hbcjc

Resurrection Peace

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:07:21 GMT

Big Idea: The resurrected Jesus meets the fear and doubt of my life with His real, bodily presence and speaks peace to my troubled heart.

Introduction: Peace is one of the most desired and least experienced realities in our lives.

We look for peace:

By resolving circumstances
By controlling events
By creating outcomes

But Luke 24 shows us a different kind of peace.

This passage finds the disciples in fear, confusion, and uncertainty. A resurrected Jesus steps into that moment and speaks peace to those he loves.

So, this passage answers an important question: What kind of peace does Jesus actually give, and how does He give it?

First: The Peace of Jesus Comes to Fearful People (v. 36–37)

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.

Jesus appears among them and says, “Peace to you.”

This is not a calm room. The disciples are:

gathered behind closed doors
confused by reports of the resurrection
startled and frightened by Jesus’ appearance

And the room becomes even less calm because Luke says they thought they were seeing a spirit.
But the important point here is that the peace of Jesus is not given after their fear is resolved. It is given in the middle of fear.

He comes into their confusion and speaks peace into it.

APP: If you are waiting for fear to be eliminated before you have peace, you won’t ever have peace. The peace of Jesus is not the reward for calmness. It is the gift He gives in the midst of fear and doubt.

Second: The Peace of Jesus Confronts Our Fear (v. 38–40)

And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

Jesus responds directly to their inner struggle: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”

Then He shows them:

His hands
His feet
He invites them to touch Him.

Jesus does not ignore doubt or shame their fear. He confronts it with the resurrection, as if to say, “Is there anything a resurrected Savior cannot do/calm?”

IMP: This means the resurrection is not presented as an idea to believe, which we often see it as, but it is a reality to embrace so that it changes the way we interact with life.

APP: In other words, you don’t overcome fear by pretending it does not exist. You overcome it by remembering that Jesus has come back from the dead. If God can do that, what can’t he do?

Where are doubts rising in your heart?

about God’s goodness
about your future
about the truth of the gospel

Jesus meets your doubt and fear with his resurrection.

Third: The Peace of Jesus is Grounded in His Real Resurrection (v. 41–43)

And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.

Luke tells us Jesus’ followers still struggled to believe, “for joy.” So Jesus takes it further. He asks for food and eats in front of them.

This is not incidental to what Jesus is doing. It is essential. Jesus is proving

He is not a spirit
He is not a vision
He is physically, bodily alive

Again, Christian peace is grounded in a historical, bodily resurrection. It’s not just a fact to believe. It’s a reality to bring into your world when you are troubled.

If Jesus is alive:

sin has been dealt with
death has been defeated
the future is secure

APP: Your peace will only be as stable as what it is built on. What is it built on?

If it is built on:

circumstances, it will fluctuate
feelings, it will shift
control, it will collapse

But if it is built on the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, it will provide you peace in the midst of fear and doubt.

Ill: I’ll create a word about Ebenezer here.

Fourth: The Peace of Jesus Leads to Assurance and Rest

The progression in the passage is important. Is there,

fear - Jesus speaks peace
doubt - Jesus reveals Himself
confusion - Jesus provides assurance

Real peace that will change you comes through encountering the risen Jesus.

APP: Peace is not something you create. Just like salvation, it is something God has created for you and that you receive from Jesus.

This means:

you don’t have to hold everything together
you don’t have to resolve every question
you don’t have to secure your life or future

Jesus has already secured what matters most and his resurrection proves it.

Fifth: Applying the Resurrection to Your Life Now

So, the question is not: “Do you have a peaceful life?” The question is: “Have you received the peace of Jesus?” And for those who have: “Are you living in the power of his resurrection?”

ILL: Think about how Paul applied Jesus’ resurrection to his life (And this may be the most important part of the sermon).

Philippians 3:10-11 - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Paul means two things here:

He wants to live again after he dies.
He wants to enjoy the resurrected life now

What Paul longs for in Philippians 3 is what the disciples are encountering in Luke 24. They are not just seeing Jesus alive. They are seeing the beginning of the life Paul says he wants to attain.

In Luke 24, the disciples are standing in the presence of the risen Christ. In Philippians 3, Paul is saying, “I want that life to fully take hold of me.”

This means the resurrection is something to believe. But it is also a life to enter, a power to live by, and a future to press toward.

The same Jesus who stood in that room and said, “Peace to you,” is the one Paul is pressing toward, and He is the one who gives us both the power to live now and the promise of life forever.

( Friends , that’s a great conclusion for believers but it will take the rest of the week for me to flesh that out and say it with the full force it deserves).

Conclusion: Think about this - The words “Peace to you” are not casual. They are purchased. (Hallelujah!). Jesus can speak peace because:

He went to the cross
He bore the wrath of God
He satisfied divine justice
His resurrection proves he is King of kings and Lord of lords

Gospel: The peace He offers is not superficial calm. It is reconciliation with God and all the benefits of it.
As Paul says in Romans 5:1 - “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” You can have that peace!

The Burning Heart

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:13:04 GMT

Big Idea: You can be near the things of God and still miss Jesus until He opens the Bible
to you and reveals Himself. When He does that, everything changes.

Introduction: These two disciples are not searching for Jesus even though they’ve heard
reports he’s alive, women have seen angels and Peter and John have seen the empty tomb. Even
so, they are not staying in Jerusalem waiting to see what happens next. They are leaving town.
Jerusalem and headed toward a small town.

Now, they’ve listened to Jesus correct their misunderstanding about a suffering Savior but
they’ve not yet returned to Jerusalem. They’ve got the facts. They just have no feeling. That
should get our attention.

Because it means: You can know the facts about Jesus and still not know Jesus.
So what does it take to move from us from information to recognition and from recognition to
submission? That’s the big question this text hopes to answer -
This text answers that.

First: You Can Be Close to Jesus and Still Miss Him (vv. 28–29)

Jesus has been with them walking and teaching and now He acts as though He will go on. They urge Him to stay but they still don’t know who He is.

IMP: They are with Him—and still blind.

This is not ignorance. They are coming to the truth. This is partial understanding without true
sight.

There are people in the church and around the things of God but Jesus is not real.

APP: Proximity is not the same as conversion and it’s also not the same as discipleship.

Second: Jesus Must Make Himself Known (vv. 30–31)

Notice what Jesus does. He takes bread. He Blesses it. He breaks it. He gives it to them.

And then: “Their eyes were opened.”

IMP: That is the hinge of the passage. It is not that they figured it out, that they remembered
some key piece of information that changed everything or connected the dots. Instead, God
acted.

Knowing Jesus is not something you achieve. Loving Jesus is not something you produce. It is
something God gives.

You don’t come to Christ because you got smarter or reasoned better or felt something more
deeply than others. You became a Christian because God opened your eyes.

Note: Somewhere around here I’m going to build a theology of conversion that will look
something like this –What just happened at that table is not just the story of these two disciples. It is the story of every Christian. Because the Bible is clear: We do not come to Christ by discovering him. We come to Christ by the Holy Spirit enabling us to see him and changing our minds and hearts about him.

a) God Must Open Our Blind Eyes

These men were not ignorant. They had information. But they could not see. And the
Bible says the same is true of every one of us.

1 Corinthians 2:14 - The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God… he is
not able to understand them

2 Corinthians 4:4 - The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.

So what must happen?

ILL – Saul on the Damascus road is the perfect example of this – God blinded him to give him sight.

2 Corinthians 4:6 - God… has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ

APP: Salvation is when God does in your heart what He did in creation—He says, “Let there be light.”

b) God Must Give Us A New Heart

The problem is not just what we see. It is what we love. We don’t naturally love Christ. We don’t
naturally choose Him.

So God does something deeper.

Ezekiel 36:36 - I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you

The Holy Spirit changed our heart and made us fall in love with Jesus

c) Then God gives us faith

Even the act of believing is not something we produce.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - By grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God.

Philippians 1:29 - It has been granted to you… to believe in Him

Faith is not your contribution. It is God’s gift.

d) Sanctification Follows the Same Pattern

And here’s what matters for this text. The way you are saved is the way you grow.

You don’t begin by grace and continue by effort.

Galatians 3:3 - Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

No.

Philippians 2:13 - It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

The same God who opened your eyes to Jesus, gave you a new heart and faith, must continue to
shape your heart.

Lazarus in John 11 is the perfect example off this:

1 – Ephesians 2:1 - And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 – Ephesians 2:5 - Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ,

Think about Lazarus dead in the grave. Jesus called specifically to him and only Lazarus came
out. That’s salvation. Then, Jesus had to instruct him be loosed from the linen cloths that bound
him. That’s sanctification.

Back to the Text: So when you read 16 - But their eyes were kept from recognizing him and 31 -
…their eyes were opened, and they recognized him - That is not just a small detail. That is a
declaration.

This is why prayer is so important –

A Prayer – John 11:1-3 - Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village
of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment
and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to
him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
A Model – v 4 - But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death.
It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
A Resurrection – vs 43-44a - “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out
A Loosing – v 11:44b - … his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face
wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

This is what we are working for. This is what we are praying for.

Third: The Word Burns In Our Hearts Before Our Eyes See Jesus (v. 32)

After Jesus vanishes, they say: “Did not our hearts burn within us… while He opened to us the
Scriptures?”

Before they saw Him something was already happening. Their hearts were being stirred, their
assumptions were being dismantled and their understanding was shifting. The Word was doing
its work.

APP: Jesus does not bypass the Scriptures. He reveals Himself through them.

We want shortcuts. We want immediate clarity and instant recognition But God works through
the Word to give us sight.

Fourth: When We See Jesus, Everything Changes (vv. 33–35)

These two disciples, who earlier in the day were confused and discouraged, now get up “that
same hour” and return to Jerusalem. It’s the ae road but the opposite direction.
Everything reverses from leaving to returning, from confusion to clarity, from depression to
declaration.

APP: When you see Jesus in the Bible, everything changes.

You don’t need to manufacture your witness. When Christ is real, you don’t stay on the road
away from Him.

If nothing has changed in your life. If there is no definite direction, no urgency to living and no
witness to others, the issue isn’t knowledge, it’s seeing Jesus.

Conclusion: These disciples had all the information they needed but that wasn’t enough.
They didn’t see Jesus in the Word.

Until Jesus opened the Bible, opened their eyes, and made himself known.
Some are still walking the road away from Jerusalem. You’ve heard it. You know it. You’ve
been near it. But Christ is still distant. And the problem is not that Jesus is absent. The problem is
that you don’t see him.

Because when you see him –

your heart awakens
your mind changes
your direction reverses

(That’s Bible repentance!)

Was It All Really Necessary? (Seriously)

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:13:52 GMT

Big Idea: Jesus teaches that his suffering was not a tragic detour from God’s plan but the necessary path to glory that was foretold in the Old Testament.

Introduction: I have a hard time on Good Friday. I don’t like to rehearse the cross. It’s painful to see images of Jesus, the only perfect and most beautiful human being to ever walk this earth, be so misunderstood, and then rejected, that fallen, sinful, guilty people horribly hurt him. If Jesus’s suffering wasn’t in the Bible, it would be beyond belief.

In our text today, Luke places us on the road to Emmaus, just hours after the resurrection.

A Word about Emmaus:

a) Location - About 7 miles (60 stadia) from Jerusalem (Luke 24:13). The exact site is debated. It is most commonly associated with Emmaus Nicopolis, northwest of Jerusalem

b) Meaning of the Name - Likely from a Hebrew root meaning “warm spring” or “hot baths.” It suggests a place of rest, retreat, or recovery and that happens in this text.

c) Biblical Significance - Only mentioned explicitly in Luke 24.

Where are we so far in God’s redemptive story?

The tomb is empty,
Jesus has risen, but
The meaning of the cross is still unclear.
So, these two disciples are not doubting the facts as much as
They are misinterpreting them.

They have heard the reports, but they don’t yet understand the story.

What do they need? Well, remember Nehemiah 8.

After Ezra read the Bible, he organized the people into small groups and sent “teaching priests” (KJV) into the congregation. – 8:8 - “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”

a) “Read… clearly” - They proclaimed the text publicly and distinctly. This is the act of reading the Bible itself.

b) “Gave the sense” - They explained the meaning of the text. - This is interpretation, not just repetition.

c) “So that the people understood” - The goal was comprehension, not mere exposure.

These two disciples need “the sense” of what happened so they can “understand” it.

This is also why you need to be in a CG where you can ask good questions and find important answers to life’s most important questions.

But note: These two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, away from the place where redemption has just been accomplished, because they can’t reconcile a suffering Messiah with their expectations of glory. Many people struggle with this same concept.

ILL: What do we do when our experience and resulting thinking don’t match what we think the Bible says? Perhaps a better question is, “What should we do?” Here’s an example -

In Acts 8, an Ethiopian official is leaving Jerusalem and reading Isaiah 53 along the way. It’s the very passage that speaks of a servant who suffers and is led like a lamb to the slaughter.
He does not understand it either.

Acts 8:26-35 - Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

Do you see the difference?

These disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, confused and discouraged.
The Ethiopian eunuch, just as confused, leans in and says, “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?”
These disciples are moving away from the very place of redemption because they can’t reconcile suffering with glory.
The eunuch stays with the text until God gives him understanding.
These three people share the same confusion, but not the same posture.
The disciples seem to drift. The eunuch seeks answers.

Don’t ask the Bible to match your experience.

Ask the Bible to explain your experience.

First: The Question Beneath the Question - “We had hoped…” (v. 21)

Observation - The disciples recount the events with accuracy but interpret them with despair, saying, “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”

Their problem is not lack of information. It is misplaced expectation.

Interpretation – As many of the Jews, including the disciples, they assumed redemption would come through visible triumph, not suffering. They expected a conquering king, not a crucified Savior.

Their question, though unspoken, is this: “If Jesus is the Redeemer, why did He suffer?” That’s a great question and…

Correlation - This tension runs through the Bible:

a) Isaiah 53 presents a suffering servant, “pierced for our transgressions”

b) Psalm 22 describes a righteous sufferer surrounded and mocked.

Psalm 22:16c-17 - …they have pierced my hands and feet – I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me…

c) Daniel 7 presents a glorious Son of Man receiving a kingdom

The Bible never separates suffering and glory. It always holds them together.

APP: We often ask the same question in different language:

If God is good, why is there suffering? Why am I suffering?
If Christ has saved me, why is my life so hard?

Like these disciples, we tend to interpret our circumstances apart from the Bible.

When your expectations collapse,

don’t rewrite the Bible story.
Don’t reinvent God.
Return to the Bible.
Let God define what your redemption actually looks like.

GOOD CG QUESTION: How do people reinvent God when their expectations don’t match their life?

First: The Question Beneath the Question - “We had hoped…” (v. 21)

Second: The Necessity of the Cross - “Was it not necessary…?” (v. 26)

Observation - Jesus does not comfort them first. Instead, he corrects them. = 25 - “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.”

Then He asks the pivotal question: 26 - “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Interpretation – The answer is “yes,” and the word “necessary” is the key to the entire passage.

It was not Plan B

Ephesians 1:4-5 - …he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will

So, the cross was not accidental

It was unavoidable

It was required. Required by what?

By the plan of God –

Romans 3:24-26 – [We] …are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

By the righteousness of God

This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

By the justice of God

It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God’s will for you does not come apart from suffering. It comes through it.

Correlation - This necessity is woven through the Bible:

a) Genesis 3:15 — the serpent-crushing seed is wounded

b) Exodus — redemption comes through blood

c) Leviticus — atonement requires sacrifice

d) Isaiah 53 — the servant suffers to justify many

The entire Bible is moving toward a cross that must happen.

APP:

We often treat suffering as unnecessary interruption.
Jesus calls it necessary participation in God’s plan for our lives.
So, don’t interpret your suffering as evidence that God’s plan has failed.

In Christ, suffering is not meaningless. It is often the very means God uses to accomplish His purposes in you.

Suffering is not a detour. You are on a road the Bible has already mapped for Christ, others before you (think Hb 11), you, and others after you.

Third: The Bible Interpreted Through Christ

“Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (v. 27)

Observation - Jesus opens the Bible to them. He does not give them a new experience. He gives them a new understanding.

Interpretation - Jesus teaches that the entire Bible points to Him.

Not just predictions, but actual patterns:

The Passover lamb
The sacrificial system
The rejected prophets
The suffering righteous one

All of it converges on Christ.

So, the cross is not one event among many. It is the center of the story.

Correlation - Later in Luke 24:44, Jesus will say that everything written in:

the Law of Moses
the Prophets
the Psalms

must be fulfilled in Him.

IMP: The Bible is not a collection of disconnected stories and humans aren’t the point of those stories. The Bible is one story, with one hero, moving toward one necessary moment – the cross!

APP: Many people read the Bible for guidance, inspiration, or comfort. All of those things matter, but if we miss Jesus, we miss the whole reason for the Bible and its meaning.

Always read the Bible with this ultimate question: “How does this text lead me to Christ?”

And… when you suffer, don’t first look for an explanation. Look at Jesus who stands at the center of the story and realize suffering is essential to our salvation.

ILL: Hebrews 12:1b - …let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…

Weights are our interpretation of God and his story: comfort, our way, anything that is counter to our interpretation of how our lives should go.

Bottom Line: (Theological Weight)

The question “Was it all really necessary?” receives a clear answer from Jesus:

Yes. It was all, really necessary.

It was necessary for redemption
It was necessary for the fulfillment of the Bible
It was necessary for the glory of Christ
It was necessary for the salvation of sinners

The cross was not a tragedy that interrupted God’s plan. It was the plan.

Conclusion:

These disciples were walking away from hope while speaking to the risen Jesus. They did not recognize Him because they misunderstood the necessity of His suffering. And we are often not that much different.

You may be looking at your life, your pain, your unanswered questions, and asking: Was this necessary? Jesus does not answer that question with sentiment. He answers it with the Bible.

All the Bible leads you to a Savior who suffered, not because He lost control, but because He was in control.

If the cross was necessary, then your salvation is secure.
If the cross was necessary, then your suffering is not wasted.
If the cross was necessary, then glory is coming.
So, don’t walk away from Jerusalem.
And don’t walk away from the cross.

Stay on the road where suffering leads to glory.

He Is Not There, But Has Risen

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:28:42 GMT

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the
other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

Big Idea: The resurrection is God’s decisive act in history, vindicating His Son, fulfilling His
Word, defeating death, and inaugurating the promised new creation.

Introduction: Last week’s text was shrouded in silence. This week, God shatters the silence
with a rolling stone.

Luke has taken us from Jesus’ life, and death on the cross to his burial. Now, on the first day of
the week, God acts in human history in a decisive way.
God answers the question, “What do we do now,” with an empty tomb. And that changes
everything.

First: God Has Acted (Again) & The Tomb Is Empty (v. 1–3) – “they did not find the
body of the Lord Jesus.”

a) The women arrive with spices. v 1
b) The stone is already rolled away. v 2
c) The body of Jesus is not there. v 3

They were not looking for an empty tomb. They were not looking for a resurrection. Their efforts
to provide and take spices to the tomb proves they were looking for a dead Jesus.
And yet, God offers no human explanation for what they find. At this point, no one is credited
with moving the stone.
Luke simply presents the fact: The tomb is empty. God has acted.

Emphasis: This is not resuscitation. Everything previous to this has proven Jesus was dead.

The Romans were professional executioners
Joseph wrapped his body in linen cloth
The women prepared and took spices for Jesus’ body

What happened to Jesus is not resuscitation. It is a resurrection. Jesus is not barely alive. He has
passed through death and come out the other side.
Psalm 16:10 - …you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption
Theological Weight:

Death has been engaged and overcome
The grave has lost its claim on those who repent of sin and trust Jesus as Savior

Second: God Interprets His Own Work (vv. 4–7) -

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

a) The women are perplexed v 4a
b) Two men in dazzling apparel appear. v 4b
c) The women are frightened. v 5
d) Heaven speaks. vs 6-7
e) The difference. v 8

Emphasis: Thank God, he does not leave the resurrection unexplained. What does this mean?

Theological Weight

The resurrection is not random, it is planned
It is not surprising to God, it is the fulfillment of His Word

6b-7 - “the Son of Man must be delivered… crucified… and on the third day rise”
This is a divine necessity. It is not an accident. This is divine purpose. It is not human recovery.

And in this promise and fulfilment is every promise and fulfilment –

2 Corinthians 1:20 - For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.

APP: If Jesus had not been raised, all the promises of God would have been rendered void.

Everything God promised in the OT would be worthless. But Jesus’ resurrection proves that God keeps his promises; that he makes, can and does keep his promises.

ILL: Think about Joseph being buried in Shechem last week in your Bible reading. God keeps his word to the dead and the living because there are no dead in God’s presence.
Luke 20:37-38 - But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.

Third: The Resurrection Fulfills the Whole Saving Plan of God (vv. 6–7) -

“as He told you…”

Luke ties the resurrection directly to prior promise. This reaches back to Luke 9:22 where Jesus said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Emphasis: The resurrection is the hinge of redemptive history. Everything before it pointed to it. Everything after it flows from it.

Theological Weight

The cross is confirmed as effective
Sin has been dealt a finishing blow
God’s promises have not failed

APP: If Jesus remains in the grave, the cross is defeat. If He rises, the cross is victory. That interpretation changes how we interact with life.

Fourth: The Resurrection Begins the New Creation (v 1 - “First Day of the Week”)

Luke has never been careless with details throughout the book. He notes the women came to the tomb “On the first day of the week…” because

a) This is not just timing.

b) This is theology.

Emphasis: A new beginning has started. Just as God, in Christ, began creation, so now, God, in Christ, has begun a new creation

Personally: 2 Corinthians 5:17 - …if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation

Cosmically: Isaiah 43:19 - Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not
perceive it?

Revelation 21:5 - Behold, I am making all things new.

Theological Weight

Death belongs to the old order
Resurrection belongs to the new

Romans 7:21 - …as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christ is the firstfruits of what is coming.

1 Corinthians 15:20-24 - But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end…

What’s the order:

Death
Christ’s resurrection
Then, at this coming, those who belong to Christ
The end.

ILL: Think about how our Spring flowers arrive.

Yellow shrubs (Forsythia)
Bulbs (Daffodils)
Tiny ground flowers (Violets, Buttercups)
Woodland wildflowers (Bluebells, Dutchman’s Breeches)
Flowering trees (Redbud, Magnolia, Dogwoods)

APP: The world around us in changing, even if it does not fully look like it yet. And there are glimpse of Spring and Winter seems to return. But the early buds and blossoms give us hope for Spring, even when it’s cold. Christ’s resurrection gives us hope in what appear to be hopeless situations.

Fifth: What Will You Believe? (vv. 8–12)

Some remember. v 8
Some dismiss it. v 11
Peter runs and marvels. v 12

This is another proof of the Bible’s truthfulness. If it was a tale, Luke would have had everyone believe it. He would have posed it as overwhelming evidence that everyone believed. But he reminds us that not even all of Jesus’ followers believed it.

Luke includes these people, but they are not the center his comments. They simply show that God’s act does not depend on human faith.

The resurrection is true whether believed or not.

Emphasis: Faith does not create the resurrection. The resurrection creates the need for faith.

Conclusion: There are (at least) two ways to look at this:

a) Here’s what happened. You are invited to believe.

b) Here’s what happened. You need to repent and believe.

Acts 17:30-31 - The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in
righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

What does that mean? The resurrection does not depend on human response, but it does demand one. And no response, is a response.

Luke 24 begins with divine action, not with human faith and it is, in fact, unperturbed by human faith.

The tomb is empty because:

God has fulfilled His Word
God has vindicated His Son
God has defeated death
He has begun something entirely new

IMP: The question is not whether the resurrection is meaningful to you. The question is whether it is true. And if it is true, then everything changes:

Jesus is Lord
Sin has been judged
Death has been broken
A new world has begun

So, you and I are not being invited to create meaning out of this text. ‘Here’s what I think it
means…” We are being confronted with reality. “He is not here. He has risen.”
And now every life and everything about life must be reckoned in light of that fact.

The Sound of Silence

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 19:31:01 GMT

Friends,

In The View from my Study this Monday, I’m inviting you to watch my sermon prep in a little more detail. I began this study the week before Teana and I went to Ireland, which gave me some extra time. For that reason, it not only includes the O, I, C, A thoughts but some extra thinking on my part as well.
I’ve explained this process to you before but, on this occasion, I thought I would let you see that Observation, Interpretation, Correlation and Application is not the overall scaffolding for my study, but I use each of those elements in every point of the sermon. So, what I’ve done, is leave my initial O, I, C & A in the sermon outline for you to see. What you see each Thursday is the subpoints of the outline ‘fleshed out;’ each one given substantial thought but without the O, I, C & A scaffolding (although the sermon notes do usually do highlight the APPlication point). PS. You’ll see several APP thoughts for each point. I usually just choose one.
I hope this helps you in your daily study of any passage.
Just as an FYI, a member recently reminded me that Dr. Howard Hendricks taught this study method for many years.

He defined each point as:

Observation – See it
Interpretation – Understand it
Correlation – Relate it
Application – Live it

That’s a good way of saying it, isn’t it? If you’re interested in knowing more about Dr. Hendrick’s study methodology, I have written a short article illustrating it for you and placed it at after the TRAP devotion

The Sound of Silence Luke 23:50–56

The Big Idea: When God seems absent and his plan feels unfinished, faith is often demonstrated in humble obedience to what we do know. (Just do your thing, while God does his).

Introduction: In our modern era, we are accustomed to a story moving from tragedy to resolution in as little as 60 minutes. But Luke’s Gospel slows us down at a surprising place, a pivotal place, perhaps the most important and most difficult place, the day between the cross and the resurrection. Of all the possible days to make us pause and wait, this one makes us anxious. Here’s what has happened.

Jesus has died.
The disciples are scattered.
All hope seems buried.

Luke tells us that Joseph of Arimathea takes Jesus’ body down and places it in a tomb. The women carefully watch where He is laid. They prepare spices for Jesus’ body and then they go home and keep the Sabbath. It’s that simple. It’s that profound.

And then, the story stops. Whaaaaat?

There is no resurrection yet.
There are no angels in the garden delivering messages of good news.
There is just awful, painful, excruciating silence.

For the disciples, this moment must have felt like the end of everything they hoped for. The story of Jesus seemed unfinished, but it has come to a screeching, undeniable halt.
Yet Luke is teaching us something very important in this text. Our faith doesn’t always have to look dramatic as in healing the sick, perplexing the Pharisees or raising the dead. Sometimes our faith looks like simple obedience and patient trust in God when he seems so very, very silent.
What does it look like? Well… this—

First: Faith Acts When Others Do Not (v50-51)

A) Observation

1) Luke introduces Joseph of Arimathea as “a good and righteous man” (v. 50).

2) He had not consented to the council’s (Sanhedrin) decision to condemn Jesus (v. 51).

3) Luke notes he was “looking for the kingdom of God.”

4) In a moment when most of Jesus’ well-known disciples are absent, Joseph suddenly, yet courageously appears.

2) Interpretation

1) Joseph represents humble, but faithful discipleship.

2) His faith had existed before this moment, but now it becomes visible.

3) Waiting for the kingdom did not make him passive. It prepared him to act.

4) Sometimes the most important exercise of our faith is revealed in private moments and after the crowds disappear.

3) Correlation

1) Hebrews 11:1 - Faith trusts what cannot yet be seen.

2) John 12:42 - Some believed in Jesus but feared public identification.

3) Joseph demonstrates a faith that becomes visible at a crucial moment.

4) Application

1) Faith is often proven in moments no one else sees.
Hebrews 6:10 - For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work…
My worth is not in skill or name In win or lose, in pride or shame But in the blood of Christ that flowed At the cross (Neither is the value of your labor for Jesus)

2) Loyalty to Christ is sometimes expressed quietly rather than dramatically.

3) The question for us is not simply what we believe privately, but whether we will stand with Christ publicly. This is the real test of faith.

Second: Faith Acts When the Future Is Uncertain (v52)

A) Observation

1) Joseph goes to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body (v. 52). – (This is a really, really big deal).

2) Roman authorities controlled crucified bodies.

3) Mark records that Joseph “took courage” before making the request (Mark 15:43). (I wonder what that looked like?)

B) Interpretation

1) Joseph publicly identifies with a crucified Messiah.

2) This request risks his reputation, influence, and perhaps, most of all, his safety.

3) At the very moment when Jesus and his followers appear defeated and scattered, Joseph steps forward.

C) Correlation

1) Matthew 10:32 - Whoever acknowledges Christ before others will be acknowledged by Him.

2) Proverbs 28:1 - “The righteous are bold as a lion.”

3) Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

D) Application

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree today.”
- Martin Luther (attributed to him)

What does that mean?

We should be faithful in the only moment we have which is the present.
We should hope in the future God has promised, regardless of circumstances.
Our eschatology should shape our ethics. (Our belief should form our behavior)

1) Courage in the Bible often appears when faith looks least reasonable and this act did not look reasonable by any means.

2) Faith does not wait until circumstances look hopeful. That’s what faith is!

3) Christian obedience sometimes requires courage when the outcome is uncertain.

4) We are called to identify with Christ even when culture or circumstance discourages it.

Third: Faith Demonstrates Devotion Simply for Jesus (v53-56)

A) Observation

Joseph takes down the body of Jesus (v. 53).
He wraps it in linen and places it in a new tomb cut in stone. (Jesus is the only person in history to ever borrow a tomb).
The women follow and observe the location of the tomb (v. 55).
They prepare spices and ointments for his burial (v. 56)

B) Interpretation

From the disciples’ perspective, Jesus is dead and the mission is over.
Yet, these actions express reverence for, faith in and love for Jesus.
Their devotion is offered without any expectation of resurrection. Wow. Is this what devotion without expectation, just love for and trust in Jesus look like?

C) Correlation

John 12:7 – This confirms Jesus talk about being anointed for burial.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 - Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.
The Bible often portrays devotion to God even when His purposes are not fully understood. (More examples).

D) Application

Believers are called to honor God even when circumstances confuse us.
Faithfulness is about a Person, not a plan.
Love for Jesus expresses itself through simple acts of private, daily devotion.
Apply that to marriage.

Fourth: Faith Obeys What It Knows to Obey (v56b)

A) Observation

The women prepare burial spices (v. 56a).
Yet Luke notes that they then rest on the Sabbath (v 56b).
The passage ends with silence and waiting. Our 3-days can be very long.

B) Interpretation

The women’s grief does not cancel their obedience.
Even in sorrow they continue to honor God’s commands. (This is a hard one)
Even in confusion, they continue to love Jesus.

C) Correlation

The book of Esther doesn’t mention God by name, but he is everywhere.

- The words God, Lord (YHWH), or prayer do not appear

- There is no direct reference to worship, sacrifice, or the temple.

- God is never addressed or spoken to.

- And yet, there are a series of providential ‘accidents’ (Well glory!)

Esther becomes queen at the precise moment the Jewish people are threatened.
Mordecai overhears the assassination plot against the king.
The king cannot sleep and reads the record of Mordecai’s loyalty.
Haman is forced to honor the very man he intended to destroy.
The decree against the Jews is ultimately reversed.

How did this happen. Well, at one point in the book, Mordecai says, “Relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place…” (Esther 4:14) That other place is Heaven!

2. The Bible repeatedly connects faith with patient waiting.

Lamentations 3:25–26 - The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God. (Bryan recently led us in a study of Psalm 46 during our staff meeting).

Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Psalm 37:7 - Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…

D) Application

We often live between promise and fulfillment, already and not yet.
In those moments, faith looks like simple obedience in ordinary things during unsteady or extraordinary times.
God is often doing His deepest work when heaven seems silent.

