Tag: jesus

BIG Words 3 of 3

BIG Words (Reconciliation) Making sense of Christian language, for holy and healthy living.

II Corinthians 5:18-20 NLT… And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Introduction: Like a puzzle, reconciliation involves patience, determination, common sense, and maturity.

Transition: The following definitions will help us understand this BIG Word, and how it is to be a part of our lives and…

-Reconciliation: the intentional return and commitment to relational health; the merger of wills in favor of unity. REFERENCE Romans 12:17-21

-Ambassador: an authorized agent into a foreign country who speaks on behalf of an invested power.

Exposition: This is a spiritual plea that has physical implications.

–Reference I John 1:5-10

Conclusion: God’s children have the responsibility of getting it right, and that only comes through death/the demise of negativity, hostility, selfishness, and vengeance.

BIG Words 1 of 3

BIG Words (Shepherd) Making sense of Christian language, to be more productive disciples of Jesus Christ.

John 10:11-18 NLT… “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

Introduction: John 9 and John 10 cannot be understood separated from each other. The two chapters are connected by the same story.

Transition: Hear this good news… the religious folks put the man out, but Jesus heard about it and went to find him! Jesus welcomed him in, and the man worshipped Jesus as Lord.

Exposition: It’s on the heals of a sheep being rejected from a sheepfold, that Jesus says “I am the good shepherd”!

  1. The picture of the Shepherd Reference Psalm 23:1, Psalm 79:13, Psalm 80:1, Isaiah 40:11, Matthew 18:12, Mark 6:34, Luke 12:32, I Peter 2:25
  2. The priorities of the Shepherd Know – Nurture – Protect – Save
  3. The power of the Shepherd

Conclusion: We must adopt the attitude of the blind man Jesus healed in John 9, and testify over and over that Jesus is our Good Shepherd!

Just Like Jesus 2 of 4

Objective: To transform our lives and relationships, by living into what it means to be Christlike.

The Touch of God

Colossians 3:12 NLT… Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Introduction: Love is a pure motivator. Reference Hebrews 10:24 Phileo (brotherly), Eros (passionate), Storge (familial), Agape (sacrificial).

Transition: To be like Jesus, we must investigate His hands so we can evaluate ours.

Exposition: There is grace in a touch from God!

Jesus displays the kind of grace we must be busy dispensing in Matthew 8:1-4… Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

Conclusion: What we have received from God comes with great responsibility.

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.

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

Study – 1 of 6 Spiritual Disciplines

Study – Spiritual Disciplines 1 of 6

II Timothy 3:16-17 NLT… All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. [17] God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Introduction: The Christian holy canon has been intricately compiled, is intimately constructive, and is interestingly provocative.

Transition: To study means the devotion of time and attention to acquiring knowledge.

Exposition: Paul is pointing his protégé Timothy in the direction of biblical fidelity (faithful to a code; honoring a promise), and divine usefulness (partners instead of pawns).

-Be good (verse 16)
Studying scripture is important to our development because we are imperfect. Reference Philippians 3:12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

-Do good (verse 17)
Studying Scripture is God’s channel to not only develop us but to deploy us. Reference Luke 10:36-37 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Challenge: Steal Away Time… READ 5 minutes, MEDITATE 5 minutes, JOURNAL 5 minutes.

Fifteen minutes of focused reading, intentional thought, and logging your overwhelming observations, will help develop the discipline of study. ***You can find the passages for your Steal Away Time on this site, under the tab Reading with the Rev.

Devotional song of the week: Steal Away to Jesus (Zo! Gospel Choir)