Tough Sayings of Jesus

Love your enemies

Today, on our way to passion week, we begin a 4-part teaching series called “The tough sayings of Jesus.”

Throughout this series we want to navigate our way through some of Jesus’ most challenging declarations- yes, the un-comfortable ones too. Jesus wasn’t just trying to create likes and follows on his social media account when he said controversial or un-comfortable things. He was communicating truth. Guidance and direction for his followers.

Our goal is not to somehow transform these texts into something easier to swallow- They were challenging 2000 years ago when Jesus said them, and they will always be that way, long after this series.Today we begin with “Love your Enemies”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭43‬-‭44‬‬

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

I think how compact and short this teaching is, essentially 3 words, makes it easy to read over without feeling the weight of its significance.

i.It’s easy to blow past this without taking it into our daily lives.

That’s really what we want to do within this teaching and within this series.

Slow down. Reflect. Pray. Repent

The word for love here is agapao (Ah-gah-pa-oh)

The love Jesus commands of our enemies is active, pursuing, seeking the good of the other person. Its sacrificial, it’s long suffering, its perseverant.(And this is what might be most important) In its most basic sense- it’s the way God loved YOU.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners (while we were opposed to God, disagreeing with him, fighting against him, resisting him), Christ died for us.

He says just a few verses later in 10For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

The call of Jesus to love our enemies, is a call that his followers would love others with the same love that they have received through Him.

Jesus is simply saying “love like God”‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭45‬-‭46‬‬

that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

In the shadow of tough sayings of Jesus, it’s all too easy to offer ourselves a concession.

Something in us wants to appeal to a lesser standard of love. We want to make ourselves feel better by comparison with the world, rather than comparison with God’s truth.

But we have to be careful because Jesus cuts that off immediately in our text. He essentially says “If you love those who you can readily get along you’re showing no signs of being a true disciple”

Perhaps the greatest challenge of this text is that Matthew doesn’t take a 6-page sidebar to tell us how we are to apply this truth to every situation we encounter. But what is clear for the follower of Jesus, is that we are to be people of mercy and people who don’t seek vengeance. Our default posture toward our enemies not even to be neutral- its to be an active and gracious love of our enemies.

Over the next few weeks we are going to take a look at a few other challenging sayings of Jesus.

Sayings like:

– If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away…

– You cannot serve God and Money

– You must take up your cross and follow me.

The point of all this is not so we all leave feeling terrible about ourselves or think that Jesus sees us as failures- that’s not it at all. We want to hear Jesus’ teaching and yes expectations for his followers so that we might live differently- that we might live our lives as children of the King.

The invitation of following Jesus is to be transformed, to live a radically different life. A radical life where you love even your enemies…

Will you humble yourself before this tough teaching of Jesus and his love to define your relationships?Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@abeaconofhope_pbz6m2Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

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http://bible.com/events/49038730

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg

The Relationship Keys: Forgiveness

Forgiveness comes with a promise: forgive and be forgiven.

Having the right keys is important isn’t it?

Just talk to someone who has been locked out of their house or who locked their keys in their car.

Throughout the month of February we are focusing on relationships.

What is the key to healthy, life-giving, God honoring relationships?

We’re not talking about car keys or house keys, but rather, “relationship keys”.

Today’s focus is forgiveness.

Jesus had some very poignant and very powerful things to say about forgiveness.

As we read these words today, the question is: Are we willing to do what Jesus says?

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬-‭35

‬‬Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

There is an obvious and crazy disparity in the story. To those listening, it would have been obvious.

The master forgave the servant in such a remarkable way. A debt so great it is incomprehensible.

And yet the servant was unwilling to forgive someone else. Someone else with an offense that pales in comparison.1. Forgiveness will heal your heart.

-“Unforgiveness is like drinking poison yourself and waiting for the other person to die.”

-The person who has hurt you deserves your vengeance. But vengeance doesn’t belong to you anyway.

-God really places no limits on His command to forgive.

-When we choose to no longer hold onto an offense any longer, it frees us to truly live.

2. This forgiveness leads to your forgiveness.

-Our own willingness to forgive dictates the level at which we will be forgiven. That’s what Jesus said!

-Many of us read these words of Jesus about forgiveness and yet live as if they aren’t true.

-It’s as if we know this is true, We know Jesus said this. But we live our lives filled with unforgiveness anyways.

The bottom line:

Forgiveness comes with a promise: forgive and be forgiven.‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬-‭15

‬‬And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. ’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Scriptures for Further Study/Reflection:

Ephesians 4:32

Mark 11:25

Matthew 18:21-22

Colossians 3:13

Luke 17:3-4

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If you have ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@abeaconofhope_pbz6m2

Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

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Church of the Nazarene – East Rock

 The Relationship Keys: Forgiveness

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” ― C.S. Lewis

Series Purpose:

To gain a greater understanding and tools to strengthen and grow God-honoring relationships of all kinds – friendships, workplace relationships, marriages, etc.

