Are We Following Jesus?

March 17, 2024

Mt. 27:55-56,61; 28:1-10; Mk 15:40-41; 47-16:11; Lk 8:1-3; 23:27-31,49, 55-24:11,22-23; John 19:25-27; 20:1-2,11-18 — The Women at the Cross — From the women at the cross we learn to follow Jesus; to give up everything and to follow Him everywhere, all the time, and all the way to the end. We learn to stand firm in our Father’s kingdom business until it is completed. We learn to surrender our lives, everything, and everyone we hold dear. At the cross, through the eyes of the women, we no longer see fear, loss, and death but only love, hope, joy, and new life. When Jesus says, “Come and follow me,” we leave everything behind and follow Him all the way, all the time to the end.

This is part of our Lent series for 2024 — At the Cross—Who Are You?

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Are We Serving Jesus?

March 10, 2024

Mt 27:57-61; Mk 15:42-47; Lk 23:50-54; John 19:38-41 — Joseph & Nicodemus at the Cross — Joseph and Nicodemus loved, honored, and served Jesus at great personal risk and expense. Are we willing to risk everything to follow Jesus? Are we willing to serve Jesus at significant personal cost and sacrifice and pay the cost of discipleship? Or, are we secret believers, perhaps even secret unbelievers? We serve Jesus by leaving everything behind, taking up our crosses daily, dying to ourselves, and following him, submitting to him as our Lord and Savior. We follow and serve Jesus by obeying and putting into practice everything he has commanded us. We do so out of love, thanksgiving, and worship of our Lord.

This is part of our Lent series for 2024 — At the Cross—Who Are You?

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A New Family At the Cross

March 3, 2024

John 19:25-27 (cf. also John 1:12; 13:1, 14-15, 34-35) — Mary & John at the Cross — Mary’s heart was pierced. She suffered the unspeakable horror of seeing the slow, painful, shameful death of her son. Although Mary didn’t fully understand the reason for his death, she obeyed, followed Jesus, and followed through in being a servant of God’s mission. She gave up her son. She is an example of radical discipleship—to follow Jesus requires us to give up everything. Even at the end, while dying, in the midst of his suffering, Jesus showed compassion and exercised loving care for the people he loved. He honored his mother. He provided a new family for her and John. Jesus’ death reveals God’s self-giving love. Out of that love and his suffering a new spiritual family has come into being, that is the church where the ties of the Holy Spirit transcends family ties, physical relationships and all other boundaries. Jesus calls people into a new relationship with God and one another — a relationship of self-giving love.

This is part of our Lent series for 2024 — At the Cross—Who Are You?

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Are We Indifferent to Jesus?

February 25, 2024

Matthew 27:26-37 (Mark 15:16-24; Luke 23:26, 32-33, 36-37; John 19:16-18, 23-24; 31-34) — The Soldiers at the Cross — The soldiers at the cross were indifferent to Jesus. They ridiculed him as the unbelieving world today ridicules Jesus. Are we indifferent to Jesus like these soldiers? Even as followers of Jesus, we can become indifferent to Jesus so that we miss him and the life he has to offer us. We don’t see and experience the living Son of God, the all-powerful Lord who is real, who loves us, who cares for us and is concerned for us. Also, the soldiers’ mockery and the crucifixion show us that the way of God’s Kingdom is self-giving love. The crucifixion is the means by which His Kingdom is established. The radically different way is the way of self-giving love by Himself as our Lord and it is the way we should take up our crosses, follow Him, and live the kingdom life.

This is part of our Lent series for 2024 — At the Cross—Who Are You?

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Are We Afraid or Jealous of Jesus?

February 18, 2024

Mt 27:39-44, 48-49; Mk 15:29-32, 36-37; Luke 23:35 — The Jewish Leaders at the Cross — The Jewish leaders feared and envied Jesus. They were jealous of his authority, power, teachings, influence, and following. They plotted to kill Jesus because of religious reasons, political, cultural, personal, and selfish reasons. They were looking out for their own self-interests and self-protection. We could be like the Jewish leaders. Some people can be so jealous of their own selves and their lives that they reject Jesus outright. We can be so jealous of our self-interests that we only follow Jesus half-heartedly. We can become so jealous of our faith, doctrines, and theologies that we miss the Lord of our faith. We can become so jealous of the Jesus we created in our image, of our traditions, that we miss the real, true living Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. At the cross, who are we, and who is Jesus for us?

This is part of our Lent series for 2024 — At the Cross—Who Are You?

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Family Now

February 4, 2024

1 Corinthians 12:4-27; Ephesians 4:1-16 — We are God’s family, and as His family, we are the Body of Christ now and here in this world to represent Christ and to call others into the family. We are the One Body consisting of many members with various cultural backgrounds, individual talents, gifts, and roles. All these are given by the Holy Spirit to love, serve, and build up the Body so that we will all become perfect in Christ. This also enables us to persevere in the midst of the attacks of Satan and the world that seeks to destroy God’s family.

This is part of the sermon series now. pray, which is part of the 40 Days of Prayer 2024 of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

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Worship Now

January 28, 2024

John 4:19-26 — Worship is our reverential response to the all-encompassing magnificence of God. Whether it be in song, conversation, prayer, art, preaching, ministry, work, or life, worship is an expression of gratitude, thankfulness, and love towards God, our Father. The Lord desires hearts that worship Him with sincerity and authenticity, hearts that are surrendered completely to Him. He seeks people who realize and acknowledge the truth of who God is and what He has done, and who respond by the Spirit’s prompting with everything that is in them. We are God’s spiritual temples. Therefore, we worship Him with all of our lives as living sacrifices, and as such, we call and invite others to come and worship God.

This is part of the sermon series now. pray, which is part of the 40 Days of Prayer 2024 of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

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