Tag: 1 Kings 17

Luke: By Faith, Not Function | 3-26-2023

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 10/17/2024

Sermon Prep

Before this message, we encountered new changes in life. My wife Glory had her last day at her job on the 9th, then we had a funeral just the next day for a student of that nonprofit named Daniel. Immediately after the funeral we went straight to a leader retreat for our church and heck before that weekend my Dad was in town to visit us Colorado Cribaris. Of all the weeks in March 2023, this one had the most going on right after my last message.

Given that back-to-back nature of events, I took more time on this sermon than the last one. Received the feedback from the last message and leaned more into the strengths of my style of teaching and what makes the Gospel of Luke incredible: details. So many intricate details that the other Gospels lack. With that, here’s my notes:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Shannon and First Priority. Strongman Origins.
    • Faith requires response.

Intro

  • Faith in Jesus requires your response.
    • Your inability to respond reveals your apathetic heart.

Transition To Main Point

  • An apathetic heart can’t take action and follow Jesus. It won’t respond.

Main Point

  • Luke 7:1-10 | The Centurion’s Servant
    • Sent Jewish elders and friends.
      • Never met Jesus; heard about him.
      • Powerful and respected local leader.
    • Jesus is swayed by faith, not function.
  • Luke 7:11-17 | A Widow’s Son
    • Nain = beauty; pleasantness.
      • Southwest of Capernaum; small hillside village.
    • Jesus is moved to compassion by faith, not function (i.e. 1 Kings 17).
      • The bearers and widow trusted Jesus.
  • Luke 7:18-35 | Disciples of John
    • John the Baptist and his disciples had faith that the Messiah would arrive.
      • Functionally, John was low status.
    • Prophecy fulfilled (see Luke 7:27).
      • Quoting Malachi 3:1-4.
    • Best verse (see Luke 7:32).
      • 32a = The Fisherman and his Flute.
        • Classical Greek children’s fable.
      • 32b = A dirge is a song of lament.
        • Reference to the funeral in Nain.
      • Pharisees dictated worship to God.
        • Their function was to ridicule the response of the faithful.
  • Luke 7:36-50 | A City Woman
    • Simon the Pharisee treated Jesus as an inferior teacher.
      • The city woman treated Jesus King and Savior.
    • Simon saw the function Jesus could serve to society, but the city woman saw that faith in Jesus could set her free. What he does vs who he is.
    • The functional view of Jesus is he was a great, moral teacher.
      • The faithful view of Jesus is he is Lord and Savior.

Why This Matters

  • Faith requires response.
    • To come and follow Jesus requires a response by faith and not by function.
  • You’re not the function you provide to society, but rather defined by the faith you have in Jesus as king of your heart.
    • i.e. career, family, parenting; status.
  • Your identity isn’t found in your temporary function, but by your faith in Jesus.
    • Lifelong fulfillment = relationship with Jesus.

Final Thoughts

With the slump of the last message not being on par with the first couple in Luke, I stepped things up here and it worked. I think my identification of the theme was spot-on and there was a clear through-line within this sermon. Also, I had an incredibly last-minute pivot where instead of talking about my mentor Shannon, I decided during worship to talk about how I got into Strongman.

I spotted Austin, who was a local Strongman before service, so I pivoted to specifically reach him. I think this was his first time at church too before becoming a regular member, along with his family. Sometimes if I notice someone new and the Holy Spirit tells me to, I gladly scratch out any notes that are not relevant so that I might win some more souls. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Reunion Church

Luke: Exit Stage Left | 2-5-2023

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 10/12/2024

Sermon Prep

After a month of being at this new job, I was getting the swing of things. It was a lot of work. In hindsight, I never truly felt I got it when it came to this job.

The knowledge-base required was a lot and I just never figured it out to be frank. At the time, I really liked my job but with self-reflection I’ve come to see how much my pride to provide for my family in the midst of a company acquisition had a grip on me. That fearful, fight-flight-freeze framework where I just went after the highest paying job and not what God wanted me to do in my career.

It’s one of those seasons where I don’t know if it was sin, but it was stupid to chase money to provide for my family and save for a house one day. In this season, I was preaching to myself through this series because I was center stage. My efforts and works to will life into a more controlled state versus what it was just a month ago desperately job-hunting afraid of getting fired or let go.

The godly and right thing to do is to step aside and be humble in the presence of Jesus. I don’t have any control of my life. I don’t dictate what happens to my family. And yet, God is always there for us and he will always give us a second chance when we approach him with complete surrender. He makes all things new. With that, here’s the notes for this message.

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Rush at Red Rocks
    • What’s your favorite concert?
    • Who was the opener? The first act?

Intro

  • John the Baptist was the opening act.
    • Jesus was the headliner.
    • Setting the stage for the savior.
  • Exit Stage Left
    • An orderly and uneventful departure, timed so as not to detract or distract.

Transition To Main Point

  • John the Baptist exited stage left, so that Jesus could take center stage.

Main Point

  • Luke 3:1 | Shows Theophilus when this all took place in history (i.e. AD 26-29).
  • Luke 3:2 | The inciting incident
    • Like Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist wandered in the wilderness waiting for the next word of God.
      • See Exodus 3 and 1 Kings 17
  • Luke 3:3-6 | Old Testament fulfillment and symbolism
    • Jordan River = entry to Promised Land
    • Baptism = temple practice of full immersion that took someone from impurity to purity.
    • Taken together, John invites the Hebrews to renew their vows to God as the New Covenant people under grace, not law.
    • This revival set the stage for Jesus.
      • “See the salvation” -> See Jesus
        • Jesus translates to Yahweh saves.
  • Luke 3:7-14 | The Message
    • Salvation is from the shed blood of Jesus, not the sacred blood of Abraham.
      • True repentance is a public confession followed by continued trust in God.
    • Salvation is always belief before behavior.
  • Luke 3:15-17 | The Messiah
    • Mistaken for messiah like Judah the Hammer.
    • Purify the impure that repent of sin.
    • Judge all, but separating people by those who accept grace and those who reject it.
      • Political undertones here too.
  • Luke 3:18-20 | Setting the Stage
    • This was over a good span of time.
    • Herod puts John the Baptist in prison for calling out his divorce to marry his daughter-in-law and Josephus wrote “the great influence John had over the people.”

Why This Matters

  • John exited stage left story-wise, so that Jesus could take center stage next.
    • He’s rarely mentioned after this chapter.
  • Back then like now, the world’s broken.
    • The arrival of Jesus introduces us to a permanent and restorative justice.
  • The topic of baptism invites us to the idea of restarting and having a new beginning.

Final Thoughts

I loved preaching this message and the reason being is that I love John the Baptist! He’s one of the most interesting figures in all of history. Last prophet of the Old Covenant, best friends with Jesus and yet baptizes him, along with being a precursor to the Desert Fathers who would arrive later on in history. I could go on and on about John the Baptist because he just brings a unique insight to both life right before Jesus and right after when Jesus arrives on the scene.

The execution of this message benefitted from my zeal for this topic too. My enthusiasm just beamed from my sermon delivery this Sunday and I remember one of our members mentioning that after the service. Personally, I was also just in a great emotional mood with my Dad flying into town the Thursday after this teaching to spend the weekend with the Colorado family. Anyways, this was one of the good ones. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Reunion Church