Week 2 - Sermon Recap
THE QUESTION
What should a disciple of Jesus do with his or her time?
We would probably come up with a pretty solid list if I had everyone post their answer. The list would include something like...
A disciple should read the Bible, pray, attend church, evangelize the lost, spend time with family, fast, have a daily quiet time, etc.
I ask this question because it is very possible to be a disciple of Jesus and still waste the time God has given you. It is possible to use up all the time God has given you for yourself, & never give your time away to the ways of Jesus.
I don’t say that to shame you; I say that to awaken your heart. Hard questions are good, because they help shake us out of our comfortable routine.
A question like this requires nuance. I am not talking about separating the sacred from the secular. Jesus didn't make this separation nor did he require it from his disciples. Afterall, Jesus lived in the world. I am also not trying to get you to add more things to your busy life. Most often, we shouldn’t think in terms of addition, but intention. Like Jeff Vanderstelt wrote, “This isn’t additional, this is intentional. It’s not about adding more to our busy lives, it’s about engaging all of life for his glory.”
ACTIVE vs PASSIVE
This past weekend was Serve Sunday. These strategic days are about practicing what we preach.
Compass View has a burning desire to meet people where they are.
This statement tugs at our hearts because it describes the life of Jesus. Jesus met people where they were. For instance, look at his interactions with the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, Peter, and the thief on the cross. Jesus met them all where they were.
So back to the question…what should a disciple of Jesus do with his or her time?
How many of you grew up in church? I have spent the majority of my life attending church and listening to sermons. I suppose much of that time has been delivering sermons. How many of you can remember ten sermons? How many of you remember five sermons? I don’t remember many sermons either. However, I do remember taking groceries to a single mom when I was thirteen. I remember a trip to Wagnor, OK to seek the lost when I was eighteen. I remember the fifteen CityReach trips I made to cities all over the US to help church planters reach their city. I remember helping a neighbor move dirt so he could plant grass in his backyard, & the conversation we had about tattoos and Jesus. I remember opening our home to some neighbors who were new to the area, were looking for friends, and didn’t care much about the things of God. I remember stopping to help a stranger with his car one night. Then three months later this stranger had turned into a friend and soon gave his life to Jesus.
Why do we remember the active moments of serving more often than the sermons?
When we walk across the street, serve the poor, seek the lost, seek justice, and extend love, like you did on Sunday, we are living the message rather than merely listening to the message. Listening to a message is essential, but it's not ultimate.
What if your God given time as a disciple is only filled with listening to sermons? Jesus didn’t let his disciples simply listen to his message. He journeyed with them showing them how to live the Christ-centered life.
Here is how Winfeld Bevins writes about this in the book Make, Mature, Multiply. “Jesus demonstrated how the disciples should live the Christ-centered life. One reason Jesus had such a lasting impact on his disciples is that he lived the message before them daily. He was the message and the method. By walking with Jesus, they saw how he lived his faith in the real world. He prayed before them. He fed the poor. He had compassion on the multitude. He healed the sick. In other words, he lived the life that he wanted to reproduce in his disciples” (Winfield Bevins).
Here is the message: Jesus met me where I was to bring me to the one I needed most.
God wants to make his appeal to Mountain View through you, Compass View. (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jesus longs to use your life to bring people to the one they need most. So, go get your hands dirty, listen to someone’s story, give your time away, be present with people, tell your Jesus story, and live the message.
A disciple of Jesus should use his or her time being intentional with others and with this time we have, for the sake of the gospel. Let’s live everyday life with gospel intentionality.
- Pastor Jonathan
What should a disciple of Jesus do with his or her time?
We would probably come up with a pretty solid list if I had everyone post their answer. The list would include something like...
A disciple should read the Bible, pray, attend church, evangelize the lost, spend time with family, fast, have a daily quiet time, etc.
I ask this question because it is very possible to be a disciple of Jesus and still waste the time God has given you. It is possible to use up all the time God has given you for yourself, & never give your time away to the ways of Jesus.
I don’t say that to shame you; I say that to awaken your heart. Hard questions are good, because they help shake us out of our comfortable routine.
A question like this requires nuance. I am not talking about separating the sacred from the secular. Jesus didn't make this separation nor did he require it from his disciples. Afterall, Jesus lived in the world. I am also not trying to get you to add more things to your busy life. Most often, we shouldn’t think in terms of addition, but intention. Like Jeff Vanderstelt wrote, “This isn’t additional, this is intentional. It’s not about adding more to our busy lives, it’s about engaging all of life for his glory.”
ACTIVE vs PASSIVE
This past weekend was Serve Sunday. These strategic days are about practicing what we preach.
Compass View has a burning desire to meet people where they are.
This statement tugs at our hearts because it describes the life of Jesus. Jesus met people where they were. For instance, look at his interactions with the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, Peter, and the thief on the cross. Jesus met them all where they were.
So back to the question…what should a disciple of Jesus do with his or her time?
How many of you grew up in church? I have spent the majority of my life attending church and listening to sermons. I suppose much of that time has been delivering sermons. How many of you can remember ten sermons? How many of you remember five sermons? I don’t remember many sermons either. However, I do remember taking groceries to a single mom when I was thirteen. I remember a trip to Wagnor, OK to seek the lost when I was eighteen. I remember the fifteen CityReach trips I made to cities all over the US to help church planters reach their city. I remember helping a neighbor move dirt so he could plant grass in his backyard, & the conversation we had about tattoos and Jesus. I remember opening our home to some neighbors who were new to the area, were looking for friends, and didn’t care much about the things of God. I remember stopping to help a stranger with his car one night. Then three months later this stranger had turned into a friend and soon gave his life to Jesus.
Why do we remember the active moments of serving more often than the sermons?
When we walk across the street, serve the poor, seek the lost, seek justice, and extend love, like you did on Sunday, we are living the message rather than merely listening to the message. Listening to a message is essential, but it's not ultimate.
What if your God given time as a disciple is only filled with listening to sermons? Jesus didn’t let his disciples simply listen to his message. He journeyed with them showing them how to live the Christ-centered life.
Here is how Winfeld Bevins writes about this in the book Make, Mature, Multiply. “Jesus demonstrated how the disciples should live the Christ-centered life. One reason Jesus had such a lasting impact on his disciples is that he lived the message before them daily. He was the message and the method. By walking with Jesus, they saw how he lived his faith in the real world. He prayed before them. He fed the poor. He had compassion on the multitude. He healed the sick. In other words, he lived the life that he wanted to reproduce in his disciples” (Winfield Bevins).
Here is the message: Jesus met me where I was to bring me to the one I needed most.
God wants to make his appeal to Mountain View through you, Compass View. (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jesus longs to use your life to bring people to the one they need most. So, go get your hands dirty, listen to someone’s story, give your time away, be present with people, tell your Jesus story, and live the message.
A disciple of Jesus should use his or her time being intentional with others and with this time we have, for the sake of the gospel. Let’s live everyday life with gospel intentionality.
- Pastor Jonathan
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