Mission Faithwalk

                 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm . The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:23-27) The first point of interest this morning is that when the disciples got scared, they went to Jesus. Hurrah! How many of us get upset about something and try to solve it ourselves, seek social or governmental intervention, or otherwise look to someone or something other than God?  They had enough faith in Him to get them that far. Jesus chastised them for their lack of faith. What lack of faith...

                 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said (Matthew 5:2-3) And what He said is well known to us all as The Sermon on the Mount. Ministry involves communication. There are ways our ability to speak to others can be improved, but mostly, it involves two things. Love and practice. The love part includes caring enough to have something to say that will help them. Sometimes, we confuse helping them with making ourselves feel superior. They aren’t the same. In this sermon, Jesus doesn’t single out anyone. He’s talking to people, but He’s not exactly talking about people. He’s talking more about human conditions. This doesn’t mean that He never takes anyone to task, but more often than not, He acts as a teacher, not a judge. There are consequences to not correcting an error, but there is time in which to do so. That time is a...

                 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”   As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him… Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.  (Matthew 4:17-20 & 23) And today, we come to the crux of the matter. Jesus returned from His time in the desert and began to preach (v 17). He called disciples (actually verses 18-22, but I only shared 18-20). He traveled, taught, marketed (advertised the kingdom), and healed. One thing all those ...

                 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) This wasn’t the passage I had in mind for today, but it’s the one shared by my Bible platform, and let’s just say that it’s a concept that I want to be (and that I hope is ) central to my life. According to Jesus, it’s half of the greatest commandment. If we’re to have a mission in our lives, this is it. If we’re to have a ministry, this is its foundation and core. Having said that, I have to return to my “no magic” idea. Functionally, “god” refers to anything that provides the foundation of our lives and beliefs. This means not all gods have to be personal. Science can be a god. Self can be (and very often is) a god. And even if you hate that god, if you don’t turn to another god, you’re still loving that god because your a...

                 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.   After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” (Matthew 4:1-3) As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, (Galatians 4:13) Perhaps, because He is Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus’s calendar had written across the forty days immediately after His baptism, “Forty Days Temptation.” Maybe He knew exactly what was coming. Most of us don’t expect that when we have taken on some sort of ministry, the next seven days, weeks, months, or years will be spent uncomfortably wandering around, hungry, and under attack. What does any of that have to do with ministering? How are we to serve God or help anyone else if we’re sick, homeless, poor, improperly educ...

            Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”         Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. (Matthew 3:13-15)   Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:    “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. (Matthew 23:1-3)   “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:7)   Jesus’ ministry didn’t start off with a fireworks demonstration signaling the start of something new and different. His life started ...