alone in this; one of the early churches faced this same situation:
"[The Lord says], 'I know all the things you do, 
and that you have a reputation for being alive - 
but you are dead." [Revelations 3:1]
1 Thessalonians 4 gives us first, some pulse checks - ways to verify that we are alive - and second, some growth points to ensure that we continue to live and develop. We can evaluate our pulse and our growth as we:    
++ Manage our relationship with GOD ++
"We urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you 
to do so even more." [1 Thess. 4:1]

++ Manage our relationship with OTHERS ++
"God himself has taught you to love one another... indeed, you already 
show your love for all the believers... we urge you to love them even more." 
[1 Thess. 4:9-10]

++ Manage our SELVES & our LIFESTYLE ++
"Make it your goal to live a quiet life..." [1 Thess. 4:11]

++ Manage our DIRECTION ++
"For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever." [1 Thess. 4:14, 17]
Jesus continually challenged his disciples and his audience not to let their lives and their faith become imitations - he wanted us to be full and overflowing with life! As he said, "I have come so that you can have life, and have it abundantly!"

To go deeper into 1 Thessalonians 4, listen to the message.
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SUNDAY RECAP: 11.06.11

11/08/2011

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What a week it was! Following the previous week's snowstorm, I spent a lot of time reaching out to friends and neighbors without power, without heat... some even had to go without coffee!  ;)  It was a week of need, which means that it was a week of ministry; I was reminded yet again that even the most comfortable of us have moments of difficulty, challenge and need. 

And that's a great opportunity to live like Jesus. 
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. 
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." [1 Corinthians 15:58]
In Paul's letter to the young church of Thessalonica encourages them to continue ministering and meeting needs - living the Gospel - in their community, regardless of whether their situations are comfortable or challenging. In fact, Paul emphasizes that their work will not go without result, and he uses his own ministry experience to them as an example.

Paul connects the Gospel and ministry to faith -- he encourages the church to take on the challenge of faith in order to see the victory of faith.
But now Timothy has returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.” [1 Thessalonians 3:6-8]
Our takeaways from Sunday:
>> Nothing that we do out of love for Jesus is in vain
>> With that realization comes incredible hope and joy – and a desire for         more of God, to be with him, to worship him
Music from Sunday was led by Chris Donahue and Travis Jarrett. 
Songs were: "Eastern Hymn" (David Crowder), "Our God" (Chris Tomlin), "The Stand" (Hillsong), "Hallelujah" (Steve Deal), "Forever God You Reign" (Steve Deal)
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