Conclusion: I took the title to Paul Simon’s song, “The Sounds of Silence,” for the sermon title. One line in that song reads,

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls And whispered in the sound of silence.

Luke records what may be the most silent moment in the whole gospel story. Jesus is in the tomb. The disciples are grieving. Heaven is not only quiet. It may be stymied.

Yet the silence is not God’s abandonment.
It is the stillness before the great gettin’ up morning of the resurrection.

Stop here and think about those moments in your life. I think we can benefit from faith of Joseph and several women whose actions demonstrate -

quiet courage,
simple devotion, and
faithful obedience

while waiting for God to finish his great work. And they have no idea what’s about to come.

The Crucifixion Luke 23

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:30:33 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

A View From Pastor Charlie’s Study

Well brothers and sisters, we are back. After spending the past several weeks in a series on the Christian disciplines, we now return to the Gospel according to Luke. And we are diving headfirst right back into the thick of it all — the crucifixion .

I have the privilege of preaching Luke 23:32–49 this Sunday. There is so much meat in this passage. Please pray with me that the Spirit will help me to be precise so that we hear from the Lord what He would have us hear, and that the message will not be muddled by my desire to exhaust every detail in the text. I trust His will be done.

The view from my study this morning happens to be Myrtle Beach . It is a bit cold and rainy, but it has been a much-needed getaway with my kids while Angela is exploring Ireland. I must admit, my initial reaction to preparing a sermon on the crucifixion while sitting at the beach felt a little perplexing. Studying the most brutal event in human history while enjoying the ocean breeze seemed like a contradiction of moods.

But then — God .

As soon as I began reading through the passage again, something far from bleak and dark began to emerge. The Lord quickly opened my eyes to see precious jewels — life-altering truths of the gospel shining through this scene. Here are just a few observations from my study this week.

God’s Got This

We will see so many prophecies fulfilled in this event. As Peter preached at Pentecost, these events happened “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).

If the most tragic event in human history — the execution of God in the flesh — happened according to the sovereign plan of God, how can we not be confident that every situation we face, no matter how tragic, is in His control and working out for our good and His glory?

Our Great Sympathizer

Brothers and sisters, we have faced and will continue to face many afflictions in this life. But what suffering could ever surpass the innocent Son of God being beaten, mocked, and brutally executed?

Jesus knows physical pain.
He knows mental anguish.
He knows psychological abuse.
He knows abandonment and scorn.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
(Hebrews 4:15)

The Simplicity of Saving Grace

Admittedly, we do not know much about the background of the thief who was saved on the cross. But what we do know is remarkable.

At some point in those final moments, he came to see that Jesus was not just a man. He saw that Jesus was in fact the King , and that His execution was the ultimate expression of human depravity — even by the standards of a guilty thief.

He had not been to seminary.
He had not walked a church aisle.
He had not even been baptized.

Yet he received the greatest assurance anyone could ever hear — the very words from Jesus’ own mouth:

“Today you will be with me in paradise.”
(Luke 23:43)

What an incredible display of the simplicity and power of saving grace .

The Finality of Our Salvation

So much happened between 12:00 and 3:00 p.m. that day.

During those three hours, eternal salvation was secured for all the elect. The wrath of God was poured out on the Son. The debt of sin was paid in full.

The only thing that remained was the glorious resurrection — the exclamation point of the gospel.

The Gospel Demands a Response

Everything changed at Golgotha .

And the gospel still demands a response.

One thief dug his heels deeper into his condemnation, mocking Jesus.

The other thief surrendered his soul to Christ.

The centurion praised God when he saw what had happened.

Some of the crowd left beating their breasts in shame, realizing their guilt.

Jesus’ closest followers stood watching in horror as they witnessed human depravity at its worst.

So as we approach this passage together this Sunday, let’s pray about our response .

Pray that we would respond with a deeper and more confident faith in these great gospel truths.

And let us pray that the lost among us would respond like the thief and the centurion — seeing Christ for who He truly is.

May you all have a blessed week.

Pastor Charlie

Grace that Gives 2 Cor. 8:1-15

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 15:12:19 GMT

Grace that Gives 2 Cor. 8:1-15 Justin Davis

Grace that Gives 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 - Justin Davis

Notes

Introduction

Matthew 28:19-20

“19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Mission of Heritage: Making disciples here and around the world

The word disciple appears frequently in the New Testament, with it being found in the gospels and the book of Acts more than 230 times.

What is a disciple? From manthano in the Greek meaning a learner or pupil. A suggested definition:

A person who responds to the call of Jesus in faith, resulting in a relationship of

obedience through which Jesus shares his own life and the disciple embarks on a lifetime journey of learning in order to become like the master.

We are in a 9-part series on discipleship. The elders recently created a discipleship

wheel as an illustration for what discipleship means at Heritage. It contains 8 disciplines that are taken from the scripture and modeled in the life of Christ. These disciplines are graces that are

1. Modeled in Christ Jesus

2. Motivated by the grace we have received

3. Intended to share God’s grace with others

Last week we discussed Sunday gathering and this week we will discuss giving. Why is giving or generosity a spiritual discipline?

A large amount of Scripture deals with the use of wealth and possessions. It speaks to us as being stewards of His resources.

1 Peter 4:10

“10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

While Peter does not specifically include finances in his list of gifts in the above example, the concept of being a steward or faithful caretaker of that which God has given is applicable to all our resources that we have been supplied including not only

spiritual gifts but also things like time and money. We can steward our finances in a way that does and in a way that does not give glory to God. How we use it expresses who we are, what our priorities are and what is in our hearts. Teaching on the spiritual doctrine of stewardship will show us that it is an integral part of our worship of God and it is as vital a spiritual exercise as prayer, bible reading, witnessing, etc.

A word on giving…

Tithing or giving can bring up issues related to law, freedom, grace, faithfulness, etc. Without getting into a large discussion of Old Testament law and new covenant in Christ, there are a couple of things we can say: 1 - the 10% tithe was a specific requirement that served a specific purpose and 2 - neither Jesus nor any other New Testament author under the direction of the Holy Spirit assigns or affirms 10% as a standard rule. If we really wanted to investigate, the Israelites offered various sacrifices and gave “free-will” offerings in addition to the tithe, so they gave much more than 10%. In the light of the new covenant of grace and our love for Christ, we are not under the restrictions or requirements of OT law, but neither should we be limited by them. We discussed the book of Hebrews this past week and one of the tenets of the Book is to

show the superiority of the new covenant in Jesus Christ over the former covenant given through Moses. The writer uses the comparative term “better” repeatedly to describe the latter. This does lead to the question… how could we come to the conclusion that we may sacrifice less than the nation of Israel? Living in the light of the revealed Christ, we have tremendously greater blessings. Wouldn't that compel us to an even greater giving of ourselves to Gospel work and the things of God?

Mark 12: 41-44

“41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into th offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

I believe Jesus still “watches” how people contribute to the offering. Not necessarily quantity, but the heart attitude. God does not need your money. He will accomplish his purposes regardless… but giving is a tangible way in which his people can participate in the work He is doing in the world. It is a matter of obedience, but we cannot do it on our own.

Background - 2 Corinthians, the book

The church at Corinth

● Paul was instrumental in starting the church in Corinth (Acts 18, ~ 50-52 AD)

○ Located in region of Achaia, in southern Greece

○ Major trade city in a strategic location

○ Generally considered wealthy

● It did not take long for problems to arise within the church

○ Favoritism, disunity, sexual immortality, abuse of sacraments (among others)

● 1 Corinthians was written by Paul (around 55 AD) to address these issues

● False teachers sowed division, undercutting Paul’s leadership

● Paul writes 2 Corinthians later in his 3rd missionary journey. Broad overview:

○ Chapters 1-7: reconciliation with the Corinthians and instruction

○ Chapters 8-9: Generosity and giving

○ Chapters 10-13: Apologetic of Paul’s ministry

Background- The collection

Paul took up multiple collections during his ministry. Example: In response to a famine-

The prophecy (verse 28) and the response (verses 29-30)

Acts 11:27-30

27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). ²⁹ So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers ^[ ^d ] living in Judea. ³⁰ And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

This details the origin and reason for at least one relief effort. Claudius reign (41-54) most severe famine during 46-47. During Paul’s first missionary journey (around 46-48) he and Barnabas went from Antioch to Cyprus then across to Asia minor- Visiting cities like Perla, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derby- establishing churches and then returning to Antioch, solidifying the early Christian mission to the gentiles. It is likely he gave funds toward the relief effort from Antioch to Jerusalem during their time in Antioch as described in chapter 11 of acts. In Acts 12:25 it states that Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, perhaps delivering these funds.

And also the ongoing effort for the Jerusalem church.

The church in Jerusalem

● Poor

● Ostracized

● Persecuted

Paul encouraged a planned, systematic special offering in several of the gentile churches, including the church at Corinth.

1 Corinthians 16:1-4

Now concerning ^[ ^a ] the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. ² On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. ³ And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

When we come to our text in 2 Corinthians they had not completed the offering

2 Corinthians 8:1-5

Grace that gives generously

1 We want you to know, brothers, ^[ ^a ] about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, ² for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, ⁴ begging us earnestly for the favor ^[ ^b ] of taking part in the relief of the saints— ⁵ and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

The first 5 verses detail the offering from the churches of Macedonia.

Principles of giving generously.

● It’s not circumstantial

● It’s proportionate to ability or capacity to give

● It’s sacrificial

● It’s done thankfully, cheerfully

● It’s voluntary

How can someone give in this way? By verse 1 “the grace of God”

And in verse 5 “they gave themselves first to the Lord”

The grace of God who, by the Spirit, was leading them and they (Macedonian churches) responded in obedience to the leading of the Spirit.

The supreme act of worship is giving yourself to God. Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a

living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

They determined in their hearts it was the will of God to give and giving such a gift was good and acceptable. The generosity that is modeled here is not first a financial act, but rather it flows from spiritual surrender.

If the grace of God is working in us, then we too are able to give like the Macedonians.

2 Corinthians 8:6-8

Generosity from maturity, proven by love

6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. ⁷ But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you ^[ ^c ]—see that you excel in this act of grace also. ⁸ I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.

In verse 7 Paul writes that the Corinthians excel (From perissos - to superabound in quantity or quality. To have an abundance) in -

● In Faith

● In Speech

● In Knowledge

● In Earnestness

This fruit is evidence of the Spirit working in their lives. While they excel in these areas they have not excelled in the grace of generous giving.

No one area can be substituted for another. When we do that, what we are really saying is I don’t want to submit to you (Lord) in this area of my life.

Money is amoral - neither good nor bad. But the problem is we live in a society where there is spiritual tension- Worldly systems that encourage materialism and

self-accumulation set against the grace that helps us to see money as a tool for God’s purposes and encourages us to give generously.

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Examples of challenges or barriers:

● Lack of trust

● Misplaced priorities

● Wrong view of giving

In verse 8 Paul encourages growth in this spiritual discipline. While being in Christ enables us to give generously, it is by the renewal of our minds day after day and God’s grace at work in our lives that we would grow in spiritual maturity and from that… we choose to give generously.

By this the Corinthians can demonstrate the sincerity (greek from genesia) or legitimacy of their love. In this context, the authenticity of love is tied to sacrificial giving.

Having the right perspective will give us the motivation for giving generously. Lets look at verse 9.

2 Corinthians 8:9

Grace given through Christ Jesus

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Paul reminds them of a gospel truth. In an act of grace and mercy Christ Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and was made in the likeness of men. He was infinitely rich and he became poor.. And on the cross he laid down his life. He did this for you and for me. We were in spiritual poverty, bankrupt and by his sacrifice we have become rich. We can have true wealth.

We give not to earn grace and not to prove our worth but because grace has already been given.

1 John 3:16

“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

When we give sacrificially we in effect “imitate” God. It is a practical example of laying down our lives for others. It is a way to show our faith. Our giving is motivated by His giving.

2 Corinthians 8:10-12 Submitting to God’s work in you

10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. ¹² For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

Returns to his exhortation in verses 10-11: so now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it.

Good intentions are not a substitute for biblical obedience. James 2:15-16

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to

them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

God is interested in completed commitments.

Recall in 1 Corinthians Paul had given instructions on how to set aside money for this offering and while the time for this approach had passed he encourages them here to respond with what they do have, whatever it may be B\because what makes a gift acceptable to God is not how much. Verse 12 tells us what makes a gift acceptable to God. “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable.”

This points to faithful participation.

2 Corinthians 8:13-15 A shared life

13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness ¹⁴ your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. ¹⁵ As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

As christians,

We are to be of one heart and one mind. We should embrace a common purpose. We are called to live a shared life. because we are the members of one body.

Paul encourages mutual care and the goal is fairness without hardship. Equity, not equality. That does not mean of course that the church is to support those who are slothful or do not work. But for those who are unable to provide for themselves the church should be willing to meet their basic needs. When one part of the body is suffering, all parts suffer. When one part is honored, all rejoice.

This principle is modeled after God’s provision in the wilderness (Exodus 16). God provided manna from heaven and the people gathered, some more, some less according to their ability, but all the needs were met. While it doesn’t state directly, the impression here is that they shared what they had.

Supporting the body in this way promotes unity among the parts.

Conclusion

In Exodus 25 God gave instruction to Moses from the building of the tabernacle. Exodus 25:1-2

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the

contribution."

And the Response is in Exodus 35:4-29

Verses 4-19 give more specifics as to the details of the contribution Verse 20-29 is the response

20 Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting,

and for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD. 23 And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats' hair or tanned rams' skins or goatskins brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the LORD's contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. 25 And every skillful

woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 26 All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats' hair. 27 And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.

Ask the Lord to examine your hearts.

Ask the Spirit to stir you to generosity.

Ask the Spirit to help you to follow His leading.

Evangelism

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 20:11:40 GMT

Evangelism Matthew 28:18-20

A View From Pastor Charlie’s Study

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

This coming Sunday I will have the privilege of preaching the Word while Pastor Reggie is away. What a blessing that is. I will be preaching on the discipline of Evangelism, and we will be looking together at Matthew 28:18–20 , the passage commonly known as the Great Commission, along with other selected texts.

This particular text contains some of the final recorded words of Jesus before His ascension. In these verses we see both the authority of Christ and the mission He has entrusted to His people. Jesus declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That statement is the foundation for everything that follows. The mission of evangelism does not begin with our ability, our courage, or our strategies—it begins with the authority of the risen Christ.

From that authority comes a command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Evangelism is not presented in Scripture as a suggestion or a specialized ministry for a few particularly gifted Christians. It is part of the ordinary life and calling of every disciple of Jesus. We are ambassadors of a King, carrying the message of reconciliation to a world that desperately needs to hear it.

As we work through the passage on Sunday, we will consider three important truths that shape our understanding of evangelism. First, we will see the authority of Christ , which gives confidence and clarity to our mission. Second, we will look at the task of making disciples , which involves both proclaiming the gospel and teaching people to follow Jesus. Finally, we will see the promise of Christ’s presence : “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The work of evangelism is never carried out alone. The Lord Himself goes with His people.

One of the things I hope we will all be reminded of this week is that evangelism is not primarily about techniques or perfectly crafted arguments. It is about faithfully bearing witness to the truth of the gospel. God has not called us to save anyone—that is His work alone. But He has called us to speak, to love people well, and to point them to Christ.

CG leaders, thank you for the role you play in helping our church apply the Word together. My prayer is that this passage will stir our hearts toward greater faithfulness in sharing the gospel and greater confidence in the power of God to save.

Here are a few questions you may want to reflect on as you prepare for Sunday:

Why does Jesus begin the Great Commission by declaring His authority? How should that shape the way we think about evangelism?
What is the difference between making converts and making disciples?
What fears or obstacles often keep Christians from sharing the gospel?
How does the promise of Christ’s presence encourage us in the mission He has given us?
Who in your life right now might the Lord be prompting you to pray for or share the gospel with?

Thank you for your faithfulness in shepherding your groups and helping our church grow in Christ.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Charlie

Multiplying Grace

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 20:53:32 GMT

Mentoring - 2 Timothy 2:1-7

Multiplying Grace 2 Timothy 2:1-7

Introduction: Paul writes his final letter from prison. He knows his death is near, (4:6– 8). The church is fragile. False teaching is spreading. Leaders are wavering. Timothy is young and tempted toward fear.

In his pastoral encouragement, Paul provides Timothy with flesh and blood for a pattern of discipleship, not a technique doomed to fashion.

The survival of the church will not depend on charisma. It will depend on multiplication.

Big Idea: Mentoring is grace-strengthened believers entrusting the truth to faithful people who will reproduce it in others.

First: Mentoring Centers on Grace-Generated Strength Before Created Strategy

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (v. 1)

Notice that Paul begins with the means and goal in mind: grace and strength, not structure.

Hold that thought in your mind as we progress and think about its implications for this passage, for the church, and for you.

The verb ‘be strengthened’ is passive. Timothy does not generate strength. He receives it.

Mentoring begins and ends with God’s initiative, grace and Spirit. The source is specific for all of us: it is grace in Christ Jesus.

This means that

· Mentoring is not personality transfer.

· It is not leadership cloning.

· It is not institutional survival.

The church creates mentoring opportunities but cannot be confined by them. Like the movement from the Sunday gathering to CGs to friend groups, the hope is that our structured opportunities will create organic opportunities.

In this, leaders must remember that leadership is stewardship, not ownership.

It is all about the grace of God strengthening believers who strengthen others which is our message and our method for making disciples here and around the world.

· Grace produces strong people.

· Strong people disciple others.

· Every opportunity should be taken to mentor others.

And it is grace that

In John 15:5, Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

The apostle Paul says the same thing this way –

Ephesians 4:11–12, leaders equip saints, they do not replace Christ.

IMP: Strength to live the Christian life, often to endure the Christian life, flows from union with Christ before it flows to others.

The only question to ask before mentoring anyone is:

Have I been strengthened grace?

The mentoring spoke begins in the secret place before it moves into a structured environment.

Second: Mentoring is Simply Entrusting What You Have Heard

“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (v. 2)

a) There are three aspects to this:

1 – Paul’s apostolic teaching

2 – Timothy’s hearing

3 – Entrusting the teaching and hearing to others GR / “entrust” = to deposit for safekeeping.

· The goal is transmission, not institution.

· It is flesh and blood, not brick and mortar.

· It isn’t the church building. It’s your kitchen table and your living room.

· It’s natural, not organizational.

Each and every one of us…each and every one of you…can and should be doing this.

b) There are at least four generations in this verse:

1 – Me – the apostle Paul

2 – You – Timothy

3 – Faithful men

4 – Others also

APP: Where are you in that relational process?

The church grows through entrusted truth. This means that

· Christian mentoring is not merely advice-giving.

· It is doctrinal stewardship and life modeling.

In Titus 2:1–8, older believers shape younger believers in doctrine and life.

In Matthew 28:19–20, disciples are made by teaching them to observe all Christ commanded. Mentoring is obedience to the Great Commission in close proximity

APP:

· Who was, and who is, your “Me?”

· Who was, and who is, your “faithful people?”

Ask:

· Who has poured into me?

· Who am I intentionally entrusting the truth to?

- If the church depends on the organization, it is as fragile as a budget or a building.

- If it multiplies faithful people, it is forever resilient.

Third: Mentoring Requires and Creates a Certain Kind of People (vs 3-6)

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵ An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

· The soldier endures suffering.

· The athlete competes according to the rules.

· The farmer works and waits for the harvest.

All three images emphasize

· Soldier –

· Athlete - discipline

· Farmer - delayed reward.

This means mentoring is slow. It is costly. It requires patience.

· The soldier image reminds us mentoring is hard.

Lewis quote about toy soldiers –

· The athlete image reminds us truth matters.

· The farmer image reminds us fruit takes time.

There is no such thing as instant maturity.

Galatians 6:9, “Let us not grow weary… in due season we will reap.”

In Mark 4:26–29, the seed grows, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain.

1 Corinthians 3:6 - I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

God will grow what we faithfully sow.

APP: Mentoring will require:

· Time you could spend elsewhere.

· Patience when growth is resisted or uneven.

· Endurance when our nature resists depth.

But the harvest belongs to those who are faithful.

Fourth: Mentoring is Spirit-Enabled from Start to Finish

“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

Paul calls Timothy to real effort, “think,” but he is not saying, “You think hard, and then God

blesses your effort. He refuses to make “understanding” a human achievement.

He is saying: Your thinking is necessary, but understanding itself is a gift. So he ends by placing

illumination in the Lord’s hands. Even understanding is grace.”

The decisive giver is the Lord. Mentoring can put truth in front of someone, walk with them, and model faithfulness, but only the Spirit can make the truth land, connect, and take root.

That keeps mentoring humble, prayerful, and patient. We labor, but we do not play God. We plant and water, and we trust the Lord to give understanding.

· Mentoring does not produce results mechanically.

· It trusts the Lord to give understanding.

· The Father entrusts truth.

· The Son embodies truth.

· The Spirit empowers truth.

In this way, mentoring finds its source and model as participation in the life of the triune God.

The church survives and thrives not by its organizational structure for various ministries but by faithful, person-to-person, flesh and blood transmission of the truths espoused in the Bible.

· When grace strengthens leaders, and

· leaders entrust truth, and

· truth forms faithful people,

· the body matures and grows.

That is the mentoring spoke.

Conclusion: Ask yourself today:

· Who strengthened me?

· Who am I strengthening?

· Mentoring is not about a position.

· It is about people.

What is Paul saying?

· Be strengthened by grace.

· Entrust what you have heard.

· Endure for the harvest.

This, friends, is how Christ builds His church.

Monday — Strength Before Strategy. Read 2 Timothy 2:1

Think. Paul begins his encouragement to Timothy with grace, not structure. “Be strengthened” is passive. Timothy does not manufacture spiritual stamina. He receives it. Mentoring does not begin with techniques but with union with Christ. Christian strength flows from Christ before it flows to others.

Reflect. It is possible to lead from anxiety, insecurity, or momentum. Paul anchors Timothy in grace before giving him responsibility. The mentoring spoke does not turn because of personalities but because of grace-generated strength.

Apply. Before you teach this week, slow down and ask: “Am I being strengthened by grace, or am I trying to be strong in myself?” Let your preparation become dependence, not performance.

Pray. Lord Jesus, apart from you I can do nothing. Strengthen me by your grace so that what I pass on flows from union with you.

Tuesday — Entrust the Truth. Read 2 Timothy 2:2

Think. Paul describes at least four generations of Christians in this verse: Paul → Timothy → faithful men → others. The word “entrust” means to deposit for safekeeping. The goal in this verse is transmission, not innovation. It’s really simple: person to person.

Reflect. The church grows through entrusted truth. Mentoring is doctrinal stewardship and life modeling. It is kitchen-table faithfulness, not institutional expansion. It’s not the brick and mortar church building (although we can and should use the church). The Great Commission happens in proximity; in your neighborhood, with your co-workers at work, with your friends in your living room.

Apply. Map your spiritual lineage. Who was your “Paul”? Who is your “Timothy”? Identify one

person you are intentionally investing in. Mentoring is not abstract; it is relational.

Pray. Father, make me faithful with what I have received. Help me to entrust the truth to others with patience and clarity.

Wednesday — The Character Mentoring Requires. Read 2 Timothy 2:3–6

Think. Paul gives three images of what mentoring produces: a soldier, an athlete, a farmer. All three stress discipline, endurance, and delayed reward.

Reflect. Mentoring is slow. It is costly. It happens amid suffering and distraction. There is no instant maturity. God grows what we faithfully sow. Galatians 6:9 reminds us that harvest belongs to those who do not quit.

Apply. You can expect resistance. It’s easy to start, hard to finish. And expect uneven growth. There are seasons of spiritual growth just like annual seasons. Expect delay. Life is busy. Do not measure fruit prematurely. Remember that faithfulness precedes fruitfulness.

Pray. Lord, guard me in times of weariness. Help me endure with joy and trust you with the harvest.

Thursday — Illumination Is a Gift. Read 2 Timothy 2:7

Think. Timothy must think. God doesn’t bless mental laziness, But, understanding is a gift given to thinking people. The mechanism itself is supernatural.

Reflect. Mentoring is Spirit-enabled from start to finish. Hallelujah for that. We can explain truth, model obedience, and walk alongside others, but only the Lord grants understanding. Illumination is grace.

Apply. As you prepare to teach, pray not merely for clarity of speech but for illumination in the hearts of your CG members. Release all your expectations to the Holy Spirit.

Pray. Spirit of God, open eyes. Give me understanding. Do what my own effort cannot do.

Friday — The Mentoring Spoke and the Triune God

Think. The Father entrusts truth to us. The Son embodied that truth. The Spirit activates the truth in our lives. In this way, mentoring participates in the life of the triune God. Grace strengthens leaders, leaders entrust truth, truth forms faithful people. And the circle goes on and on.

Reflect. The survival of the church does not depend on charisma or structure but on multiplication. The Discipleship Wheel turns when grace flows through relationships.

Apply. Ask yourself,

· Who strengthened me?

· Who am I strengthening?

· Where is entrusted truth multiplying around me?

Pray. Lord, make our church a multiplying church. Strengthen us by grace, anchor us in truth, and form faithful people for generations.

Redefining Service

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 18:18:09 GMT

Redefining Service Mark 10:42-45

Redefining Service Text: Mark 10:42–45

Introduction:

· James and John have just asked for glory.

· The other ten are indignant.

· Jesus gathers them.

· He does not correct their desire for greatness. ( This is huge )

· He redefines it.

This means that this passage is really not about volunteering. Instead, it is about the nature of the kingdom and the character of its King.

Big Idea: In the kingdom of God, greatness is measured not by the authority we exercise, but by the life that is given, and that pattern is grounded in the cross of Jesus.

First: The World’s Model of Greatness (10:42)

“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.”

· “You know” – This is common knowledge.

· “Considered rulers” – This is status recognized by society.

· “Lord it over” – This is domineering authority.

· “Exercise authority” – This is top-down control.

Jesus describes power as the world understands it:

- Authority flows downward.

- Greatness is measured by control.

In the Greco-Roman world, power meant dominance. To be great was to command. To rise was to be served. This is how the Romans and Greeks measures success, leadership and greatness.

This model still shapes us.

· We measure influence by visibility.

· We measure significance by recognition.

· We measure leadership by control.

The disciples were not immune to this model and influence. Neither are we. From Genesis

onward, fallen humanity seeks to be “like God” by seizing power. Where do we see it?

· Babylon builds towers.

· Kings accumulate glory.

· Herod builds monuments.

Even in Christian ministry, we can confuse a platform with purpose. Think about those around you and then think about your own life

· Where do I measure greatness by controlling things or people around me?

· Where do I resist serving in ministries or others because it feels beneath me?

· Where has recognition become more satisfying than simple obedience to Jesus?

IMP: Worldly greatness is always comparative. Someone must be beneath you for you to feel above.

Transition: In this passage, Jesus doesn’t just critique the world’s system. He establishes a new one.

Second: The Kingdom’s Redefinition of Greatness (10:43–44)

“But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”

· “But it shall not be so among you” – This is a decisive break.

· “Whoever would be great” – The passion for or need for greatness is not denied.

· “Servant” (diakonos) – It is redefined as one who attends to the needs of others.

· “Slave” (doulos) – It is redefined as someone who belongs wholly to someone else.

ILL – What is the purpose of a husband? Mark 10:42-45 tells us. (This is what potential husbands learn from me in pre-marital counseling)

Jesus intensifies the definition of leadership, of greatness in the kingdom of God.

- Greatness = servanthood.

- First = the slave of all.

In the kingdom, Jesus does not abolish idea of greatness. It is inverted.

· The highest position is seen as the lowest posture.

· Authority becomes responsibility for others.

· Ambition becomes availability to others.

To be “slave of all” means:

· There is no selective service.

· There is no prestige filter.

· There is no protected class.

IMP: This is not sentimental humility. It is intentional surrender to the One who serves all.

· Philippians 2 shows this pattern embodied in Christ.

· Ephesians 4 describes leaders equipping saints.

· Romans 12 frames gifts as service, not status.

All of these passages demonstrate that kingdom authority exists for others.

· Spiritual maturity looks like choosing the lower place, not protecting your place.

· Spiritual maturity looks like taking responsibility, not seeking recognition.

· Spiritual maturity looks like moving toward need, not away from inconvenience.

· Spiritual maturity looks like carrying burdens, not calculating credit.

· Spiritual maturity looks like asking, “How can I help?” instead of “Why is this my job?”

· Spiritual maturity looks like faithfulness in small things, not visibility in big ones.

APP: Service-heartedness is not what we do after we arrive. It is how we arrive.

Transition: But this still leaves a question. Why would anyone live this way? What makes this more than moral idealism?

Jesus answers in verse 45.

Third: The Cross as the Foundation of Service (10:45)

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

· “For” – This is his explanation.

· “Son of Man” – Daniel 7 presents the figure of authority and dominion.

IMP: The Son of Man of Daniel 7 receives eternal dominion from the Ancient of Days. Yet in Mark 10, that same Son of Man gives his life.

· “Came” – Here is mission language.

· “Ransom” – This is the price paid to liberate captives.

The One with absolute authority chooses sacrificial service. This is not merely example. It is substitution.

- Jesus does not say: “Serve like I serve.”

- He says: “I came to give my life as a ransom.”

APP: The cross is not simply or only an illustration of service. It is the ground of service. Ransom means:

· We were bound.

· We could not free ourselves.

· Freedom required payment.

Christ’s service was not convenient help. It was costly redemption.

This means that true authority expresses itself through self-giving love. The throne is reached through the cross.

· Isaiah 53 – Jesus is the suffering servant.

· Romans 5 – when we were weak, Christ died for us.

· 2 Corinthians 8:9 – though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor.

We serve because we have been ransomed.

APP: If service is rooted in the cross:

· We don’t serve to earn our worth.

· We don’t serve to secure our identity.

· We don’t serve to repay our God.

We serve because we already belong to the One who served us unto death.

IMP: This means that Gospel-centered service is gratitude in motion.

Transition: So….the world says: Climb higher. Jesus says: Go lower. The world says: Secure yourself. Jesus says: Give yourself.

The world says: Be served. Jesus says: Be transformed by being served at the cross.

Conclusion: The disciples wanted seats of glory. Jesus pointed to a cup of suffering. The kingdom runs on a different logic.

· Greatness is not how many serve you.

· Greatness is how many are lifted because you gave yourself.

And the greatest One of all gave himself as a ransom for many.

So, don’t leave this text asking: “Where can I serve more?” Leave asking: “Have I been ransomed?”

· Because only the ransomed can serve without fear.

· Only the secure can kneel.

· Only the loved can give themselves away.

Why? Because service is not the path to the cross. The cross is the path to service.

Mark 10:42–45

Theme: Redefining Service

Monday — The Desire for Greatness. Read: Mark 10:35–42

Think. James and John want glory. The other ten are indignant. No one rebukes their desire for greatness. Jesus does not condemn their ambition. He redirects it. Notice that before Jesus redefines greatness, He exposes the model they have absorbed from the world around them. “You know…” He begins. They know the system. They have breathed it in. The problem is not desire. The problem is definition. The world measures greatness by authority exercised. Control. Status. Recognition. Jesus does not say greatness is wrong. He says the measurement is wrong.

Reflect: As you prepare to lead your group, ask: Where has the world’s definition of greatness quietly shaped you? Do you feel the pull toward visibility, influence, or recognition in ministry? Does indignation sometimes reveal rivalry? The disciples are not villains here. They are honest mirrors to our own lives.

Apply: Before you teach this Sunday, name one place this week where you are tempted to measure success by control or recognition. Then pray that God transforms your heart on the matter.

