A Good Person But - Lost!

 4^th Sunday in Lent!

    Introduction:

A.   In school, before we can get a Diploma we have to pass several tests!

B.   To drive a car we must pass a test!

C.   Suppose we were given the task of grading our fellow

     church members on how good a Christian they were; what would we judge them by?

 

Trans:

I want to introduce you to a person that would make a good score on such a test.

 

                            Prayer

                         Luke 18: 9-14

 

I.   This Pharisee would make a "good" score on this test!

 

A.   He was a religious leader!

 

1.   A pillar of the community!

2.   Not a robber!

3.   Didn't cheat!

4.   A good moral person!

5.   He attended church very regular!

6.   He took an active part:  fasted more than necessary and gave a tithe of all his income.

7.      These are all good things; these are things he should have been doing!

 

B.   He said, "I see no sins in my life; I'm better than these other people."

 

1.   Legalistically he was right!

2.   We would classify this fellow as one of our best church members!

 

C.   But Jesus said something was lacking!

 

1.   He was self-righteous!  This attitude itself was sin.  "All have sinned."  Rom. 3:23

2.   He was counting on his goodness to make it.

3.   He was comparing himself to other people, and he  was looking good.

 

     D.   Too many times we look at our brother, sister, or pastor

          and think, AWow, they need to hear this!@

 

                          Illustration

 

A house looks white beside the blacktop, green grass, and shrubs, but the same house looks yellowed beside newly fallen snow!

 

1.   We must compare ourselves to Jesus; then, we realize we have "all sinned" and have nothing to  boast about in ourselves!!  We all come up short!

2.   We must also realize that sometimes we judge people by the standards of people and not by God, so we may not always be fair with our judgement.

 

II.  But there's also a man here who was accepted!

 

A.   The Publican (tax collector)!

 

1.   He was very humble and realized his sins!  Notice:  He calls himself a sinner.

2.   He realized he had nothing to boast about!  If he had any chance it would only be by the mercy of  God!

a.   Therefore, he begs for that mercy!

b.   "God be merciful to me a sinner!"

 

B.   Thank God that his prayer was answered!

For the Bible says,  "This man went down to his  house Justified."

 

C.   Thus we see the attitude that we must have to be right with God.

 

III. What can we learn from this for today?

 

A.   First, we need to realize, "There are many good people in our world today who are lost!"

 

B.   We need to be concerned and get the Gospel of Christ out and make a difference with the people we know!

 

C.   We need to ask ourselves which one of these characters best describes us?

 

          1.   Is it the Pharisee who thought he was doing all right himself and really didn=t need God=s grace?

          2.   Or is it the Publican who realized he had failed and could only be made right by the grace of God?

 

Closing:

 

A.   As we encounter Christ at the table this morning, maybe you find yourself a little too much like the Pharisee who was trying to live right and trusting in his own righteousness to make it.  Maybe, like the Publican, you need to ask for God=s mercy and grace?

     B.   Maybe you are here and have never made a commitment to

          Christ and you realize your need for God=s grace this

     morning then as you encounter Christ this morning, you

     can receive  God=s grace, and begin a journey with God!  If

     you do, let me know so I can help you with your new walk

     with Christ!

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

A Growing Faith!

                                              3^rd Sunday in Lent

Introduction:

A.   It is very interesting to watch young children grow.

 

B.   They are very eager to do new things and to grow.

1.   They want to be big!

2.   It seems they are afraid of nothing!

3.   If they have seen someone else do it, especially mom or dad, they are ready to try it!

4.   They may not get it right, but they will try!

 

Trans:

Today, we have the opportunity in the scriptures to watch the growth of a spiritual child in his faith.  Let's look for signs of a weak faith and signs of a strong faith as we watch this person develop in his spiritual life.

 

                            Prayer

                          John 4:46-53

 

I.   Signs of a Weak Faith.

 

A.   Demanding visible proof.

1.   This man wanted Jesus to come down so he could

     see Jesus perform this miracle!

2.   Jesus told him, "Unless you see signs and

wonders, you will not believe." (vs. 48)

3.   People with weak faith want to see proof!

a.   Thus the old saying, "Seeing is believing."

b.   But we are sometimes deceived by sight

                   because things are not always as they

appear!

c.   And sometimes when we say we have to see it

to believe, when discussing spiritual

things, we probably wouldn't believe even if

we could see.  Many in Jesus' day didn't

believe even though he was living before

their very eyes.

