‭Scripture Mark 10‬‬:‭32‬-‭45

32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” 41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 22:34-38 

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 

In the Old Testament the love relationship between God and Israel is defined by the Hebrew word hesed, which is translated “steadfast love” or “faithful love.”  

It is love in the context of a covenant that you have made with another person, and its basic meaning is being true to that covenant. One description of hesed could be “loyal love.” 

Today we continue with part two that is all about answering the question 

• Is Family First? 

• Are your loves in their proper order? 

• According to the Ten Commandments, which almost everyone has at least heard of, we are called to honor our parents. 

• BUT we are to worship only the Lord God. 

• Pastor Kyle describes what I just referenced about the 10 commandments as a “top button” truth…let me explain 

• In a hurry – wrong slot – don’t recognize until at the bottom and then realize everything out of line. 

• He says, “If you get the top button right, then everything else tends to fall into place. If you get it wrong, then everything else is going to be out of alignment…God has ordered our lives in such a way that devotion to him is the top button. If that relationship is in proper order, then you’re going to find that every other relationship, whether family or friend, is going to fall into place in a far more satisfying way. But if you’re wrong on him, you’ll get everything else wrong too.” 

• What if we were ask to prove that our love and commitment to God is greater than anything or anyone else? 

• Genesis 22:1-12 – Abraham Tested  

• Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love —Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”  

• 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.  

• 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship  and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. 

• Luke 9:57-62 – Christ above ALL 

• 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” 

•  Luke 14:25-27 – Total Commitment to Christ 

• 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate (Gr. miseō – detest, reject. See Mt 5:43 and Mt 6:24, etc.) father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 

• Our Lord was not suggesting that believers ignore or abandon their families in order to serve God, but only that they put God’s will above everything else in life.  

• Our love for God should be so great that our love for family would seem like hatred in comparison.  

• Certainly it is God’s will that we care for our families and provide for them, but we must not permit even our dearest loved ones to influence us away from the will of God.  

• When you consider the importance of the family in the Jewish society, you can imagine how radical Christ’s words must have sounded to those who heard them. 

• MORE RADICAL THEN OUR WESTERN AMERICAN INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURAL VIEW.. 

• Jesus’ point is challenging, but crucial.  

• Danger of idolatry 

• The greatest danger of idolatry comes not from what is bad, but from what is good – such as love in family relationships. The greatest threat to the best often comes from second best things. 

• Kyle Idleman describes a few consequences of placing another human being on the throne of your heart – putting family before God 

• Unrealistic pressure 

• Unreachable expectations 

• Unreasonable disappointment  

• Undeserved criticism  

• One author of an online article titled – “Families & Kids Are Too Busy” said 

• A day doesn’t go by when I don’t talk to a mom or dad who isn’t a slave to there kids schedules. 

• Does that sound close to home? 

• Jesus is giving a crowd a definition of what discipleship looks like.  

• “Cannot” has the meaning of non-reality.  

• Being a disciple of Jesus includes making Him the highest possible priority: even above loved ones and life.  

• The Bible is meant to be interpreted “literally,” in the sense that it means what it says—yet “what it says” is not always intended to come from a  mechanical, shallow reading of the words.  

• Hyperbole is used here by Jesus to emphasize the weight of his point 

• We know that Jesus is speaking hyperbolically because verses must always be read in context: in the passage, the book, the other books of the same author, and within the whole Bible.  

• Both Testaments tell us to honor our parents, and honor is fueled by agape love (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1–3).  

• Husbands are to love their wives (Ephesians 5:28). It is literally to be an earthly picture of Christ and the Church.  

• And one of the sub-contexts that runs throughout the whole Bible is that good parents naturally love their children (cf. Luke 11:11–13; Ephesians 6:4).  

• Loving our families is biblical.  

• Matthew covers a similar teaching where Jesus used slightly different wording:  

• “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).  

• Luke gives context: we must choose to follow Jesus even if our family members don’t, even if doing so splits up family relationships (Luke 12:51–53).  

• If oversimplified, they suggest those unwilling to immediately give up their family relationships cannot be saved.  

• For many, that’s not something they can fathom.  

• As Kyle Idleman writes in “God At War” 

• “But I can/t love my children any less,” you might say. No, you can’t, nor is that the message of this book (chapter ‘the god of family’—Jesus words in the gospels), but you can love them differently. You can love them in the context of your primary devotion to God. And that, you will find, turns out to be a far greater, healthier, and more fruitful love.” 

• Barna study example of disordered loves/relationships 

• American adults, according to a recent Barna study (last 10 years), are “most likely to point to their family as making up a significant part their personal identity.” Country and God come next. Christians are no exception; natural family has usurped God and his family as the primary identity marker for most church-goers. 

• In another Barna study about 10 years further back (20 years ago), they asked more than one thousand people to choose their most important relationship. Seven out of ten adults chose their earthly family over God 

• Why share these stats that are 10-20 years ago? 

• Times change, but human nature doesn’t. 

• DALLAS WILLARD 

• You can live opposite of what you profess, but you cannot live opposite of what you believe. 

