To whom shall we go?
This week’s I’ve spent time examining Peter’s question to Jesus. Here’s the setup. Jesus is in Capernaum—the base of much of his ministry and certainly his ministry in the Sea of Galilee area. He’s teaching in the synagogue one day and many of those who were following at Jesus really got turned off by some of the things he was asking them to do. So they abandoned Jesus for their own ideas.
Jesus then turned to the twelve. He said, “What about you? Are you going to leave me too?” Peter says, “To whom shall we go?” I love his answer. You see, they are Peter’s home turf. All Peter had to do was to stay there with his family, wave goodbye and go back to the life he knew before. But there is something that wouldn’t let him. It was the fact that Peter had come to know that Jesus possesses the Words of eternal life. Peter had experienced the miracles and teachings of Jesus first hand. Having seen that, he knew he was following God’s Holy One. At that point, how could he do anything but follow Jesus?
The same applies to us. We may not think we’ve seen the miracles of God or that we haven’t seen his teachings. If we try to say such a thing then we’re not paying attention. Jesus offers all of us the opportunity to follow him. Some do. Some turn away. But Peter’s question remains: “To whom shall we go?” To have life, there is no other but Jesus! This week we examine what it means to be that kind of follower of Christ.
After Sunday’s service (August 23), you can find the message online www.fairhopeumc.org and on iTunes.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
May We Continue
Coming off of last week’s discussion on how to remain in Christ, I’m excited about where we’re headed this week. (By the way, if you missed the “Remain” message, you can find it here: http://www.fairhopeumc.org/304124.ihtml)
This is a great week for me as the 3rd graders will get a Bible from the church. I remember as a child sitting in Dyer Hill Baptist Church in Burna, Kentucky with my grandmother. I remember the old men cleaning the dirt of the field off and putting on their good shirt to come to church. The church was small, but the message of the Bible was huge. Through a simple act of obedience to share God’s Word, a work of God’s Grace began in me when I was a small child.
The Bible says that God’s message, when it is shared among children, is not lost on them when they are old. What a powerful thing. It is sobering to know that what our kids hear remains with them.
The apostle Paul relays this when he writes to Timothy. Paul mentored the young Timothy early in his ministry. He said, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” It is a reminder that there is something God has begun in us. It reminds us that there are others watching us. Are we diligent in that work—for the sake of the Kingdom of God and His children?
This is a great week for me as the 3rd graders will get a Bible from the church. I remember as a child sitting in Dyer Hill Baptist Church in Burna, Kentucky with my grandmother. I remember the old men cleaning the dirt of the field off and putting on their good shirt to come to church. The church was small, but the message of the Bible was huge. Through a simple act of obedience to share God’s Word, a work of God’s Grace began in me when I was a small child.
The Bible says that God’s message, when it is shared among children, is not lost on them when they are old. What a powerful thing. It is sobering to know that what our kids hear remains with them.
The apostle Paul relays this when he writes to Timothy. Paul mentored the young Timothy early in his ministry. He said, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” It is a reminder that there is something God has begun in us. It reminds us that there are others watching us. Are we diligent in that work—for the sake of the Kingdom of God and His children?
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Please Excuse the Interruption
Interruptions. How do we handle those inconvenient distractions to our routines? Those unexpected phone calls, people who must speak to us NOW, and the demanding children around us can really pull us away from where we are headed at the moment.
But what about the bigger interruptions in life? What about the loss of job? What about a change in health or the loss of a loved one? What about when we were headed in a direction that we thought God was calling us and it turned out to be an absolute disaster? How do we handle those? We can throw up our hands and cry FOUL. Or we can crawl into a howl and wish it would go away. But it doesn’t always just go away.
This week’s message focuses on the time of the interruption. We talk about those who saw the interruptions and that weren’t mere opportunities. They were a trying time. But they were a time when God said simply, “Be still, and Go On.”
But what about the bigger interruptions in life? What about the loss of job? What about a change in health or the loss of a loved one? What about when we were headed in a direction that we thought God was calling us and it turned out to be an absolute disaster? How do we handle those? We can throw up our hands and cry FOUL. Or we can crawl into a howl and wish it would go away. But it doesn’t always just go away.
This week’s message focuses on the time of the interruption. We talk about those who saw the interruptions and that weren’t mere opportunities. They were a trying time. But they were a time when God said simply, “Be still, and Go On.”
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Saturday, August 22, 2009
To Whom Shall We Go?
To whom shall we go?
This week’s I’ve spent time examining Peter’s question to Jesus. Here’s the setup. Jesus is in Capernaum—the base of much of his ministry and certainly his ministry in the Sea of Galilee area. He’s teaching in the synagogue one day and many of those who were following at Jesus really got turned off by some of the things he was asking them to do. So they abandoned Jesus for their own ideas.
