Jesus had a way of being direct and to the point, didn’t he? It is almost as if Jesus realized that his time on Earth was going to be short. He didn’t waste any time mincing words or trying to assuage people with empty words. When he had an opportunity to teach people, he got right to the point. That’s what he was doing out on that mountainside in chapters five and six of Matthew in what has become known as the “Sermon on the Mount.” This extended discourse contains some of Jesus’ most famous and most difficult teaching. When he said in chapter six verse 24 that “no man can serve two masters” he wasn’t pulling any punches. He was talking directly to folks who were trying to live in two worlds… trying to follow him while at the same time trying to keep one foot firmly planted in the world. They were guilty of “storing up treasures on Earth” as opposed to investing for eternity and by so doing, they were trying to serve two masters.
This Sunday we’re going to conclude our recent mini-series of lessons on the teachings of Jesus, “Vintage Jesus”, by taking a fresh look at this great one-liner… “No one can serve two masters” and its natural follow-up found at the end of that verse, “You cannot serve both God and Money.” Probably no teaching of our Savior is as relevant today as this one! How many of us are guilty of storing up for ourselves and putting our trust in the things of this world, rather than in the things of God? How many of us are investing for eternity… using the material resources and wealth that we have been blessed with to further the kingdom of God? How many of us put more trust in our 401k’s than in our Lord?
Showing posts with label Vintage Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vintage Jesus. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
"Whatever you do for the least of these..."
“Whatever you did for the least of these… you did for me.” -Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus had some great one-liners… short, to the point statements of great truth and challenge. None are more challenging than his statement in Matthew 25:40, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” The challenge in this statement isn’t in remembering it… it is one of Jesus’ more memorable statements. The challenge is in living it out daily. How are we to serve Christ? What does he expect of us? Who are we supposed to love? It is some of these questions and themes that we want to explore more fully on Sunday as we continue our series, “Vintage Jesus.” Some time this week take a few moments to read Matthew 25:31-46 again… and be praying about how God would have us as a church serve Him in our community in more ways than we are right now doing.
Some thoughts which immediately spring to my jumbled mind on this Monday… the TN Children’s Home will be here on Thursday (April 16th) to pick up our donations of food. If you haven’t already made a contribution to this effort, you might begin serving “the least of these” by picking up a few extra food items on your weekly grocery trip and dropping them by the church office for the Children’s Home. This is a great ministry which serves children all over the middle Tennessee area by providing a solid, Christ-centered environment in which they can grow physically, mentally and spiritually. If you can do so, please drop off your groceries by Wednesday afternoon so we can have them all ready for pickup on Thursday! Monetary donations are also being accepted. You might also be interested in assisting the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief ministry out of Nashville as they provide emergency relief and assistance to areas affected by natural disasters. With the devastation caused by the recent storms and tornadoes both in Alabama and in Murfreesboro they have been very busy lately. Information about both of these church-based organizations can be found on our website.
Also, here locally, we have an opportunity to support Junior’s House, Fayetteville’s children’s advocacy center. On Tuesday, April 28th, they are hosting “Andrea’s Walk”, an event designed to raise money for the agency and promote awareness in the community of the need to help children who have been affected by abuse. We have been invited to help feed participants who walk in the event. If you would like to help us provide 50 sack lunches, please call the church office or drop us an e-mail. If you would like to participate in the event yourself, call Carol at Juniors House at 438-3233.
As you can see, you don’t have to look very hard around us for opportunities to “do unto the least of these” in and around our own community. I’ve just named three, but there are dozens more! Please be on the look out this week for opportunities to bless those around you.
Jesus had some great one-liners… short, to the point statements of great truth and challenge. None are more challenging than his statement in Matthew 25:40, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” The challenge in this statement isn’t in remembering it… it is one of Jesus’ more memorable statements. The challenge is in living it out daily. How are we to serve Christ? What does he expect of us? Who are we supposed to love? It is some of these questions and themes that we want to explore more fully on Sunday as we continue our series, “Vintage Jesus.” Some time this week take a few moments to read Matthew 25:31-46 again… and be praying about how God would have us as a church serve Him in our community in more ways than we are right now doing.
Some thoughts which immediately spring to my jumbled mind on this Monday… the TN Children’s Home will be here on Thursday (April 16th) to pick up our donations of food. If you haven’t already made a contribution to this effort, you might begin serving “the least of these” by picking up a few extra food items on your weekly grocery trip and dropping them by the church office for the Children’s Home. This is a great ministry which serves children all over the middle Tennessee area by providing a solid, Christ-centered environment in which they can grow physically, mentally and spiritually. If you can do so, please drop off your groceries by Wednesday afternoon so we can have them all ready for pickup on Thursday! Monetary donations are also being accepted. You might also be interested in assisting the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief ministry out of Nashville as they provide emergency relief and assistance to areas affected by natural disasters. With the devastation caused by the recent storms and tornadoes both in Alabama and in Murfreesboro they have been very busy lately. Information about both of these church-based organizations can be found on our website.
Also, here locally, we have an opportunity to support Junior’s House, Fayetteville’s children’s advocacy center. On Tuesday, April 28th, they are hosting “Andrea’s Walk”, an event designed to raise money for the agency and promote awareness in the community of the need to help children who have been affected by abuse. We have been invited to help feed participants who walk in the event. If you would like to help us provide 50 sack lunches, please call the church office or drop us an e-mail. If you would like to participate in the event yourself, call Carol at Juniors House at 438-3233.
As you can see, you don’t have to look very hard around us for opportunities to “do unto the least of these” in and around our own community. I’ve just named three, but there are dozens more! Please be on the look out this week for opportunities to bless those around you.
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