• So I ask you, in your relationships with your family members as they relate to God, does your reality align with what you profess to be true? 

• When you are more committed to human relationships over your relationship and devotion/worship of Christ 

• You will often compromise TRUTH 

• To keep the peace in the relationship  

• To avoid conflict  

• In the name of love and kindness 

• By reframing what you have always believed so that your support and love for that person no longer conflicts with what you know to be true from a biblical worldview 

In this message we aren’t saying that family is not important, just that it is not MOST important. 

• What has captured the wonder of our hearts will control the way we live 

• Anything that has captured our hearts before the Lord Jesus Christ is and idol. 

• Coming to Jesus, savior of the world and King over all, is not just about believing some facts are true, it is primarily to come and yield your life to Him. 

• That includes ALL of our relationships. 

• BOTTOM LINE 

•  If you want to better love your family more, then you MUST LOVE GOD MORE than YOU LOVE YOUR FAMILY. 

• If your spouse OR family OR your children OR name the person(s) that means the most to you, has claimed more of your affection and focus than Jesus Christ, ask God to change your heart.   

• Freshly surrender this area of your life to Him, and remember where the deepest source of fulfillment is truly found – in Him! 

• If this is true in your life then REPENTANCE is the response – Idolatry is sin. 

• Imagine your life as a fully devoted worshiper of God and follower of Jesus Christ. Envision yourself laying your family at the altar, along with every other part of you.  

• Tell God, “I can’t do this right. I worship you and you alone, and I trust you to make me the parent/spouse/child I need to be. I love these people deeply, but they will no longer be the meaning of my life. Only you will be. Help me be the person I need to be, so that you can bless these relationships. May these beautiful gifts from you make my heart more completely yours, Amen.’” 

 WHAT                     

• 77 TIMES NT
• BAPTISM COMES FROM THE WORD BAPTIZO
• DIP/DUNK-IMMERSE/DROWN-BLEACHING
• A RE-DYEING OF A FABRIC
• WE DO BAPTIZE IN OTHER WAYS
• ANCIENT DOCUMENT CALLED DIDACHE’ WHICH ALLOWED FOR VARIOUS REASONS DIFF METHODS
• PHYSICAL OUTWARD EXPRESSION-
• OF AN INWARD SPIRITUAL WORK
• SOMETHING INSIDE OH NOT SOMETHING SOMEONE MOVES IN AND YOU HAVE TO OUTWARDLY GIVE TESTIMONY TO THAT.
• ONE OF 2 SACRAMENTS THE COTN PARTICPATES IN
• COMMUNION-BAPTISM (WHY- JESUS PARTICIPATED)

 PICTURE OF GIRL CELEBRATING

• NOTICE I USED THE WORD PARTICIPATE
• SCRIPTURE ALMOST NO UNBAPTIZED CHRISTIANS

WHY 

SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 3:13-14

  “THEN JESUS CAME FROM GALILEE TO THE JORDAN TO BE BAPTIZED BY JOHN. BUT JOHN TRIES TO DETER HIM, SAYING, “I NEED TO BE BAPTIZED BY YOU, AND DO YOU COME TO ME?”

MATTHEW 3:15

  15. “JESUS REPLIED, “LET IT BE SO NOW; IT IS PROPER FOR US TO DO THIS TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

THEN JOHN CONSENTED.”

SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 3:16

  16. “AS SOON AS JESUS WAS BAPTIZED, HE WENT UP OUT OF THE WATER. AT THAT MOMENT HEAVEN WAS OPENED, AND HE SAW THE SPIRIT OF GOD DESCENDING LIKE A DOVE AND ALIGHTING ON HIM.”

SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 3:17

  17. “AND A VOICE FROM HEAVEN SAID, “THIS IS MY SON, WHOM I LOVE; WITH HIM I AM WELL PLEASED.”

   1. WE FOLLOW JESUS EXAMPLE

   2. WE UNITE WITH THE BODY OF CHRIST

   3. WE OBEY THE COMMAND OF JESUS

HE DOESN’T SUGGEST IT- SAY PONDER IT- MAYBE

GREAT COMMISION- GO MAKE DISCIPLES-BAPTIZE THEM

WHO– ANY WHO ARE SAVED                         

• BIBLE KNOWS ALMOST NO EXAMPLES OF UNBAPTZED BELIEVERS (THIEF ON THE CROSS?)
• ALMOST LIKE AN OXYMORON

 ELEPHANT- ROPE

• BABY ELEPHANT- ROPE
• ADULT ELEPHANT- SAME ROPE
• THEY BELIEVE THAY ARE STILL IN BONDAGE

PAUL SAYS “DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF JEWS AND GENTILES

SCRIPTURE ROMANS 6:1

1. “WELL THEN SHOULD WE KEEP ON SINNING SO THAT GOD CAN SHOW US MORE AND MORE OF HIS WONDERFUL GRACE?

IF MORE SIN RESULTS IN MORE GRACE- KEEP SINNING

SCRIPTURE ROMANS 6:2

• OF COURSE NOT! SINCE WE HAVE DIED TO SIN, HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO LIVE IN IT?