Jesus then turned to the twelve. He said, “What about you? Are you going to leave me too?” Peter says, “To whom shall we go?” I love his answer. You see, they are Peter’s home turf. All Peter had to do was to stay there with his family, wave goodbye and go back to the life he knew before. But there is something that wouldn’t let him. It was the fact that Peter had come to know that Jesus possesses the Words of eternal life. Peter had experienced the miracles and teachings of Jesus first hand. Having seen that, he knew he was following God’s Holy One. At that point, how could he do anything but follow Jesus?
The same applies to us. We may not think we’ve seen the miracles of God or that we haven’t seen his teachings. If we try to say such a thing then we’re not paying attention. Jesus offers all of us the opportunity to follow him. Some do. Some turn away. But Peter’s question remains: “To whom shall we go?” To have life, there is no other but Jesus! This week we examine what it means to be that kind of follower of Christ.
After Sunday’s service (August 23), you can find the message online www.fairhopeumc.org and on iTunes.
This week’s I’ve spent time examining Peter’s question to Jesus. Here’s the setup. Jesus is in Capernaum—the base of much of his ministry and certainly his ministry in the Sea of Galilee area. He’s teaching in the synagogue one day and many of those who were following at Jesus really got turned off by some of the things he was asking them to do. So they abandoned Jesus for their own ideas.
Jesus then turned to the twelve. He said, “What about you? Are you going to leave me too?” Peter says, “To whom shall we go?” I love his answer. You see, they are Peter’s home turf. All Peter had to do was to stay there with his family, wave goodbye and go back to the life he knew before. But there is something that wouldn’t let him. It was the fact that Peter had come to know that Jesus possesses the Words of eternal life. Peter had experienced the miracles and teachings of Jesus first hand. Having seen that, he knew he was following God’s Holy One. At that point, how could he do anything but follow Jesus?
The same applies to us. We may not think we’ve seen the miracles of God or that we haven’t seen his teachings. If we try to say such a thing then we’re not paying attention. Jesus offers all of us the opportunity to follow him. Some do. Some turn away. But Peter’s question remains: “To whom shall we go?” To have life, there is no other but Jesus! This week we examine what it means to be that kind of follower of Christ.
After Sunday’s service (August 23), you can find the message online www.fairhopeumc.org and on iTunes.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
May We Continue
Coming off of last week’s discussion on how to remain in Christ, I’m excited about where we’re headed this week. (By the way, if you missed the “Remain” message, you can find it here: http://www.fairhopeumc.org/304124.ihtml)
This is a great week for me as the 3rd graders will get a Bible from the church. I remember as a child sitting in Dyer Hill Baptist Church in Burna, Kentucky with my grandmother. I remember the old men cleaning the dirt of the field off and putting on their good shirt to come to church. The church was small, but the message of the Bible was huge. Through a simple act of obedience to share God’s Word, a work of God’s Grace began in me when I was a small child.
The Bible says that God’s message, when it is shared among children, is not lost on them when they are old. What a powerful thing. It is sobering to know that what our kids hear remains with them.
The apostle Paul relays this when he writes to Timothy. Paul mentored the young Timothy early in his ministry. He said, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” It is a reminder that there is something God has begun in us. It reminds us that there are others watching us. Are we diligent in that work—for the sake of the Kingdom of God and His children?
This is a great week for me as the 3rd graders will get a Bible from the church. I remember as a child sitting in Dyer Hill Baptist Church in Burna, Kentucky with my grandmother. I remember the old men cleaning the dirt of the field off and putting on their good shirt to come to church. The church was small, but the message of the Bible was huge. Through a simple act of obedience to share God’s Word, a work of God’s Grace began in me when I was a small child.
The Bible says that God’s message, when it is shared among children, is not lost on them when they are old. What a powerful thing. It is sobering to know that what our kids hear remains with them.
The apostle Paul relays this when he writes to Timothy. Paul mentored the young Timothy early in his ministry. He said, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” It is a reminder that there is something God has begun in us. It reminds us that there are others watching us. Are we diligent in that work—for the sake of the Kingdom of God and His children?
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Please Excuse the Interruption
Interruptions. How do we handle those inconvenient distractions to our routines? Those unexpected phone calls, people who must speak to us NOW, and the demanding children around us can really pull us away from where we are headed at the moment.
But what about the bigger interruptions in life? What about the loss of job? What about a change in health or the loss of a loved one? What about when we were headed in a direction that we thought God was calling us and it turned out to be an absolute disaster? How do we handle those? We can throw up our hands and cry FOUL. Or we can crawl into a howl and wish it would go away. But it doesn’t always just go away.
This week’s message focuses on the time of the interruption. We talk about those who saw the interruptions and that weren’t mere opportunities. They were a trying time. But they were a time when God said simply, “Be still, and Go On.”
But what about the bigger interruptions in life? What about the loss of job? What about a change in health or the loss of a loved one? What about when we were headed in a direction that we thought God was calling us and it turned out to be an absolute disaster? How do we handle those? We can throw up our hands and cry FOUL. Or we can crawl into a howl and wish it would go away. But it doesn’t always just go away.
This week’s message focuses on the time of the interruption. We talk about those who saw the interruptions and that weren’t mere opportunities. They were a trying time. But they were a time when God said simply, “Be still, and Go On.”
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