FORGIVENESS- to let go

– act of pardoning an offender

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬-‭35

‬‬Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

“To place limits means that forgiveness has become a bargaining chip in the relationship rather than an act of grace.”

“Seventy-Seven times” is just a way to say, “unlimited.”

Jesus answered unexpectedly, saying we are to forgive the repentant an unlimited number of times.

Jesus’s reply does away with calculations.

God expects those whom He forgives to forgive everyone who sins against them up to the amount they themselves have been forgiven.“

Mercy” is not giving to a person what he/she deserves”

Grace” is giving to a person what he/she does not deserve.

It’s really simple math: Forgive and be forgiven.‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬, ‭14‬-‭15

‬‬And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Jesus does not mean that forgiving others is a condition for salvation, but that forgiveness is the expected condition of those who have been saved.

Unforgiveness is inherently contradictory to godliness.

BOTTOM LINE

Forgiveness is an action you must choose, rather than a feeling you must create

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭13

‬‬Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Scriptures for Further Study/Reflection:

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Ephesians 4:32

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Mark 11:25

25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.1 Corinthians 13:5

(Love…)5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Psalm 103:8-10

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

Ephesians 1:7-8

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,

Hebrews 12:14-15

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

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Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

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Drip Jesus

Guest Speaker Michael Kraemer

Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭17

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”‭‭

‬Whatever is going on inside of you is eventually going to come out of you.

Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭45

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”‭‭

When life presses you or when things are difficult, or things don’t go your way what comes out of you?

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭4‬

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭11‬

‭“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”‭‭Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭31‬ ‭“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”‭‭

God, we need you to fill us we can’t do it without you.

Holy Spirit will fill us from head to toe, completely saturate us with your Holy Spirit

Church of the Nazarene – East Rock

The Relationship Keys: Loyalty

The deep commitment and willingness it takes to overcome the hardships that sometimes come in relationship.

What if today one of the greatest stands we could take against the enemy in our lives was to cultivate God honoring relationships? That’s exactly what our new teaching series is all about.

Through this series we are committed to seeing God’s emphasis on the importance of our relationships- with family, members of the church, our community and friends

How do we cultivate deeper, stronger, healthier relationships through the challenges we all experience in those relationships?That takes loyalty.

Loyalty- To be faithful, unswerving in allegiance, constant, steadfast, and resolute in relationship

You have heard it said before from someone going through a difficult time “You really find out who your friends are…” That’s the issue of loyalty in real life.‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬‬One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

There is no real relationship until two people have undergone challenges or hardships together. In those moments, loyalty plants the seeds for growth and fruit through the hardship.

Loyalty is upheld as the foundation of relationships throughout Scripture. Moses and Joshua, David and Jonathan, Jesus, and Mary Magdalene and many more teach about loyalty to God and to each other.

But perhaps the most direct example comes from a woman that walked the earth close to 3000 years ago. They are the words of Ruth to her mother-in-law Naomi.‭‭

Ruth‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭18‬‬

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!” At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

As we begin to look at Naomi and Ruth’s relationship, we see that they had endured a lot together. Their bond of loyalty had grown through immense suffering and grief together.

As Naomi plans to return to her home, she knows there is no prospect for her daughter-in-law’s there. Naomi urges them to leave behind their relationship in favor of a better more secure life.

Orpah concedes to her mother-in-laws request, but Ruth stands on loyalty. It’s the glue that holds us together in God honoring relationship.

Loyalty for Ruth represented a significant and life changing sacrifice. There was hardly any guarantee that it would all work out, but Ruth couldn’t forsake her relationship or her commitment to Naomi. That’s because her commitment to loyalty flowed from her character. Faithful and loyal love was at the core of who she was.

We can all recognize within ourselves that we want a friend like Ruth or even Sheriff Andy Taylor.

Someone who sticks with us, even when there’s nothing in it for them.

But the call of loyalty for us today- our call and commission as followers of Jesus- is to BE that friend, to be an Andy or a Ruth, or to be more exact- to be Christ like in our loyalty to others.

Loyalty is the essence, the character of God’s faithful love.

We experience the faithful, loyal, steadfast love of God through Christ Jesus- Friends loyal love is the message of the gospel.

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬-‭35‬‬“

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

To be loyal, faithful, un-swerving, constant and steadfast in relationship is to love out of the very nature of Christ within us.Loyalty flows from our Character, from our heart transformed by grace.

Why do I need to stick it out in relationship- Why should I put myself through that? Because we have been loved by an immeasurable and loyal love, and we are commanded to love others with that same love.

The way we engage relationship is to be so radical, so loyal, that the world knows we are different- that we belong to Christ. That’s loyalty. That’s honoring God in relationship, especially when the going gets tough.

Lord, give me the courage (and conviction) to love the people in my life with your selfless and loyal love.

Giving at COTN

If you have ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@abeaconofhope_pbz6m2

Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

Giving