“BY NO MEANS” LET IT NEVER COME TO PASS

GRACE IS A LIFELINE NOT A LOOPHOLE.

• SAVED GRACE THROUGH FAITH

PAUL SAYS “ITS NOT JUST A GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD-

 SCRIPTURE ROMANS 6:3.                              

• OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT WHEN WE WERE JOINED WITH CHRIST JESUS IN BAPTISM, WE JOINED HIM IN HIS DEATH.  (THINK ABOUT YOUR BAPTISM)

SCRIPTURE ROMANS 6:4

• FOR WE DIED AND WERE BURIED WITH CHRIST BY BAPTISM. AND JUST AS CHRIST WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD BY THE GLORIOUS POWER OF THE FATHER, NOW WE ALSO MAY LIVE NEW LIVES.

WHEN – WHEN YOU ARE SAVED

MANY OF US ARE COMFORTABLE WITH FORGIVENESS

WE HESITATE TO EMBRACE TRANSFORMATION

• OUR PREVIOUS CONDITION CANNOT HOLD ME ANYMORE
• MANY OF US AREN’T LIVING AS FREE AS WE ACTUALLY ARE
• WE ATTEND CHURCH-SMALL GROUP-BIBLE STUDY- STILL LIVE WITH A ROPE AROUND OUR FOOT
• WE LIKE JESUS- JUST DON’T WANT TO BECOME LIKE HIM
• JESUS DIDN’T COME TO BRING PARTIAL HEALING
• HE CAME TO SET US COMPLETELY FREE
• LANGAUGE HERE IS EXECUTION LANGUAGE

PICTURE OF BAPTISM                                  

• COMMUNITY CELEBRATES TOGETHER

POPCORN -BAG

• LET’S CELEBRATE AS A COMMUNITY WHO ARE SAYING- IM DONE WITH THAT CAPTIVITY

• WE WERE ALL SINNERS IN NEED OF GRACE

https://www.bible.com/events/49559466

Church of the Nazarene – East Rockingham Campus 

Relationships Righted Part 1 

It’s not about you… 

Today we are starting a new teaching series called Relationships Righted. Over the next few weeks we will seek to apply biblical relationship building skills to a variety of our everyday relationships. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, a religious expert approached Jesus and wanted to know what the most important commandment was, what’s the number one thing we should do. 

Jesus Answers in Matthew 22:37 “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

Jesus answers with two relationships 

Love God with your all, and love your neighbor. The most important things according to Jesus, are found in relationship. 

Friends, our relationship report card matters, because your relationships matter to the Lord. That’s why we are talking about Relationships Righted. 

Stephen Kendrick says “Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive. It is a trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves.” 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭19‬-‭24‬‬ 

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 

Jesus has been talking about his death. He gives them communion, something so significant, we are still celebrating it today, 2000 years later. 

They find out that one of their own is a betrayer, a snake in the grass. 

And after this, the disciples get into an argument about who was top dog. At the table of the last supper, they are arguing about who was going to be the greatest. 

The reality for most of us is that selfishness, or about me thinking, can easily creep into our relationships. 

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭3‬-‭5‬‬ 

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

As much as I might imagine Jesus in the facepalm position, I believe this is how he responded to the disciples argument about who was going to be the greatest. 

Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, hours before his own death, listening to his best friends argue about who was going to have the best position in his kingdom- Rather than flipping the table and yelling at them, puts on the uniform of a house servant, and washes their feet. 

Jesus shows them that relationships righted are based in humility, selflessness, and serving. 

‭‭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.” 

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬-‭8‬‬ 

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 

How do we do relationships right? Engage them with the same mindset as Christ. 

Jesus said: As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

Today’s message is a conversation about Nehemiah and the story in the Bible about him rebuilding the wall and why this series was chosen to start the year.

“Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel. The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them. The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs, and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made repairs. The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors. The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. Next to them, repairs were made by men from Gibeon and Mizpah—Melatiah of Gibeon and Jadon of Meronoth—places under the authority of the governor of Trans-Euphrates. Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the next section; and Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, made repairs next to that. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section. Adjoining this, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs next to him. Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section with the help of his daughters. The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. They also repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate. The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Rekab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Kol-Hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofing it over and putting its doors and bolts and bars in place. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam, by the King’s Garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David. Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth Zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Heroes. Next to him, the repairs were made by the Levites under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him, Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. Next to him, the repairs were made by their fellow Levites under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah. Next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section, from a point facing the ascent to the armory as far as the angle of the wall. Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest. Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the entrance of Eliashib’s house to the end of it. The repairs next to him were made by the priests from the surrounding region. Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house; and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. Next to him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from Azariah’s house to the angle and the corner, and Palal son of Uzai worked opposite the angle and the tower projecting from the upper palace near the court of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah son of Parosh and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. Next to them, the men of Tekoa repaired another section, from the great projecting tower to the wall of Ophel. Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs. Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs opposite his living quarters. Next to him, Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the room above the corner; and between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.”

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