Wrestling
I've been wrestling for awhile with what exactly to talk about in our Easter services this weekend (Of course I'm going to talk about the truth of the resurrection). Time and time again I hear stories from people who are nearing the end of their life and they make the statement, "I've been going to church my whole life and I never really heard what it means to be a follower of Jesus," or, "I heard a lot about the church but I never really knew what it meant to be a Christian."
So I'm committed to presenting the Good News of Jesus Christ in the most precise and understandable way possible this weekend. I don't want one single person to be able to walk away and say, "I never knew . . .," "No one ever told me . . ."
But the question still remains, "In a society that has been saturated with 'Jesus stuff,' how do you scrape away all the junk to get to the heart of God?"
I'm praying for God simply to speak through me. For Greg Nettle to be out of the way. For Jesus to be present. For the Savior of the universe to invade our lives.
I have the opportunity this weekend to share the message that changes eternities. The responsibility is awesome. At times overwhelming. I'm taking it very seriously.
If you're a Jesus-follower you have the same opportunity with those you come in contact with. What would you say? What will you say?
So I'm committed to presenting the Good News of Jesus Christ in the most precise and understandable way possible this weekend. I don't want one single person to be able to walk away and say, "I never knew . . .," "No one ever told me . . ."
But the question still remains, "In a society that has been saturated with 'Jesus stuff,' how do you scrape away all the junk to get to the heart of God?"
I'm praying for God simply to speak through me. For Greg Nettle to be out of the way. For Jesus to be present. For the Savior of the universe to invade our lives.
I have the opportunity this weekend to share the message that changes eternities. The responsibility is awesome. At times overwhelming. I'm taking it very seriously.
If you're a Jesus-follower you have the same opportunity with those you come in contact with. What would you say? What will you say?
posted by Greg Nettle at 1:43 PM
11 Comments:
A little more than ten years ago, I was at my wit's end. I was sent to a center that was kind of intense rehab for people in ministry. I had had thoughts of ending it all. Over a two month period, I long for someone just to say, "God loves you." I went to church every weekend, sometimes twice. I heard a lot of reasons why God might disapprove of me from a variety of political stances in the different churches I went to. But never heard the words I longed for.
I think that all people need to hear weekly that God loves them. It is so easy to start thinking, "But me? Really?" I'm not saying every sermon has to say it but I think no one should ever leave the church without hearing the words "God loves you."
As for sermons, I don't think we ever hear enough of these words of Jesus, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12) If we did, I think we might be more mindful daily to do to others what we would have them do to us.
And then
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
You know, I have never once gone away from church with the assumption that this is what Greg Nettle thought. I always come away with questions that maybe I need to dig further for. When I see you up on stage and preaching the word, I still see the "glow" for a lack of better word. I think it as God enpowering you to speak his word, and when you do, he gives you this special light. So, I know I will see this light this week-end and no matter how it comes across, it will be pleasing to God, because I have not yet heard you speak that God does not give you his grace.
Not only do I hope all who attend this weekend hear about Jesus, this I have no doubt. My prayer is, we, the church, will offer a place where all who attend will experience God's grace. Just loving and caring them for who they are - God's children. May all who enter our doors this weekend experience this wonderful grace.
I agree with Stephen. I would love to hear you spell out God's plan for salvation, plain and simple. It was never preached in my family's church growing up, and I may never have learned the truth if it weren't for a coworker inviting me to church. Chances are good that there will be people in the same situation attending RiverTree this weekend.
If I had to guess, though, I'd say that the Lord will give you the words to say.
Hey Stephen,
I watched that clip earlier in the week. Powerful stuff. A friend of mine is showing it in his Easter message this weekend. Thanks for passing it along!
g
I think that sometimes before people can "repent," they need to know that God loves them. Why should they repent to a God that may to them seem cruel and fickle. They first have to know God, then repentence will come.
Most people, especially those that don't attend church regularly, know that there are things in their lives that God does not approve of. They know what those things are, but they will stay away from God completely if they're not ready (or don't think they can) give those things up. Is that what we want?
Ultimately, I think God will give you the words if you ask him to, but I'm sure you already know that.
Praying...
Right now, the way I interact or answer questions about Christianity, tend to involve stories of my 9 year old and how she is growing and learning about Jesus. I love her honesty and the simplicity in which she approaches the BIG questions. She causes me to think about Jesus in a way that is practical and REAL. I find myself using her stories to tell others about Jesus. One story I repeat quite often is of her questions about how we love Jesus more than anything.,,,even more that her! We have prayed every night of lives together.....very simple prayers of thanks for people in our lives, the beautiful day, the opportunity to make a new friend, our dog and on and on.....but at the end of our daily prayer, I always end with the biggest thanks going to God for sending us Jesus....who showed us what love is. For years, I prayed "but most of all...we are thankful for JESUS". Every time I prayed that, I would think to myself ....do I really love HIM more that anything? More than my wonderful husband...more that this precious daughter? Several YEARS into our prayers, my daughter asked me "mama, I have a question for you....I am afraid to ask it" I knew what she was going to ask me. She finally had courage to ask me.....Did I really love Jesus more than her??? ...... I did not know what I was going to say, but I could see her question every night for years. I told her that it wasn't that I love Jesus more.....it is that without Jesus, I couldn't love her as much as I do. Without Jesus.....I am unable to love. He IS love! Through Him, I am given a gift......God's love for us is FIRST, He sent us Jesus......EVERYTHING else that. She was so relieved to know where I got my ability to love her and finally understood why I would say that we love Jesus most-of-all. I love what Jesus has provided me through my child....an ability to see the world in a less complicated, more loving way and to know Jesus through the eyes of my child.
We will pray for you and your Easter message.
LINDY
Unconditional love keeps appearing in my head as I think of something profound. It seems to be really what we try to do whether at TreehouseKidz, Thrive groups, Serving others both at Rivertree and outside of the church. It is one of the hardest things to do as a human but God does it so effortlessly. As a Father, I try to show my kids uncondtional love even when I fall down in that area, God leads me back.
I like Wayne's comments. I would go further though and talk about how when Jesus left that tomb that was the beginning of another whole story altogether. That one moment in history forever changed the landscape for all of mankind. God's Story was now open to all and now all our Stories were able to be directly intersected with His story.
When the annals of history are shared in the heavens - the stories will be spoken of by God and Jesus the stories will not just be of the Apostles and the Old Testaments Saints, but also of people like Greg Nettle, Dave Meysembourg, Brian Minnes, Vince Antonucci, and hundreds of millions of others who have allowed God to intersect their story and change them forever.
Modern day miracles of people changed before our very eyes because of God's story intersecting the lives of people who died to self and gave all to serve the King. That to me is the real miracle of the empty tomb me thinks.
I just wanted to say that I thought the Easter service was amazing! I was at the 4:30 service on Saturday, and you could just tell that the Holy Spirit was all over the church. Your sermon was awesome, the worship team was great . . . it was just a great service all around. As I was leaving, I overheard a visitor saying how glad they were that they came to our church that evening, and that they had been so blessed by the service. So, that was definitely a "yay God" moment. Just thought you would be encouraged to hear that. :)
I believe God was smiling in heaven last night and today. My wife and I thank you for the "gospel" message shared this weekend. It is a priviledge to be a "gate crasher" along side you and others.
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