Pray: Lord, expose the ways I have absorbed the world’s model of greatness. Redirect my

ambition. Teach me to desire what you desire.

Tuesday — It Shall Not Be So Among You. Read: Mark 10:43–44

Think. “But it shall not be so among you.” This is not advice. It is a decisive break from the world’s mindset. Again, Jesus does not abolish greatness. He inverts it. Greatness becomes servanthood. First becomes slave of all. This is intentional surrender. Diakonos = one who meets needs (table-server). Doulos = one who belongs entirely to another. Kingdom authority exists for others.

Reflect. Leadership in the kingdom looks different. At home, it looks like washing feet. In the church, it looks like equipping others rather than controlling them. In spiritual maturity, it looks like choosing the lower place, not protecting your place. Where do you still protect your place? Where are you slow to move toward inconvenience?

Apply. Identify one concrete act of service you will take this week that costs you something small: time, convenience, or preference. Don’t announce it. Just do it. Let that simple obedience shape you.

Pray. Jesus, form in me the mind of a servant. Let my leadership be recognizable as yours.

Wednesday — The Son of Man. Read: Mark 10:45a and Daniel 7:13–14

Think. “For even the Son of Man came…” Daniel 7 shows the Son of Man receiving eternal dominion from the Ancient of Days. This is authority, kingdom and glory. And yet in Mark 10, that same Son of Man defines His mission not by the dominion he received, but by the service he has given. Authority expresses itself through self-giving love. This is the shock of the passage.

The highest One chooses the lowest place.

Reflect. If Jesus, who receives eternal dominion, serves, what does that say about our posture? Service is not beneath those with authority. It reveals true authority. As a CG leader, use your role to build others up, to elevate them and encourage their service.

Apply. Ask yourself: Who in my group needs encouragement this week? Who needs to be equipped? Who needs to be listened to? Reach out to one person intentionally before Sunday and lead by serving.

Pray. Lord Jesus, Son of Man, guard me from using leadership to secure myself. Teach me to use influence to lift others.

Thursday — Ransom. Read: Mark 10:45

Think. “To give his life as a ransom for many.” This is not merely example. It is substitution.

Ransom means we were bound. We could not free ourselves. Freedom required payment. The cross is not just an illustration of service. It is the ground of service. We do not serve to earn worth. We serve because we have been ransomed. Service flows from our security.

Reflect. If you subtly believe your service earns you standing with God, your service will eventually exhaust you. If you believe you are already ransomed, your service becomes gratitude. Where are you tempted to prove yourself through ministry?

Apply: Before you lead your CG this week, spend a few unhurried minutes thanking Jesus specifically for ransoming you. Name what He freed you from. Let gratitude precede your preparation to serve your CG this Sunday.

Pray. Thank you for serving me unto death. Anchor m y service in your finished work.

Friday — Teaching from a Ransomed Heart. Read: Mark 10:42–45 (entire passage again)

Think. Read the passage slowly. Notice the flow in three steps. The worldly power. The kingdom inversion. The cross foundation. Your group may not need motivation. They need clarity. You can provide that. Service is not the path to the cross. The cross is the path to service.

Reflect. As you prepare to teach ask yourself: Are you tempted to press application before grounding people in the gospel? Are you tempted to soften the inversion Jesus demands? Let the weight of the text rest in you first.

Apply. Consider writing a summary sentence for Sunday in one line: “Greatness is measured by service, not power.” Or invert it: “Greatness is not measured by power but service.” Then ask: How does the cross make this possible? Make sure your discussion leads your CG there.

Pray. Lord, make me a leader who teaches from a ransomed heart. Form in our group a culture of servants who serve because they have been served by you.

Let's Learn To Pray

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 19:48:41 GMT

Let's Learn to Pray - Matthew 6:9-13

Friends,

Good Monday morning to you. The sun is shining; the weather is going to get in the 60’s. Spring is in the air!!! But let’s turn our attention for a moment from what’s going on outside, to what’s going on inside…our hearts.

This needs to be emphasized and re-emphasized. The difference between living like verses 2-4, as modeled by Janes and Jambres who have “a form of godliness (but deny its power) is Paul’s encouragement to “abide” in the Scripture; to “trace” the life of God that makes us “wise for salvation which is through Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 3). That’s it, friends. To master the word until we are mastered by it. Because the more you know the Bible, the more you will know God, the more in love with him you will be and the more closely you will follow him with your heart, mind, soul and strength. You, the elders and I, as the spiritual leaders of Heritage must live this life, model it and teach our people to thrive in the Bible.

Take the doctrine of prayer, our subject matter this Sunday. Had Jesus not taught the disciples how to pray, they would not have known how to pray. Had the Gospel writers not recorded Jesus’ words on prayer, we would not know how to pray. If we do not read, study, memorize, meditate on, and practice Jesus’ words, we are not praying. This text alone teaches us the Christian life cannot be lived separate from the Bible.

It is not enough for us to hold the Bible in high esteem, to talk about it or to have innumerable copies of it in our homes, on our phones, etc. We must immerse ourselves in it.

We are saved by the Word – 1 Peter 1:23 We are sanctified by the Word – John 15:3

We are told how to live in the Word – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Bible is literally the answer to everything for us. So, let me encourage you to be a person of

the Word, to listen to God’s command to Joshua (1:8) and to sincerely follow it –

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth = The Word must not drift away from your speech or consciousness.

but you shall meditate on it day and night = the word “meditate” = to prize the Bible like a lion

growling over its prey, its food, its sustenance.

so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it = continual meditation on and speaking God’s Word is intended to produce vigilant, comprehensive obedience to everything he has commanded.

It’s the only way to “prosper” and have “success” (1:9) in the Christian life, friends.

With that in mind, let’s prosper in our prayer lives. Let’s have “good success” in prayer. It begins

with knowing what Jesus said about prayer and then living a life of prayer.

Here’s a proposed outline for this Sunday –

Let’s Learn to Pray

Matthew 6:9–13 (cf. Luke 11:1)

Big Idea : Jesus teaches us to pray by reshaping who we trust, what we want, and how we

live.

Introduction: The Request Behind the Prayer (Luke 11:1) - “Lord, teach us to pray.”

The disciples had witnessed Jesus’ authority and power, and they traced it to communion with the Father.

Prayer was not ornamental in Jesus’ life. It was foundational.

When Jesus says, “Pray then like this,” he is not giving a script to recite mechanically, but a

pattern to form disciples.

IMP: We are never more the Christians our private prayer life and private Bible study reveal us to be.

First: Prayer Recognizes a Father (Matthew 6:9a) - “Our Father in heaven…”

Prayer is all about a relationship and relating to God.

Second: Prayer Reorders Our Priorities - (Matthew 6:9b–10)

Before Jesus allows us to ask for bread, he teaches us to long for glory.

Third: Prayer Retrains Our Dependence (Matthew 6:11–13)

As sinners, we strive for independence, but we are dependent creatures. Until we realize this and

live like it, we won’t pray. Nor will we possess the life God intends us to have through prayer.

Fourth: The Movement of the Whole Prayer

a) Father — Identity

b) Glory — Priority

c) Kingdom — Mission

d) Will — Surrender

e) Bread — Dependence

f) Forgiveness — Humility

g) Protection — Watchfulness

Jesus is not merely teaching words. He is forming the lives of disciples. Prayer reshapes:

· Who we trust

· What we want

· How we live

Conclusion: When the disciples said, “Teach us to pray,” they were not asking for things. They were asking about a relationship. Jesus answered not by giving them a formula to master, but by giving them a Father to trust, a kingdom to seek, and daily posture to embrace.

Prayer begins in a relationship. It moves toward adoration. It ends in surrender. And the more we pray like this, the more our hearts begin to look like Heaven.

Here’s this week’s TRAP devotion for you, to help the Scripture fill your mind and heart as you

live prayerfully in Jesus and prepare to lead your CG to do the same.

Monday - Teach Us to Pray (Luke 11:1)

Think. Before Jesus gives the model prayer in Matthew 6, the disciples ask in Luke 11:1, “Lord, teach us to pray.” They had seen his miracles. They had heard his teaching. And they traced his life to communion with the Father. Prayer was not ornamental in his life; it was foundational.

As such, they did not assume they knew how to pray. They asked to be taught. Prayer must be learned from Scripture. If Jesus had not taught them, they would not have known how to pray. If the Gospel writers had not recorded his words, we would not know how to pray. The Christian life cannot be lived separate from the Bible.

Reflect. As a CG leader, learning to pray is a prerequisite to teaching others how to pray. How are you learning to pray? What are you learning to pray? Are you still asking to be taught?

Apply. Read Matthew 6:9–13 aloud three times today. Slowly. Do not analyze it yet. Just listen. Let the words shape your thinking about prayer.

Pray. Father, teach me to pray. Do not let me teach others what I am not living myself.

Tuesday - Prayer Begins with a Father (Matthew 6:9a)

Think. Prayer begins with relationship. Not performance. Not technique. Adoption.

“Our” reminds us prayer is covenantal. We belong to a people who are being conformed to Jesus’ image. “Father” reminds us we already are reconciled and our approach to God is based on Jesus’ life and works, not ours. “In Heaven” reminds us he reigns over all our requests and should reign in our lives. Your view of God determines your prayer life. If he is distant, you will be formal. If he is harsh, you will be guarded. If he is Father, you will come.

Reflect. Do you approach God as Father or as evaluator? Does your prayer life reveal intimacy and reverence?

Apply. Before asking for anything today, spend five full minutes addressing God as Father. Thank him for saving you. Rehearse to him and yourself what it means to belong to him.

Pray. Our Father in heaven, anchor my life and CG leadership in sonship, not performance.

Wednesday - Prayer Reorders Our Priorities (Matthew 6:9b–10)

Think. Glory comes before bread. God gave Israel manna in the wilderness to display his glory. God’s priorities shape how he provides for us. Can you trust him with that? In this prayer, Jesus trains our desires before he allows us to request anything. Otherwise, we are wasting our breath. To hallow his name means to treat it as weighty, the priority. To seek his kingdom means to want his reign extended, in us and the world. To pray for his will means surrender to that kingdom.

Prayer is not aligning God with our agenda. It is aligning ourselves with his.

Reflect. When you pray, what comes first: your crisis or his kingdom? Does your leadership in the CG reflect God-centered priorities? The difference will shape your life.

Apply. Write down your current prayer requests under three headings:

1. God’s Name

2. God’s Kingdom

3. God’s Will

Let Scripture reshape your prayer list. This will change your life!!!

Pray. Father, reorder my loves. Make your glory weightier to me than my comfort.

Thursday - Prayer Retrains Our Dependence (Matthew 6:11–13)

Think. Daily dependence dismantles self-sufficiency. “Forgive us our debts.” – We all need mercy. “As we forgive…” Unforgiveness suffocates prayer. “Lead us not into temptation…” Prayer assumes our need for God. This prayer retrains the illusion that we are strong, sufficient, and secure on our own.

Reflect. Where are you living independently instead of dependently? Is there someone you must forgive before you teach this Sunday?

Apply. Confess one specific sin today before God. Name it. Receive forgiveness. Extend forgiveness if needed.

Pray. Lord, keep me humble, dependent, and vigilant.

Friday - The Word Forms the Prayer (Joshua 1:8; 2 Timothy 3)

Think. Continual meditation on and speaking God’s Word is intended to produce vigilant,

comprehensive obedience to everything he has commanded. We are:

· Saved by the Word (1 Peter 1:23)

· Sanctified by the Word (John 15:3)

· Equipped by the Word (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

If we do not read, study, memorize, meditate on, and practice Jesus’ words, we are not praying.

The Bible should not be a prop. It is our life.

Reflect. Are you holding the Bible in high esteem? Are you daily immersing yourself in it? Are you mastering the Word to be/and being mastered by it?

Apply. Work on memorizing Matthew 6:9–13 before Sunday. Speak it aloud. Don’t let it depart

from your mouth and heart. This will reshape every day of your life.

Pray. Father, make me a person of the Word. Let your Word form my prayer and let prayer shape my life.

New Paragraph

The Life the Bible Gives Us

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:22:57 GMT

The Life the Bible Gives Us

(Two Ways to Live & The Difference One Word Makes)

The Discipleship Wheel

2 Timothy 3:14–17

Big Idea: The Bible saves and sanctifies us. It is God’s primary means to reveal himself,

instruct us, mature us and spiritually form us.

Introduction: Paul writes these words to Timothy near the end of his life, from imprisonment and under the shadow of his impending death (2 Timothy 4:6–8).

It is a final, urgent appeal from a spiritual father to a trusted son.

Timothy is Paul’s long-time travelling companion who has learned from him, suffered alongside him, and now bears pastoral responsibility in a difficult context marked by false teaching, cultural pressure, and spiritual instability.

Vs 10 & 14 creates the hinges on which the chapter swings. Your TRAP devotion for this week emphasizes this. The real issue is the life Scripture creates. The question is, “Which life do you want?”

Throughout this letter, Paul contrasts two paths:

a) those who abandon truth and drift into deception (1-9)

b) Timothy, who has been patiently formed in the gospel (10-17).

Against this backdrop of moral decay and doctrinal confusion (3:1–13), Paul calls on Timothy to remain anchored in the Bible.

This book will keep you from sin. Or sin will keep you from this book.

Paul’s counsel is pointed: stay rooted in the Scriptures.

As I mentioned last week - Acts 20:32 – [Paul’s last words to the Ephesian elders] - And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

In 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Paul explains

a) why Scripture has been central to Timothy’s spiritual formation,

b) why it carries divine authority, and

c) why it remains essential for faithful ministry.

This passage, then, is not merely about the nature of Scripture in the abstract; it is about how God practically sustains you and me through His Word.

IMP: Paul does not call Timothy to novelty, technique, or charisma, but to the Bible.

Transition: This passage tells us what Scripture is, what it does, and why we as individual people and the church as a body cannot grow without it.

First: Remain Grounded in the Scriptures You Have Received. 14-15

Paul’s repeated phrase “But as for you ” (v. 14) signals that this passage is not merely about ideas

but about Timothys’ faithfulness under pressure.

Timothy’s formation began early – childhood = GR / brephos (βρέφος) = infant

Second: Because Scripture Comes from God and Carries His Authority. 16a

“God-breathed” emphasizes source, not process.

“breathed out” = GR / theopneustos θεόπνευστος = “God-breathed.

Third: And is Profitable for You. 16b

The Bible tells us:

a) What is right – teaching

b) - What is wrong – reproof

c) How to make wrong, right – correction

d) How to keep right, right – training in righteousness...

Fourth: Maturing and Equipping You. 17

Scripture’s goal is not knowledge alone but readiness for obedience.

Fifth: Seeing Jesus in the Bible. 15b

This passage ultimately points beyond Scripture as a tool to Scripture as a witness.

Paul reminds Timothy that the “sacred writings” he has known from childhood are those “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (v. 15).

The Bible prepares the way for Christ, points to Christ, and finds its fulfillment in Christ. Jesus Himself affirmed this when He said that Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms speak of Him (Luke 24:27, 44).

Conclusion:

· Scripture is received, given by God, formative, and aimed at maturity.

Can it be trusted to be God’s word? Well, if you start with God, ‘”Yes, certainly.”

· The church cannot grow beyond its submission to Scripture.

Let us renew our trust in, attentiveness to, and obedience to God’s Word.

2 Timothy 3

Theme: There are two trajectories in this chapter: a life shaped by Scripture and a life that resists it. The difference is not the suffering versus ease that Paul mentions, but formation versus deception.

Monday. The Life That Drifts from God (vv. 1–9)

Think. Paul begins the chapter by describing people who are religious, active, and impressive, yet hollow at the center. The repeated word is “lovers”, lovers of self, money, pleasure, power. This is not pagan atheism. It is spirituality without submission to the one true God. Paul is not warning Timothy about outsiders but about distorted faith that keeps the form while rejecting the power.

Reflect. As leaders, it is easy to read this list defensively, as if it applies only to others. Paul intends the opposite. He wants Timothy to recognize how easily ministry can coexist with self- love. The danger is not open rebellion but subtle drift, where Scripture no longer governs desire, correction, or direction.

Apply. As you prepare to teach this chapter, ask where ministry responsibility could mask spiritual drift in your own life. Do not rush past the warning. Let it sober you before you speak to others.

Pray. Lord, keep me from loving the gifts of ministry more than You. Expose what resists Your rule in my heart. Amen.

Tuesday. The Pattern of a Scripture-Shaped Life (v. 10)

Think. Verse 10 is the first hinge. Paul turns from description to testimony. “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life…” Paul presents his life as a visible pattern formed by the gospel and sustained by Scripture. This is not self-promotion. It is embodied discipleship.

Reflect. Paul does not separate doctrine from life. Teaching and conduct belong together. Scripture does not merely give leaders content to pass on. It gives them a life to model. Timothy has not merely heard Paul’s words; he has watched Scripture shape endurance, love, and perseverance through suffering.

Apply. Consider how Scripture is visibly shaping your life, not just your teaching. Where do those you lead see patience, endurance, and love formed by the Word rather than by temperament or experience?

Pray. God, shape my life so that Your Word is visible in me, not only spoken by me. Amen.

Wednesday . The Cost of a Scripture-Governed Life (vv. 11–12)

Think. Paul is clear-eyed. A life shaped by Scripture does not avoid suffering. It often invites it. “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Scripture does not promise safety. It promises faithfulness. Paul’s confidence rests not in ease but in the Lord’s deliverance.

Reflect. Leaders can be tempted to soften Scripture in order to reduce friction. Paul does the opposite. He prepares Timothy to expect resistance, not because Scripture is harsh, but because truth confronts self-rule. Scripture forms leaders who endure rather than retreat.

Apply. As you teach this chapter, resist the urge to present Scripture as a problem-solving tool rather than a soul and life-shaping authority. Help your group see that faithfulness may cost them but never abandons them.

Pray. Lord, give me courage to live under Your Word even when it costs me. Teach me to trust Your deliverance. Amen.

Thursday . The Life That Rejects Scripture (v. 13)

Think. Verse 13 is the second hinge. While Scripture-formed leaders endure, those who resist truth do not remain neutral. They progress, but downward. “Evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse.” The movement is subtle but relentless. Deception always deepens when Scripture is sidelined.

Reflect. Paul dismantles the myth of spiritual stasis. No one stands still. Leaders either submit more deeply to God’s Word or slowly replace it with something else, charisma, success, consensus, or control. Scripture either governs us or we reinterpret it.

Apply. Ask yourself honestly where you see this contrast at work today, not merely culturally, but within churches. Let this sharpen your conviction that Scripture is not optional for spiritual health.

Pray. Father, keep me from drifting into self-deception. Anchor me firmly in Your truth. Amen.

Friday. The Word That Makes the Difference (vv. 14–17)

Think. Paul’s answer to the two paths is simple and profound: “But as for you, continue.” Scripture stands between verse 10 and verse 13 as the dividing line. It is Scripture that forms a life of endurance rather than deception, faithfulness rather than collapse. God’s Word saves, sanctifies, and equips because it is breathed out by Him and bears witness to Christ.

Reflect. This is where the chapter lands with confidence and not with fear. The Scripture does not merely warn against the collapse of our lives; it actively forms leaders who are complete and ready for obedience. The goal is not mastery of the Bible, but a life shaped into Christlikeness through it.

Apply. As you prepare to teach, let this be your anchor point. Help your group see that Scripture is not one influence among many. It is the decisive difference between two ways of life.

Pray. God, thank You for giving us Your Word. Form me through it, return me to Christ through it, and equip me for faithful obedience. Amen.

Community Groups

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:59:43 GMT

Community Groups at Heritage

The Discipleship Wheel

Community Groups

Nehemiah 8:1-12

Intro: Heritage’s mission is “making disciples here and around the world.” The elders have created the Discipleship Wheel to define discipleship for Heritage.

I’m grateful to Justin for sharing about giving last week, a discipline modeled by Christ and practiced by his people.

Today I’d like to share about why Community Groups are an important part of discipleship.

First: A Vital Church-Life

God established the local church and 85-90% of the time the word ‘church’ is used in the NT, it means the local, visible, gathered body of believers. The importance of the church is seen in how the NT is written.

· There are 21 New Testament Letters (Epistles)

This includes Paul’s letters and the General Epistles (not the Gospels or Revelation).

· There are 13 letters written to churches

These are addressed to local congregations or groups of churches, not to private Christians.

Pauline letters to churches (9):

Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians (to multiple churches)
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians

· There are 4 general letters functionally addressed to churches

10. Hebrews (addressed to a community, not an individual)

11. James (to scattered congregations)

12. 1 Peter (to churches in multiple regions)

13. Jude (to a gathered body, plural audience)

· There are 4 letters written to individuals

All of them are pastoral, leadership-focused letters.

1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon

Even here, notice something important:

Timothy and Titus are written to individuals about churches
Philemon concerns a personal situation that directly affects the church meeting in his house

None of these promote a private, churchless Christianity.

What about 1 John? See Note at end of sermon notes

In effect,

· 80% of NT letters are written to churches

· 20% to individuals, and even those assume church context

The New Testament normatively addresses believers as members of congregations, not as detached individuals.

We all recognize the value of the local church; hence these disciplines are tied to the local church. Otherwise, people practice a vague, undefined, unlivable Christianity.

The New Testament assumes Christianity is lived inside a local church, not alongside it.

a) Christ Established a People, Not Just Private Believers

Jesus did not merely call individuals to follow him. He formed a people.

When Jesus speaks of the church, he speaks of something visible and accountable, not a vague spiritual network. The church is the community where Christ’s authority is recognized, and his teaching is lived out together.

Christianity without the local church reshapes the faith into something Christ never designed: a self-directed spirituality without shared experience.

b) Most New Testament Commands Require a Local Church

Many of the New Testament’s commands cannot be obeyed in isolation.

Submit to leaders who watch over your soul
Encourage one another daily
Bear one another’s burdens
Practice church discipline
Gather regularly for worship and teaching
Use spiritual gifts for the good of others

These commands assume:

identifiable leaders
recognizable membership
regular gathering
mutual accountability

An invisible church cannot shepherd, stabilize, or restore anyone.

c) God Uses the Local Church to Protect and Mature Believers

The local church functions as God’s ordinary means of care.

Through the church, believers receive:

pastoral oversight
doctrinal protection
loving correction
encouragement during suffering
help in times of need

Outside the church, Christians often become vulnerable to drift, imbalance, or spiritual isolation. Community is not a restriction on freedom. It is a guardrail for faith.

d) Christianity Is Formed Through Shared Practices

Faith is shaped through repeated, shared practices:

hearing Scripture preached
praying together
worshiping together
confessing sin
celebrating grace

These habits train the heart over time. Detached spirituality often feels free but eventually becomes unstable. God forms steady, durable faith through the ordinary rhythms of church life.

e) The Local Church Makes the Gospel Visible

The church is the place where the gospel is not only proclaimed but displayed.

Love becomes visible
Forgiveness is practiced
Reconciliation is embodied
Unity across difference is seen

A Christian without the church may know the gospel, but the church is God’s chosen display of how redemption works.

f) Scripture Warns Against Isolation

The New Testament consistently warns believers against separation from the body.

Drift rarely begins with rebellion. It begins with disengagement. When believers slowly detach from the church, they often remain sincere but become increasingly disconnected from essential accountability and the resulting shared discernment.

Isolation feels free at first, but it ultimately weakens our faith. It is in the context of community life that God ‘moves’ his people.

· Think about Israel in the wilderness

· Think about the NT church in Acts 2

This large-group, small group mentality is how God matures his people in Nehemiah 8.

Second: A People Hungry for the Word (vv. 1–3)

God calls the people to assemble as one at the Water Gate and ask Ezra to bring the Book of the Law.

Most city gates in Jerusalem were tied to military protection, commerce, or judgment. The Water Gate, by contrast, was associated with the city’s water supply, likely connected to channels bringing water from the Gihon Spring.

Chronologically, this moment matters.

Nehemiah 1–7 focuses on rebuilding walls
Nehemiah 8 shifts to rebuilding hearts

Moving the gathering away from fortified gates reinforces the message that God’s people are not preserved by walls alone, but by the Word that gives life.

Third: The Power of Corporate Fellowship and Mutual Accountability (vv. 1–4)

The people gather “as one man.” They remain attentive together for hours. No one is singled out; everyone is addressed. God uses the gathered community to sustain the life of the individual.

When God’s people stand together, they learn how to stand before God rightly.

Preaching at the Water Gate marks a transition from external security to internal formation. Preaching the Law at a gate suggests:

· the Word is meant to shape public life

· obedience flows outward into the city

· faith is not confined to the temple courts (church) alone

This aligns with what happens next. The people go back to their homes changed, rejoicing, practicing generosity, living differently. The Word enters the city through the gate and then spreads through the people. This is what we hope for Heritage; the preached word will change the way we live and pour into our community.

APP : Obedience is rarely sustained alone. God often uses the community to keep us listening, understanding and applying the Word.

Fourth: The Word Read and Revered (vv. 5–6)

When Ezra opens the book, all the people stand. Worship frames instruction.

The people’s collective response reinforces reverence. Standing together declares that God’s Word governs all of them equally. No one is above it; no one is exempt from it.

IMP: Reverence prepares the heart, but understanding directs the life.

APP: Our Christianity grows stronger when practiced together.

Fifth: The Word Explained Clearly for the Whole Community (vv. 7–8)

The Levites move among the people, explaining the Law so that everyone understands.

Understanding is communal work. Teaching is not distant or detached. It is relational, patient, and attentive to the needs of the people. In this way, everyone is reached by the Word.

IMP: When understanding spreads, conviction follows.

APP: CGs should:

Encourage questions, dialogue, and shared learning and maturing environments.
Resist the idea that Scripture is only for the trained or articulate.

Sixth: The Word That Convicts and Heals Together (vv. 9–11)

The people weep as one when they understand the Law.

The leaders shepherd the moment carefully, reminding the people that this holy day calls for joy rooted in grace, not despair. Without that shared community, the people would have misunderstood God’s intent and lived in mourning instead of joy.

APP: Community helps us define and apply the Word

Seventh: The Word Produces Shared Joy and Obedience (v. 12)

The people depart together rejoicing, because they understood the Word.

a) The joyful life grows when understanding is shared.

b) Understanding binds the people together in a common direction.

APP: A church shaped together by the Word becomes a stable and joyful witness.

Conclusion: Throughout the Bible, God ‘moves’ his people in a large group, small group blueprint. Nehemiah 8 shows that our spiritual lives are never merely individual. God reforms a people together through His Word. Hunger spreads. Understanding deepens. Obedience strengthens. Joy multiplies.

When God’s people live together with the Word at the center of their lives, the joy of the Lord becomes their shared strength.

Note:

1 John is written to: churches (plural), not an individual

No personal greeting
Uses repeated plural address (“we,” “you,” “us”)
Addresses communal issues:
false teachers
shared doctrine
love for one another
corporate assurance
Assumes a body that:
hears apostolic teaching
practices mutual love
discerns truth together

Conclusion: 1 John is a circular letter intended for multiple local congregations, likely in Asia Minor. It does not function as a private devotional letter. Its commands require shared life.

2 John is probably written to a church, personified as a “lady”

Most interpreters understand:

“the elect lady” = a local church
“her children” = members of that church
“your sister” (v. 13) = another church

Why this matters:

John warns about false teachers entering the community
Instructions involve corporate boundaries
Hospitality and discernment are communal responsibilities

Conclusion: 2 John is not a private letter to a woman, but a pastoral letter to a local congregation, using familial language.

3 John is written to: an individual (Gaius), but about church life

This one is personal, but notice the context:

Concerns:
hospitality toward traveling teachers
church authority
a domineering leader (Diotrephes)
All issues are ecclesial
Gaius is addressed as a church member, not an isolated believer

Even here, the letter assumes:

a functioning congregation
recognizable leadership
communal responsibility

Conclusion: 3 John is written to an individual within a church, addressing problems in that church.

Wednesday. Read Nehemiah 8:1–3.

Think. The people gather “as one man” and ask for the Book of the Law. This is not driven by Ezra or Nehemiah but by God who calls the people together. Their hunger is shared, visible, and sustained by being together.

Reflect. Consider how often your own desire for Scripture has been strengthened by others. God often uses the gathered body to keep us attentive when our focus might naturally fade and our resolve weaken. Your CG is essential to forming a people who fulfill the Great Commandment and Great Commission.

Apply. As a CG leader, how might your group sense that you are standing under the Word alongside each other?

Pray. Ask the Lord to renew your personal hunger for his Word in a way that is shaped and sustained by the church.

Thursday. Read Nehemiah 8:7–8.

Think. The Levites explain the Law in small groups of people so the nation can understand and apply the reading. The people’s understanding is not assumed. It is cultivated patiently, relationally, and across the whole assembly through small groups.

Reflect. This text reminds us that preaching takes place in the large group but clarity is realized in the small group. Essential spiritual growth happens when the Word is made plain within the body.

Apply. As you prepare to lead your CG, aim to clarify the Word to them, just like it happened in this text. Ask questions that invite participation. Leave room for processing. Trust that the Spirit works through shared understanding.

Pray. Pray for humility as you teach, asking God to help you serve the understanding of your CG.

Friday. Read Nehemiah 8:9–12.

Think. The people weep together when they understand the Law, and they rejoice together when the leaders remind them of God’s grace. Community shapes both conviction and response. Left alone, the people of Israel would have misunderstood the point of what God was saying.

Reflect. God uses the church to help us interpret our spiritual experiences rightly. Shared discernment guards us from misinterpreting and misapplying the Word. Joy here flows from understanding the Word together.

Apply. As you lead, watch how your CG responds to the Word. Be attentive to both heaviness and joy. Help your CG understand how the Christian life is sustained by the body at Heritage.

Pray. Thank God for forming his people together. Ask God to ensure your CG is a place where the shared Word leads to lasting joy and lived obedience.

Seriously, Every Sunday?

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:20:20 GMT

Why God Calls His People to Gather

Seriously, Every Sunday?

(Why God Calls His People to Gather)

Hebrews 10:19-25

Intro: Heritage’s mission is “making disciples here and around the world,” and our elders have selected 8 disciplines to identify what success looks like for us. We’ve painted the target in the Discipleship Wheel.

Picture: Discipleship Wheel

The first discipline we’re looking at is the “Sunday morning gathering.” This morning, I want to tell you why the elders have selected this habit as an essential discipline.

First: Note, the Discipleship Wheel Doesn’t Say “Sunday Worship”

Worship is an attitude before it is an action.

There are 4 primary Greek words for ‘worship’ in the NT:

• Proskuneō: humble submission before God (to bow before)

Carpe Diem, Coram Deo – Seize the day before the face of God.

• Latreuō: faithful service flowing from devotion

• Sebomai: reverent awe shaping the heart

• Leitourgia: shared, public expression of God’s worth

Proskuneo and Sebomai are attitudes.

Latreuo and Leitourgia are actions.

The attitude creates and shapes the actions. It’s a matter of “beholding is becoming” or “being is becoming.” Worship is about who you are in relation to God, not what you do for God.

Worship is a 24/7, not just Sunday, attitude of recognizing God’s worth and placing him at the center of our lives, much like the Discipleship Wheel.

a) Outwardly, the Trinity resources the disciplines

b) Inwardly, the disciplines are invitations to love and experience God

This means worship is not confined to singing or gathering but everything on the wheel is ‘worship.’

At the same time, worship naturally culminates in the gathered assembly, where God’s people bow together, serve together, revere together, and offer themselves together to our God.

So, that’s why we don’t call the discipline worship. All the disciplines are worship and a worshipping life practices the disciplines.

