Balancing Ministry N' Work

Last time we saw how the devil was tempting Jesus to take matters into His own hands. The ask itself was fairly simple and seemed reasonable at first. The devil tempts us to do things that seem ok on the surface but when you stop and look at it, you should be avoiding it. Jesus understood that He was not to do it on His own, and we need to remember that God is in control and that we need to trust Him. Let’s see what happens when the devil takes his second shot at tempting Jesus. Matthew 4:5-6 “ 5  Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6  and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you , and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. ” In round one the devil used the fact that Jesus was hungry to tempt Him. Jesus responded with quoting Scripture. The devil being the tricky little bugge...

Last week we took a break from our series on the Life and Ministry of Jesus due to the weather, this morning we are going to continue that break. Friday morning as I was driving to work, ‘Say Amen’ by Finding Favor was playing on the radio. Some of the lyrics go: “If there’s anybody here who’s found Him faithful. Anybody here who knows He’s able, Say Amen. If there’s anybody here who’s seen His power. Anybody here brought through the fire, Say Amen. Anybody here found joy in the middle of sorrow, Just Say Amen!” The Holy Spirit spoke to me during this song. As soon as parked my car, I jotted down these questions. When we pray and say Amen, what are we saying? What does it mean for our addictions, our sickness, our fear, our depression, and our anxiety? If we have found God to be faithful to His promises. If we have found Him to be able to take care of our needs. If we have seen His power in our lives and the lives of others. If God has brought us through the fire. If He h...

As we continue our Life and Ministry of Jesus series we are picking up right where we left off last week. Open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 4. All of us struggle with this nasty thing called temptation. Some we can resist, some we cannot, and others we do not even realize we are being tempted until it is too late. Some of the sneakiest temptations do not feel like temptations at all. Our strong American work ethic can be twisted by the devil to lure us into sin. I know it can be for me. At work I can get so focused on doing my job with the knowledge and skills I have acquired that I can forget to depend on God. Not to boast but I did not get the job I have today without having some skills, so it is easy to slip into the trap of trying to do it without Jesus. The devil wants me to slip up like this. He wants me to feel like I do not need Jesus to be successful. He wants me to take charge and do it all on my own. It is a way for him to get me to think that I do not need God. ...

This morning we are continuing to look at Jesus’ life and ministry. Last week we looked at Jesus dedication and the role model Simeon who showed us some key things. Like how we need to let the Holy Spirit guide us every day, even to the point of letting Him guide us to where He needs us. How we need to study God’s Word and truly believe it and follow it. We need to be praising God regardless of the storms in our lives and that we need to be boldly proclaim that Jesus is the Savior for all. Simeon was a good role model. Isaiah 40:3 “A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.” This was Isaiah prophesizing about John the Baptist. Who was going to wander around in the wilderness and desert. John did just that. He wandered around the Jordan River in his camel har robe calling out for people to repent of their sins. Matthew 3:7-10 “ 7  When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to...

As we were heading into the Christmas season, I mentioned that we would spend the next several months talking about Jesus. We started with the Manger period or the time leading up to that very first Christmas. That was a period of faith for Mary and Joseph and a time to celebrate all that Jesus’ life on earth point to. We took a couple of weeks off, but this morning we are entering the Life and Ministry portion of the series. The plan was to transition from the Life and Ministry segment to the Cross with Palm Sunday and Easter, and then spend a couple of weeks talking about His second coming. As I have been reading the gospels so far this year, if felt like we would be skipping so much and not be doing justice to Jesus’ Life and Ministry. At this point I think the series has been extended by a couple of months. We will see how the Holy Spirit guides. During our Christmas service we ended in Luke chapter 2 with the shepherds returning to their fields and praising God for all they ...

In my opinion partaking in the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of the year is one of the best ways to start out the new year. Being new around here, when it clicked that we would be having the Lord’s Supper this morning I got excited. The start of the new year is a time to look at our lives and reflect on the things we like and the things we are not to happy about. When we set time aside for the Lord’s Supper, we should be doing the same thing, but focused on our walk with Jesus. The Lord’s Supper is a time to re-connect with God. It is an act of remembering the sacrifice that Jesus willingly gave for each of us. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 “ 23  For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24  and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25  In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the ...

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 7:14; 9:2-7 “ 14  Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.” “ 2  The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. 3  You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. 4  For you have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as you did on the day of Midian. 5  For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6  For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7  The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. ...