VITAL

Today we are diving into the story of James and John out of Matthew 4:21-22. They are referred to as “The Sons of Thunder” in scripture and paint a picture of how Jesus sees us and the gifts, personality traits, and passions God gives us for His purposes. 

Jesus Chooses us and we are called to share him with other. Let’s look a little closer at this through the story of the woman at the well as depicted in John 4:1-38.

Jesus Chose Matthew out of a crowd of people and then Matthew invites Jesus back to his party which is full of tax collectors and other sinners. Jesus met these people where they were at. Mark 2:13-17

There are many storms of life, including a literal storm that we just went through here in Iowa. Sometimes we wonder, even as God’s chosen, does He care that I’m in the storm? Jesus give us some clues as to how to deal with the storms of life, how to have peace in the midst of the storm. Let’s look at how Jesus calms the storm in Mark 4:35-41.

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Today we are talking about Nicodemus and his night meeting with Jesus as told in John 3:1-8.

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

Mike talks about Jesus beginning his ministry and performing his first miracle, turning the water into wine at a family wedding as told in John 2:1-12.

Today we look at the story of Simon who is later renamed by Jesus as Peter. Jesus chose Simon even in his imperfections to walk alongside him and to play an integral part in sharing God’s message to the world through His church. 

How do I know that I am chosen? Let’s look at the story of Mary Magdalene as she is the backdrop for our message today. We all have a backstory. Mary had a very colorful story and yet she is chosen as a key player in Jesus’ message for us. 

If you would like to dive deeper into scripture, make sure to sign up for our VITAL Life Application devotions that are posted every weekday and sent directly to your email inbox when you signup to receive those. 

We are talking about the five marks of a man. Today we are on mark number five: men are protectors. Don’t miss these key points: 

Point 1 – Men are protectors, boys are predators.

Point 2 – Men think about a woman’s tomorrow, boys think about the pleasure of today.

Point 3 – Men keep pushing themselves, boys coast.

Point 4 – Men are proactive as they lead others into spirituality.

The fourth mark of a man is that men work. Mike talks in more detail what this looks like in today’s society.

* Boys Don’t want to work, Men do

* Boys want to state claims, Men wend to Experience God

* Boys Serve themselves, Men serve others