Second: We Gather Because We Have Access to God Through Christ (vv. 19–21)

Note: Whenever you read a “therefore,” find out what it’s “there for…”

The word translated “therefore” functions like a theological hinge. It often connects doctrine to devotion, and here, the gospel to the gathering, or Christ’s work to the church’s life.

So, the author of Hebrews does not tell us what to do until it has told us what Christ has done. It’s the “indicative,” “imperative” order. “This is true.” “This is what it means to you.”

1. What comes before the “therefore” in Hebrews 1–10:18?

Verse 19 looks backward across the entire argument of Hebrews.

a) Christ Is the Final and Greater High Priest. Jesus is superior to angels, Moses, and every former mediator. He is the true High Priest who stands permanently before God on our behalf.

b) Christ Offered the Final Sacrifice. Unlike the repeated sacrifices of the old covenant:

• Jesus offered himself once.

• His sacrifice actually removes sin.

• Nothing remains to be added.

Hebrews 10:14 summarizes it: “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

c) The way into God’s presence is open

- The old system restricted access.

- The new covenant grants confidence.

IMP: The curtain is no longer a barrier but a testimony to the fact that Christ has opened the way.

2. What comes after the “therefore” in Hebrews 10:19–25

Because of what Christ has done, the writer gives three communal exhortations, all introduced by “let us”:

1. Let us draw near (v. 22)

2. Let us hold fast (v. 23)

3. Let us consider one another (v. 24)

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God…

• The curtain is torn.

• Access is no longer restricted to a priest, a place, or a moment.

• Jesus is both the sacrifice and the great high priest.

• The gathered church is a people invited into God’s presence together.

Sunday gathering connection

• When the church gathers, it is not recreating sacrifice.

For instance, the Lord’s Table is a memorial to us.

• It is responding to finished sacrifice.

• Corporate worship is a shared entrance into grace, not a private spiritual add-on.

APP:

a) Sunday worship re-centers us in a world that constantly pulls us toward self-sufficiency.

b) Singing, praying, and listening together rehearses the truth that we come by grace, not merit.

Third: We Gather to Draw Near Together, Not Alone (v. 22)

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

a) Drawing near is in communal language – “Let us…”

b) Faith is personal but never private.

c) Our assurance of the truth/facts is strengthened in shared worship.

Sunday gathering connection

• The weekly gathering is God’s appointed rhythm for drawing near as a body.

• We all hear the same Scripture read aloud.

• We all hear the same word together.

• We all receive assurance together.

APP: Gathering on Sunday strengthens our individual faith but our faith is never intended to be individual

Note: The three most often repeated NT metaphors for the church are:

a) A body – you need more than one member to make a body

b) A building – you need more than one brick to make a building

c) A bride – you need a groom to have a bride

Just like God lives in eternal community, he’s invited us into his body, his building and to be his bride.

The epistles – letters on how to live as Christians - are written to churches, not to individuals. (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon and 2 & 3 John are exceptions).

POINT: The NT assumes regular corporate gathering, shared teaching, worship, and mutual responsibility.

• When your personal faith feels shaky, the gathered church carries you.

CG Leaders: Ask your CGs for personal illustrations of how the church has carried them.

• Corporate confession reminds us we are not the only ones who are living for Jesus.

• Corporate praise lifts our eyes to others when our own lives feel alone.

Excurses: What about the “with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” See my Note at the end of the sermon notes.

Fourth: We Gather to Hold Fast Our Hope in a Shaking World (v. 23)

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for he who promised is faithful.

a) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

The Greek of “hold fast” is very important:

Katechō (κατέχω) = to hold firmly, to grasp tightly, to keep secure or to restrain from slipping or being taken away.

It combines kata = down, against and echō = to have, to hold. The picture is pressing down on something so it cannot move.

Katechō implies: deliberate effort, ongoing resistance and external pressure

We hold fast to our faith because something is trying to pull it away and us away from it.

Elsewhere, katechō is used for:

• Suppressing the truth (Romans 1:18)

• Holding a tradition firmly (1 Corinthians 11:2)

• Restraining force (2 Thessalonians 2:6–7)

In every case, the idea is active containment against pressure.

We are holding fast to “the confession of our hope.”

• The publicly declared gospel

• The shared truth of who Christ is and what he has done

• The hope confessed together in worship, creed, and proclamation

Why the Command Is Corporate

Notice the grammar:

• “Let us hold fast”

• Not “hold fast privately”

• Not “hold fast individually”

The verb assumes communal reinforcement.

This is why verse 25 immediately speaks of meeting together. The gathering exists precisely because katechō is difficult alone.

Sunday gathering connection

• The church gathers weekly to rehearse the confession.

• Creed, song, Scripture, and sermon stabilize belief.

• Hope is preserved through repetition, not novelty.

APP: All week the world catechizes you. The Sunday gathering re-catechizes you in the gospel through multiple voices.

b) “And let us consider how to stir up one another…” =

a) Growth is thoughtful. We don’t gather accidentally, casually or thoughtlessly

b) Growth is relational.

- Body - The human body grows together.

- Building - A building is supported by its parts

- Bride - Two become one

c) Love requires proximity.

d) Good works are cultivated, not commanded in isolation.

e) The Sunday gathering creates space for mutual encouragement.

f) This means your presence matters.

g) Seeing faces, hearing voices, sharing burdens shapes faith obedience.

APP:

• We cannot stir one another from a distance.

• The Sunday gathering reminds us that following Jesus is a shared journey.

• Our faith matures in community, not in isolation.

Fifth: We Gather Because God Uses the Gathering to Sustain Faith (v. 25)

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,

but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

a) Three important thoughts;

• Neglect is gradual, not dramatic.

• Encouragement is preventative care for the soul.

• The Day is drawing near.

c) The Sunday gathering

• Is not optional spiritual enrichment.

• It is God’s appointed means of perseverance.

• The nearer we move toward the end, the more we need one another.

APP:

• The “habit” of your presence reshapes your priorities.

• Your presence reminds you of what is important.

• It also retrains your desires

So that, perhaps without even realizing your faith is preserved through ordinary, faithful gathering over time.

Conclusion: The weekly gathering of God’s people is not about attendance but about

access,

assurance,

hope,

love, and

endurance.

God calls us together to imitate his life. He calls us together because we need each other

Our Sunday gathering is grace in communal form.

It is where Jesus meets his people together, teaches them how to live in the world and love each other and where he keeps us together until the Day he returns, occurs.

NOTE: – with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

First: What the Language Is Drawing From:

1. Old Covenant Priestly Washing

Under the law, priests:

• Were first sprinkled with blood (Think brazen altar)

• And then washed with water before entering God’s presence (Think brazen laver) Exodus 29; Leviticus 8).

The writer of Hebrews has been working with this priestly framework throughout chapters 7–10.

Since we are the new priests to God, this blood and water metaphor makes good sense.

Second: What the Two Clauses Represent

1. “Hearts sprinkled clean”

• Refers to inner cleansing.

• The conscience is purified by Christ’s blood.

• This is justification and regeneration.

2. “Bodies washed with pure water”

• Refers to outward cleansing, using priestly imagery.

• Symbolizes moral and covenantal purity.

The pairing is deliberate, emphasizing the whole person, inner and outer, heart and body, not merely spirit and ritual.

Third: Is Baptism in View?

Some people say ‘yes,’ because of:

• Water imagery.

• Early Christians naturally associated washing with baptism.

• Baptism is the visible sign of inward cleansing.

But I don’t think the phrasing is about or can be restricted to baptism because:

• Baptism is never mentioned explicitly.

• The argument is about access to God, not entry into the church.

• The controlling metaphor is temple access, not initiation rites.

• The cleansing described is something believers already possess, not something being administered.

I hope that helps if someone asks about that phrase.

Remember friends, the TRAP devotional is intended to fulfil Colossians 3:16 which reads,

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly”

and give you time to

“Think over what I say for the Lord will give you understanding in everything”

(2 Timothy 2:7).

I hope it is a blessing, and not a burden to you.

Monday

“Therefore…” (Hebrews 10:19–21)

Think. Hebrews 10:19 begins with “therefore,” which means the call to gather flows from Christ’s finished work, not from obligation. This is a real joy, friends. All of Christianity is grace. Our access to God is already secured by Jesus’ blood, his torn flesh, his death, resurrection and exaltation as our ever-living priest. Before any exhortation appears, assurance is given to us.

Reflect. Notice how often we instinctively reverse the order, living as if gathering earns access instead of responding to access. Who would refuse the invitation from a President or King or Queen? We have been invited into God’s presence. Remind yourself this week, and your CG, that nothing we do improves our standing before God. Christ has already opened the way. He is the way.

Apply. As a CG leader, resist approaching Sunday as something you must “bring” to God. Instead, prepare to gather as someone who already stands welcomed. The life of God is pouring into you and out of you by the Holy Spirit. Let your life-tone this week, with family, coworkers, and group members, reflect this assurance and rest, rather than spiritual pressure. And pray that for me too because I am prone to feel the pressure of studying and preaching.

Pray. Father, slow my heart down enough to live from what is already true and rest in you in every role I play. Guard me from treating obedience as a way to earn what Christ has already secured. Teach me to live and lead from access, not anxiety.

Tuesday

Drawing Near Together (Hebrews 10:22)

Think. “Let us draw near” is communal language. Faith is personal, but never private. We live rehearsing the life of the Trinity. It is not good for us to be “alone” and an omniscient God knows it. The imagery of hearts sprinkled, and bodies washed emphasizes whole person cleansing that believers already possess in Christ. The goal is to live whole lives before God and people!!!

Reflect. Where have you tried to draw near to God alone in ways that quietly detach you from his people? Think about those moments when the body carried you because your own faith felt weak. Share that with your CG this Sunday and encourage them to do that also.

Apply. Intentionally pray for your Community Group by name this week. Let Scripture remind you and your CG that our faith is strengthened in shared rhythms, not isolated spirituality.

Pray. Lord, thank you that I do not draw near alone. Thank you for a CG and a church body who help carry my faith when mine feels fragile. Knit my heart more deeply to your church. Help me to lead my CG to love your church.

Wednesday

Holding Fast in a Shaking World (Hebrews 10:23)

Think. “Hold fast” translates katechō, to grip firmly against pressure. The confession of our hope must be actively held because something is always trying to pull it away. What is that for you? For your CG. But remember, the strength to hold fast rests not in us, but in God’s faithfulness. The disciplines are resourced by the Trinity: God’s plan, the Son’s performance, the Spirit’s power.

Reflect. Name the pressures currently working against your hope. Notice how easily hope erodes when we fail to gather with the body and how often the church’s shared words in preaching, teaching or fellowship steady us when we feel unstable.

Apply. Read the whole sermon test today so that it can catechize you. Let the Scripture recalibrate your heart.

Pray. Faithful God, you know how easily my grip loosens. Anchor my hope in your promises, in what Jesus has already doen and in the Spirit’s power. Then, use your gathered people to help me hold fast when my world shakes and don’t let me miss the words or deeds of encouragement.

Thursday

Considering One Another (Hebrews 10:24)

Think. Growth is thoughtful and relational. Love and good works require proximity. “Let us consider” means intentional attention, not accidental presence. The Greek, “katanoeō means, to notice carefully, to observe attentively, to think through deliberately, to fix one’s mind on something with depth and intention.” Are you doing this each Sunday? Is your CG?

Reflect. Think about the people in your group. Who needs attention? Encouragement? Who might be quietly drifting? Ask the Holy Spirit to shape your awareness of the people in your CG and in the church. Then, challenge your CG with these thoughts.

Apply. Reach out to one person in your CG or the church today with no agenda other than the encouragement of your voice. Let your presence reinforce the truth that faith matures in community, not in isolation.

Pray. Jesus, teach me to see people the way you do and love them as you do. Free me from self-focused faith and grow in me a thoughtful, attentive love that stirs others toward you.

Friday

Encouragement and Perseverance (Hebrews 10:25)

Think. Neglect is gradual, encouragement is preventative, and the Day is drawing near. (Read The Screwtape Letters for a good picture of how we drift from God). Our Sunday morning gathering is not optional enrichment but God’s means of sustaining faith over time.

Reflect. Consider how the ordinary, faithful gathering of God’s people has preserved your faith in past seasons of your life. Let gratitude for the church fill your heart this week as you prepare to invite your CG into that same grace.

Apply. As you prepare to teach, resolve not to motivate anyone in your CG with shame or fear. Speak as a CG leader who believes the Sunday gathering is grace in communal form. It really is!

Pray. Father, thank you for using ordinary rhythms like the weekly gathering of your people to do this eternal work in me and your body. As I lead my CG, help me point people to grace, not pressure, and to Christ, not mere habit.

The Disciplines as the Christ Life

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:52:55 GMT

Discipleship from a Trinitarian Center

The Disciplines as the Christ Life.

Why Spiritual Disciplines?

At Heritage, we are "making disciples here and around the world." But what is a disciple? To answer that question, our elders have designed a wheel that defines discipleship for our congregation. In alphabetical order, those disciplines that create a disciple are:

· Community Groups

· Evangelism

· Giving

· Mentoring

· Prayer

· Scripture

· Service

· Sunday Worship

Each of these spiritually forming practices will be discussed in depth later; however, first, let's explain why the disciplines are essential.

1. Everyone Is Being Formed

Every day of your life, something is shaping you, forming you, into something, into someone. It is happening whether you know it or not, whether you are paying or not, whether you like it or not. In Desiring the Kingdom, James K. A. Smith reminds us that we are shaped by patterns, habits, and the stories we inhabit. As human beings, we are defined not only by what we think, but also by the customs, routines, and practices that fill our lives and shape our loves. In short, we are what we love, and what we love is evidenced by how we live.

Smith observes that no place on earth is neutral. Every cultural institution tells and sells a story. The mall not only sells products; it narrates a vision of the good life. The classroom not only imparts information; it forms a worldview. The stadium not only hosts games; it enacts a drama of glory and belonging. The television not only entertains; it scripts values and normalizes behavior and desires. Streaming platforms do not only offer endless choice; they curate our attention and train our appetites. Social media not only connects friends; it crafts identities, fuels comparison, and directs our longing for approval.

Each of these settings functions as a cultural liturgy. They perform stories about what is ultimate, and they tug our hearts toward primary allegiances other than God. The more we participate in them, the greater their shaping influence. Something is constantly forming us. The question is never whether we are being formed, but by what and into whom. The disciplines are intended to illustrate the life Jesus lived and help us follow him (Matthew 4:19).

2. This is why Christians Need God-Centered Disciplines

At Heritage, we view spiritual disciplines as sacred rhythms, God-given practices that are means of grace, tools that help shape us into the likeness of Jesus, teaching us what and how to live as He did. They are not laborious chores or morality boxes to check. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, but we're also fallen (Psalm 139:14). Like a shattered mirror, our lives often reflect a fragmented image, divided by lesser loves and distracted from our true purpose: loving God with all we are (Luke 10:27) and living by his kingdom-coming agenda.

Without this God-centeredness, we cannot be the people God created us to be. Nor can we inherit the resulting blessing of that life. Without God at the center, we run after things and people that repeatedly frustrate and disappoint us, creating distorted, imbalanced, unhappy, resentful, even angry lives.

The disciplines define Christ's life for us and help realign us to a God-focused life. They bring clarity where we've been confused. They return God to the center, where He belongs, not just for our sake, but so that His grace flows through us to those we love and blessing the ends of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3). The disciplines are habits that shape us into the people God created us to be and reflect God’s kingdom (eco-system) in the world.

18

But let's be honest. We can twist even good things. There is always the danger of turning the disciplines into another heartless, legalistic "to-do" list, something else to do that makes us busier and more anxious. To live as Christian disciples, we must evaluate the God-centeredness or world-centeredness of our lives. But we must never abuse the disciplines, making them all about us.

It is our natural tendency to create idols out of anything; in this case, we can treat disciplines as functional gods that we think will save us or serve as ladders to gain God's favor. We can even abuse them to make us feel better about ourselves by comparing ourselves to others. That is why we must guard against turning these practices into lifeless routines or ways to feel superior to others. Grace makes us all even, all sinners in need of saving and as grace-based disciplines, we not only make room for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, but we give room for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of others as He sees fit. As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:4-27, we are one body, with one head, but with many members and different functions. The goal is to be like Jesus.

And these disciplines certainly aren't behavior hacks for a better life. You may be tempted to think, “If I do these things, I’ll have the ‘good’ life.” But remember: the disciplines are not ends in themselves. They are means of grace, pointing us to the Lord and shaping us for life with and for God. They are never substitutes for Him. So, we know the goal, likeness to Jesus, but we don’t know the path God may choose to make us like Jesus. God’s definition of ‘good’ may be vastly different than yours. But by faith, we know it’s ‘good’ (Romans 8:28).

In effect, the disciplines are the expression of Christ's life in us, birthed by the Spirit, shaped by the gospel, and pointing us to the most beautiful human who ever lived: Jesus (Romans 8:29). He is the one the Father perfectly loves (Matthew 3:17; 17:5), and He now lives in us. So, the disciplines help us fulfil the Great commandment to love God first and most (Luke 10:27).

This also means these practices aren't and can't be self-improvement tools. Too many Christians have misinterpreted Christianity and transformed Jesus into a picture of worldly success which they hope he will share with them, if only they are sincere enough and try hard enough. It’s bad enough that we try to make God in our image. It’s even worse that we don’t understand the difference and don’t feel sorry for trying to do so. But the disciplines are not intended as steppingstones to worldly success. They are fruit of a new heart, a new order of living that is often very counter-cultural to the world’s definition of success.

But we don't discipline ourselves into salvation. The disciplines are the outworking of our salvation. Salvation is God's work from beginning to end. The Father planned it (Ephesians 1:4–5), the Son accomplished it (Ephesians 1:7), and the Spirit applies it (Ephesians 1:13; Titus 3:5). In the end, Jesus, as the Bible presents him, the king of another world, very unlike this one, is the goal.

The story is told that Michealangelo was once asked how he created the statue of David and two answers are commonly shared. One is that he saw a man on the inside of the marble slab and simply set him free. The other is that he simply cut away everything on that slab that didn’t look like David. Both of these answers define the Christ-life in us. God has placed Christ’s Spirit in us and Christianity is Jesus living freely in us. And it’s also true that God’s sanctifying work cuts away everything about us that doesn’t look like Jesus.

Because God is Triune, eternally living as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, he doesn't just save us and leave us to ourselves. He invites us into the very life of the Trinity. He has made us into his image (Genesis 1:26) and though now fallen, God is remaking that image in us. That eternal life of Trinitarian love is now our home. That's why the Trinity forms the very center of the discipleship wheel. The Father plans for us to look like the Son, the Son is the goal of our transformation, and the Spirit forms us into the image of the Son.

So, while the disciplines are necessary, they are never ultimate. They are not the cause of salvation, but its consequence. They are not the foundation, but the fruit. They are not our work for God, but God's grace at work in us. The disciplines are an invitation to participate in the life of God.

Our Christian life begins with God, is empowered by God, and leads to God's glory. And, by the way, God's glory and your best interests are always the same thing. When we talk about living to God's glory, we mean living in a way that is best for you because God created you and knows best how your life should function for maximum blessing.

4. Growth Requires Movements of Habits

Spiritual growth is built into the very nature of discipleship. Early Christians were repeatedly called followers of the Way (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23:22; 22:4; 24:14, 22). This implies that we have not arrived but are moving toward an ultimate destination, in this case, conformity to Jesus.

To be "born again" (John 3:3) is to begin life anew, to expect and delight in growth. Peter built on this new birth concept when he told Christians they should, "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation..." (1 Peter 2:2). This passion for growth necessarily requires change and leads to maturity. Paul provides a direction and goal for that growth when he writes, "…we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." (Ephesians 4:15).

Salvation from God's wrath may be instantaneous, but sainthood is a lifetime pilgrimage of conscious endeavor. This means discipleship is not a snapshot but a video. We do not stand still; we walk, we grow, we deepen, like seedlings reaching toward the sun, or travelers pressing onward down the road of Christ until we are fully formed in Him.

Growth also requires habit. Charles Duhigg, in The Power of Habit, explains why habits have such formative power. He describes the "habit loop" of cue, routine, and reward. Our brains are wired to run these loops automatically, which means habits quietly become the architecture of our lives. Changing a habit can change a life.

What Duhigg describes neurologically, the Christian tradition has long known spiritually. Our habits are liturgical practices. They do not merely express what we love. They also train what we love. When we pray daily, when we open Scripture, when we give generously, when we confess our sins, when we gather in worship, we are not simply performing duties. We are rewiring the heart to be like Christ's heart.

Duhigg also notes that habits compound. Small practices accumulate into powerful change over time. Spiritually, this means that even the smallest disciplines matter. A whispered prayer at dawn, a pause of gratitude before a meal, a verse of Scripture recited on the walk to class, all of these shape the soul. Over time, they carve grooves in the heart where grace can freely and abundantly flow.

Duhigg also describes "keystone habits," practices that trigger transformation across multiple areas of life. For Christians, the spiritual disciplines function as keystone habits. Regular prayer not only deepens communion with God but also cultivates patience, humility, and compassion. Generous giving not only blesses others but also loosens the grip of greed in our own hearts. Weekly worship not only honors God but reframes our identity for the week ahead. Keystone habits of faith set off ripple effects that extend far beyond the single practice.

5. Our Hearts are the heart of the Disciplines

Christian growth requires not only movement and habit, but also heart. In Scripture, the "heart" is far more than our emotions. It is the deep control center of who we are, the place where mind, will, and affections converge and emerge. The heart is the control room of life: from it flow our thoughts, our choices, our loves, and our actions (Proverbs 4:23). It is the place that can be hardened in sin or softened by grace, polluted by idols or cleansed by God. This is why the Lord promises to give His people a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26).

This new heart doctrine implies that there are at least two heart orientations: one toward God and one away from God. It also suggests we can sometimes be one thing on the outside and another thing on the inside, double-minded and heart-divided. This is what God meant when he complained, "this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me…" (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8).

The goal of the disciplines is single-mindedness and single-heartedness. This is what it means to live with integrity or wholeness. This is also why we are urged to love God with all our heart (Deut. 6:5). It is not our natural disposition. Spiritual formation, then, is first and foremost slow, ongoing, conscious, and intentional heart work. God reshapes us from the inside out, and our disciplines are ways of opening the heart to His transforming presence.

6. An Expulsive New, Life-Changing Power

At the center of Jesus' earthly life was love for the Father. As He said, "I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father" (John 14:31). Every word, every action, every breath of Jesus was filled with that love. So, if we are serious about following Him, love must be at the center of our lives too. To be Jesus’ disciple is to love what He loved and to love the way He loved. That's why He said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). True discipleship isn't fueled by cold duty; it flows from a deep delight. Jesus' obedience sprang from affection, not obligation. And as we practice the disciplines of faith, His love can overflow in us, shaping us into people who live as He lived.

But let's be honest: there are times when we don't feel that overwhelming love for God, His people, or His mission. That happens to all of us. The good news is that there's a remedy. Thomas Chalmers, in his sermon The Expulsive Power of a New Affection, explained it like this: the only way to love God as we should is to replace our love for the world with a stronger love, a love for Jesus.

Chalmers pointed out that simply telling people to stop loving the world won't work. It's not enough to swap out sinful habits for religious ones; for instance, watching less television so you can spend more time in prayer and Bible reading. Nor do guilt or threats actually change us; they only push sin underground, where it eventually returns with even greater force. Jesus Himself warned about this kind of temporary change (Luke 11:24–26).

What we really need is for our desires to change. But here's the problem: we can't change them on our own. The only way our hearts can shift is by being captured by something greater than what already holds them. A greater love displaces a lesser one. That's why the most effective way to love what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8) is to encounter the One who embodies all of those things; Jesus Christ Himself.

This is how God designed us. The human heart was never meant to be empty; it was made to be filled with love for God. If we remove something, something else will rush in to fill the void. Only love for Christ can truly drive out rival affections and permanently reorient our hearts toward God. Discipleship, then, isn't about suppressing desires; it's about redirecting them. It’s not suppression but expression. It's not about loving something less but about loving Someone more. When we love Jesus as we ought, all competing loves lose their influence.

7. Depending on God to love God

Still, you may say, "But I don't feel that love for Jesus." You're not alone. David felt the same tension. In Psalm 119, he saw that his own heart leaned toward the world rather than toward God. He knew he couldn't change it himself. So, what did he do? He prayed. He asked God to teach him the value of His Word, to give him understanding, to lead him into obedience, to "incline" his heart toward God and away from selfishness, to turn his eyes from "worthless things" (vs. 32–37). He was doing two things simultaneously: asking God to change his heart while engaging in activities that could reorient his heart.

That is our path too. If you apply David's prayer to the disciplines, it means you practice them, not as empty rituals, because they aren't, but as opportunities for God to change your heart. As you pray, read, worship, and obey, you are asking God to use those practices to stir your affections for Him. Over time, His Spirit grows in you what you cannot grow yourself: a love strong enough to push out every rival and keep Christ at the center.

This is why Proverbs tells us to "keep your heart with all vigilance" (Proverbs 4:23). We need to guard our hearts because something will constantly fill them. For instance, your present life exposes what you love. The disciplines are the way to keep your heart filled with biblical practices that encourage your love for God. As we practice them, they align, or realign, our hearts with Jesus' heart, learning what He loved and how He lived. This is what it means to take His yoke on us and learn from Him (Matthew 11:29).

But here's the challenge: there is often a gap between what we know and how we live. That gap doesn't close by gaining more information. It is bridged by a relational knowledge of God that stirs love and drives obedience, much like David's prayer in Psalm 119. After all, Christianity is really all about relationships with God and his world. And the more we know God, the more we love Him. And the more we love Him, the more our lives begin to mirror His. The disciplines do this for us.

8. Disciplines Are Habits of Grace, but Busyness is an Obstacle

What Duhigg observes about human behavior becomes even more powerful when read through Scripture. Paul reminds us that we are being "transformed by the renewal of our minds" (Romans 12:2). This renewal, however, does not occur in a single moment. It happens through practices that reshape us over a lifetime. The disciplines are not mechanical self-improvement projects. They are channels of grace. They open space for the Spirit to do his sanctifying work.

In the end, habits matter because they carry us somewhere. The cultural liturgies of mall, stadium, classroom, and screen bend us toward rival loves. The holy habits of Scripture, prayer, service, and worship draw us closer to God. Over time, those patterns become second nature, until love for and of God becomes our deepest, truest instinct. In this way, spiritual disciplines are not heavy burdens. They are habits of freedom, anchoring us in Christ and releasing his life through us.

But there are obstacles.

One of the most significant challenges to cultivating spiritual habits is the sheer speed of our lives. We are often too busy to practice the very disciplines that would bring rest and renewal. Instead, other habits fill our calendars. The demands of work, family, hobbies, screens, and endless other activities crowd out essential disciplines that can form us into the person of Jesus. We live distracted and overcommitted, and in doing so, we forfeit the fruit of the Spirit that comes naturally when we are walking with God (Galatians 5:22-23).

John Mark Comer describes our modern condition with clarity and insight. He notes that hurry is not just a chaotic schedule; it is a disordered heart. In The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, he argues that we become what we give our time and attention to. Our hurried pace of life, always rushing from one task to another, leaves little room to be with, hear, and follow God. The result is that we live more worldly lives than godly ones. We've become people who are anxious about everything because our habits keep us restless.

The irony is that we often assume busyness is a sign of importance, when in fact it is usually a sign of misplaced priorities. Comer warns that hurry and love are incompatible. Love requires presence, patience, and attention. Hurry allows for none of these. When our calendars are crammed, our souls cannot be still. The liturgies of consumerism and self-centeredness distract us from God and quietly replace the disciplines that train us in grace.

If we are to be spiritually formed into the image of Jesus, we must take inventory of our lives. We must ask hard questions about how we are investing our time. Are our daily practices drawing us deeper into Christ, or are they pulling us away? To live as kingdom people means eliminating what does not advance Christ's cause in us and intentionally adding what does. Discipleship is as much about subtraction as it is addition. As such, the disciplines are sacred invitations into the life of Jesus, to know Him, believe in Him, and follow Him. They create space for God to meet us and for his love to take root.

To walk with Jesus requires this kind of margin. It requires courage to say 'no' to cultural scripts that equate worth with productivity and 'yes' to practices that cultivate grace. The way of Jesus is not hurried. It is deliberate and present. To follow him, we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry, clear space for God, and embrace the disciplines that conform us to Christ. Jesus himself says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). To live at his pace is to discover a healthy rhythm to life.

9. Jesus Presents the Model Rhythm

When Jesus walked this earth, He lived in a holy rhythm incorporating these disciplines.

a) Community Groups – Jesus lived in committed community.

From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus “appointed twelve…so that they might be with him” (Mark 3:14). They traveled together, ate together, learned together, served together, and struggled together. This intentional, shared life mirrored the fellowship of the Trinity and became the primary environment where Jesus formed disciples. He did not disciple the crowds; He discipled a small group.

b) Evangelism – Jesus sought the lost.

His mission statement was clear: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus moves toward sinners, outsiders, and the broken. He ate with tax collectors, spoke with Samaritans, healed lepers, and proclaimed good news to the poor. Evangelism was not a program He ran. It was the posture of His life.

c) Giving – Jesus embodied generous self-giving.

Though He owned nothing (Matt. 8:20), Jesus lived with open-handed generosity. He multiplied food for the hungry, provided wine for a wedding, and ultimately “became poor” so that we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). The cross stands as the supreme act of giving: His life offered freely for the life of the world.

d) Mentoring – Jesus trained others through word and example.

He taught the crowds, but He mentored the disciples. He explained parables privately (Mark 4:34), modeled humility by washing their feet (John 13:14–15), corrected their pride, strengthened their faith, and sent them out two by two to practice what they had learned. His entire ministry was a masterclass in Spirit-filled mentorship.

e) Prayer – Jesus lived in continual communion with the Father.

Prayer shaped His rhythm. He rose early to pray (Mark 1:35), withdrew to desolate places for fellowship with the Father (Luke 5:16), prayed before major decisions (Luke 6:12–13), and prayed in deep anguish in Gethsemane (Luke 22:39–46). Prayer was His lifeline and the engine of His obedience.

f) Scripture – Jesus lived by every word of God.

In the wilderness, He resisted temptation by quoting the Word (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10). In the synagogue at Nazareth, He read Scripture publicly and applied it to Himself (Luke 4:16–21). He interpreted His mission through the lens of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:27, 44). Scripture was His authority and nourishment.

g) Service – Jesus chose the downward path of love.

He healed the sick, touched the unclean, fed the hungry, and welcomed children. He declared that “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45). His entire life, and especially His death, revealed greatness expressed through sacrificial service.

h) Sunday Worship (Sabbath gathering) – Jesus honored corporate worship.

Jesus regularly entered the synagogue “as was his custom” (Luke 4:16). In these weekly gatherings, He read Scripture, taught, sang psalms, and participated in the communal worship of Israel. His resurrection on the first day of the week established the pattern that the early church carried forward. Jesus showed that corporate worship is a weekly anchoring point for life with God.

And now, because His Spirit lives in us, that same cadence begins to pulse through our lives as well. Not as forced imitation, as though we are trying to copy His steps by memory, but as a Spirit-shaped rhythm, a (super) natural way of being. It is like breathing for the soul: unforced, life-giving, constant.

The disciplines, then, are not hollow rituals or religious motions. They are the ordinary ways the extraordinary life of Jesus shows itself in His people. Just as fruit on a tree is evidence of the life hidden within, so disciplines like prayer, Scripture, worship, and fellowship are signs that Christ is alive in us. These practices are the living echoes of His presence, shaping us into His likeness from the inside out.

