First General Baptist

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 10:38-42

~This is the same Mary & Martha who had a brother, Lazarus

~Like many followers of Jesus, the sisters aren’t facing an issue of right & wrong, but priority. Which is actually harder to discern sometimes. The issues are service or worship/discipleship (sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him)

~The reason they have to deal with priority is because of time…Jesus has only a limited amount of time to be in their home. We have only a limited amount of time so we are continually having to prioritize…choosing.

~Never make petty the priority. But petty never seems petty to us until compared to something much more important. Pettiness is always pulling us downward, worship is always drawing us upward.

~All of us are steadily heading toward a point in our future where time stops and eternity begins…where time meets eternity. That’s when we meet Jesus face to face. What is more important than that?

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 10:25-37

30-37 The Good Samaritan, part 2

Cast of characters

Neighbor: we know nothing about him, who the lawyer thought would be the star of the story

Priest: from the family of Aaron. Ordained, anointed, sanctified. Publicly stands between God and the people.

Levite: helper to the priests. Maintains the temple and helps with sacrifices. A public worker.

Samaritan: a half breed Jew. Hated by the Jews and a hater of the Jews.

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 10:25-37

25-29 The Good Samaritan, part 1

~The lawyer was not serious about wanting an answer. He thought he was the smartest person in the room.

~Jesus never directly answers the lawyer’s questions.

~The lawyer asks a question he already knows the answer to. He didn’t have a problem knowing, he had a problem doing.

~So, this parable stems from the question from a smart alec lawyer who only wants to justify his lack of love by asking, “who is my neighbor?”

~Again, Jesus never answers his question. This parable is called The Good Samaritan, not, The Man Who Was Thrown In A Ditch.

~Rom 5:8 God doesn’t love you for who you are, but for who He is (1 Jn 4:19) Our love for others does not stem from who they are, but from who we are. Love that is performance based is not Godly love, it’s not real love at all. If that’s who we are, all we have left is to try and somehow justify ourselves.

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 10:20-24 (22)

Revealed, a parable:

1) Some care, some don’t. This is for those who want to see. Jer 29:13

2) Revealed, not unveiled. Time is the issue.

3) Someone has to see it first. Then:

a) Announcing to others may help them see too. b) but don’t be frustrated that some can’t see it right now. Again, time is the issue.

4) At some point everyone can see. Some: a) Don’t care b) Are pretending they can’t see. Denying what they know. Why?

5) If you’re straining to see what God has for you, it will be revealed in time. The journey is as important as the destination. Why did I reveal the painting as slowly as I did? What was I doing as I revealed the painting?

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 10:17-24

Vs 20 is one of the most important verses in the Bible for disciples of Jesus.

Beware of “success in excess”

Don’t let your lows get too low, and don’t let your highs get too high.

Almost every success or problem we encounter is a temporal one. Ours successes and our problems are important, but don’t lose eternal perspective.

Philip Yancey, "My goal for growing older, for preparing to die, is to care less about how others view me and more about how God views me. We'll have much longer together, after all."

Henry Blackaby, "Paul said that despite their most valiant efforts, the athlete's successes and prizes are eventually forgotten. Even the greatest athletic achievements have not affected eternity."

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 10:10-16

The Kingdom of God is here…and it is there. It is now…and it will be. The Kingdom of God is always only one breath away. It is always near you.

Sodom Chorazin

Tyre Bethsaida

Sidon Capernaum

The Day of Judgment is about being held accountable for the opportunities we had

Jesus’ message is to:

1) The person who is sent/speaking

2) The person who is listening

Time is short, repent while there is time. The time to spread the gospel is now. The time to respond to the gospel is now.

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 10:1-11

Vs 1-3

Sometimes we are the answer to our own prayer. Instead of looking out, look within.

Vs 4-11

~Be careful about becoming weighed down by too many things. God has not called anyone to accumulate stuff.

~Learn to live off what God is giving, what you are receiving...make do with what you have.

Henri J. M Nouwen, "We often live as if our happiness depended on having. But I don't know anyone who is really happy because of what he or she has."

“Happy is the man who is already happy with what he already has.”

~Minister to people wherever you go. Our encounters with people are not coincidence.

~None of us have much time left, and many people we try to reach will have nothing to do with Jesus. Move on to someone else knowing that the Holy Spirit may use a worker coming behind you. There were workers before you, there are workers coming after you.

Always forward, never backward!

Message: The gospel according to Luke

Text: Luke 9:49-56

 Allies:

“I have some of the truth, not all of the truth.”

There is one path to the Father, many paths to Jesus.

Worship Night In Trumann, Sunday night, September 30

Enemies:

If we love Jesus we must learn to love each other as Jesus does.

We can’t love at arm’s length.

 C.S. Lewis, "To love at all is to be vulnerable…if you want to make sure of keeping your heart intact, you must give your to heart to no one.  Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken--it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable…the only place outside of heaven where you can be perfectly safe from the danger of love is hell."

Message: Sailors, Soldiers and Prisoners

Text: Acts 27:20-32

Roles of a father:

Leader; protector; provider; present; dependable; worthy of admiration…

(How do your children see you?)

Who else is ready to step in and fill the role:

Wives; mothers; grandparents; teachers; coaches; pastors; cousins; friends (peers); movies/sports; social media…

"The 7 Deadly Sins of Parental Responsibility,” 1) Replacement of parental authority with peer subculture. 2) Decision making based on consensus rather than principle. 3) Establishment of routines in which children spend more time with each other than with an adult. 4) Educational practices that focus more on emotions and self-esteem than character and intellect. 5) Dismissing as unimportant lapses in tact, propriety, and orderliness. 6) Gravitation of the media toward gruesome and prurient themes. 7) Viewing prescription drugs as a cure-all for problems of behavior and character."