FAMILY: THE JESUS WAY

Luke 8:16-21
16 "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.
17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.
18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."
19 Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.
20 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you."
21 He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

I.  THE FAMILY VISIT
    A. His Mother And His Brothers
John 7:3 Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.
4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."
5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6 Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil

    B. His Family Defined

II. THE FAMILY HE MADE
    A. The Family of God
I Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

I Cor. 12:12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Eph. 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

    B. The Family God Made
        1.  Gen. 1:18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.
22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Gen. 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

Matt. 19:4 "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'
5 and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' ?
6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

    C. The Family God Desires
        1. A family of love
        2. A family of Jesus
        3. A family of God's will
        4. A family of the Spirit

September 13, 2015

ARE YOU FAMILY?
Luke 8:16-21
I. THE POWER OF THE LIGHT                                 
     A.  It Gives Light
    B.  It Reveals The Way  

    C.  It Gives Life

    D.  It Exposes Junk

II. THE POWER OF FAMILY
    A. The Family Of Light

    B. The Family Of Jesus

    C. The Family In Jesus

September 6, 2015

GREAT SEED + GOOD DIRT = GREAT HARVEST
LUKE 8:1-15 I. THE FAITHFUL FEMALE FOLLOWERS   
A. Were Faithful To Stand With Jesus     B. Were Faithful To Share With Jesus

II. THE FAITHFUL FARMING FOLLOWERS    
A. Were Faithful To Sow Seed
B. Were Faithful To Farm Consistently 
III. THE FAITHFUL FRUITFUL FOLLOWERS
A. Some Were Hardened To The Word     B. Some Were Just Temporary
C. Some Were Choked Out By The World    
D. Some Were Good Soil = Bore Fruit

August 30, 2015

FORGIVEN MUCH

Luke 7:36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner." 40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. 41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." 48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

INTRO: What Jesus Had Done Previously

I. HISTORY OF THE WOMAN
    A. Was A Sinful Woman
    B. Was A Woman With A Past      
1. Past of pain and hurt       
2. Past of sin and brokeness

II. HISTORY OF JESUS AND THIS WOMAN  
A. Had She Been In The Crowd?       
1. Mark 16:9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.   
2. Luke 8:2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;
B. How Did She Enter The Pharisee's House?

III. HISTORY WIPED CLEAN   
A. She Poured Out Her History       
1. Her brokenness from sin       
2. Her broken dreams   

B. She Wept Over Her History   

C. She Cleaned His Feet - He Cleansed Her Heart  

D. She Loved Much