And this is not for our benefit alone. The rhythm of Jesus in us becomes a testimony to the world around us. When His life takes root in our schedules, habits, and responses, people catch glimpses of Him: grace in the face of pressure, peace in the midst of chaos, and joy in the ordinary. It becomes, as Paul put it, "…no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). To embody His life is to radiate His presence, so that others might be drawn to the same grace that first reached us.

10. Disciplines Create Great Commandment & Great Commission Disciples

This makes perfect sense. God is love (1 John 4:8, 16), and we are made in His image. To be human is to love. The question isn't if we love, but what we love. And if we're not careful, we'll love all the wrong things. That's why Jesus calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). When we love Him first and most, we love everything else correctly. The disciplines train that love. They help us fix our eyes on what is most valuable and worthy, God Himself.

Think about your daily rhythms. Where do your thoughts drift when you're alone? How do you spend your time, energy, and attention? Those habits already reveal your loves. Similarly, spiritual disciplines don't create your passion; they redirect it. They fan it into flame. That's what Jesus meant in Luke 14:26 when he said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." He isn't calling us to despise our families but to order our affections properly, placing Him above every competing love. The goal of discipleship is to keep aiming our love at the right target. With Jesus as our divine source, love for God and our neighbor will naturally flow from us.

And so the disciplines create a life of Great Commandment and Great Commission, loving God and others. They are two sides of the same coin. One tells us what to love; the other tells us how to love. To be a disciple is to live in response to both: to love God with all our being, and to make Him known in all the world (Matthew 28:18-20). This is what makes a disciple, and the disciplines shape that kind of life, a life that loves God deeply and makes Him known widely.

11. A List of Disciplines (with Examples and Cautions)

At Heritage, we've gathered eight practices based on Jesus' life. They're not random, nor are they every discipline He practiced. But they are rooted in His example. As mentioned earlier, Jesus practiced each of these disciplines.

- Community Groups — Jesus gathered disciples (Mark 3:14) to share life and reflect the fellowship of the Trinity.

- Evangelism — He came "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10); His Spirit now sends us out to share the good news of the gospel.

- Giving — Jesus became poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9). Our generosity now flows from his example and Spirit.

- Mentoring — He trained others through teaching and modeling (John 13:14–15). We follow that same model in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

- Prayer — He sought time with the Father (Mark 1:35) and now, his Spirit prays in and through us (Romans 8:15).

- Scripture — He lived by God's Word (Matthew 4:4). We now hunger for it and are shaped by it as the foundation of our Christianity,

- Service — He came to serve (Mark 10:45). His life within us bends us outward in service to the world he created and loves.

- Sunday Worship — He honored the Sabbath (Luke 4:16); His resurrection on the first day of the week calls us to gather together to celebrate his life and return.

Of course, these aren't the only practices Jesus practiced. Nor are they the only possible disciplines modern Christians can practice. Contemporary Christian authors Richard Foster and Donald Whitney list many others, like solitude, fasting, simplicity, journaling, and celebration. These are helpful, and no single list is exhaustive.

For example, confession is vital (1 John 1:9; James 5:16), but it naturally fits within practices such as prayer or mentoring. Or someone might ask, "Shouldn't holiness be a discipline?" But holiness is the result of practicing these disciplines, not the root of them. We live holy lives as the Holy Spirit forms Jesus in us. We are, as Paul writes, "…being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). We don't produce holiness. It's the product of walking with Jesus.

12. Your Part in the Disciplines

The Holy Spirit supplies the power to live the life of a disciple, but we must choose to walk in step with Him. Remember that to follow Jesus, the disciples had to leave their vocations to make time and give energy to do so. Only we can make room for God. Only we can open our calendars, reorder our priorities, and carve out room for the practices that keep us moving forward on the Way.

Christianity is the Christ-life in us, but Paul never lets us think growth happens without our cooperation. After teaching that Christlikeness is the Spirit's work, he also exhorts believers to "cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). By and in the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ’s life, death, resurrection and exaltation, we are to “ to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

This walk is both a refusal and an offering. Salvation, Paul insists, is given so that "we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:1–2). In the disciplines, we make room for God and remove whatever seeks to steal our love for him. We choose not to let "sin reign in your mortal body; to make you obey its passions." How do we practically do this? We "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness." Instead, through these disciplines, "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness" (Rom. 6:12–13). By refusing to live as we once did and instead offering ourselves daily to God in spiritual disciplines, we discover the freedom of this promise: "sin will have no dominion over you" (Rom. 6:14).

Practically, this means reclaiming our time, energy, and affection from what pulls us off center from God and off course from following Jesus. It’s choosing to love Jesus most. And, according to the Great Commandment, only as we love God first and most, can we love ourselves, others and the world, correctly (Matthew 22:37-38). But again, we cannot simply leave a space. If you create a vacuum, something will fill it. Into the space you've made, plant the disciplines like seeds in the good soil of your transformed heart and it will nourish spiritual growth. The journey is not passive. It is an active pilgrimage of intentionally cooperating with the Spirit, step by step, until our lives bear the shape of Jesus Himself.

13. Final Reminder: The Disciplines Point to Christ and His Kingdom

We chose these eight disciplines not because they're easy, but because they reflect the life Jesus lived. And our hope is simple: that as you practice them, you'll fall more in love with God and become more like His Son. We sincerely pray that His life in you would spill out into every area: your family, your workplace, your friendships, your community, your city, and even the nations.

Still, as important as the disciplines are, they aren't the end goal. Instead, they point us forward to something else, to Someone else. The Old Testament prophets Jeremiah and Habakkuk envisioned a day when every heart will know God personally (Jeremiah 31:34) and the world will be flooded with God's glory (Habakkuk 2:14).

Right now, we live as saved yet fallen people who conduct our lives in a fallen world God will one day remake it even better than Eden. Until then, the disciplines may not come naturally (but they will, supernaturally), and there are times they certainly won't be easy to practice. But this is what Jesus means by taking up our crosses and following him. To lose our lives for his sake is to literally save them in every way possible (Luke 9:23–24).

Until the day Jeremiah and Habakkuk foresaw actually comes to pass, we continue to practice the disciplines that possess the power to transform us and the world. We gather in large and small groups. We share the gospel. We give. We mentor. We pray. We read Scripture. We serve. Not because these things earn us anything, but because they reveal something: the life of Jesus, living again in and through us.

These are not hollow routines. They are small rivers of grace, flowing toward the ocean of God's coming kingdom. A kingdom that will one day flood the earth. But until that day, the disciplines help us fully become (in practice) who we already are (positionally) in Christ. They enable us to live abundantly now and, one day, eternally in God’s triune love, which has been God’s grand goal since the very beginning.

Teaching Outline

Why Spiritual Disciplines?

Introduction

· Heritage’s discipleship wheel is comprised of Community, Evangelism, Giving, Mentoring, Prayer, Scripture, Service, Worship.

· The disciplines illustrate Christ’s life and enable us follow in him (Matt. 4:19).

First. Everyone Is Being Formed

· Formation is constant. Cultural liturgies shape our loves.

· We become what we repeatedly love and practice.

· The question is not if we are formed, but by what and into whom.

Second. Christians Need God-Centered Disciplines

· Disciplines are sacred rhythms, not boxes to check.

· Without God at the center life fragments into lesser loves.

· With God-ward practices life realigns to Christ and grace flows outward.

Third. Means of Grace, Not Self-Salvation

· The danger is that we can turn godly practices into idols, ladders, or self-help.

· Disciplines are means to meet God, not ends in themselves.

· Salvation is God’s work: Father planned, Son accomplished, Spirit applied.

· The Trinity anchors discipleship: to the Father through the Son by the Spirit.

Fourth. Growth Requires Movement and Habit

· Early Christians were followers of the Way.

· New birth expects growth (John 3:3; 1 Pet. 2:2; Eph. 4:15).

· Habits shape us. Small practices compound. Keystone habits ripple outward.

Fifth. The Heart is the Heart of the Disciplines

· The heart is the control center (Prov. 4:23). God gives a new heart (Ezek. 36:26).

· We should aim for single-hearted love of God (Deut. 6:5).

· Jesus obeyed from love for the Father (John 14:31).

· A greater affection expels lesser loves, reorienting our desire.

Sixth. Habits of Grace and the Obstacle of Busyness

· Transformation is lifelong renewal (Rom. 12:2).

· Disciplines are channels of grace, not burdens.

· Hurry crowds out love. Love needs presence and attention.

· The invitation is to eliminate hurry, clear space for God and receive Christ’s rest (Matt. 11:28).

Seventh. Jesus is the Model Rhythm

· Jesus exercised these disciplines.

· They are the ordinary ways His extraordinary life shows in His people.

· His rhythm in us becomes a witness of grace, peace, and joy (Gal. 2:20).

Eighth. Great Commandment and Great Commission Disciples

· We are made to love. The disciplines order our loves biblically.

· The Great Commandment orders love to God first (Matt. 22:37).

· The Great Commission sends love outward in loving mission (Matt. 28:18–20).

· The disciplines train both deep love and wide witness.

Ninth. Practical List with Examples and Cautions

· Community Groups: share life. Caution: attendance without vulnerability.

· Evangelism: seek the lost. Caution: method without mercy.

· Giving: joyful generosity. Caution: gift without gladness.

· Mentoring: imitate Christ together. Caution: control instead of care.

· Prayer: dependent communion. Caution: duty without delight.

· Scripture: hear and obey. Caution: information without transformation.

· Service: downward greatness. Caution: activity without abiding.

· Sunday Worship: weekly re-centering. Caution: consume rather than consecrate.

· Holiness is the fruit of the disciplines, not a separate discipline.

Tenth. Your Part

· Refuse sin. Present yourself to God daily (Rom. 6:11–14; 2 Cor. 7:1).

· If you create a vacuum, something will fill it. Plant disciplines like seeds in good soil.

Eleventh. The Expulsive Power of a New Affection

· Do not try to outmuscle desire. Replace it with a greater love for Christ.

· Fix your mind on what is excellent, centering your heart on Christ (Phil. 4:8).

Twelfth. Pray to Love God, then Practice Loving God

· Pray Psalm 119:32–37. Ask God to incline your heart to him.

· Use the disciples as places for God to change desire.

Thirteenth. Final Reminder: They Point to Christ and His Kingdom

· Practices are not ultimate. They point to Christ.

· The prophets foresaw a worldwide worship of God and the world filled with His glory (Jer. 31:34; Hab. 2:14).

· Until that day these streams of grace train us to live now in the life of the coming kingdom.

The Great Commission Gospel

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 16:35:04 GMT

What Now? The Great Commission Gospel Matt 28:18-20

Friends,

Merry Christmas week to you. John MacArthur was once asked how he prepared sermons. His response was, “Keep your bottom in the seat until the work is done.” That work ethic has always appealed to me but, it means, on short weeks like this particular Christmas week, when everything has to be completed by Tuesday at 4:30, the “work” requires the same number of “bottom in the seat” hours as any other week for it to get “done.” So, I began studying for this Sunday’s sermon yesterday afternoon and, waking up throughout the night to rethink and reshape it, I re-started “the work” early this morning. I’m fairly far into it but, if you peruse the notes, you’ll see that the ninth point is not yet developed. I’ll try to get to that this evening and then finish the sermon and complete the CG questions and Daily Devotions tomorrow morning. This will give everyone else who makes the Sunday preaching hour successful, all of Tuesday afternoon to create bulletin inserts, make the PowerPoint, etc. And that will enable all of our Heritage staff to enjoy Christmas Eve, Christmas and the day afterward, with family.

It is Christmas week and you may not have time to read each day’s CG leader devotion, but even if you have to read them all on Saturday, I hope you will read them. There are some real truth bombs in the TRAP devotional that will help you in life and in your CG.

I hope, that in all of the busyness of this season, you have time to reflect on Christmas as the birth of Jesus, the long-awaited fulfilment of God’s promise, the assurance that he will keep his promises to us, and the hope of Heaven he has promised to each of us. As you can, share that “good news of great joy” to your friends, relatives, neighbors and associates, particularly as you gather around the various tables you will enjoy this week.

Lord willing, I will see many of you Wednesday night at 5:30 for the Christmas Eve service.

Pastor Reggie

What Now?

The Great Commission Gospel

Matthew 28:18-20

(An ‘After-Christmas’ sermon)

Intro: There is a sense in which preaching answers the question, “So what,” “What does this mean,” or “What’s the big deal?”

It’s appropriate, after Christmas to ask, ““So what,” “What does this mean,” or “What’s the big deal?”

Jesus answers that for us in what is commonly known as The Great Commission.

· Matthew is often called the Great Commission Gospel because The Great Commission is often treated as a final command tacked onto the end of Matthew.

But Matthew did not end with mission; he built toward it.

From the genealogy to the resurrection, Matthew has been shaping a vision of a King whose reign was never meant to stop at Israel’s borders.

Matthew 28:18–20 is not a surprise. It is the inevitable conclusion.

First: Matthew Frames Jesus as the Fulfilment of OT Promises

Matthew opens with a genealogy that quietly signals a global horizon.

a) Jesus is the son of Abraham (Matt. 1:1) → “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3)

b) Jesus is the son of David (Matt 1:6) → “I will raise up your offspring after you… and I

will establish the throne of his kingdom forever… Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 12:12-13)

From the first verse, Jesus is presented not merely as Israel’s Messiah, but the fulfilment of God’s OT promises to Israel and the nations.

IMP: When we read Matthew’s genealogy, we might wonder why he doesn’t include every Old Testament name. The answer is simple and important:

1 - Matthew is not writing a modern family tree, he is making a theological claim. Biblical genealogies were never meant to be exhaustive. They were selective, purposeful, and symbolic.

2 - Matthew arranges Jesus’ lineage into three sets of fourteen to proclaim one central truth, Jesus is the true Son of David, the rightful King.

3 - Matthew highlights the figures that move God’s redemptive promise forward and omits others because his goal is not biological completeness but covenantal fulfillment.

4 - From the very first verse of his Gospel, Matthew is telling us that all of Israel’s history has been moving toward this moment, toward this King, toward this Christ.

So, Matthew’s moves us from Abraham, through whom God has promised the nations, through David, the King who will rule those nations, to Jesus, who is the fuliflment of the Abrahamic and Davidic promises.

Second: The Great Commission in Genesis

a) God begins the Bible with a commission, not merely a creation.

“So God created man in his own image… male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27).

Humanity is created as God’s image-bearers, meant to reflect His character, authority, and presence in the world.

b) God blesses humanity with a mission.

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…’” (Gen. 1:28).

The blessing is not private; it is missional. God sends Adam and Eve outward to multiply His image and extend His good rule over the whole earth.

What is their mission?

· They are to perpetuate the image of God by expanding the human family (“be fruitful and multiply”).

· Each child will be a regal image-bearer of the Lord to the rest of creation. They are also to Edenize the world, that it, to “fill the earth.”

· Eden is elevated, on a mountain (e.g., Ezekiel 28:13-14), down from which flows a river (Gen. 2:10).

· As more image-bearers are born, the Garden and Mt. Eden will need to expand to accommodate them.

· As the human family grows larger and larger, the real estate of Paradise will require more acreage.

Genesis 1:26-28 passage contains all the core elements of the Great Commission:

· Authority - God speaks as Creator, exercising authority over heaven and earth.

· Image-bearers - Humanity is created to reflect God’s rule and character.

· Sending - Adam and Eve are sent outward, beyond Eden, to fill the earth.

· Multiplication - They are to reproduce image-bearers.

· Kingdom expansion - God’s ordered, life-giving rule is to spread over the whole earth.

c) Eden is the starting point, not the destination.

Eden functions as God’s dwelling place on earth (Gen. 2:8–10), but humanity is commanded to fill the earth.

The goal was the expansion of Eden, that God’s presence would spread outward as His image-bearers spread outward.

d) Humanity was called to rule by reflecting God, not replacing Him.

“Let them have dominion…” (Gen. 1:26).

Adam and Eve were to rule as servant-kings and queens, exercising authority through care, cultivation, and obedience.

In Genesis 3, humanity rebels, Eden is lost, and the mission collapses into violence, exile, and death.

Eden is lost. Brother murders brothers. Violence mushrooms. People “exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator” ( Rom. 1:25 ).

The commission is fractured, but not broken, by the Fall.

We know this because God immediately promises restoration: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15).

The hope of a coming Deliverer, a new Adam, enters the story.

e) God reaffirms the Genesis commission through Abraham, who is Matthew’s starting

point.

“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).

The global scope of Genesis 1, God’s purpose in blessing of the nations through a promised seed, returns in Genesis 12, reappears throughout the OT, and picks up again in Matthew 1 with Jesus as the “blessing” by which God will bless the nations through Abraham.

In effect, Abraham and Sarah become Adam and Eve, 2.0.

And the Great Commission continues throughout Genesis.

· After Eden is lost, God repeatedly sends His chosen servants outward so that blessing might move beyond one family to many peoples.

· He promises Abraham that through his offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.

· He reaffirms that calling to Isaac and Jacob,

· In Joseph, we see the pattern lived out rather than merely spoken. Joseph is sent into the heart of the nations, where God’s presence goes with him, God’s wisdom is displayed through him, and countless lives are preserved because of him. Looking back, Joseph can say, “God sent me before you to preserve life.”

Genesis 45:5-7 - And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.”

Genesis 50:19–20 - (After Jacob’s death) - Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Genesis shows us that God’s mission has always advanced through faithful image-bearers living among the nations, in order that the blessing of life might spread. What Jesus commands in Matthew 28 is not new; it is the fulfillment of a mission Moses has been advancing throughout Genesis.

Transition: Which brings us back to Matthew in which

Third: Gentiles Appear at Key Moments Early On

Matthew repeatedly places Gentiles at decisive points in the story.

a) Three women in Jesus’ genealogy (Rahab, Ruth, and “the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba”), all Gentiles, signaling that God’s global redemptive plan.

Joshua 2:8 – (Rahab) - for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

b) The Magi (Matt. 2)

Matthew 2:1 – “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem…”

Who were the magi? They were pagan astrologers who travel far to worship Israel’s promised and newborn king.

Matthew is teaching the reader: this kingdom will not stay confined to Israel.

Fourth: Jesus’ Teaching Already Assumes a Global Mission

Long before Matthew 28, Jesus speaks in ways that stretch beyond Israel.

a) The Sermon on the Mount - “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14)

A city on a hill is visible to the nations, not hidden within one people.

b) The Lord’s Prayer “Your kingdom come… on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).

The scope is cosmic, not local.

‘

c) The Parables of the Kingdom (Matt. 13)

Matthew 13:31-32 - …‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. (See Ez 17:22-23 & Dan 4:12).

Matthew 13:47 - Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.

Jesus’ kingdom, by its very nature, is expansive.

Fifth: Jesus Regularly Commends Gentile Faith

Matthew, a gospel written primary to Jews, is intentional about including Gentles.

a) The Roman centurion (Matt. 8:5–13)

Jesus marvels: “I have not found such great faith in Israel.”

Matthew 8:11-12 - I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹² while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness.

b) The Canaanite woman (Matt. 15:21–28)

A Gentile woman, whom Jesus compares to a dog, persists in faith and receives mercy, while the disciples struggle to understand.

IMP: These episodes prepare the reader emotionally and theologically for a mission beyond Israel.

Sixth: Israel’s Rejection Is Paired with Expanding Inclusion

As Matthew progresses, resistance from Israel’s leaders increases.

‘

a) The parables of judgment (Matt. 21–22) speak of a kingdom taken from those who refuse it and given to others.

Matthew 21:43 - Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

Matthew 22:8–9 - Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.

1. People other than Jews will enter first (21:31)

2. The kingdom is taken from the Jewis and given to others (21:43)

3. The invitation is extended to all (22:9)

b) Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem (Matt. 23) signals a turning point.

When we reach Matthew 23 and hear Jesus weep over Jerusalem, we are not witnessing the collapse of God’s plan but the turning of the page. That moment marks the end of His public ministry to Israel’s leadership and the beginning of something larger. Rejection does not silence the gospel; it sends it outward.

What Jerusalem refused, the nations will receive. And so when we arrive at Matthew 28, Jesus stands on another mountain and speaks again, not in grief but in authority. The gospel that was resisted in Jerusalem is now commissioned to the world.

Matthew ends where he has been heading all along: the kingdom is no longer centered in one city but carried by disciples to the ends of the earth, and the same Jesus who lamented rejection now promises His presence “to the end of the age.”

Seventh: This Occurs In the Passion Narrative’s Global Overtones

At the cross:

a) The sign reads “King of the Jews,” which is a political, public claim (Matt 27:37).

b) A Roman centurion confesses, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matt. 27:54)

Eighth: The Great Commission Is the Inevitable Conclusion, Not a Surprise

So…when Jesus finally says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” in Matthew 28:18-20,

Matthew’s readers are meant to think: “Of course. This is where the story has been going all along”.

The Great Commission is not an add-on. It is the logical outcome of who Jesus is, how He has been received, and what kind of kingdom He has been announcing from page one of the Bible

Matthew is the Gospel that was always going somewhere

Ninth: This is what the Great Commission Looks like

(To work on Tuesday morning)

Use thought from Daily Devotion - The Great Commission does not with a task but with a promise: “I am with you always.” That’s such a glorious thought. From Eden to the New Jerusalem, God’s presence among his people has always been the goal. The mission is sustained not by strategy but by Emmanuel, God with us, until the end of the age. That friends, is a promise worth building our lives and church on!!!

Conclusion: The mission to the nations is not Plan B; it is the unfolding purpose of God when privilege gives way to unbelief.

Matthew is not just telling us what Jesus said at the end.
He is showing us who Jesus has always been.
The Great Commission is not a task added to discipleship—it is the overflow of knowing Jesus.

APP: Heritage’s mission is “making disciples here and around the world.”

The elders have defined a ‘disciple’ for Heritage, someone who is dedicated to:

1 Sunday morning gatherings

2 A community group

3 Service

4 Giving

5 Scripture

6 Prayer

7 Evangelism

8 Mentoring

See Discipleship Wheel at the end of the sermon notes.

This is how we fulfill the Great Commission at Heritage, by “making disciples – who look like this – here and around the world.” That’s the plan for 2026!

Theme

The Great Commission Was Always the Point

Monday — The Commission Begins with Authority

Text: Matthew 28:18; Genesis 1:26–28

Think. Jesus begins the Great Commission by grounding it in authority: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” This echoes Genesis 1, where God speaks as Creator-King and commissions humanity to rule, multiply, and fill the earth. God’s mission does not begin with our enthusiasm but with divine authority. From Eden onward, God’s purposes have always flowed from who He is, not from what we can accomplish. Isn’t that a glorious thought?

Reflect. Why is it essential that Jesus speaks of authority before He speaks of mission? How does seeing Genesis 1 as a commission reshape the way you understand The Great Commission?

Apply. As a CG leader, where are you tempted to treat mission as optional or secondary? How can you weekly emphasize this mission to your CG?

Pray. Lord Jesus, anchor my obedience in your authority, not my confidence. Teach me to follow in submission before I lead in action.

Tuesday — The Commission Survives the Fall

Text: Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:1–3; Matthew 1:1

Think. The Great Commission did not end when Eden was lost. Sin fractured humanity’s ability to carry out God’s mission, but it did not cancel God’s purpose. In Genesis 3:15, God promises a Deliverer. In Genesis 12, He promises Abraham that all families of the earth will be blessed. Matthew opens by declaring Jesus as the Son of Abraham, signaling that the original mission is being restored, not replaced.

Reflect. Why is it important to see the Great Commission as recovery, not reinvention? How does this protect us from seeing mission as Plan B?

Apply. How does this long biblical storyline, i.e., biblical theology, shape the way you teach Scripture to your CG, especially when discouragement or failure is present?

Pray. Faithful God, thank you that your purposes are not undone by human failure. Help me trust your long obedience even when the present feels broken.

Wednesday — The Mission Advances Through the Nations

Text: Genesis 45:5–7; Matthew 2:1–2; Matthew 8:11–12

Think. God advances His mission by sending His servants, like us, into the nations. Joseph is sent ahead “to preserve life.” The Magi travel from the East to worship Christ. A Roman centurion displays faith greater than Israel’s. Matthew consistently shows that God’s kingdom has always been moving outward, even when His people resist or misunderstand it.

Reflect. What does Joseph’s story teach us about God’s hidden purposes in displacement and sorrow?

Apply. How can you teach this principle of God, working out all things for our good as part of His outward-moving mission even in the difficult circumstances your CG members may be facing?

Pray. Sovereign Lord, help me trust that you send your servants where you intend your blessing and sometimes choose a costly path to accomplish your will.

Thursday — Merry Christmas

Rejection Does Not Stop the Gospel

Text: Matthew 21:43; Matthew 23:37–39; Matthew 28:16–20

Think. Matthew 23 is not the failure of God’s plan but a turning point. Israel’s rejection does not silence the gospel; it sends it outward. The same Jesus who weeps over Jerusalem later stands on a mountain in Galilee commissioning His disciples to the nations. The mission expands precisely where resistance is strongest. Hallelujah for the cross!

Reflect. How does this connection between Matthew 23 and Matthew 28 deepen your understanding of God’s patience and purpose?

Apply. As a CG leader, how do you respond when your efforts are resisted or misunderstood? How does this text reshape your expectations and give you patience while God works in you and others?

Pray. Merciful King, keep me from discouragement when the gospel or my presentation of it is rejected. Teach me to trust that you are always moving your mission forward.

Friday — The Presence That Sustains the Mission

Text: Matthew 28:20; Exodus 33:14; Revelation 21:3

Think. The Great Commission does not with a task but with a promise: “I am with you always.” That’s such a glorious thought. From Eden to the New Jerusalem, God’s presence among his people has always been the goal. The mission is sustained not by strategy but by Emmanuel, God with us, until the end of the age. What a thought, dear friends!!!

Reflect. Why is Jesus’ promised presence more essential than the scope of the mission itself?

Apply. As you prepare to lead your CG this Sunday, how can you model dependence on Christ’s presence rather than confidence in preparation alone?

Pray. Lord Jesus, thank you that you do not merely send us, you go with us. Teach me to lead in the confidence of your presence.

Genesis 3:15

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 21:19:13 GMT

The View from My Study - Genesis 3:15

December 8, 2025

Friends,

Last week we saw the reason ‘why’ Jesus came. The ‘why’ question is one an unbelieving world can’t answer. “Why does anything exist? Why is the world like it is? Why did God allow this to happen?” The Bible has those answers.

For years I have taught a personal application of 2 Timothy 3:16. I’m wondering today if we can apply it to God’s story of cosmic redemption also. It reads, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” If we do, the Bible tells us,

1 – What is right with the world – teaching

2 – What is wrong with the world – reproof

3 – How to make what is wrong, right – correction

4 – How God will keep it forever right – training in righteousness

The answer to “why world is like it is,” is Genesis 3:14 and the answer to how God is going to fix it all is Genesis 3:15.

In the interim, we live between the tears of a fallen world, illustrated in Ezra 3 and the tears of a redeemed world, seen in Revelation 21. It’s the difference between

a) A soldier departing for war

b) The children returning home for Christmas

c) A loved one’s funeral

d) A baby’s birth

e) Good Friday

f) Easter Sunday

So, last week’s sermon explained the “why” of Genesis 3:15. This week’s sermon will explain the “how” of that text.

You could go back and find “The View from My Study” from last Monday but I’ll provide you with some of those thoughts and then we’ll look at the text itself.

The verse divides into four movements.

First, God announces that He Himself will place enmity between the serpent and the woman. The word “enmity” means hostility, a deep and ongoing conflict. Humanity had aligned itself with the serpent through unbelief, yet God graciously disrupts that alliance. Salvation begins not with Adam’s repentance but with God’s action. “I will put” is the first ray of mercy in Scripture. And remember, God is the only One Who can truly, “I will.” (I’m thinking of Satan’s five “I will”s in Isaiah 14:12-15.

1. “I will ascend to heaven”

2. “I will set my throne on high”

3. “I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north”

4. “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds”

5. “I will make myself like the Most High”

Of course, none of that came to pass. Only God is sovereign. Only God determines history.

Only God can say “I will” with the certainty of it already done!

Second , God expands the conflict beyond the individuals in the garden. All of creation has been corrupted, and all of Adam’s line is contaminated. So this conflict will continue to grow “between your offspring and her offspring.” This introduces two lines running through Scripture. One is marked by rebellion, unbelief, and violence. The other is marked by faith, covenant promise, and righteousness. The story of the Bible follows these two lines as they narrow through Seth, Noah, Abraham, Judah, David, and ultimately the Messiah.

PS – Have you noticed that Peter is a New Testament Judah? I’m thinking of the transformation that we witness between Peter’s denial and Pentecost and 1 & 2 Peter. And I’m thinking of the transformation we witness in Judah from the time he led his brothers to sell Joseph into slavery to when he offered himself as a pledge/substitute for Benjamin. What a glorious gospel friends!

Third, it is true that in the process of redemption, the serpent will “bruise His heel.” The victory will come through suffering. The Redeemer will be wounded, yet His wound will not be final. The serpent will strike, but he will not conquer. The promise looks ahead to a costly victory that will unfold fully in the cross of Christ. This sets the Bible pattern for salvation in judgement, which is a cosmic and personal blueprint.

Fourth, notice that the language shifts from collective to singular. The promise becomes personal: “He shall bruise your head.” A single descendant of the woman will rise to deal the serpent a decisive and fatal blow. Even though Jesus is wounded at Calvary, he nonetheless survives the ordeal in his resurrection, triumphing over the whole curse that began back in Eden. The imagery of crushing a head points to complete defeat. From this point forward, the Old Testament anticipates a Redeemer, a Champion who will undo the serpent’s work. The rest of the Bible is the unfolding and revealing of that plan.

Taken together, Genesis 3:15 introduces the key themes of the gospel: divine initiative, a promised Redeemer, victory through suffering and Jesus’ ultimate reconciliation of all things to himself (Colossians 1:20). Everything else in Scripture grows from this “seed.” This is the beginning of the story of everything.

Now, as the old timers say, “If that don’t light your fire, your wood is wet.” It’s not only shoutin’ time in Heaven, but on earth too, culminating in the voices of unnumbered angels at Jesus’ birth.

So, below these comments you’ll find a general outline for this Sunday’s sermon plus the TRAP devotion for CG leaders to help this word of Christ dwell richly in you throughout the week. As you study and mediate on this passage each day this week, let your imagination run through the pages of Scripture and watch how God works out all the aspects of the birth of Jesus which we celebrate during this Christmas season. It is indeed the most amazing story.

Here's the sermon outline as it stands this Monday morning -

Intro: The first mention of the Gospel is in Genesis 3:15 where God promises a deliverer to fix what is wrong with us and the world, what hurts us and the world. In inexplicable grace, God doesn’t turn his back on a rebellious world but sets a plan in motion to reconcile everything: ‘to restore, with more.’

It all begins with -

First: The Divine Initiative: God Breaks Into Our Ruin - “I will put enmity…” - This is Eden

Second: The Human Line: God Will Act Through the Woman - “…between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring…” - This is the history of OT Israel

Third: The Coming Champion: A Singular Son Will Win the Ultimate Battle - “…He shall bruise your head…” - This is Bethlehem

Fourth: The Wounded Deliverer: Victory Through Suffering - “…and you shall bruise His heel.” - This is the cross and the empty tomb

Fifth: The Gospel Pattern Established in Eden: The Cross Before the Throne – This is our story

Conclusion: The whole Bible story can be told in Genesis 3:15.

God Acts – “I will put enmity…”
God Chooses – “…between your offspring and her offspring…”
God Sends – “He shall bruise your head…”
God Wins – “…you shall bruise His heel.”