 

B.   Another sign of weak faith is when we are only driven to God in times of great need.

1.   This man had probably heard of Jesus before, but

he only came looking for him when he was in great

need!

2.   He had probably already tried everything else and Jesus was his last hope!

3.   This faith is better than no faith at all because it gives us a place from which to start in our spiritual life, but it is a sign of weak faith.

 

C.   Another sign of weak faith is when we pray demanding

     of God what to do; this shows a lack of our ability to trust God to do what God sees as best!

1.   This father begged Jesus to come down and heal

     his son, and when Jesus didn't immediately

     respond, he demands, "Sir, come down before my

     little boy dies!" (vs. 49)

 

2.   He didn't simply make his desires known to Jesus

     and trust that Jesus would do what was best, nor

     did he say, if it is your will, my son will live.

3.   When we grow to the place of realizing who we are in the presence of God, we realize, "Who are we to tell God what to do?"

a.   Yet we still find ourselves sometimes

                   praying, demanding, thinking we know better

what we need than God does!

b.   We need to resist this temptation!

 

D.   Finally, another sign of weak faith is impatience!

1.   Notice the impatience as he says, Sir, come down before my little boy dies."

2.   It's as if, if Jesus doesn't come down right now, it will be out of Jesus' control.

3.   His trust in Jesus was limited; thus is the trust factor behind impatience in prayer!

 

E.   Even though this man's faith was:

1.   seeking visible evidence.

2.   driven by great need.

3.   commanding.

4.   impatient.

5.   It was still within the Lord's will to heal the child!

6.   He didn't have to have a perfect faith for his request to be heard by God!

7.   As God honored his weak faith, his faith became stronger!

 

II.  Signs of a Strong Faith!

 

A.   Trust in the Word of God.

 

1.   When Christ said, "Go your son will live," the

man took Jesus at his word and departed. (vs. 50)

a.   He didn't say, "Are you sure?"

b.   Or, "Don't you need to come to my house?"

2.   We need to have this kind of faith in God's Word

given to us through the Bible!

a.   The answers to the world's problems are in the Bible.

b.   The answers to our problems are in the

     Bible.  We just need to look at how Jesus

lived    

c.   The way to God is found in the Bible. Jesus

shows us that!

d.   Guidance for our lives is found in the

     Bible. Again, look at how Jesus lived!

e.   It is precious and worthy to live by!

3.   During this Lenten journey, maybe we could make

daily Bible reading something that we add to our

practices in order to draw closer to God?

a.   Start with the gospels!

b.   I think the gospels are a good lens to read

the rest of the Bible through!

              c.   Because, after all, Jesus is our best

revelation of God!

 

B.   A readiness to receive confirmation!

1.   When the father heard of the healing of his son,  he was ready to give God the glory!

2.   He didn't say, "Well, if I'd known that, I wouldn't have had to go!"

3.   A strong faith gives credit where credit is due!

 

C.   Lastly, a sign of strong faith is willingness to  receive spiritual blessings.

1.   This man didn't just leave it at the physical; we are told that he and his household believed! (vs. 53)

2.   Too many times, when the crisis is over, we go on our way and don't give the spiritual a second  thought, but this man did not do that!

Conclusion:

A.   This man had a physical need.

 

B.   Through the process of going through this time of

need, he came to faith, and his faith grew.

 

C.   He came to trust in the Word of God; he was ready to  

     receive confirmation of what God had done; and he was willing to receive spiritual blessings.

 

D.   Can we say the same things for ourselves?

 

E.   Charles Finney, a Presbyterian minister and the father

of Modern Revivalism, once said:

 

"A State of mind that sees God in everything is   evidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart."

 

Not that God causes everything, but nevertheless, the person of growth can see God working "in everything."

 

F.   Do we need to grow in faith?

1.   Let's go to the Word of God!

2.   Let's receive the spiritual blessings of God!

3.   and Let's give God the credit!

 

                             Amen

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

 

Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem!

 2nd Sunday in Lent!

 

Introduction:                                                            

A.        Sometimes perhaps we get to wondering if Jesus really cared for the Pharisees and Jerusalem!

 B.        Sometimes, it seems, he talks to them almost cruel!

 Trans:

Today, on this 2^nd Sunday in Lent, our text shows us not only how

Jesus felt about the Pharisees and the Hebrew people, but it also gives

us a glimpse of how God feels about us.

