Balancing Ministry N' Work

Last week we looked at Jesus’ explanation on why He used parables to teach the masses. It was clear by reading His words that His intent was to make sure those that followed Him would understand, while those who actively resisted Him would be confused. Those who have the smallest amount of knowledge, as little as knowing they need Jesus as their Savior will have access to the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. With that smallest tidbit of truth their knowledge will grow. If our eyes and ears are open even the smallest amount, we will have more than enough knowledge to carry us through what we are facing today. I hope you took time to pray for someone whose eyes and ears need to be opened this week. Pray for them every day until they find that smallest piece of truth that will set them free. We are going to continue in Matthew 13 this morning looking at some of the parables that Jesus taught. Matthew 13:31-32 “ 31  He presented another parable to them: “The ...

Every little thing we do that demonstrates that we embrace our faith in Jesus, demonstrates that we trust in Him, and our declaration of what He has done for us, does have an impact on others. Mary and Martha declaring their faith in Jesus caused some people to stay around. Jesus calling out to the Father got peoples attention. The stone being rolled away was a great example of faith being put into action and then the miracle happened. Without the declarations, statements of faith, and the following actions people would not have seen the miracle and believed. People are watching us, listening to the things we say, and they want to see if we are going to put our money where our mouth is. The Holy Spirit uses all of this to get their attention and then if they respond performs a miracle in their lives. The little things matter as we shine the light of Jesus into the world we live in. In Matthew 13 Jesus we find 7 different parables. Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, which He...

Open your Bibles to John chapter 11 as we continue to look at Jesus’ life and ministry. John 11:1-4 “ 11  Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2  Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. 3  So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4  When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”” Jesus, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were obviously friends. Verse 4 states that this is for the glory of God and so that the Son of God may be glorified… everything we are looking at this morning was done for the glory of God and so that the Son may be glorified, these words are also telling us to pay close attention as we are going to read about something that is truly amazing. We are going to read about God at work...

When Jesus sent the Twelve it was all about learning to trust God to provide and that He would guide them and empower them to carry out what they were sent to do. With the seventy-two they not only need to trust God but they needed wisdom and innocence. They needed to be wise to avoid the traps of the devil and innocent to show the world that they belong to Jesus. One of the key things from last weeks verses was that we need to be praying for the Lord to send more workers into the harvest. When we think about it, if we are out tending to the harvest, sharing the Gospel, winning souls for the Lord, we are being used by God to add to the workers. Every person who accepts Jesus as Lord is a worker. Our prayers need to start with our lost friends and family accepting Jesus, but continue with them being used by God to share the Gospel in a mighty way. The task before us is challenging, and the devil will do anything he can to trip us up. We need to trust in God and depend on Him to carr...

May 26, 2010 I was in the operating room for just under 11 hours. Recovery was a bear, especially with the extended stay at Michigan University Hospital due to a CSF Leak. Those first few weeks at home I slept more than I was awake. At 8 weeks post op, I returned to work, today I wish I had taken another week or two as I barely made it through each day. I had to step down from the church I was serving as I did not have the energy to work and pastor. A Lot has changed in 9 years. Today, I continue to work and run the Materials Team for a $300M business. God has opened the door for me to Pastor at Littleby Baptist Church. I serve our town as an Alderman. I continue to write and plan on self publishing my second book this year and have plans for a third in 2020. There was a time that I honestly thought I would have been on disability by now. Having a severed vestibular (balance) nerve was causing significant issues and I was struggling with walking down the hall, let alone driving a...

When we last opened our Bibles together, we took a look at the Twelve men that Jesus called and then sent out to care and share. We saw that He put them in a position that required them to trust that God would provide the most basic of necessities. In their missionary journey they also were learning to trust that God would work in them and through them. As the Twelve headed out into the world, trusting in God, and caring and sharing wherever they went we saw that they successfully proclaimed the good news and healed people everywhere. We to have a job to do and need to trust in God so that we can do it. We need to trust in Him to guide and provide, and then we need to step out and care and share as missionaries to the people in our lives.   This week we are going to continue in Luke. Luke 10:1-4 “ 10  After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2  He told th...

Last week we saw how Jesus was trying to get people to look past the here and now and focus on eternity. The crowd was hungry for more of the barley loaves and fish used to feed the 5,000, but Jesus was telling them about His amazing gift. They wanted to see so they could believe, but the Bible tells us that if we believe we will see. Believe and our eyes will be opened to all that God is doing. If you have your Bible, please open them to Luke 6 as we continue our series on the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus. Luke 6:12-16 “ 12  During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. 13  When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 14  Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15  Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16  Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot...