Archive - February, 2012

March 4 Worship Set

February 28, 2012 in Worship Set with 0 Comments

180 – Determination – Luke 9:43-62

Jesus had been avoiding Jerusalem because He knew the danger that was there. Jesus knew that His time was short. His opportunity for impact was limited. He set His face to Jerusalem. He fearlessly faced the inevitable. He didn’t shrink back. He might not have had His disciples understanding but He was going anyway. He faced Jerusalem and went.

One of the best definitions of courage that I have found is that courage is doing the right thing even when we are unsure of the response. In this case He knew what was ahead, but He chose to go anyway. On His way there, He teaches others about that same cost of following Him. In order to walk with Him, you have to do an 180⁰ and walk away from something else. You can’t go two directions at once. You are either walking with Him or walking from Him. Walking towards Him comes with a cost. We have to leave things behind. We have to turn our face away from things we love and turn toward Him.

February 26 Worship Set

February 23, 2012 in Worship Set with 0 Comments

Uprising: Raising Up – John 11

Jesus was going to demonstrate his power over death itself. “I am the resurrection and the life,” he told Martha, “Whoever believes in me will live even though he dies.” And to prove his power, Jesus walked to the tomb and ordered the stone to be rolled away. “Come out!” he commands, and to the astonishment of everyone Lazarus walked out! But not everyone was impressed. Many of the religious leaders were threatened by this display of power, and began plotting to kill him.

Why does a positive act like this engender such a negative response? Jesus presents a challenge to all of us. To put our faith in him requires us to relinquish control. But we like calling the shots. Giving up control is hard. That is the test of faith. Jesus tells us that if we try to save our own lives we will surely die, but if we will lose our lives for his sake…give him control…he will save us.

February 19 Worship Set

February 13, 2012 in Worship Set with 0 Comments

Uprising: Looking Up – Matthew 17:1-9

Peter, James and John needed to be transformed so that God could do some earthly good through them. They needed to see that the Lord sends us out to live transformed lives before a watching world. They needed to be encouraged, strengthened and transformed on that mountain, because they were going to experience some times in the valley.

We like mountaintop experiences, don’t we? Whether you are on the mountaintop or in the valley right now, is there something the Father wants to say to you today? Perhaps He has said it to you before, and now He is saying it to you again because you missed it the first time (or was it the 50th time)? This is what He has said to all of us: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Romans 12:2

February 12 Worship Set

February 6, 2012 in Worship Set with 0 Comments

Uprising: Lifting Up – John 4:1-42

Many people live their lives as if they are already over – as if they were set on their course by the events of the past and as if nothing could be changed. But if the good news of Jesus – living water that would meet the deepest need – was true for even the outcast woman in this passage, it can be for anyone and everyone. This woman came to believe in Jesus not by pretending her past did not exist, but by believing that Jesus, somehow, could redeem even her past. And if grace is offered even to this woman, the people in the town, who have rejected her, are interested as well. If Jesus can change her life, he can bring hope to them.

There can be an uprising by God’s grace in every life. No one need be left out – all can respond in faith. His grace changes every life, even the most hardened, turning outcasts into members of God’s family.

February 5 Worship Set

February 6, 2012 in Worship Set with 0 Comments

Uprising: Growing Up – John 3:1-21

Nicodemus was a member of Sanhedrin and a part of the religious establishment, but he was intrigued by the fresh message of Jesus. He was creating a stir in Jerusalem and Nicodemus wanted to meet him, so arrangements were made and under the cloak of night, they met. The leader of the uprising was direct. You have to be born again. You have to become different, live differently, believe differently.

What a challenge for Nicodemus! He was going to have to make a choice – accept the status quo or join the uprising. A life of following Jesus would mean a revolution of thought for this man. The Sanhedrin and the Pharisees believed that righteousness before God meant following a strict set of rules, but Jesus proclaimed that salvation was through faith in him alone.