Living Hope

Luke 12:49-53

This is a good text to kick off our new sermon series because it’s a great example of what we’re talking about here with the phrase “wounds that heal.” The Gospel message is the one cure that will work for our souls but at times even that good news, that good medicine, of Jesus will

come with side-effects: difficulties we’ll have to face as a follower of Jesus. Hard truths that we’ll need to embrace along the way. It’s almost like the gospel message has a side-effect warning written on the label by Jesus. Today it says, “Warning! Participating in the gospel of Jesus may lead to strong feelings of division and lack of peace in the world for you.”

Luke 12:22-34

At the root of the Biblical word “worry,” is the idea of distraction, of being pulled in several directions at once. Can you relate? Our worry pulls us around and so often makes up the bulk of our day. We go from worrying about the first thing on our to-do list to having anxiety about the 10 other things at the end of the day we didn’t cross off our to-do list.

But what if instead of being pulled in 10 directions throughout life, you could instead be pulled in just one direction? Does that sound appealing to you? Peaceful? Focused and purposeful? That’s what Jesus is giving you today – a pull in one direction as the cure for worry and anxiety. This is a great way to wrap up our sermon series on Undivided Attention. Jesus is giving us one path to be pulled down, the path toward him and his kingdom, putting every other worry in its

place.

Mark 7:31-37

We know Jesus brings salvation to the whole world. But maybe sometimes we feel that the message of Jesus is just a “copy-and-paste” answer given to everyone. We have unique challenges. We have unique temptations. We have individual needs. Is God’s message of

salvation for the world too big to meet our own personal needs? Witness Jesus give individual compassion to a deaf man. Be assured, he takes into account your individual needs and treats you with individual compassion.

Luke 10:38-42

Most would agree with Jesus’ teaching that “Few things are needed” (Luke 10:42). We understand that people often confuse their wants with needs. However, Jesus said more. “Few things are needed—or indeed only one.” Now we might object. There seems to be more than one true need. We need water, food, clothing, shelter, friendship, etc. Yet, what Jesus said is true. Because only one thing—the gospel—can create and sustain the faith that makes one God’s dear child and an heir of the everlasting kingdom. We literally need the gospel more than water or oxygen. So, let us listen to Jesus speak, giving him our undivided attention.

1 Timothy 2:1-7

In a sense, prayer comes naturally to us. We want so we ask. We hurt so we cry out. We are frustrated so we vent. We are blessed so we give thanks. Natural! What does not come naturally, however, is a proper understanding of the purpose of prayer. The purpose of prayer is really not to tell God what we want, but to claim that which God wants for us. Prayer provides

the opportunity to bring our will into conformity with God’s will, not the other way around. This week, we give our undivided attention to what God says about this access we call prayer.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, 12-14, 2:18-26

“Everything is meaningless!” That’s how king Solomon begins the book of Ecclesiastes. And if there is no God, then he is right. As Solomon looks at life in the world from a secular view he makes the argument that a life without God in the picture will ultimately leave you without

true purpose or meaning. It sounds very depressing but Solomon says all this so that we can actually see the light, and hope and high purpose of a life with God!

Two things happen when you have a life with God in the picture. #1 – the story moves in a meaningful direction. #2 – your work has meaning and purpose.

Luke 10:1-4, 16

When Jesus sent out the 72, he didn’t send them out with much more than his teachings and the clothes on their back. Yet they didn’t doubt, and faithfully carried out their mission. Today, we often want answers to some questions before we share the Gospel with others. Yet these

questions come from a place of selfishness. Jesus reminds us of our role in sharing the Gospel, and centers our lives back on him and his work for us. With this renewed focus, we joyfully help to spread the Gospel to those who do not know it.

Luke 8:26-39

How do you receive Jesus? During his time on earth, he was received with love by some, and rejected by others. Although his message was good news for all people, some people would rather ignore him than confront their own sin. While we want to be those who receive him with love, a part of us fights back against him and his message. That immature sinful nature

wants to focus on the pleasures of life now. But Jesus doesn’t let us go that easily. He comes to us with his message of freedom and encourages us to share that same message with others, to help them to welcome Jesus with open arms.

Luke 9:51,57-62

There is the type of fan who follows his team if they make the playoffs. Then there is the type of fan who, regardless of his team’s record, watches every game and knows the stats for every player. There are different types of followers: the half-hearted versus the committed. Jesus is

uninterested in followers who pay attention to his Word and will only when their other pursuits provide the time. Jesus wants followers who are all in . . . who love him above all things . . who would be willing to leave everything else behind if that were what it would take to be with him. We simply do not have it inside us to produce that level of commitment. But in the gospel, we see how Jesus went all in for our salvation. As we witness the way Jesus made our eternal happiness the focus of his undivided attention, the Spirit creates within us the very commitment that Christ seeks.

Numbers 6:22-27

As we begin a new sermon series on having undivided attention on our God and his promises and his will for our lives, it makes sense to start with how undivided his attention is for us. On Trinity Sunday we get to see the three-fold blessing that God has spoken over his people for over three millennia. God turns his face and all his attention toward us in order to protect us,

be gracious to us, and give us peace. One thing is certain. All three persons of the Trinity are united in their desire to love and bless you.