Tag: christianity

What Are You Waiting For? 9 of 10

What Are You Waiting For? 9 of 10

The Wise and Foolish Bridesmaids

Matthew 25:1-13 NLT… “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ 7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. 8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. 11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’

12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ 13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

Introduction: Old wisdom advises us to embrace the principle of readiness. “It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it”.

Transition: The early church fully expected the second coming of Jesus during their lifetime. This created an issue of looking being more prevalent than living.

Exposition: This parable is both an exhortation and admonition…

-Don’t believe the hype (verses 3-5)

-Stop depending on charity to cover your immaturity (verse 8)

-Midnight always tells the story (verse 6)

-Some opportunities really are once in a lifetime (verses 10-12)

Conclusion: What are you waiting for? You can only conceal temporarily and somethings you can’t steal, you must be ready so you can enjoy the journey.

Character Under Construction 2 of 4

Character Under Construction 2 of 4 Guarding Your Heart

Objective: To develop a deeper commitment to becoming disciples who embrace and embody, Christ-like principles and practices.

Proverbs 4:20-23 NLT… My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. 21 Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, 22 for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Introduction: The book of Proverbs is a part of the Wisdom Literature genre, which promotes practical principles for successful living.

Transition: REFERENCE I Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Exposition: Understanding your heart will make guarding it make sense to you…

–What is the heart? A person’s center; where God should be enthroned.

–What is in the heart? Either faith or foolishness (Psalm 14:1).

–What is the function of the heart? To guide your life with the wisdom of God’s word.

–How do you guard the heart? Learn from the the experiences of others. Let wisdom help you!

–What should you guard your heart against? Idolatry (Exodus 20:3-6) Covetousness (Exodus 20:17) Pride (Proverbs 16:18)

Conclusion: Your character is constructed when the word penetrates your heart, and it pours out of you. It causes you to not stoop at standing time!

Sold Out For Chicken Change (LENTEN DEVOTIONAL)

Sold Out For Chicken Change *This Lenten devotional was prepared and presented for the 2024 Lenten Lunch series, of Ashland Place U.M.C. in Mobile, Alabama. PastorAEW was honored to be their pulpit guest.

Luke 22:1-6 NLT… The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. 2 The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, 4 and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. 5 They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. 6 So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.

Introduction: Listen to the story of the change.

Transition: Judas was a follower of Jesus Christ, who had sticky fingers.

Overwhelming Observations: According to verse 3, Satan entered Judas a disciple of Jesus.

-Being close to Jesus doesn’t anesthetize your humanity.

-Being close to Jesus doesn’t exempt you from Satan’ use radar.

-Being close to Jesus isn’t merely about what we believe but is inclusive of how we believe.

Conclusion: Let’s not become so involved with pointing fingers at Judas, that we forget how easy it is to become Judas.

Service – 5 of 6 Spiritual Disciplines

Service – 5 of 6 Spiritual Disciplines

I Peter 4:10-11 NLT… God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

We are God’s workmen who worship.

We are God’s workmen… empowered to engage and explore with enthusiasm.

Who worship… because God chooses to work through us, and is worthy of our adoration.

Challenge: Since your faith community is incomplete without you, identify what you do well and make it a priority to share your gift with members of this fellowship.

Community – 4 of 6 Spiritual Disciplines

Community – 4 of 6 Spiritual Disciplines

Hebrews 10:19-25 NLT… And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Introduction: Building Christian community is a worthwhile work that is difficult but doable. It is difficult because of humanity’s rebellion toward unity, but it is doable because of the blood of Jesus that changes our nature.

Transition: Community is not so much where you live, as much as it’s about how you live.

Exposition: When we live into the discipline of Christian community, we exchange ‘I, my, and me’ for ‘we, our, us’ which is covenant language.

–Let us (verse 22) approach… faith

We have access because Christ cleansed us with his blood (Hebrews 9:22; Romans 5:1-2), and we’ve been publicly claimed by water baptism.

–Let us (verse 23) hold fast… hope

Our confidence in God is secure, because God’s promises are yes in Christ (II Corinthians 1:20)!

–Let us (verse 24) motivate one another… love

Our intelligence should be used to invest in each other (I Corinthians 13:4-8a). #GoodVibesOnly

–Let us (verse 25) gather together… obedience

Your presence makes the difference!

Challenge: Connect with a member of our faith community this week (call, write, text, meet) to motivate them, and do some random and unselfish for someone.

Devotional song of the week: Jesus At The Center (Israel & New Breed)

Prayer – 2 of 6 Spiritual Disciplines

Prayer – Spiritual Disciplines 2 of 6

Matthew 6:9-13 NLT… Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Introduction: Prayer is the most underutilized tool in the Christian’s toolbox.

God is the only constant in our relationships, and we present the variables of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual distance.

Transition: Our relationship with God suffers when we fail to make prayer a priority.

Exposition: Prayer must be central to the life of a Christian.

–Divine Centrality (verses 9-10) your name, your Kingdom, your will
REFERENCE Matthew 16:42 My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.

–Communal Petitions (verses 11-13) Give us, forgive us, rescue us
REFERENCE James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Challenge: Secure a prayer partner, and pray with and for each other at least twice this week. Do so audibly, and pray unselfishly based on conversation with your prayer partner.

Devotional song of the week: Sweet Hour of Prayer Meditation (Rev. James Cleveland)

The Choice is Yours (LENTEN DEVOTIONAL)

The Choice is Yours *This Lenten devotional was prepared and presented for the 2024 Lent Worship and Dinner series, of Dauphin Way U.M.C. in Mobile, Alabama. PastorAEW was honored to be their pulpit guest.

Matthew 16:24 NLT… Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me”.

Introduction: When you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.

The Christian (who claims to be on the way to meet God) must know that the road is narrow (Matthew 7:13-14).

Transition: Who Jesus is (vs. 13-20) gives way to what Jesus does (vs. 21-28).

Peter voices the typical posture of humanity, which is escapism. So, Jesus uses this as a teachable moment on what it means to be a disciple of and for Jesus Christ.

Exposition: If you’re going to make the right choice about following Jesus, then there are some questions you should consider…

–What do you want? (Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower)

In the middle of life is an ‘if’.

–How bad do you want it? (you must give up your own way)

Lay it down!

–What are you waiting for? (take up your cross, and follow me)

Pick it up and live it out!

Conclusion: “He is no fool who forsakes what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose”. ~Phillip James Elliott