It’s God’s story. It’s your story. It’s our story. It’s the story of everything.

Monday, December 8 ^th

The Divine Initiative

“I will put enmity…”

Think . Genesis 3:15 opens with the most unexpected phrase in the Bible. “I will put.” The first movement of redemption begins not with Adam’s repentance but with God’s personal action. Humanity chose alliance with the serpent, yet God Himself intrudes to break that alliance, entering into our ruin. This is the first ray of mercy in history. Only God can speak an “I will” that becomes an unbreakable certainty. His initiative is the fountainhead of grace.

Reflect . Consider what this means for the story of Scripture. The serpent made his five “I will” claims in Isaiah 14, yet not one of them came to pass. Only God determines the shape of history. Wow, that will ‘preach’ for your CG members as they apply this to their own lives. When the world falls, God acts. When the heart rebels, God moves toward us. Redemption begins in divine pursuit, not human recovery.

Apply . You may often feel pressure to generate spiritual momentum in your group. Let this phrase steady you. God begins the work in every soul you shepherd. Look for evidence of His initiative among your CG friends this week. Trust that He is already moving before you ever speak on Sunday.

Pray . Father, thank You that salvation begins in Your “I will.” Help me rely on Your initiative and power as I guide others this Sunday. Let my confidence rest in Your grace.

Tuesday, December 9 ^th

The Human Line

“…between your offspring and her offspring…”

Think . God expands the conflict beyond the serpent and the woman. Two lines now run through Scripture. One line is marked by rebellion and unbelief. The other is marked by faith and covenant promise. The whole Old Testament becomes the story of these two lines narrowing toward the One who will embody all hope. What OT names can you think of who stand at the head of each of these lines or continue them?

Reflect . Ponder how this theme traces through Seth, Noah, Abraham, Judah, David and finally Jesus. The long, winding story of Israel is already present here in seed form. The conflict of the world, the ache of human history, the longing for a king all grow out of this single promise. The “why” of the world’s condition is found in Genesis 3:14. The “how” of God’s restoration is introduced in Genesis 3:15. What a glorious book we have in the Bible, friends!

Apply . As CG leaders, remember that every person you shepherd is shaped by a story larger than their own. Help them see their place in God’s redemptive line. Don’t let them interpret one day or event apart from all else God is doing in them and in the world. Encourage them that their faith, however small, is part of a divine narrative that began in Eden and is fulfilled in Christ.

Pray . Lord, thank You that You weave history through promise. Draw my heart into Your story and, this Sunday, let me help others find their place in it.

Wednesday, December 10 ^th

The Coming Champion

“He shall bruise your head…”

Think . Here the promise moves from many to one. Many Bible characters have succeeded but all have failed in one way or another. This is why a singular Son is promised. There is only one Hero of the Bible. A divine Champion will arise. Redemption becomes personal. The serpent’s power will be crushed by the offspring of the woman. This is Bethlehem foretold. Every prophecy, every longing, every covenant bends toward this Child.

Reflect . Meditate on how remarkable this is. In the ruins of Eden, God announces Christmas. Before Abraham, Moses or David, God promises a Deliverer who will undo the serpent’s work. The entire Bible grows from this seed. The manger is already glowing with promised hope while Adam and Eve still stand trembling in their shame. Wow, what a story the Bible tells!

Apply . Let this sharpen how you prepare for Sunday. When your CG gathers, you are pointing them toward the Champion who has already won their victory. Think of those who feel defeated or overwhelmed. Lead them to behold Jesus, who overcomes and crushes what they cannot, be it temptation, sin, oppression, etc. Don’t fight alone. Run to Jesus and stand in his victory.

Pray . Jesus, You are the promised Champion. Let my heart rejoice in Your victory and help me lead others to rest deeply in Your triumph.

Thursday, December 11 ^th

The Wounded Deliverer

“…and you shall bruise His heel.”

Think . Victory comes through suffering. The serpent will strike. The Redeemer will be wounded, yet the wound will not be final. Here the cross of Golgotha rises on the horizon of Eden. Salvation will unfold through judgment and triumph through injury. The Champion’s heel will be bruised, but the serpent’s head will be crushed. One wound is temporary. The other is final.

Reflect . This is the gospel pattern that shapes the whole Christian life. Resurrection hope always grows out of ‘cruciform’ (cross-shaping) soil. We see this throughout Scripture. We see it in the life of Jesus. We see it in our lives. The cross comes before the throne. The valley comes before the mountain. The ache comes before the song.

Apply . Help your CG members reinterpret their present sufferings in light of this promise. Some of your CG members are bruised in spirit. After all, Christmas can be both exhilarating and depression. Some may feel struck by the world. Remind them that the suffering of Jesus has secured their final healing. No wound endured in faith is wasted. It becomes a place where Christ’s victory is learned. We will weep in Heaven, but tears of joy, and only for a moment!

Pray . Lord Jesus, teach me to see suffering through Your cross. Use my wounds as testimony of Your triumph. Then, strengthen me to shepherd my CG with compassion and hope, pointing everyone to Jesus.

Friday, December 12 ^th .

The Gospel Pattern for Our Lives

The Cross Before the Crown

Think . Genesis 3:15 is not merely ancient history. It is the pattern by which God has formed His people throughout history. And he’s still doing it today. God acts. God chooses. God sends. God wins. Our story unfolds within His story. The cosmic war becomes personal as the Spirit applies Christ’s victory to our daily struggles and sanctification.

Reflect . We live between the tears of a fallen world, like Ezra 3, and the tears wiped away in Revelation 21. The ache of departure and the joy of return. The sorrow of Good Friday and the song of Easter morning. Every shadow in our present experience is held within the light of the Redeemer’s finished work.

Apply . As you prepare for Sunday’s gathering, let this week’s meditation draw your heart into worship. Encourage your group to enter the story of Genesis 3:15 with awe. Let them see Christmas as the unfolding of this ancient promise. Lead them to marvel at the God who restores with more.

Pray . Father, unite my heart to the gospel pattern. Let the cross shape my life. Let the resurrection shape my hope. Then, prepare me to lead your people with grace, joy and clarity.

Blessings to you, dear friends, as you study Genesis 3:15 this week. May the Holy Spirit wonderfully apply it to your life so that he can apply it to your CG through you this Sunday.

Pastor Reggie

The First Gospel

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 14:51:13 GMT

Genesis 3:15

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

The Disciples' Fall & the Son's Faithfulness

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 19:38:50 GMT

Disciples' Fall & the Son's Faithfulness

Dear friends,

“Thank you” to Charlie for preaching for me yesterday. I had the privilege of baptizing Mary Grace and Caroline Faith here in Broken Arrow, OK. In the evening, we all attended the mission’s banquet at the Kollock’s church where we heard from a third generation IMB missionary. It made me think of our upcoming Lottie Moon offering on December 21st and hope you will pray about your contribution in the offering for foreign missions.

This Sunday morning, we will begin our Advent season at Heritage, and I’ll preach the last sermon in this five-part series in Luke 22. After that, I’ll preach a Christmas series through December.

So far, the Luke 22 series has looked like this -

1 – The Plot and the Passover – 1-23

2 – Jesus’ Thoughts about Greatness – 24-38

3 – His Agony in the Garden – 39-46

4 – The Kiss and the Sword – 47-53

5 – The Disciples’ Fall & the Son’s Faithfulness – 54-71

One of the reasons I have divided Luke 22 into five sermons is because each section presents itself as a clearly visible pericope, pronounced (“puh-RICK-uh-pee," with the stress on the second syllable.”) A what? Well, the Greek word means “a cutting all around from peri, “around,”and kopē, a cutting. So, a pericope is a self-contained section of Scripture that expresses a single, complete idea or event. In simple terms, a pericope is one complete story or teaching unit in the Bible that begins, develops, and ends around a single main idea.

I think Luke 22 divides into five such sections, or pericopes easily, so now is a good time talk about them. My hope, as always is to help you observe, interpret, correlate and apply the text of Scripture to better lead your CG and for your own personal Bible study.

To that end, there are four signs that help us recognize the boundaries of a pericope; when one begins, and when one ends, kind of like going from one city to another, state to another or even country to another. Here are those four signs or, a pericope begins and ends when you have,

a) A New Setting or Characters. When the scene shifts or new people arrive, a new pericope begins.

b) A Change of Action or Topic. When a new event, parable, or teaching occurs, it often marks a new section.

c) Literary Framing. Repeated phrases or transition words (e.g., “after this,” “'while he was speaking”) signal a new pericope.

d) Thematic Unity – Everything within the section contributes to one idea or event.

Confused? Don’t be. It’s easier than you think and we can use Luke 22:54-71 to see how a pericope works in practice.

Step 1: Identify the Beginning (v. 54)

“Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.”

This verse clearly begins a new pericope. How?

• There is a new setting .

Jesus is now inside the high priest’s house.

• There are new characters .

We move from the arresting crowd to servants, officers, and bystanders.

• There is new action .

Jesus’ trial begins and Peter enters a moment of temptation.

This shift from the garden scene to the high priest’s courtyard marks a clean beginning.

Step 2: Trace the Middle (vv. 55–65)

This section contains two parallel actions unfolding at the same time, forming the heart of the pericope. These two actions are huge!!!!

a) Peter’s Denials (vv. 55–62)

• Peter sits by the fire.

• A servant girl identifies him.

• Peter denies Jesus, not once, but three times.

• The rooster crows.

• Jesus turns and looks at Peter.

• Peter leaves and weeps bitterly.

Every detail serves the same purpose, to show the collapse of a disciple when fear replaces faith.

b) Jesus is Mocked and Beaten (vv. 63–65)

While Peter is denying Him outside, Jesus is being beaten inside.

• The guards mock Him.

• They blindfold Him.

• They strike Him and demand that He prophesy.

These scenes belong together. Peter’s failure is set in direct contrast to Jesus’ steadfastness. Well glory!

Luke wants the reader to see the difference between the weakness of man and the faithfulness of Christ. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

But, that shared purpose keeps this section unified.

Step 3: Locate the Ending (vv. 66–71)

“When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered…”

Daylight introduces the closing movement of this pericope.

• The Sanhedrin gathers.

• They question Jesus directly.

• Jesus answers with a clear declaration of His identity.

• The council concludes, “What further testimony do we need?”

This resolves the tension of the scene. Jesus stands firm in His confession, even as Peter collapses in his. The contrast between the two trials reaches its conclusion.

The first verse in chapter 23 begins, “ Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate,” which is a new location, new authority, and new action.

These markers confirm that 22:54–71 is a complete and closed unit.

Step 4: Confirm Its Unity

Everything in Luke 22:54–71 serves one main idea and creates the sermon’s theme:

Jesus remains faithful under trial while Peter fails under pressure.

• The setting moves from courtyard to council hall, but both scenes contribute to the same contrast.

• Peter’s denials and Jesus’ confession mirror each other.

• The mockery, the questions, and the final verdict all support this theme.

So, from start to finish, the passage forms a single literary unit.

Hopefully, this helps us understand why pericopes matter. Understanding pericopes helps readers and teachers -

• Interpret accurately – You teach the passage within its intended boundaries.

• Preach/teach faithfully – Each sermon or lesson covers a full thought, not a fragment.

• See the flow of Scripture – Pericopes are the building blocks of biblical books.

So, in summary, a pericope is in paragraph form but it’s not just a paragraph. It’s a complete story within the story.

When studying or teaching Scripture, first find the pericope. Once you see where the story starts and ends, you can faithfully hear and communicate what God is saying through it. That’s what we’re doing in these five sermons and CG lessons in Luke 22.

Now, this is a very short week, and my thoughts may not be as through as in a normal week but, here’s what I’m seeing this fine Monday morning.

First, an overview: In Luke 22:54–71 we enter another very sobering, I think, sacred moment in Luke’s Gospel. Luke places Peter’s denials beside Jesus’ trial so we can see the contrast between our weakness and the unwavering faithfulness of Christ. Peter collapses in fear around a fire, while Jesus stands firm before hostile authorities. One disciple denies the truth to save himself. The Savior speaks the truth that will cost His life. Wow. What a picture of our need for a Savior. What a wonderful Savior we have.

As you prepare to lead your CG this week, help them see both the warning and the hope in this passage. We are more like Peter than we want to admit. At the same time, the grace of Jesus is deeper than our failures. The bad news is we are terrible sinners. The good news is that Jesus is a better Savior. As John Newton said at the end of his life, “I know two things. I am a great sinner and Jesus is a great Savior.” The good news is far better than the bad news. But the bad news is essential to understanding and appreciating the good news.

Think with me. The same Peter who denied Jesus, denies the Lord who restores sinners like Peter, strengthens the fearful, and holds all of His people (you and me) fast.

When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast
I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path
For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast

Lead your CG to see their need for Christ and the steadfast love of the One who is always faithful to himself, the Father and us. We fall. He never fails.

Second, here’s a potential outline to guide you through the text. These will eventually become the preaching points for the sermon.

1. Peter’s actions in the courtyard reveal the fall of a disciple who collapses under the pressure of fear and distance from Jesus. Does one lead to the other?

2. Jesus’ steadfast response before the council displays the faithfulness of the Savior who stands firm in truth even as He is mocked and condemned.

3. The entire passage shows that the grace of Christ can and will restore the failing, fallen disciples because His faithfulness is greater than their failure. His is the love that never fails (1 Cor 13:8).

So, here’s the big idea, the so what of this passage.

Jesus remains faithful even as Peter fails and

His faithfulness becomes the foundation for Peter’s restoration.

Doesn’t that make you want to sing,

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”

“E’en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.”

“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”

Well friends, this passage will teach and preach. This entire chapter has been a magnificent display of Jesus as our wonderful Savior.

Now, here’s the daily devotional to help TRAP these verses in your heart and mind as you read and meditate on our text this Thanksgiving week.

View From Pastor Charlie's Study

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:54:14 GMT

The Hour of Darkness

Greetings All,

Some of you may already know but Pastor Reggie will be in Oklahoma this coming Sunday to baptize two of his granddaughters. What a blessing! I have the privilege of preaching, and I will be in Luke 22:47–53 .

In this passage, Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested by a mob of religious and political authorities. Though the moment appears chaotic and unjust, Luke shows us that even in betrayal and suffering, Jesus remains sovereign and steadfast in fulfilling the Father’s will. It is the “hour of darkness,” yet the light of Christ’s obedience shines brightest in the midst of human sin and satanic evil.

We will be plummeting the depths of human depravity as we look at the treachery of Judas , the conspiracy of religious leaders , and the blood thirst of the disciples . I know this seems a bit strange as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, but I promise it will be worth it. Together we rise from the darkness to behold the glorious light of the Obedient Son.

Below are some basic observations and devotional questions that you can use to prepare you for our journey through this passage.

Basic Observations

1. The Treachery of Judas (vv. 47–48)
Judas arrives with the mob and betrays Jesus with a kiss — the ultimate act of false affection. What makes this scene so tragic is its religious familiarity: an outward sign of love masking inward rebellion. Jesus’ question pierces to the heart — “Would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” It reminds us that sin often disguises itself as faithfulness.

2. The Impulse of the Disciples (vv. 49–51)
In a burst of misguided zeal, Peter strikes the servant of the high priest. Jesus rebukes the violence and heals the man. This is a powerful picture of grace in motion — Christ restores even those who come to arrest Him. His kingdom is not advanced through coercion but compassion.

3. The Sovereignty of Christ (vv. 52–53)
Jesus addresses the religious leaders’ cowardice and exposes their hypocrisy. They arrest Him at night, as if He were a criminal. Yet, He declares, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness.” The statement affirms that even in this moment of apparent defeat, everything unfolds under God’s divine plan. Darkness may have its hour, but light will have eternity.

Devotional Questions

How does Judas’ kiss challenge us to examine our own hearts for hypocrisy or misplaced affections toward Christ?
Why do you think the disciples reacted with violence instead of faith? What does that reveal about our own tendency to rely on fleshly strength?
What does Jesus’ healing of the servant tell us about His heart for His enemies — and how can we reflect that same grace?
How does recognizing God’s sovereignty in the “hour of darkness” give us peace when the world seems out of control?
What does this passage teach us about obedience in the face of suffering or injustice?

His Agony in the Garden

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 19:10:06 GMT

His Agony in the Garden

Dear friends,

It’s snowing outside on the 2 ^nd Monday of November and even sticking to the ground. Is it “beginning to look a lot like Christmas?”

I mentioned earlier that I am presenting Luke 22 in five scenes that look like this:

1 – The Plot and the Passover – 1-23

2 – Jesus’ Thoughts about Greatness – 24-38

3 – His Agony in the Garden – 39-46

4 – The Kiss and the Sword – 47-53

5 – The Disciples’ Fall & the Son’s Faithfulness – 54-71

So far, we’ve looked at the first two and will visit Jesus in the Garden this Sunday. Let me say from the beginning that “enough can’t be said” about this passage. I mean, just the thought that the Bible takes us from the Garden of Eden with a pause in the Garden of Gethsemane before moving onto the Garden of the New Jerusalem is one thing in and of itself…and enough to serve several sermons.

Today is Observation day. Tuesday is Interpretation Day, Wednesday is Correlation Day (that’s a BIG day for a text like this) and Thursday is Application Day and also the day I create the Daily Devotion for the week following the preaching text.

Observation is the who, what, why, when, where and why of a text. This Monday, I see this,

Just after the Last Passover Meal and First Supper, Jesus leads His disciples across the Kidron Valley to the western slope of Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Many of you have been there). It’s a familiar place of prayer for Jesus just east of Jerusalem. Though He invites them to pray that they would not fall into temptation, they soon fall asleep from sorrow.

Alone, Jesus kneels in deep anguish, praying that, if the Father is willing, the cup of suffering might pass from Him. Yet He surrenders completely, saying, “Not my will, but yours, be done.” An angel appears to strengthen Him as His sweat falls like drops of blood. In this moment, the full weight of obedience presses upon Him.

Returning from prayer, Jesus finds His disciples still sleeping and gently warns them again, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane reveals both His true humanity and His perfect submission to the Father’s will.

Wow. There is so much in that passage. Here are just a few thoughts:

1. Let’s talk about the Kidron Valley.

· Remember when David crossed it running from Absolom?

· Both David and Jesus were rejected kings leaving Jerusalem.

· Both crossed the Kidron in sorrow.

· Both wept on the Mount of Olives.

· But while David fled to save his life, Jesus crossed the Kidron to give His life.

2. What is the Garden of Gethsemane?

The Garden of Gethsemane is from the Aramaic and Hebrew gat šĕmānê, meaning “oil press.” It was an ordinary olive grove where fruit was crushed to extract oil. The name foreshadows the symbolism of what would occur there. Just as olives were pressed to yield oil, Jesus was pressed beneath the weight of sorrow and obedience to yield the salvation God promised.

The garden was situated on the western slope of the Mount of Olives, opposite the Temple Mount and separated from Jerusalem by the Kidron Valley. It was likely a private olive orchard, perhaps owned by a friend or follower, where Jesus often met with His disciples for prayer and rest. On this occasion, Jesus prayed His final, agonizing prayer before Judas led the soldiers to arrest Him in that very garden.

As such, Gethsemane stands as the place of costly obedience. It is the threshold between prayer and passion where Jesus submitted His human will to the Father’s, winning the spiritual victory that made the cross possible. Some people call it the prelude to Calvary, for in that garden the battle for our redemption was already won.

Well, that’s just two thoughts. My heart is on Wednesday where I will work through correlating passages for this text. Already I’m thinking of at least three things:

1 - Adam and Jesus in their respective gardens.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stands as the true and better Adam, facing a test of obedience that mirrors and reverses the Adam’s failure in Eden.

Both were placed in a garden and confronted with a decisive choice: Adam with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and Jesus with the cup of suffering and divine wrath. Both acted as representatives for all humanity, their choices shaping the eternal destiny of everyone who came after them. Yet where Adam disobeyed, bringing sin and death, Jesus obeyed, offering righteousness and life Adam said by his actions, “Not Your will, but mine be done,” while Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Adam hid from God in guilt; Jesus sought His Father in prayer. Adam’s rebellion brought the curse; Jesus’ obedience bore it (See Ro 5:12-21). Through Adam, paradise was lost; through Jesus, paradise was regained. So, in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus reversed what was broken in Eden, conquering through surrender and restoring what the first man destroyed.

2 – The Garden of Gethsemane and the Tabernacle or Temple share an incredible connection. The Tabernacle and Temple were designed as reminders of Eden, adorned with trees, flowers, and cherubim, patterned after the first garden where God walked with Adam and Eve before the Fall. Both served as sacred spaces where heaven and earth overlapped, guarded by priests who echoed Adam’s original calling to serve and keep the holy place and foreshadowed Jesus’ perfect obedience in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The design of the Tabernacle and Temple pointed forward to Jesus, the true Temple, and ultimately to the New Jerusalem, where creation itself becomes a restored garden-temple filled with God’s glory. In this way, the Bible’s story moves from the garden lost in Genesis, to the garden symbolized in the Temple, to the garden restored in Revelation, i.e., the full circle of redemption.

In Gethsemane, that story reaches its turning point. Jesus moves deeper into the garden as the high priest once moved deeper into the sanctuary, alone and interceding for others. There, He offers not an animal but Himself, surrendering His will as the perfect sacrifice. The garden becomes the new holy of holies, sanctified not by gold or incense but by the blood and obedience of the Son. In Gethsemane, the shadows of the Temple find their fulfillment, for the presence of God dwells fully in Christ, and through His submission, the way to that presence is forever opened.

3 – The Garden of Gethsemane and biblical theology.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this View, the story of Scripture begins in a garden, pauses in a garden, and ends in a garden. In Eden, humanity fell through disobedience, choosing its own will over God’s and bringing death into creation. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, the second Adam, reverses that tragedy by praying, “Not my will, but yours be done.” In those words, Jesus obeyed where Adam rebelled and began the restoration of all that was lost. From there, the story moves toward the Garden of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22, where the curse is lifted, the tree of life blooms again, and God dwells forever with His redeemed people. So, in Gethsemane, the long fracture of sin begins to heal.

The Bible’s garden imagery traces the full arc of redemption, from paradise lost, to paradise redeemed, to paradise restored, showing us that what was broken in the first garden is restored through obedience in the second and made perfect in the final one.

Think about those Gardens and these two texts:

Romans 5:18-19 – Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹ For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Hebrews 10:11-13 - And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. ¹⁴ For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

And then sing with me….

Man of sorrows what a name
for the Son of God, who came
ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

He was lifted up to die;
"It is finished" was his cry;
now in heaven exalted high:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

When he comes, our glorious King,
all his ransomed home to bring,
then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Friends, how will you and I ever tell the whole story in just one CG and preaching hour? We won’t be able to. But we will rejoice in what we know, what we are able to share and how it changes everything!!!

Well, that’s The View from My Study this Monday morning and it is glorious. I hope like the falling show, the glory of Luke 22:39-46 will beautify your week. Now, let’s walk our way into the text by meditating on it day and night this week as we prepare to lead our CGs into the wonderful pages of Scripture.

(Remember, the TRAP blueprint is Observation, Interpretation, Correlation and Application in another format)

Monday, the 10 ^th . Read Luke 22:39

Think. Jesus left the upper room and went out to the Mount of Olives, “as was His custom.” Even on the eve of His arrest, He followed His habit of prayer and fellowship with his Father, though, on this occasion, he carried the weight of the cross with him.

Reflect. What does Jesus’ pattern of returning to prayer teach you about the need to practice spiritual disciplines?

Apply. Spiritual strength is formed in daily habits long before it is tested by a crisis. This week, let Jesus’ example remind you that steady faithfulness in prayer prepares you for moments of trial. Then, lead your CG in prayer as you gather.

Pray. Yes, pray as a spiritual discipline. And then commit yourself to daily prayer so that you will be anchored you when life’s pressures mount. Then remind your CG of the importance of prayer and model it for them.

Tuesday, the 11 ^th . Read Luke 22:40–41

Think. When Jesus reached the garden, He said to His disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Then He went further into the garden, knelt down, and prayed. Even as He invited His followers to pray, He went farther in to meet with the Father alone.

Reflect. Jesus encouraged his disciples to pray because he knew they too would face trials. What does this teach about prayer as preparation rather than reaction?

Apply. Like the disciples, we often wait to pray until the crisis arrives. But you should be praying specifically now, about things going on in your life. Jesus shows that prayer is how we stand firm before temptation comes. How can you apply this in your CG this week?

Pray. Don’t pray in generalities. Pray specifically. Where/about what should you be praying today. Pray specifically about this. What can your CG pray specifically about this week?

Wednesday, the 12 ^th . Read Luke 22:42

Think. Jesus prayed, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” The “cup” symbolized the full measure of suffering and divine judgment He would bear for sinners. In His humanity, Jesus felt the weight of that cost, yet in perfect obedience He surrendered to the Father’s will.

Reflect. What does Jesus’ prayer reveal about the tension between human weakness and divine obedience? Where do you know your CG members are struggling in the tension between their weakness and their obedience?

Apply. You and your CG members may be struggling in certain areas. Remember that faith is not the absence of struggle but the willingness to submit through it. When obedience feels painful for you, echo Jesus’ words: “Not my will, but Yours.” Help your CG members realize this.

Pray. Thank Jesus for His willing submission, for his model and ask the Lord to grant you His strength and wisdom in the life you are called to live today.

Thursday, the 13 ^th . Read Luke 22:43–44

Think . An angel appeared from heaven to strengthen Jesus, yet His agony deepened, and His sweat fell like drops of blood. The Father did not remove the suffering but gave grace to endure it. Strength came through surrender, not escape.

Reflect . When has God strengthened you instead of sparing you? How does this change how you pray in suffering? How can you explain this truth to your CG members this week?

Apply . In your Gethsemane, remember that God’s help often comes as endurance rather than deliverance. The same Father who sustained Jesus will sustain you.

Pray . Who in your CG is enduring hardship? Pray for them today. Ask God for strength for them to endure the trials that fulfill His will, not the removal of every hardship. That’s a mind shift indeed, but one you should learn and lead your CG to understand.

Friday, the 14 ^th . Read Luke 22:45–46

Think . Jesus rose from prayer and found His disciples sleeping, “exhausted from sorrow.” He said, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” His final words in the garden repeat His first command, to watch and pray. Between those two commands stands Jesus’ perfect obedience.

Reflect . What does this repetition reveal about how Jesus prepares His followers to face weakness? How might you use it to prepare your CG for, or to ensure hardship? This Thanksgiving/Christmas season will bring unique challenges to you and your CG members.

Apply . Remember, temptation always finds the unprepared heart. Stay spiritually awake this week and this season, through watchful prayer, trusting that Jesus’ victory makes your faith secure.

Pray . Confess your tendency to spiritual sleep and then talk to your CG about this. Ask God to keep each of you alert, faithful, and dependent as you walk in the strength of Christ’s obedience, especially during this season.

The Test of True Greatness

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:25:41 GMT

Good Monday morning dear friends,

You are on my heart this morning and my passion is to provide you with something the Holy Spirit can use to conform you to the image of Jesus, loving God and sharing the blessing of knowing him with others just as the Lord has been doing in Luke’s Gospel.

As I mentioned last Monday, there are five Sundays in November and I have divided Luke 22 into five sermons. Yesterday we looked at

1 – The Plot and the Passover in verses 1-23

I hope Sunday’s sermon was a blessing to you, that you can practically apply it to the pressures of your own life and will use the text to help others who are enduring stress.

The rest of the series looks like this:

2 – The Test of True Greatness – 24-38

3 – The Agony in the Garden – 39-46

4 – The Kiss and the Sword – 47-53

5 – The Disciples’ Fall & the Son’s Faithfulness – 54-71

This week we are focusing on true greatness in verses 24-38 and today is ‘Observation’ day.

According to Jesus in these verses, true greatness is not measured by one’s position or power but by three things: humility, dependence, and endurance.

First, understanding the setting is essential to interpreting and applying the text.

a) The conversation happens during the Last Supper, immediately after Jesus instituted the bread and cup (19–20).

b) The disciples are still gathered around the table in the upper room (21), so this dialogue flows out of that moment.

c) Jesus is preparing the disciples for His departure, suffering, and betrayal (21–23), yet they are distracted by an argument.

Second, the disciples are arguing about greatness in vs 24-27.

a) Dispute in vs 24 is philoneikia = a love of contention.

b) The issue is, “Which of them was to be regarded as the greatest”. 24b

c) Jesus uses the moment to contrast worldly greatness with kingdom greatness:

o “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship…” 25

o “But not so with you.” 26

d) And he introduces a magnificent reversal: “Let the greatest become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” 25b

e) He then presents himself as the model: “I am among you as the one who serves.” 27c

f) And contrasts his kingdom with this present world. 27a-b.

Summary: Jesus redirects the disciples’ ambition toward humility, the kind of humility he is going to demonstrate on the cross.

The third thing I see is that Jesus offers the disciples a commendation and a promise. 28-30.

a) Jesus acknowledges their faithfulness: “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials.” 28.

b) And he promises them a place in His kingdom:

o “I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom.” 29a

o “You may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.” 30a

o “You will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” 30b

c) The verbs “assign” (diatithemai) and “stay” (diamenōT) indicate covenantal loyalty and endurance.

Summary: Jesus shifts their thinking from their present humility to future honor - 28–30.

At that moment, (fourthly), Jesus redirects his attention from the group to Peter with a warning. 31–34

a) “Simon, Simon” denotes urgency. (I love the double calls of Scripture).

b) He then discusses the spiritual warfare surrounding the disciples: “Satan demanded to have you [plural], that he might sift you [plural] like wheat” 31b.

c) And reveals his personal prayers for Peter, “But I have prayed for you [singular], that your faith may not fail” v 32a.

d) Then predicts Peter’s failure and restoration. “When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” 32b.

e) As would be natural for any of us, Peter protests his loyalty: “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death” 33.

f) But Jesus remains steadfast and foretells Peter’s denial: “The rooster will not crow this day until you deny three times that you know me” 34.

Summary: Notice the key contrasts in this section: Satan’s demand vs. Christ’s prayer; Peter’s confidence vs. Christ’s foreknowledge.

Finally, Jesus gives them all new instructions. 35-38.

a) Jesus recalls the earlier mission (Luke 9–10): “When I sent you out without moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” — They answer, “Nothing.” 35.

b) Now He gives new instructions for a hostile environment:

o “Let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack.” 36a

o “And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.” 36b.

c) Jesus then quotes Isaiah 53:12: “He was numbered with the transgressors.” 37.

o This connects His coming suffering with prophecy fulfillment.

d) The disciples misunderstand, taking Him literally: “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” 38a

e) Jesus ends the conversation: “It is enough.” 38b.

Summary: The atmosphere has subtly moved from an intimate table fellowship to impending public conflict and departure. It will occur sooner than the disciples understand.

Concluding thoughts: Notice some of the repeated themes and patterns

There is a contrast of worldly power vs. servant humility; boasting vs. weakness; self-reliance vs. dependence on Christ.
There is the repetition of how Jesus address the group: “You” plural vs. “you” singular (Peter)—the group and the individual are both in view.
See how the tone of the evening progresses:
Argument (vv. 24–25)
Correction (vv. 26–27)
Encouragement (vv. 28–30)
Warning (vv. 31–34)
Preparation (vv. 35–38)

This passage moves from ambition to affirmation to intercession to instruction.

Overall, then, what I observe in this passage is that,

Jesus redefines greatness through service.
He prepares His followers for testing in pride and persecution.
Even at this late date, the disciples’ hearts are exposed as self-seeking, overconfident, and unprepared.
Yet Jesus responds with prayer, a promise, and patience.
In other words, the true “test of greatness” in Jesus’ kingdom is unfolding right there in the upper room: Will they serve, endure, and trust?