 

Prayer

Luke 13:31-35

text vs. 34

 

I.          A look at the scripture!  How did Jesus feel? v. 34

 

A.        He felt great sorrow - he wasn't happy that time and time again

They had rejected him.

 

1.         He wasn't happy that they stood guilty before God!

2.         He knew what they needed, and he tried to tell them, but they

wouldn't listen!

 

B.        He felt great Love - No Hatred!

 

1.         He didn't hate them for what they had done to him and would

do to him.

2.         He just wanted to hug them up in his arms of Love!

 

 

C.        He felt forgiveness. Oh, how he longed to forgive them if they would

just accept it.

 

D.        He had great patience.  God had sent the prophets, and they had

Killed many of them; now, they would kill him as their rejection of him became complete.  What more could he do? Oh, how he longed to gather them up like a hen gathers her chicks! (One of the few feminine references to God or Christ!) It shows us that we do not just have to think of God in masculine terms!

 

E.         He had great foresight!  He could see where they were headed, but they wouldn't listen to him.

 

II.        What about us today?  Is Christ happy with what we are doing or is he sorrowful as he was with them?

 

A.        Just picture God looking down on us today, for after all God is!

 

1.         Would God feel great sorrow for us because we are rejecting

Jesus or would God be happy because we are living for Jesus?

2.         Christians!  Is God happy with where we are?

3.                  This is the season to realize what great lengths God has gone for us and how much God wants to forgive us; what will we do about it?

 

B.        God still is filled with that great love!  That is why God has gone to such great effort to bring us back.

 

C.        God still longs to forgive us!

 

D.        God still has great patience!  God has given us many chances, but the Bible teaches us that one day time will run out.

 

 

 

E.                 But we have today, and we have a vision of a God who waits and longs for us to come back!  (Share about God as a seeking God from the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32.)

F.                   

1.         After the prodigal son left, upon his return, the father sees

            him from afar off, he has been waiting watching and seeking!

2.         When the older brother is angry, the father goes out to plead

            and seek him to bring him back into the family!

3.         God is a seeking God, but it is up to us to respond!

 

H.        Is God sorrowful because we have never accepted Christ or maybe

we have accepted Christ but aren't really living for God, day by day? We are like the prodigal son and have drifted away?

 

1.         We want to do things our way!  We want to take the areas of

our lives and live for ourselves!

                        2.         We want to look out for number one!  We don’t really care or

love others like God would have us to!

                        3.         In short, we are failing to let God love through us!

 

I.          Is God sorrowful because we have never made a sold-out commitment

to God?  God longs to gather us . . . .

 

Conclusion:

 

A.        God has the power and the ability to turn our lives around! 

 

B.        Are we happy with our lives?  Or are we filled with guilt and lack of purpose?  We can come to Christ today!

 

C.        Maybe we profess Christianity, but we really aren't committed.  We feel torn!  We can sell out to Christ today!

 

 

 

D.        Christ longs for us to come! Christ wants to gather us in as a hen gathers her chicks! God is a seeking God! During this season of Lent, we can respond to that seeking God.  We can accept what God has already done for us in Christ.  We can come back to a God who is standing and waiting for us!  We can go deeper and yield more fully in response to God’s love for us!  We can commit to let God love through us, as we encounter Christ at the table today!

 

            Thanks be to God! 

 

            Now, I am feeling a little numb this morning with the news of US and Israel bombing Iran, searching what to say about it. I know some have expressed concerns

 

            Let me just share thoughts and a prayer that comes to us from the Council of Bishops:

            The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church issued a call for peace in the Middle East.

 

            In the letter, the Bishops call attention to the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church,             affirming the sacred worth and dignity of every person and emphasizing peaceful resolutions to             conflict. They call on United Methodists to advocate for peace, echoing the wisdom of             the prophet             Micah to "act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly." (Micah 6:8)

 

            United Methodists are called to join in this prayer:

 

            God of justice and compassion,

            we lift our voices in prayer for peace in the Middle East,

            that all hearts may turn from violence to understanding and from fear to hope.

            Guide your leaders with wisdom and courage to pursue the path of peace,

            rooted in the dignity and sacred worth of every person.

            May our prayers rise as a witness to your hope and healing for all nations.

 

            [For we pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.]

 

 

Service of Communion