A man pleads with Jesus to heal his daughter. While on His way to heal her – they are told the girl is dead. Everyone gives up. But Jesus doesn’t give up. And because of that the parents don’t give up. How often do we give up on people before Jesus does. We should be seeking healing for the people in our lives, no matter how desperate the situation may seem.
Meet Kelly Stauffer. A regular, good, church-going, youth group attending girl - until she was 14 and something happened that changed her life forever. It drove her far from God, far from people and set her on a course of self-destruction. In an informal interview, Kelly will reveal in detail what derailed her life and how she got back on track through the genuine healing of Jesus Christ. Her story is probably our story, too.
Jesus heals 10 lepers. Only one comes back to praise Him. And the one that came back would have been considered the one least likely to come back. Jesus asks, “Where are the others? Only this stranger has come back to give praise?” How often do we see the “likely people” healed and yet they act as if they deserved it? It’s the least likely of people who really seem to be “Jesus kind of people.”. Which are you?
In desperation, a severely ill woman touches the hem of Jesus’ cloak hoping to be healed. Jesus’ asks, “Who touched me?” And we read that she, “…told him the whole truth.” And in that moment she is healed. Confession is good for the soul we’re told, but yet how often do we not tell God, “the whole truth?”.
Jesus asks a man, “Would you like to be healed?” That simple question leads to not only a healing, but an act of defiance against the traditional Sabbath culture. Whenever Jesus’ healing comes to us in unconventional ways – obedience is always at the core. This week we will learn how being obedient and going against the flow can heal not one person, but an entire family.
A blind man is begging at the roadside. He hears that Jesus is passing and he yells out, “Have mercy on me!” Told to be quiet, he yells again, “Have mercy on me!” The man shows faith, boldness and perseverance. Jesus heals him. How we ever wondered what might happen if we showed the kind of boldness and perseverance in our faith?
Sunday, September 19, 2021 - We’ve been called to so clearly display excellence in the way that we love people that our devotion to Christ is undeniable. And not only those who are easy to love – but even loving the unlovely. Can we now better imagine the community we would be if together we made our God known through the beauty of loving people.
Sunday, September 12, 2021 - If you are old enough to remember, you remember exactly where you were on September 11, 2001. We all watched in horror as the single, most devastating terrorist attack in history unfolded before our eyes. Our hearts were filled with immeasurable pain, crushing sorrow, bitter anger, and even hatred. How could human beings do such a horrific thing? Where is the beauty in loving people like that?
Sunday, September 5, 2021 - But what about people who do terrible, hurtful things? Surely it’s okay to not love THOSE people, right? People who have deeply hurt you or someone you love. People who have forever altered a life, or have even taken a life. People who do or have done things that are so sick, so twisted, so despicable – so unforgivable – how could there be any beauty in loving them at all?
Sunday, August 29, 2021 - Life in Christ means doing life with one another and for one another and sometimes in spite of one another. As much as we try, sometimes we simply can’t see eye to eye with everyone. Some people are just . . . different. What about them? Who can we not love and who must we love? Well, Jesus was asked that very question too. And His answer sets a standard of love that challenges every believer to this day.
Sunday, August 8, 2021 - We humans like to see results. It’s in our nature to desire to see the fruits of our labor and the product of our efforts. Yet learning to love people for no other reason than that they matter to God is learning to live in an invisible reality. But it is the only reality that matters; it’s the only lasting reality. For the things which are seen are only temporary. But the things which are unseen are eternal.
Sunday, August 1, 2021 - Yes there is beauty in loving people, but what about people who have hurt me? There are people who brought me profound betrayal or stabbed me in the back – how can loving them be possible, no less beautiful? Not loving seems fair, even healthy! Until we remember that we have done those same things ourselves. And even done them to Jesus.
Sunday, July 25, 2021 - There is nothing in the world more powerful than love. Love changes hearts, it changes minds, it changes lives. Love is strong. True love cannot be forced or manipulated – it must be freely given and freely received. That’s love that changes people. And it doesn’t come from us. Love like that can only come from the One who first loved us. That we might see and live in the power of loving people.
June 20, 2021 - Time. The single most valuable resource. It’s not renewable, you can’t ever get it back, you can’t make more of it, and none of us really knows how much we’ll ever have. Yet, the hard truth is that we often design lives so full of distractions that we hijack our own time. And in the end it is not time that has been stolen from us, but our hearts.
05/16/2021 - Leviticus 23:22 - Living in the promised land was God’s purpose for His people. But the promised land wasn’t only for them. God’s desire is that His people have a reputation of caring not only for each
other, but for all who pass by. What does that look like today? What would our community look
like? How would God be glorified if we were known as a people living in a land without borders?
05/09/2021 - Luke 13:34 & Matthew 23:37-39 - Few things paralyze a life with Christ the way fear does. And so it should come as no surprise that throughout scripture God’s people are reminded – commanded, even! – to not be afraid. Especially for those living in the promised land. For Jesus longs to gather His children in a land without fear. The question then becomes: are we willing to live fearlessly for Him?
April 25, 2021 - God has planted the idea of eternity into every human heart. Yet it is often difficult to fathom the whole picture from beginning to end. Even so, God is working to make everything beautiful in it’s time. For there will come a moment when all those united to Jesus will enter into His glory. Because not only is there life, there is life in community on the other side of this life.
April 11, 2021 - The cross was not a surprise to Jesus. It was not an accident; it was not a tragedy. It was a destination. Jesus was on a timetable from the moment He was born – He knew He had to be dead by three o’clock that day so that all those who would call on His name might be justified before God. Because that moment on the cross was not His final destination. There is life on the other side of the cross.
March 21, 2021 - Matthew 7:15-23 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven." These are some of the most sobering words ever spoken by Jesus. Because in the Kingdom, it's not who you claim to know, but Who claims to know you. Who holds you reputation?
March 7, 2021 - Matthew 7:1 - 6 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." It's a popular refrain these days. And it is true! But it's only the first part of Jesus' teaching. Jesus teaches that by looking into our own lives, we can be instruments of mercy and grace to others. Because the truly revolutionary part of His teaching is not the judgment, but the standard by which we measure.
February 14, 2021 - Matthew 6:1 - 17 - We all know people who love to brag about their generosity, prayer life, and overall spiritual maturity. But Jesus said such boasting isn't anything more than a selfish desire for recognition. Perhaps even worse - Jesus thought that such people have already received all the reward they're going to get. This week, it's time for all of us to check our motive.
January 31, 2021 - Matthew 5:33 - 37 - "I promise!" "I swear!" How many promises like that have we broken? Broken promises to others; broken promises to God ... Yet, Jesus' challenge to anyone who would choose to follow Him is that our simple "yes" or "no" be enough. That we would be known as a people of integrity. What would it take for us to revolutionize our words?
January 17, 2021 - Matthew 5:21-30 - When does a sin really become a sin? When we do it? When we say it? According to Jesus, it's even earlier than that. It all starts with nothing more than a thought. And in the end, what we say and what we do is more than a reflection of our thoughts. It's a reflection of our hearts.
January 10, 2021 - Matthew 5:13-16 - Jesus opened this teaching by telling us who we are - salt and light. The witness of our lives flavors the world and gives light to the darkness. It was true then, and it is true now. How we live demonstrates to the world Who we live for. Living for Christ revolutionizes the world around us.
December 20, 2020 - Ephesians 4:16 -
As we learn to embrace true maturity in Christ, as each part of The Body does its work, we will inevitably begin to grow. Not only in breadth of numbers – but also in our depth of faith in and love for Jesus. After all, He is the One Who holds it all together and equips us to be His love.