I hope that observation will serve you as you begin studying this week. Pray for me if you will.

The TRAP Daily Devotion for Study and Transformation

(Truth + Time = Transformation)

Now that we’ve ‘gutted’ the text, let’s consider how we might meditate on various verses each day of this week, letting the word of Christ “dwell richly” (Col 3:16), so the Holy Spirit can accomplish his reclamation project of returning the full expression of the imago dei to each of us.

Today the 3 ^rd .

Read Luke 22:24-27 and meditate on this: Greatness looks like serving

Think. A dispute breaks out over who is the greatest. Jesus answers by pointing to the pattern of Gentile rulers who dominate, then overturns it saying the greatest becomes as the youngest, and the leader as the one who serves with himself as the ultimate model.

Reflect. Where do I secretly compare myself to others, elevate myself or put others down, in an effort to make myself look good?

Apply. Choose one unseen act of service today for someone who cannot repay you.

Pray Lord Jesus, you led the disciples as the One who serves. You still serve me by your grace, through creation, the Word, friends, the church, in too many ways to number. “Take my life today and let it be, consecrated, Lord for thee.”

Tuesday the 4 ^th .

Read Luke 22:28–30 and meditate on this: Present faithfulness ensures future rewards.

Think. Jesus honors the disciples. They stayed with Him throughout his ministry. As a result, he assigns them a place in his kingdom. In effect, they have lost their lives to save them (Matt 16:25).

Reflect. How can Jesus’ promise shape my faithfulness to him today?

Apply. Name one trial you face. Write, either on paper or in your mind, one sentence of faithful resolve that you will practice this week.

Pray. Father, enable me to remain faithful to Jesus in hard places. Fix my eyes on the table He has promised.

Wednesday, the 5 ^th .

Read Luke 22:31–32 and meditate on Satan’s plans and God’s power.

Think. Jesus reveals the spiritual battle that surrounds you. Satan intended to sift the disciples, but Jesus says He has prayed for Peter so that his faith will not fail. He then charges Peter to strengthen his brothers after he turns back.

Reflect. How does knowing that Jesus prays for you (Hb 7:25) encourage your faithfulness?

Apply. Today, reach out to someone who is wavering. Share a word of encouragement from the Bible and pray with them.

Pray. Lord, thank You for praying for me. Help me to pray for others.

Thursday, the 6 ^th .

Read Luke 22:33–34 and meditate on honest zeal and Jesus’ sobering words.

Think. Peter vows loyalty to Jesus even if he goes to prison or dies. Jesus answers with a sobering prediction. Before dawn Peter will deny Him three times.

Reflect. Where are my words outrunning my obedience so that I am living hypocritically?

Apply. Confess one area of overconfidence/pride to the Lord. Demonstrate repentance by acting humbly in that area.

Pray. Lord Jesus, rescue me from proud words and shallow strength. Help me to live in repentance over my pride.

Friday, the 7 ^th .

Read Luke 22:35–38 and meditate on your readiness for the hostile world around you.

Think. Jesus recalls the disciples’ earlier mission of dependence. They lacked nothing. Now he tells them to take provisions, citing Isaiah 53:12.

Reflect. Where am I naïve about opposition, and where am I anxious rather than trusting?

Apply. You know your weaknesses. Prepare your heart for the pressure you will endure today. Take a Bible verse and a prayer with you throughout the day.

Pray. Lord, help me to live aware of Satan’s ploys. By your Spirit, use your word as my sword.

The Covenanting Table

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 19:18:07 GMT

Good Monday morning friends. It’s raining outside which encourages me to pray

“Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness, let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to spout; I the LORD have created it.” (Isaiah 45:8).

So, my prayer today for myself, you, Heritage and the world is that God’s salvation will produce righteousness in me and us.

There are five Sundays in November and I’m going to divide Luke 22 into five sermons:

1 – The Plot and the Passover – 1-23

2 – The Test of True Greatness – 24-38

3 – The Agony in the Garden – 39-46

4 – The Kiss and the Sword – 47-53

5 – The Disciples’ Fall & the Son’s Faithfulness – 54-71

Those working titles tell us what is transpiring in each of those texts. I’m not sure they will remain the sermon titles.

This Sunday’s sermon title could be: The Covenanting Table.

An outline might look like this –

First: The Conspiracy Against Jesus. 1-6

Second: The Preparation for the Passover. 7-13

Third: The Institution of the Lord’s Supper. 14-23

Fourth: The Meaning of the Meal

Let’s take the first point and apply the Observation, Interpretation, Correlation and Application (OICA) model to it. Here’s what I see first thing this Monday morning.

Observation – What the text says

a) The Passover draws near, and the religious leaders seek a way to destroy Jesus. 1-2

b) Judas, one of the Twelve, consents to betray Him for money. 3-6

Interpretation – What the text means.

a) Luke frames this scene with the irony that the Feast of Deliverance (Passover) becomes the backdrop for the ultimate Deliverer’s betrayal. Wow. (That is so important). His non-deliverance ensures our deliverance. It reiterates the salvation through judgement motif that runs throughout the Bible.

b) Satan’s entering into Judas proves he is not a Christian. (You can spend time on demon possession in your CG, but I won’t delve into it too much in the sermon.

c) Even so, evil plots do not frustrate God’s plan. They fulfill it. I’ll say more about that in the Correlation portion of this point.

Correlation – Where else does the Bible say something like this?

a) This is the story of the Bible (How many times do we see this in the Bible? (That’s a great CG discussion). For instance, look at just four examples -

b) Satan’s ploy in the Garden of Eden set the stage for the New Jerusalem/Haven.

c) Joseph’s brothers once sold him into slavery, yet God turned it for salvation (Gen. 50:20).

d) Haman’s plot in the book of Esther functions as another vivid example of the same redemptive irony that Joseph’s story and Judas’s betrayal reveal: evil intends destruction, but God works through it to accomplish salvation. (I may mention Haman here because my hope is to move from Psalm 119 next year to the book of Esther. Mentioning Haman here may whet the congregation’s appetite for more. That story is less well-known than Joseph’s but again, it is the basic storyline of the Bible summed up in Romans 8:28).

e) The cross is the final instance of human treachery overruled by divine sovereignty.

Application — How do I move this from text to transformation? How might the Holy Spirit apply this truth to me?

Trust God’s purpose even when you see human schemes that defy God’s will for you and the world. He is never surprised. He is always in control. He is working all things together for his glory and your good (which are synonymous).

Well friends, that’s just the outline for point one, The Conspiracy Against Jesus in verses 1-6. You can see how I could really preach four sermons just on this single point alone, and you could lead four CG discussions to fully enjoy each section of vs 1-23 over five Sundays. Wow!

Often, the hardest part in preaching and teaching is not ‘what to say,’ but, ‘what not to say,’ because there is so much to say. The Bible is so rich and so deep. It makes me think of Paul’s comment,

“Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things…” (Ephesians 3:7-9).

Reading even a single verse in the Bible is like standing under Niagara Falls.

But my main point this Sunday will be to emphasize the covenanting table, so I will leave those extraneous discussions to you. PS – They are extraneous to my point Sunday. They are not extraneous to discussion in your CG.

Oh, by the way, I’ve divided Luke 22 into five sermons because I think I will preach a Christmas series this year for the four Sundays of December. I haven’t taken a break from preaching through a book over the Christmas season in many years and I think the congregation will enjoy it. I wish I could start the Sunday after Thanksgiving, on November 30 ^th , but Luke presents chapter 22 in five sections, requiring 5 sermons.

Well, I had an early morning meeting away from the study this morning which has cut into my Monday morning Observation of our text. And, I’m using my Monday lunchtimes to listen to a Northside student read so, my Monday morning is a little shorter than normal. I have to stop now but will leave you with the Monday-Friday CG Leader Study Guide to help you think on the text each day this week while we pray Paul’s admonition to Timothy –

“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7).

Remember, we’re using the TRAP model (Think Reflect, Apply Pray), which is just as different way of saying, OICA. My hope it will ‘trap’ the text in your mind and heart. (Yes, it may be corny but that’s because I created it).

Monday – The Shadow of Betrayal (v. 1–6)

Think : The Passover draws near, but instead of worshipping, the leaders plan murder. Judas agrees to betray Jesus for money. Evil is real, yet God’s plan is still unfolding.

Reflect : When have you seen God bring good out of human failure or injustice? How does that strengthen your faith when life feels unfair?

Apply : Choose to trust God’s providence in personal circumstances you do not understand. His purposes are never interrupted.

Pray : Lord, when darkness seems to win, remind me that You are never defeated. Give me confidence in Your sovereign grace.

Tuesday – The Preparation of the Passover (v. 7–13)

Think : Jesus gives Peter and John exact instructions, and they find everything “just as He had told them.” The one who will soon be crucified is completely in control.

Reflect : How does Jesus’ attention to detail encourage you to rest in His leadership over your life today?

Apply : Ask God to help you obey promptly and trust His direction in both small and large matters this week.

Pray : Sovereign Lord, thank You that You go before me in every detail. Teach me to follow Your word with quiet confidence.

Wednesday – The Covenant Meal (v. 14–20)

Think : Jesus transforms the Passover into the Lord’s Supper. The bread and cup now point to His body and blood, sealing a new covenant of forgiveness.

Reflect : What does it mean that Jesus “earnestly desired” to share this meal before He suffered? How does that reveal His love for you?

Apply : Last Sunday we enjoyed the Lord’s Table. Did you take time to confess sin? Perhaps you saw that ‘indulgence, addiction, anxiety’ pattern in your life? What have you decided to do about it?

Pray : Jesus, thank You for giving Yourself for me. Let the reminder of last Sunday’s bread and cup renew my daily love and gratitude for You while I seek to live for you.

Thursday – The Presence of Betrayal (v. 21–23)

Think : Even at the table of grace sits a betrayer. Judas proves that outward closeness to Jesus is not the same as inward devotion.

Reflect : In what subtle ways might we deny or betray Jesus, through compromise, silence, or divided loyalties? (Again, think about ‘indulgence, addiction, anxiety’ as a false god or idol.

Apply : Invite the Spirit to search your heart for any hypocrisy or hardness. Commit to wholehearted loyalty to Christ.

Pray : Search me, O God, and cleanse my heart. Keep me from the spirit of Judas and make me faithful to You.

Friday – The Meaning of the Meal (v. 14–23), Review & Application)

Think : The upper room shows a Savior who rules every moment. The meal proclaims His death, confirms His covenant, and anticipates His return.

Reflect : How does this text deepen your assurance that nothing can separate you from Christ’s love?

Apply : End the week with gratitude. Before Sunday worship, remember His body given and His blood poured out for you last Sunday as you prepare to gather again this Sunday.

Pray : Jesus, you are the true Passover Lamb. Thank You that Your blood covers me. Help me live each day in joyful remembrance until You come again.

The Road to the Cross

Reggie.weems@hbcjc.org (Reggie Weems) — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:14:43 GMT

Dear friends, one might think after forty-four years of pastoring (I was an Associate Pastor for two years before that), I would have this preaching thing, ‘nailed down.’ But….as I hope you can tell from this outline, I am continually refining my preaching in an effort to best

honor God and the Bible,
help others learn how to craft sermons or teaching material,
serve you, and
tell others about Jesus.

So, I guess you could say, I have those four audiences in mind – God, elders/CG leaders/teachers, the congregation, and the lost - whenever I perform my sermon preparation.

I think it was last year that I introduced the CG questions in the Observation, Interpretation, Correlation and Application format. That’s just a basic study outline for any Bible text, much as Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration is the basic subplot of the Bible. (I most often use the larger scheme: Creation, Fall, Israel, Church, Jesus, New Creation).

I also introduced the Daily Devotion that same year.

Last week, and without notice, I introduced a summary verse, theme, concern (problem) and purpose of the text. This is intended to help me, you, CGs and our people focus on the raison d'être for the text. But I do want you to notice it this week and hope to make it a weekly part of The View from My Study each Monday morning. I’m hoping these three thoughts will give us laser focus on any passage we read, study or preach and teach.

As you can tell, sermon preparation is hard work. It is solo, even lonely work and I often think about how John MacArthur’s responded when someone asked him for the source of his preaching ministry success. He replied, “Keep your bottom in the seat until the work is done.” That’s good advice. The problem is, I’m never done. Four fifteen on Thursday afternoon arrives, and the sermon material has to be delivered to Debbie. And then, Sunday morning at 10:30 arrives and it has to be preached. What I hope, is as Jerry Vines, once said, “Pray the sermon will be born once in the study and born again in the pulpit.” Well, those are two good words from two masterful preachers.

And then, of course, hermeneutics, (the science of interpreting the Bible) and homiletics (the art of writing sermons) is only the mechanical part of it. Preaching is mostly a spiritual work. And so, as we study and as we preach/teach we must acknowledge that “all is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down,” and so we cry, in the study and in the pulpit, “Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.” (from the song, Brethren, We Are Met to Worship).

This is my particular prayer verse in the study:

“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

(2 Timothy 2:7)

This verse reminds me of the divine/human efforts in sermon preparation. God does not bless laziness. I must “think over” what the Bible says. At the same time, the Lord will honor that effort, yet, only “the Lord will give you understanding.” This is call to humility in sermon preparation and preaching. As we study, it’s as though the Holy Spirit stands over our shoulders, whispering in our ears so that we can “have the mind of Christ” in every passage (1 Corinthians 2:16).

This is how I view the text today and hope to build on this outline for the Sunday sermon.

Please note that I’ve included some questions, (in the form of QUES, in the preaching outline specifically for you as a CG leader. I hope these questions will stimulate your thinking about this passage. That too, I hope to make a weekly part of The View from My Study.

Friends, if these changes are helpful, let me know how. If they discourage your study, please let me know that too.

Here are my thoughts thus far on this Sunday’s passage. I hope this is helpful to you.

The Road to the Cross

Text: Luke 18:31–34

Summary verse - “…everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished…” (v 31).

Theme – Jesus deliberately sets His face toward Jerusalem to fulfill the divine plan foretold by the prophets. This demonstrates that the cross was not a tragic mistake, but the triumphant, design of God.

Concern - That people hear about the cross without understanding its necessity or implications, just as the disciples did. People cannot be saved without understanding the cross.

Purpose - To awaken us to God’s work in Jesus on the cross and to remind us that Jesus knew, foretold, and embraced His suffering for our salvation. I want to call listeners to trust the cross and simultaneously marvel at Jesus’ obedience, causing us to fall greater in love with him and trust him more.

Intro: Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem where he will die but he is joyfully determined to get there and perform the Father’s will. (He knows something the disciples don’t know).

First: The Road to Jerusalem is the Road to the Cross (v. 31a) - “See, we are going up to Jerusalem…”

QUES: What do you know about Jerusalem? I hope to insert a biblical history of Jerusalem here, God’s city on the earth—Jesus intentionally heads toward suffering.

Think about Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Zechariah 12:10

App: The cross was always God’s plan A and not plan B. How does that encourage me to trust God in my suffering?

Second: Prophetic Precision in Divine Suffering (v. 31b) - “…everything that is written…will be accomplished.” The Old Testament prepares the way for the cross.

QUES: I hope to illustrate this from the OT. What OT texts can you think of? Jesus fulfills every prophecy with divine accuracy.

Just how many OT scriptures did Jesus filfill?

App: The Bible is amazingly (divinely) accurate. How does the Bible’s reliability strengthen my faith?

Third: The Scope and Depth of Christ’s Humiliation (vv. 32–33) - “…delivered …mocked…shamefully treated…spit upon…flogged…killed…”

(Speaking of the Scripture’s reliability, look at how exact Jesus’ prophetic word is)

The Passion predictions are shockingly specific.
Christ suffered physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

App: Jesus endured every breadth and depth of pain for your redemption. Does this give you the assurance of salvation and does it make you love Jesus more?

Fourth: The Disciples’ Incomprehension (v. 34) - “…they understood none of these things…” Let’s talk about human blindness to spiritual truth.

QUES: What texts do you know that demonstrate human blindness to spiritual truth and God’s remedy? Divine truth often remains hidden apart from grace.

App: I’m a “Beholding is Becoming” kind of Christian. I think if we truly see Jesus, we will love him and follow him. Will you pray that God will let you see Jesus in all his glory?

Conclusion

Jesus walked knowingly into His suffering because He walked obediently into the Father’s will. The cross was never a surprise to Jesus — it was His mission. May we marvel at His resolve, trust His plan, and follow Him without reservation.

Jesus, the Pharisee, the Tax Collector and Me

Reggie.weems@hbcjc.org (Reggie Weems) — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 20:53:11 GMT

Friends, Here’s the view from my study this Monday morning, the first Monday of June.

I’ve tried to give you a head start on the text for this Sunday and my emphasis in the text but, wow, when it came to the mercy seat, I just got carried away in study and ran out of time this morning. Then again, I love getting lost in the Word. That will probably be reflected in the sermon also. The OT mercy seat and its NT corresponding texts is a major theme in Scripture, kind of like the scarlet thread of redemption.

Anyway, my emphasis in this text this Sunday will be on saving faith and the majority of the message will be directed to the unsaved, the ‘ex nous,’ those outside, as C. S. Lewis called unbelievers. In the sermon I will be sharing the gospel and reminding our people of the joy of salvation by grace through faith. I hope it is a joyful, celebratory time for the people who know Jesus.

The staff and I are reading A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter by Miriam Huffman Rockness, which I would encourage you to also read. Throughout the book, Lilias understands the power of prayer and relies on it to keep her and her friends safe in Algeria, (English women in a Muslim country in the middle of the 19 ^th century) and to prosper the Gospel. Thank you for your prayers for your CG, Heritage, the Word and me.

My prayer for you is that you will find Jesus to be your all-in-all this week, that he will fill your soul, home, and every place you go with His felt presence. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for loving Jesus.

Here’s what I have for the sermon so far.

Jesus, the Pharisee, the Tax Collector and Me

(Saving Faith)

Luke 18:9-14

Intro: In this section of Luke, Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27). He’s meeting many people, but Luke has chosen several specific encounters to highlight various themes in Jesus’ ministry and teaching.

In this chapter, Jesus

a) tells the story of a widow and a tax collector, and

b) meets children, a rich ruler and a blind beggar

Each of these stories provide us with Jesus’ definition of faith. In this particular story, it’s the definition of saving faith.

First: The Self-Righteous Heart. 9

It is rare but as in the last story, Luke tells us at the very beginning of this story, what it is all about.

V 9 - He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

a) They thought themselves righteous

b) They treated others with disdain

c) A result of grace – grace makes us all equal, unable to

Remember last week I mentioned that God is the only self-defining entity in existence. We can’t judge ourselves appropriately.

1 – We all have the same problem

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

2 – Unbelievers have a particular problem

2 Corinthians 4:4 - …the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,

Second: Two Different People. 10

a) A Pharisee

b) A tax collector

c) God’s view – we are all sinners

Romans 3:10 - None is righteous, no, not one;

Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

(v 24-25 - and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

(Hallelujah for the cross!)

Third: The Faithless Prayer. 11-12

a) “Standing by himself”….(Pharisee = separated)

b) “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…” – comparison

c) “I fast twice a week…” – self-righteous

IMP: Self-righteousness is an oxymoron.

1 - When we get saved, God grants us Jesus’ righteousness.

2 – It is an alien righteousness, never ours

3 – It is a declaration based on what Jesus has done, not on us at all

Fourth: The Faith-Focused Prayer. 13

Merciful = hilaskomai = to make propitiation

The Greek translation of the OT uses the Greek word hilasterion, propitiation, for the Hebrew word, kappuret.

Picture of mercy seat:

ILL – On top of the ark was the mercy seat, flanked by two cherubim (Ex 25:19). Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest, walked into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat. In response, God’s shekinah glory filled the Holy Place and God met Israel there.

Exodus 25:22 – There I will meet with you.

John 20:12 – When Mary Magdalene wetn to the empty tomb, she found

“she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.”

(Stop for a moment and let your heart say, “Hallelujah!”)

In the NT, that mercy seat has been transformed into at the throne of grace (Hb 4:16).

IMP: What is the difference between mercy and grace?

1 – Mercy = rachimim = compassion

2 – Grace = hesed = favor

1 – Mercy points to forgiveness

2 – Grace grants unmerited favor

Romans 3:21-25 - But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation [hilasterion/mercy seat] by his blood, to be received by faith.

Fifth: Jesus’ Judgement. 14 – “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified…”

ILL: Both of these men stepped into God’s courtroom but only one walked out justified – not by argument but by mercy.

Justified = dikaioo = declared righteous

Conclusion:

1 – To the proud – Don’t bring your spiritual resume. God isn’t hiring.

2 – To the broken – God’s mercy is greater than your sin.

3 – To everyone – Justification/Righteousness is found in Jesus alone, by faith alone.

Kingdom Characteristics

Reggie.weems@hbcjc.org (Reggie Weems) — Mon, 12 May 2025 13:48:31 GMT

Greetings from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Friends, greetings from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma where I’m visiting with the Kollock family (and Teana’ who has been here for two weeks). Later today, we are driving to Oklahoma City to visit Stephanie and Caroline Faith who are at the OKC Children’s hospital. Thank you for your continued prayers for Caroline Faith. (The view this morning is from Stephanie’s kitchen, and not my study).

in the previous passage of Luke, Jesus told us to think eternally. This will change the way we live now. Christ wants us to be “shrewd” in the way we live for him, for the world he is creating, and forever.

In this passage (17:1-19), he turns himself from the Pharisees and the temporal kingdom they are trying to build, to his disciples and the characteristics of his eternal kingdom.

It’s as though Jesus said, “This is what is important to unbelievers (16:1-18) and you see where it gets them (16:19-31). I want you to focus on these things.” What are those things?

First: Prefer others. 1-2

Second: Forgive offenses. 3-4

Third: Have faith. 5-6

Fourth: Live humbly. 7-10

Fifth: Be grateful. 11-19

These may seem like small things compared to the unjust manager’s or rich man’s life, but they are not. These are the building blocks of a live lived “well.” I hope thinking on these things well will help you build a life that honors the Lord, and gives you spiritual, eternal influence with those around you.

- Reggie Weems

The Worth of The Search

Reggie.weems@hbcjc.org (Reggie Weems) — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 18:59:47 GMT

Passage: Luke 15:8-10

Exegetical Theme: This story demonstrates the true value of what is lost, the searcher’s efforts and the worth of the effort, experienced in the joy of recovering the coin.

The Botton Line : The search for lost people is worth Heaven’s investment.

This is my potential outline for this sermon.

First: The Context. 1-2

Second: The Lost Coin. 8a

Third: Three Different Kinds of Lostness. Luke 15

Fourth: The Search. 8b

Fifth: The Joy. 9

Sixth: The Necessity of Repentance. 10

This story takes us all the way back to creation because value is assigned by God in the imago dei. One sheep or one coin may not be of much value, or worth the risk to unfaithful shepherds. The lost coin is worth about a day’s wage and circumstances may have dictated whether or not it was worth the search. Yet both stories highlight the joy and celebration of recovering something precious to its owner.

As you noticed last week, I’m using all three stories to focus on Heritage’s part in God’s saving mission in the world. In its simplest form, missions is all about looking for God’s sheep, coin and sons. The “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) is that, in each story, what is lost is found. What an encouragement to evangelize “here and around the world.”

I hope you’ll think about this in connection to your world and that of your CG. There are lost sheep, coins and sons in our families, at the grocery store, where we work, where we or our children go to school or socialize, where we play sports or have hobbies, literally everywhere. Their value is assigned by God and demonstrated in the blood of the cross. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to see the world with God’s eyes and heart and then go with God into the world to find his lost sheep, coins and sons.

Lost and Found

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 17:10:31 GMT

Text: Luke 15:1-7

Exegetical theme: Jesus tells the Parable of the Lost Sheep, in response to the Pharisees’ complaint that he welcomes sinners and eats with them. The parable lets his listeners know that his mission is to seek and find sinners, the very people the Pharisees are criticizing.

Bottom Line: Jesus came to seek sinners, not righteous people.

A Potential Outline:

First: The Context is Very Important. 1-2

Second: The Lost Sheep is a Picture of a Sinner. 3-4

Third: The Search is Successful. 4

Fourth: The Joy is Never-Ending. 5-6

Fifth: The Application is Unmistakable. 7

Dear friends,

One of the great joys of reading the Gospels is seeing Jesus. We see shadows and symbols of him in the OT and he epitomizes the life we are called to in the NT. But, in the Gospels, we actually see him, directly. There are no shadows or symbols like in the OT. There is no reflection of him like in the NT.

When Saul was on his way to Damascus to further persecute the church, he had no idea he was going the wrong way (Acts 9). But when Saul saw Jesus, it became clear to him that he was on the wrong path and doing the wrong thing. After his vision, everything changed for Saul. In the same way, seeing Jesus in the Gospels changes us. But seeing Jesus was not the end but the beginning of a lifelong journey for Paul, a lifetime of walking with Jesus. It’s the same for us.

Luke 15 is a distinct chapter in the Gospels. In three parables - the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son - Jesus succinctly and uniquely epitomizes the Gospel. The bottom line is that our Christianity and our relationship to the church and the world hinges on our vision of Jesus. So, these three parables will define the Gospel for us and tell us how to live with Jesus, the church and sinners. It will be an exciting journey. And the hope is that the Holy Spirit will continue to transform us into the image of Jesus.

The Great Invitation

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 18:54:32 GMT

Text: Luke 14:15-24

Friends, as I look at Sunday’s passage, I see these exciting things.

Exegetical Theme: In this passage, Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Banquet. The host (representing God) invites many people to a feast (symbolizing the kingdom of God). Those initially invited (the Jewish religious leaders sitting at the table with Jesus who represent Israel) make invalid excuses and refuse to attend. The host then extends the invitation to marginalized people who are normally not invited to such gatherings – the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame— (symbolizing ostracized Hebrews like the man with dropsy). Even though they accept the invitation and attend the banquet, there is still room for more who also are invited (symbolizing Gentiles). Meanwhile, those who initially refused the invitation will not (ever) be allowed into the feast.

Bottom Line: Don’t let anything get in the way of accepting Jesus’ invitation to eternal life.

When Jesus was born the angels sang, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (2:10). And when Simeon first saw the baby Jesus in the Temple, he said, “…my eyes have seen your salvation…a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (2:32). Throughout this Gospel, Luke has reminded Theophilus of that great promise. He has already highlighted the Old Testament inclusion of Gentiles in the salvation stories the widow of Zarephath and Naaman. He’s already told the story of the Centurion’s faith and will later tell the stories of the Samaritan leper and Zachaeus before he concludes the book in 21:24 with a word about “the times of the Gentiles…” This is a theme he more fully develops in the book of Acts when the good news leaves Jerusalem for “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He then dedicates the last half of that book to the story of Paul and his mission to Gentiles.

Lest we miss Jesus’s love for “…the cripped, blind and lame” (vs 13 &21), Larry LaPlue, the CEO of Luke 14 Ministries, will be with us on Sunday to share how we can serve those “affected by disability” and help them “find community and connection to Jesus through his church.” Fortunately for Northeast Tennessee, Luke 14 is headquartered in Morristown. You can learn more about this ministry at https://luke14ministries.net/ .

I hope you will take the time to read this passage every day this week, allowing the word of Christ to richly dwell in you (Col 3:16), transforming you (2 Cor 3:18) into the image of Jesus, who is the Best, most beautiful and perfect person, and in whom it is your best interests to be like. PS. It’s also in the best interest of those you love and the entire world. Lord willing, (Deo volente) I will see you on Sunday.

- Reggie Weems

Kingdom Life

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 18:10:46 GMT

As of this morning, I’ve broken the text, Luke 14:1-14, down into these thoughts.

Exegetical Theme: A Pharisee invited Jesus to supper. (Was it one of the “some” in 13:31?) Sitting at the table, Jesus taught several important lessons about kingdom living. The first three, which we will cover this Sunday, include unaffected service, genuine humility and sincere kindness.

Bottom Line: Jesus is teaching us how we ought to live, in effect, reversing the curse of Adamic selfishness. He’s not turning the world upside down. He’s turning it right-side-up. This is the way it used to be and will one day be again…and permanently.

I’ve put the text together like this.

First: The Heart of Unaffected Service. 1-6

Jesus is unaffected by the Jews’ abuse of the Sabbath and heals a hurting man.

Second: The Heart of Genuine Humility. 7-11

Genuine humility does not think less of oneself but of oneself, less.

Third: The Heart of Sincere Kindness 12-13

The difference between sincere and insincere kindness is expectation.

IMP: At some point, I’ll connect all three of these characteristics to Adam in the Garden, demonstrate how he failed at each of them, illustrate how we are affected by his sin and then demonstrate how Christ’s perfect service, humility, kindness serve as the model for the world as it ought to and will be.

Friends, Jesus is creating the most wonderful world. This little eco-system that surrounds him in his incarnational ministry is a review of Eden and a preview of the New Jerusalem. Now, we live in the ‘already’ – there are already people who live like this – and the ‘not-yet’ – everyone does not yet live like this (but they will!). The challenge is to believe Jesus, to live like this even though it is counter to the world around us. But the way the world lives now is self-destructive. We witness it every day. Yet Jesus is rebuilding the real world. (He’s not building an alternative world). The challenge for us as Christian disciples and as shepherds of our people is to live this way and to encourage others to live this way. What will it take? Looking to Jesus, not to ourselves, others or the world at large. That can be so discouraging. Instead, “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin [think about the weights and sins of Luke 14:1-14] which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Thank you for loving Jesus, his church and the world over which he cries, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” No one’s heart ever broke like the heart of Jesus because no one else has ever seen how beautiful it was, understands how terrible it has become and longs for it to be reconciled to the Father. No one’s heart ever broke like the heart of Jesus because no one else has ever seen how beautiful it was, understands how terrible it has become and longs for it to be reconciled to the Father like our Savior.

Suffering and Sacrifice

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:40:03 GMT

Each day we separately walk different sandy roads to arrive at the same destination so that we can talk about Jesus with one another. Then we eat lunch from a common bowl, a symbol of our united hearts. Today, Sunday, we participated in communion, reminding us that we have Christ in common with one another. There is so much that draws us together. But there is also much that is uncommon/different between us and our African brothers and sisters.

During the testimony time this morning, M, thank God for taking his family to Heaven. Just last week soldiers pursuing terrorists, massacred 150 people in his village, killing M’s mother, two sisters, cousins, and nieces. And yet today, on Sunday, he, thanked God for grace and Heaven.

S was a sheep thief. It’s how he made his living. But one day he met an American missionary, who told him about Jesus. S refused Christ but soon found himself in a sandstorm like no other he had ever encountered. As he covered his face and knelt in the sand, he prayed, “Oh God of the Christians, save me, and I will serve you.” S survived the sandstorm, found the missionary and trusted Christ. As of today, he has discipled a multitude of new believers in his country.

When J became a Christian his father shot at him with a shotgun, trying to kill him. Today he says, “I am my father’s favorite son.” Fortunately, his father, who is not a Christian but who carries much influence in his community, has enabled his missionary son to be released from prison multiple times.

When E became a Christian, he prayed seven years for a wife. He eventually led a woman to Christ, married her, and they had a baby. But when her Muslim parents found out their daughter and her husband were Christians, they used the country’s law to threaten to take the child. Rather than abandon their baby, E’s wife returned to her family who moved her and the baby to an undisclosed location in their country. He however, considered Christ the greater treasure, and could not turn back from following Jesus. Like every other story, I have told in this post, there are now innumerable believers in these countries, because of the sacrifice these Christians have made.

These are just a few of the countless and common stories of common men and women who have opted to follow Jesus in Muslim dominated countries. Suffering and sacrifice is as common to their Christianity as sand is to the ground of the countries in which they serve. Uncommon in our world but common to much of the world.

Today, during the preaching time, I thanked them for loving Jesus, and told them they were the model for the American church. It astounds them to believe this is true, but it is. We have much to learn from our African friends. And we are watching them…thanking God for them…and hoping to imitate them in their love for Jesus.

Are You Willing to Die for Jesus?

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:19:39 GMT

Last night our little body of believers stood in an upper room in this African country and simultaneously sang, “I have decided to follow Jesus” in almost ten different languages. It reminded me of when TS baptized his son at Heritage in the late 90’s. T asked his son a question that was never previously asked at a Heritage baptism and has not been asked since. That’s because T and his family were born and lived in a Communist country that killed Christians as easily as toppling dominoes. What was the unique question T asked his teenage son? “Are you willing to die for Jesus?”

We don’t ask that question at American baptisms because Christians in America have never been persecuted to death. Not yet anyway. But in too many countries, Christians are killed for their allegiance to Jesus’ name. Even so, people around the world continue to believe in him. And Tertullian’s maxim, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” continues to prove true. I mean, when killing the Leader results in an undeniable resurrection, what can you do to discourage his followers?

Where T lived and where these brothers and sisters live, the defining moment is often baptism, that public confession of faith in Jesus as God’s Son. And yet, presciently knowing the danger but in light of his resurrection, Jesus commanded his followers to take the gospel everywhere, baptizing new believers (Matt 28:18-20). And people continue to be baptized - publically confessing their love for Jesus and symbolizing their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as death to their past life and new life in Christ - in spite of the inevitable danger.

So the next time you witness a safe baptism in America, say a sincere prayer for your brothers and sisters around the world who step into a baptismal pool like the one I took a picture of in this Muslim dominated country where Teana and I are now. They may as well be stepping into a shark infested sea, an alligator ridden lake, or the piranha filled Amazon, risking their very lives to follow Jesus. It seems no one is discouraged by the question, “Are you willing to die for Jesus?” The answer is “Yes. I have decided to follow Jesus,” every time.

Before the Sunrise

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:10:48 GMT

I’m not sure which comes first every morning, the Muslim call to prayer or the rooster. They’re almost simultaneous. But the call to prayer eventually stops and the rooster crows all day. Billions of people around the world hear one, the other, or both every morning of their lives.

But in the midst of this Muslim dominated world and in some countries where Christianity is outlawed by the constitution, this small Christian mission organization is thriving. Two years ago they had 60 indigenous missionaries in 5 African countries. As of today, they are employing over 130 African missionaries who are carrying the gospel to 14 African countries, “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) you might say. It’s a 10/40 window dream come true.

Teana and I are here to participate in the third step of their four-pronged strategy to reach Africa: ongoing education. Team leaders representing those 14 countries have gathered to learn shepherd leadership for their various teams. Last year I taught the principles of Jesus’s shepherding heart in the 23rd Psalm at Heritage and those 7 sermons have become one of the sessions I’m teaching here; along with Ez 34, all four Gospels, John 10 and 1 Peter 5. “How’s it going?” you might ask. Well, try teaching shepherd leadership to men who are literal shepherds.

Take S for instance. As a desert shepherd in a country that regularly imprisons and kills Christians, he had a compelling dream about the real God. This prompted him to ask his fellow shepherds and villagers if they knew of any Christians. Just to ask the question was dangerous. Someone told him they heard of a Christian in another village, two days walk away. And so S trekked two days in the hope the rumor was true. By God’s grace it was and he trusted Jesus as his Savior. Now, he’s shepherding God’s flock as a team leader of missionaries who evangelize, begin Bible studies that become house fellowships. Once elders and deacons are established and the fellowship is receiving offerings, baptizing new converts and celebrating communion, it becomes a church. At that point, the missionary moves on to another village. It’s an incredible vision and a successful strategy.

If you’re a member of Heritage, God is using your prayers and funding to make it happen. As Teana and I have brought greetings from you, these African brothers and sisters send greetings and gratitude to you. In this life we will never meet every convert of this ministry, but one day we will stand together before God’s throne and sing, “Worthy are you…for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9).

PS. There are no pictures today. It’s literally too dangerous. One man in this ministry has been jailed 12 times. His response, “Thank God no single imprisonment was longer than six months.” BTW, in one prison specifically created for extremists, they eventually had to put him in solitary confinement because he would not stop telling Muslim terrorists about Jesus.

- Reggie Weems

Hope for Every Nation

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:02:13 GMT

The differences are stark but the similarities are present as well. Even in the midst of war and winter, Ukraine is still a first world country. Its landscape is pleasantly covered in trees and grass. Its gorgeous black soil makes it the breadbasket of Europe. Here in the subSahara, the sand color of dirt - dirt roads, dirt yards, dirt sandstorms - is by far the dominant feature. And the heat is a natural, constant, even dangerous oppressor.

“What similarities!?” you ask. People everywhere need Christ. Ukraine is in war because a Russian leader is personally, literally epitomizing James 4:1-3 - “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war.”

But the similarities don’t stop there. One of the missionaries I’m sharing with this week comes from a village in which 150 people, including his mother and siblings, were just (the day before yesterday) executed by the government. And yet, he has made his way here to learn more about shepherding the missionary team he leads. How can a person carry on like this?

The answer lies in the power of the gospel. The gospel has changed him, and he knows first-hand it is the only hope for his nation. Otherwise, his country (and the globe for that matter) will continue to commit suicide by murdering itself.

In the history of the world, only Christianity has and does present a true model of love, joy and peace that can save the world. (This does not deny that non-Christians have abused Christianity to the world’s harm, but that is not the model of Jesus and is not Christianity).

We left our hotel in Europe at 4am yesterday and arrived here to be met by our gracious hosts at about 11pm. And so, on this first day here, sing this song with me as a prayer for the Gospel here and the Gospel where you are -

“Brethren, we have met to worship

And adore the Lord our God;

Will you pray with all your power,

While we try to preach the Word?

All is vain unless the Spirit

Of the Holy One comes down;

Brethren, pray, and holy manna

Will be showered all around.

Brethren, see poor sinners round you

Slumb'ring on the brink of woe;

Death is coming, hell is moving,

Can you bear to let them go?

See our fathers and our mothers,

And our children sinking down;

Brethren, pray and holy manna

Will be showered all around.

Sisters, will you join and help us?

Moses' sister aided him;

Will you help the trembling mourners

Who are struggling hard with sin?

Tell them all about the Savior,

Tell them that He will be found;

Sisters, pray, and holy manna

Will be showered all around.

Let us love our God supremely,

Let us love each other, too;

Let us love and pray for sinners,

Till our God makes all things new.

Then He'll call us home to heaven,

At His table we'll sit down;

Christ will gird Himself, and serve us

With sweet manna all around.”

- Reggie Weems

The War is Far From Over

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:56:41 GMT

It’s 6am in Warsaw and Teana and I are on board our flight to an African Muslim dominated country. We will arrive at 8pm this evening and I will begin teaching African missionary team leaders on the concept of shepherd leadership tomorrow morning. Teana will be investing in the wives of these leaders. Some of you knew and others correctly surmised that we have been in Ukraine this past week. Oh, the stories we hope to tell…

For instance, what would your church do, how would Heritage respond, if a thousand people (and that’s a literal number) knocked on the church’s front door one morning. These are people with only the clothes on their back, no food, no housing, no education for their children, no medical care, and unprepared to survive the winter. Did I mention that the vast majority of them have pets they can’t leave anywhere and have to bring to church with them on Sunday and Wednesday? The Ukranian church has responded magnificently, assisted by churches like Heritage. And although our memories may be short, the war is far from over.

In addition to working with New Horizons for Children during the day. Teana and I invested our evenings meeting with local pastors and missionaries. By the Lord’s grace, we enjoyed supper with two American missionaries and two national pastors. One night we had supper with an American missionary and his wife. When the war began, they’re sending board required them to leave the country and wanted to place them in full-time service in another country. But as soon as they could, they returned to Ukraine several months ago.

On Monday night, a local pastor told us that if a Ukranian pastor left the country to escape the war, he would not be accepted by the church if he tried to return when the war ended. That’s a high bar for pastors. But Jesus reminds us that many shepherds are in fact, not shepherds but “hirelings” who…”sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees…” (John 10:12). Contrarily, Jesus, is the “good shepherd [who] lays down his life for the sheep” (10:11) as these Ukranian pastors are doing.

Providentially, I’ll be employing that John 10 passage next week in one of my teaching sessions for African missionaries leaders who not only shepherd congregations but lead other missionaries. All of these people live and minister in Muslim dominated countries where, like Ukraine, it would be easier to seek a more comfortable ministry environment than risk one’s life.

All of this to say the church of Jesus, comprised of our brothers and sisters around the world, is suffering greatly. It is our privilege to pray for them, and to come alongside them when, and as we can. That’s what we’ve been doing this week on behalf of the people who gather at Heritage Baptist Church.

PS. It was in the 30s-40s in Ukraine. I’ll need a change of clothes for the temperatures in Africa. We’re expecting a daily low of 102°.

- Reggie Weems

God and Culture

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:49:29 GMT

Culture is the language, customs, arts. food, celebrations, attitudes, values, etc., that make a people unitedly unique. It is what makes a people and place different, beautiful, interesting, and worth visiting.

Biblically speaking, culture is the beautiful, variegated, human display of Trinitarian glory. Like the Father, Son and Spirit, cultures possess equal status but are wildly different in the best sense of the word.

God did not create culture but he did make the now fallen image bearers who (sub)create it. In addition to reflecting the Trinity, culture is also an illustration of God’s own complex creation - night and day, air, earth and water, male and female, etc. Each is important to making the world what God intends it to be.

Fundamentally, every culture brings its glorious distinctiveness to the overall ‘Wow!’ of living on planet earth and it’s human pride that makes people think the essence of one culture is superior to another. Or that all cultures should be melted into one.

The biblical basis of culture means that any political or religious attempt to destroy a culture is a denial of the Trinity, creation and grace. The church of Jesus should vehemently protest any form of cultural genocide.

Such hellish disgrace is what Teana and I witnessed in Ukraine this past week and will witness in Africa next week. Angry, insecure, ungodly people are murdering other people to annihilate whole cultures. Russia in Ukraine and Islam in Africa. But it will not succeed. God will forever be glorified by a multitude of cultures and their continued existence is another proof of his existence and sovereignty. How do we know this? Think on these verses.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages [four synonyms for culture] standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev7:9-10).

Think for a moment about that explosion of myriad languages, posture, dress, and dance before God’s throne. Cultural expressions of worship will be innumerable and ceaseless.

“…and the kings of the earth will bring their glory [a synonym for their cultural wealth] into it [the New Jerusalem]” (Rev 21:24).

Think for a moment about how the glory of those cultures will add to God’s eternal glory.

PS. Did you notice that God is glorified in Heaven by various cultures which means that differing cultures will still exist forever in Heaven?

So rage on world and religious leaders. You will fail in your attempts to rob God of his glory in all people’s everywhere.

“He who sits in the heavens laughs…” at your vanity (Psalm 2:4). Instead of killing people, you should repent and “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled” (2:12a). Until then, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (2:12b), especially the people of Ukraine and Africa.

- Reggie Weems

God Was Not Absent

Sat, 02 Mar 2024 15:41:02 GMT

This morning Teana, Moses and I met God at the burning bush in Exodus 3. It was quite the experience. After 40 years shepherding sheep, God called Moses to shepherd his flock out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. If you saw it on the silver screen, the burning bush moment wouldn’t be as spectacular as the Ten Plague’s or crossing the Red Sea but it’s the humble beginning of it all. And it sets the stage for everything else that happened.

In the Bible God often refers to his people in living terms; a vine, a tree, etc. and often portrays suffering as a refining fire. “Where is God?” you ask, in Israel’s Egyptian suffering. That’s a good question. But if you look closely you will see and hear him…in the middle of the burning bush. There his is, suffering along with his people.

Israel didn’t know it but God was not absent. He was keenly aware of their plight. So millennia before the cross, Jesus stepped into the crucible of Israeli’s suffering, pictured in a burning bush, to suffer with them. It is a foreshadowing of the cross yet to come.

That’s an important word for displaced, disabled orphans. It’s a meaningful thought for you and me. God cannot be successfully accused of indifference. Quite the opposite. When he did not have to do so, Jesus willingly left Heaven to become displaced, orphaned, a refugee. But more than all of that. Worse than all if that. He “became sin” so that we might “become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:21). He is in the midst of your burning bush and his cross is the source of every other blessing the Father bestows.

Thinking about Jesus in the fire with us births this song, one of Teana’s new favorites, and one we are singing as we visit orphanages for displaced and special needs children again today. We are there not only to perform well checks but also to remind the children of God’s redeeming love. May it be your song as Jesus endures your burning bush with you.

“Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine

He's been my fourth man in the fire time after time

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

And what He did for me on Calvary is more than enough

Perfect submission, all is at rest

I know the author of tomorrow has ordered my steps

So this is my story and this is my song

Praising my risen King and Savior all the day long.

I trust in God, my Savior

The one who will never fail

He will never fail

I trust in God, my Savior

The one who will never fail

He will never fail.”

Jesus Understands Childhood Trauma

Sat, 02 Mar 2024 15:35:46 GMT

According to the UNHCR, “Refugee camps are temporary facilities built to provide immediate assistance and protection to” the 6.6 million people around the globe “who have been forced to flee their homes due to violence, conflict or persecution.” We visited one of those refugee camps today with New Horizons for Children in an effort to perform well checks for its many children.

Fortunately, Jesus understands childhood trauma. Luke draws the curtain back for a glimpse of Jesus’s childhood on three occasions and in each, he is enduring the “slings and arrows” of any childhood; the trauma of birth, pain of circumcision and obedience to his fallen, sinful parents. In the interim, Matthew reminds us that Jesus also endured a temporary refugee status in Egypt when Herod tried to kill him.

(In the bigger picture, Jesus was stepping into the role of God’s obedient son, aka, Israel, but unlike Israel. When Israel left Egypt, they quickly forsook God in the wilderness. But not Christ. He too came out of Egypt but repeatedly chose to worship God alone in his 40-day wilderness trek). No wonder the Hebrews writer could confidently say that Jesus endured temptations akin to ours but without sin.

As such, Jesus fulfilled the law in every way. His passive obedience demonstrated in his passion, (arrest, imprisonment, beating, false accusations and cross) satisfies the sacrificial law, eliminating our sin debt. His active obedience, (never once deviating from the Father’s will as a child or adult), fulfills the moral law, granting us his righteousness. We are not only forgiven but also cleansed (1 John 1:9), a ‘double cure’ for what ails us.

I know, at this point you want to join the Apostle Paul in one of his doxologies. So do I. But let’s sing this -

“Rock of Ages, cleft for me.

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy wounded side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Save from wrath and make me pure.”

But what does this have to do with seeing orphaned refugees? Great question. Earlier in the week you and I conversed about the ‘orphan/adoption’ doctrine. And Jesus’s refugee status in Egypt certainly meets the UNHCR definition of a person who is “forced to flee their homes due to violence, conflict or persecution.” But even though he didn’t flee Heaven in that manner, his lifetime status on earth can be defined as alien, ex pat or refugee. It wasn’t just Egypt.

And that’s what makes it so breathtaking. No one forced him out of Heaven. He didn’t have to leave. Instead. Jesus did it all out of love of the Father and to fulfill a covenant made before the world’s creation and ratified in Gen 15. Once here, he literally endured Hell-on-earth in a scenario so unimaginable, God turned off the sun to blanket in darkness the greatest wrong ever perpetrated on earth. We often read about it but it will require going to Heaven to understand the enormity of it all.

This means Jesus feels the childhood trauma of every orphaned refugee. How bad is it in the country we are visiting? You may not be able to read the picture clearly, but its of a poster offering a way to report war crimes. That’s how bad it is.

And yet, it may sound terrible at first, but what I’m about to say is true and good for us to know. What Jesus endured was far worse than what any human being will ever suffer. Want a deeper truth? What Jesus suffered is far worse than all the combined suffering of all the people who have ever lived or will ever live. In other words, his suffering swallowed up ours and vanquished it on the cross and in his resurrection. It does not win. He has!

Who have you lost? What are you running from? What hurts you? Jesus not only understands, his death and resurrection are its answer.

So let’s continue the song, only louder now because the truth of what Jesus has done beats louder in your heart.

“Not the labor of my hands

Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Got a Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When my eyes shall close in death,

When I rise to worlds unknown,

Oh, And behold Thee on Thy throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee.”

- Reggie Weems

Praying with The Deaf

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:42:44 GMT

Too often we pray for and to the people around us
rather than to and for God

At some point in the Marvel movies, ‘normal’ humans begin to question if the Avengers, who are all well-meaning, are causing more harm than good in fighting bad guys, leaving a wake of destruction and death in their combatting paths. Pretty soon, this moral dilemma even divides our heroes into two warring factions, one led by Iron Man and the other by Captain America.

Today our team visited an orphanage for deaf children. I can anticipate your sorrow. “On Monday you saw bed and wheelchair bound orphans. Today it’s deaf children. I’m not sure I want to hear any more.” I know. It’s a lot. But it’s worse. They’re displaced deaf orphans moved out of the warring East to the semi-safety of the West. But it’s all war-torn. And in reality, there’s no safe place on earth. But that’s the state of the whole world isn’t it; warring with God. broken, hurting, painful. I want to turn away also. There’s only so much a human heart can endure.

But if you’ll stop to think about it, these orphanages are a reflection of the real world, as much as we want to ignore or deny it. All humans are conceived disabled and deaf. We are born far from God, on the wrong path - to Hell and not Heaven - unable to get to Him who alone is the source of abundant and eternal life. We are also unable to hear God’s saving voice warning us of danger and calling us to the safety of himself. There are two strikes against us. Death will be the third, sending us, not back into the dugout for another at-bat in the next inning but to eternal destruction beyond human comprehension.

Acknowledging our disability and deafness reminds us of our dependence on grace, the Holy Spirit and the intercession of others. We are each in need of that triad of divine love.

And so, with permission from the orphanage Administrator, the doctors traveling with our team prayed over each patient after performing a well check. “Praying with deaf children!” you may ask. “What’s the point?” But that’s exactly the point. Too often we pray for and to the people around us and not to/for God. (How often has the fear of others inhibited your public prayers?)

Praying with the deaf may be the sincerest form of prayer. After all, a deaf child is not impressed with our eloquence. Then again, neither is God. And a deaf child cannot heal herself. Not even a physician can do that. Only Jesus can save the world as it needs to be saved. And that’s why visit, to share the good news. And that’s why we pray. To effect God’s will on earth, as it’s done in Heaven. Because in the end, there are some things even well-meaning superheroes can’t do.

- Reggie Weems

"Have you ever noticed how many Psalms were written during wars?"

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:39:11 GMT

War and The Sovereignty of God

“War is a unique evil,” he shared as we sat across the table from each other at the restaurant. “But it provides unique opportunities for ministry.” Last night Teana and I, on behalf of Heritage, hosted a local Baptist pastor and his wife for supper. Oh, the stories he told of their family’s faith and persecution in the Soviet Gulag (Soviet death camps). “Every text I preach has new meaning,” he continued. “Have you ever noticed how many of the Psalms were written during wars?” It seems his maxim rings true. War does bring a unique perspective on many things, even on the Bible.

War is not as old as Heaven but it is at least as old as the earth. Lucifer brought his lost war in Heaven to earth in a last ditch bid to fulfill his failed desire to be like God (Isaiah 14:12-14). Yet even rebellious act proved to be to God’s glory.

In the Fall God demonstrates his sovereignty. There is only one God. Everything else is created, even the devil. We are not dualists, believing God and Satan are equals in a battle for the soul of humanity. Oh no. Satan is a pawn and the war, like a chess game, was over before the first move. To put it in Luther’s words, “He must win the battle,” doesn’t mean, “We hope he wins the battle.” It means, “He must win the battle because God can do nothing else but win.” That’s an aspect of his Godness.

Of course, this implies that God is sovereign over human war also. Just as he uses the Fall to display the glory of his redemption in Jesus, God uses war to demonstrate his loving kindness through the church. And this pastor and his congregation are doing just that with eleven new ministries to IDPs (Internationally Displaced People). “We are meeting people we would have otherwise never met,” he said. Like their ministry to women, some of whom are war-widows and are seen in this picture. (Picture used with permission).

Such a picture reminds us of the terrible human cost to war. But that too, is a result of our fallenness and the reason we need divine help. We are our own worst enemy. And the answer to what ails us is not on terra firma but extra-terrestrial, alien to us, literally from out-of-this-world.

Fortunately, that’s exactly who Jesus is. God incarnate, Immanuel, God with us. And the promise of God is a Savior who saves us in every way, a holistic salvation for you, me and the whole cosmos, now and forever.

So in whatever war you may presently find yourself, remember this true word from the only God who exists and the only God who has made every promise come true—this one too—“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

And then cry with every fiber of your battle-scarred being, “I believe!”

- Reggie Weems

Pure Religion

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 17:54:39 GMT

“Pure religion….” James said, “is to visit orphans…in their affliction…” (James 1:27). It seems being an orphan is a kind of affliction, in and of itself. The orphans we visited today however, live without natural parents and in a group home because they each suffer some mental and physical challenges that require 24/7 care. Fortunately, God has graced them with loving caregivers, reflections of his own concern for lost children. This grace, given to each of us by a divine measure (Ro 12:2-6) is important to remember and rely on when touring an orphanage for special-needs children. It’s bad enough that a war is raging. It’s worse to witness its effects on children who do not understand what is happening.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their unique relationship with God as their Father. Excised from that Trinitarian fellowship for the first time since their creation, our first parents became the first orphans (John 8:44). More, the special need resulting from the Fall required a particular grace only God can provide.

Fortunately for them, and us, Jesus, the true and best elder brother, went looking for them, finding them and us in this orphanage we call earth. Then, in the greatest act of self-sacrifice ever known to humanity, he momentarily endured our orphan status, symbolized in his dying cry, “My God, my God,” instead of “My Father, My Father( Matt 27:46).

In this Great Exchange, Jesus became the orphan so that we might become “sons and daughters of God” (Ro 8:14). In his death, burial, and resurrection he re-established our familial relationship with God, telling Mary with joyful certainty that God is now “my Father and your Father” (John 20:17).

This is the hope of every physical and spiritual orphan. In Christ, God has once again become our Father and we are miraculously adopted into His forever family (Ps 68:6). Best of all, Jesus is the “way” to our only true, eternal home, the Father’s house (John 14:6). That’s “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) for every orphan everywhere.

- Reggie Weems

Headed for a Warzone

Sun, 25 Feb 2024 15:54:47 GMT

Gathering and Going

Early this Sunday morning before Heritage gathered in Johnson City, Tn, Teana and I boarded a 9-passenger van in Poland, headed for a war zone. Such gathering and going models the church’s life in this world. We gather to go to gather.

Like us on any normal Sunday, every believer will (unless providentially hindered) gather each Sunday with other Christians as instructed in Scripture (Hb 10:24-25). It’s an essential day and time of fellowship, worship, and preaching, a day by which Christians mark the rhythm of the week in between Jesus’s first advent and his second, glorious appearing (Acts 20:7f).

But you won’t stay in the church building. You can’t. The Great Commission instructs you otherwise. In other words, like those early disciples gathered with Jesus outside of Jerusalem, we gather to go, “to Judea Samaria and the farthest ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) to take the good news of Jesus-come-to-earth, to everyone we can. In our case this week, to children suffering the kind of excruciating loss that is unknown to the vast majority of children in the world and next week to a multitude of Africans from various nations on that continent.

As you have gathered in your church today, we few believers have huddled in this little white van. But like you, we won’t stay in this van anymore than you will remain in the church building. We too will soon leave the confining, warm comfort of togetherness, turn our faces from one another, faces we love and know, toward the faces of people we have yet to meet, people who have yet to hear the saving news about Jesus. These are faces whose smile on hearing the news will make our faces smile, laugh and cry with joy.

And yet, even that is not the end of what God has called us to in this life or the next. We gather to go to gather. We gather to encourage each other to go into whatever worlds God has chosen for us knowing that we will see each other again. Here…or there. After all, there is a great gathering coming, a gathering of fathers, mothers, children, orphans, Europeans, Africans, Americans, etc., too great to number. What will that look like? John the Revelator gives us a glimpse of that incredible day.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’ (Revelation 7:9-10).

There are too many examples of this than I can express in this short note, but consider one OT and one NT example.

Think of Abraham’s tribe miraculously growing from one little boy, Isaac, into the innumerable stars of Heaven. “And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (Gen 15:5).

Or the five loaves and two fishes Jesus multiplied when he fed the hungry crowds who followed him. “So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten” (John 6:13). (I’ll let you decide if you smell like fish or bread).

And so this is our mission; to gather to go to gather. Gather today Then go preach the gospel in your world. Gather others into God’s kingdom. Knowing that as you do so, God will one day gather all those who have repented of the foolishness of self and sin, and trusted Jesus to save them.

PS. A fellow traveler pointed out this little countryside church to me as we left Poland. I took the picture of the building with a prayer for the believers who will gather there today. It is a prayer that they too will gather to go, trusting God to gather others by their testimonies of Jesus’s love. You and I don’t yet know who gathers in this church. But one day we will. One day God will gather all his little churches into one great church and we will know each other by name. What a gathering that will be. What a day that will be. I’ll meet you in the choir!

- Reggie Weems

Jesus Christ, Our Great Missionary

Sun, 25 Feb 2024 15:51:21 GMT

Visiting our IMB missionaries in Poland

Every Easter Heritage receives its annual Lottie Moon offering to support Southern Baptist Missionaries around the world. Today we were privileged to visit in the home of and eat at a Polish restaurant with one of these missionaries.

Foreign missionaries, unlike the everyday missionaries we are, surrender their American lifestyle, proximity to family, and assume the culture of another country, all at great cost and even the risk of life, in order to share the “good news of great joy” (Lk 2:10) with people unlike themselves.

Oh wait. That sounds like someone else, doesn’t it? Someone else who left home, family, and comfort to tell us we are sinners under God’s righteous wrath in need of a salvation mercifully provided by that same God in the sacrifice of

himself.

But you may recognize that story in these inspired words, written by the apostle Paul, who wrote -

“…Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:5-8).

It is with that picture of Jesus’s sacrifice and by the power of Christ’s Spirit that these men and women choose to follow Jesus, away from home and into a foreign place.

In that same spirit, our debt to these extraordinary people is greater than simple financial support. Every once in a while, in some small copy of their choice, we too should leave comfort, home, normalcy and even safety, just to show up at their front door to say. “Thank you. You are not forgotten. We are grateful for you. How may we serve you?”

Heritage has made it possible for Teana and me, on their behalf, to do just that. And so, on behalf of the IMB missionaries we have met and will meet, we bring you their greetings to say. “Thank you, Heritage.” And then, let me add my oft quoted benediction to our congregation, “Happy are you…[O Heritage]. Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD…” (Deut 33:29).

PS. Returning the car to the airport this evening I was randomly stopped at a Polish police sobriety checkpoint. The policeman was very kind and amused that I didn’t know how to blow into the breath analyzer. After several attempts he told me I was just filled with the Holy Spirit and Coca-Cola. Okay, that last part is not true. In the end, he just laughed and told me to go on.

(Here’s a picture of me following our IMB missionary and his daughter to lunch).

Holding Forth the Word of Life

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 17:25:08 GMT

"Organized Hell" and the only true source of hope

Welcome to the Heritage Blog

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 18:53:54 GMT

Send us your sermon questions

If you have questions about the sermons, e-mail theheritagevicar@gmail.com and Pastor (or whomever preaches on Sunday) will respond to your questions on this blog.

We trust this blog will be one more way in which the Heritage body is built up in Christ!

hbcjc

Resurrection Peace

Second: The Peace of Jesus Confronts Our Fear (v. 38–40)

Third: The Peace of Jesus is Grounded in His Real Resurrection (v. 41–43)

Ill: I’ll create a word about Ebenezer here. Fourth: The Peace of Jesus Leads to Assurance and Rest

Fifth: Applying the Resurrection to Your Life Now

The Burning Heart

First: You Can Be Close to Jesus and Still Miss Him (vv. 28–29)

Second: Jesus Must Make Himself Known (vv. 30–31)

Third: The Word Burns In Our Hearts Before Our Eyes See Jesus (v. 32)

Fourth: When We See Jesus, Everything Changes (vv. 33–35)

Was It All Really Necessary? (Seriously)

A Word about Emmaus:

First: The Question Beneath the Question - “We had hoped…” (v. 21)

Second: The Necessity of the Cross - “Was it not necessary…?” (v. 26)

Third: The Bible Interpreted Through Christ

Conclusion:

He Is Not There, But Has Risen

The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Silence Luke 23:50–56

First: Faith Acts When Others Do Not (v50-51)

Second: Faith Acts When the Future Is Uncertain (v52)

Third: Faith Demonstrates Devotion Simply for Jesus (v53-56)

Fourth: Faith Obeys What It Knows to Obey (v56b)

The Crucifixion Luke 23

This is a subtitle for your new post

Grace that Gives 2 Cor. 8:1-15

Grace that Gives 2 Cor. 8:1-15 Justin Davis

Evangelism

Evangelism Matthew 28:18-20

Multiplying Grace

Mentoring - 2 Timothy 2:1-7

Thursday — Illumination Is a Gift. Read 2 Timothy 2:7

Friday — The Mentoring Spoke and the Triune God

Redefining Service

Redefining Service Mark 10:42-45

Friday — Teaching from a Ransomed Heart. Read: Mark 10:42–45 (entire passage again)

Let's Learn To Pray

Let's Learn to Pray - Matthew 6:9-13

Friday - The Word Forms the Prayer (Joshua 1:8; 2 Timothy 3)

The Life the Bible Gives Us

The Life the Bible Gives Us

The Life the Bible Gives Us

Friday. The Word That Makes the Difference (vv. 14–17)

Community Groups

Community Groups at Heritage

Seriously, Every Sunday?

Why God Calls His People to Gather

The Disciplines as the Christ Life

Discipleship from a Trinitarian Center

The Disciplines as the Christ Life.

Why Spiritual Disciplines?

1. Everyone Is Being Formed

2. This is why Christians Need God-Centered Disciplines

18

﻿

4. Growth Requires Movements of Habits

8. Disciplines Are Habits of Grace, but Busyness is an Obstacle

9. Jesus Presents the Model Rhythm

11. A List of Disciplines (with Examples and Cautions)

13. Final Reminder: The Disciplines Point to Christ and His Kingdom

The Great Commission Gospel

What Now? The Great Commission Gospel Matt 28:18-20

Genesis 3:15

The View from My Study - Genesis 3:15

The First Gospel

Genesis 3:15

The Disciples' Fall & the Son's Faithfulness

Disciples' Fall & the Son's Faithfulness

Step 1: Identify the Beginning (v. 54)

Step 2: Trace the Middle (vv. 55–65)

a) Peter’s Denials (vv. 55–62)

b) Jesus is Mocked and Beaten (vv. 63–65)

Step 3: Locate the Ending (vv. 66–71)

Step 4: Confirm Its Unity

Hopefully, this helps us understand why pericopes matter. Understanding pericopes helps readers and teachers -

View From Pastor Charlie's Study

The Hour of Darkness

His Agony in the Garden

His Agony in the Garden

Ill: I’ll create a word about Ebenezer here.

Fourth: The Peace of Jesus Leads to Assurance and Rest

Too often we pray for and to the people around us
rather than to and for God