Holy Love Part 7: "Amazing Love - Epilogue"

The early church was known by their acts of love and mercy. Simply put, it was Holy Love.  What is Holy Love? How do we show it? Why? In this series, we learn about those first Christians, the great joy they shared loving as Jesus did, and our calling at Christ Lutheran Vail.  This week Pastor Hook brings all we have learned in this series together and challenges Christ Lutheran Vail to exhibit Holy Love.  May Jesus continue forming all of us as His disciples.



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Holy Love Part 7: Devotion

A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily prayers. The scripture is from our Sunday Service Bulletin. Today is the final message in a series of sermons regarding Christian love that looks at the life of the early Christians.

Matthew 28:16-20 (English Standard Version)

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Devotion: “Mission Statement”

We know that God loves us and according to St John’s writing, He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, for our sake. This surely demonstrates the depth of His love for us. Today in the text from the last verses in Matthew,  that resurrected Son gives His disciples and us, our mission statement.  He states that His love and His presence will ever endure, even to the end of the age. The “make disciples” and “teach” were transformative commands because in the period that it was written, access to education by an esteemed rabbi was reserved for privileged men.  Jesus is talking about breaking down barriers so that all shall be taught and become disciples: men and women, Gentile and Jew, poor and rich. God’s love extends to the entire world, loving the sinner and the saint. Some people think of “disciples” as maybe someone who is more committed than others. Jesus is saying that all Christians are disciples it is just that some are obedient and perhaps some are not. As disciples, we should love one another, as God taught us. Out of that love we should carry on His Kingdom work. Let us take a moment and consider what sort of disciple we are. Let us be more like Him!

Pray: Lord, help us be obedient disciples in our mission. Amen

Blessings,

Joe

Holy Love Part 6: Devotion

A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily prayers. The scripture is from our Sunday Service Bulletin. We are in a series of sermons regarding Christian love that looks at the life of the early Christians and today’s topic is the Stephen Ministry. Our church supports this lay ministry and if you are unfamiliar with the concept you can visit this website: https://www.stephenministries.org/stephenministry/default.cfm/917.

Acts 6: 1-7 (English Standard Version)

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciplemultiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Devotion: “Stephen Ministers”

The ministry is named after Stephen because he is the first one named after the twelve to be chosen to provide a caring ministry to those in need. Today’s Stephen Ministers are laypeople trained by their Stephen Leaders to provide one-on-one Christ-centered care to hurting people. These are people with a compassionate heart who’ve been equipped with the skills to listen, encourage, and offer support when someone is in need. A Stephen Minister typically has one care receiver at a time and meets with that person once a week. The organization sponsoring this ministry is a not for profit, Christian education organization, founded in 1975. It is literally a Godsend to those who need one-on-one comfort and counseling. Our church is blessed with more than a dozen trained and experienced Stephen Ministers many of whom who are helping and comforting members of our community on any given week. Care giving relationships are strictly confidential so you probably only hear about the ministry itself on days like today. To learn more, or if you know someone who may need help, please see your Pastor or a church leader.

Pray: Lord, help our Stephen Ministers comfort those who are hurting. Amen

Blessings,

Joe

Holy Love Part 6 - "Stephen Ministry"

The early church was known by their acts of love and mercy. Simply put, it was Holy Love. What is Holy Love? How do we show it? Why? In this series, we learn about those first Christians, the great joy they shared loving as Jesus did, and our calling at Christ Lutheran Vail. Today, Pastor Hook will talk about the Stephen Ministry and how it exhibits Holy Love for both the care receivers and Stephen Ministers. May Jesus continue forming all of us as His disciples. 



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Holy Love Sermon Series Part 5: Sozo

The early church was know by their acts of love and mercy. Simply put, it was Holy Love.  What is Holy Love?  How do we show it? Why? In this sermon series, Pastor Hook will teach about those first Christians, the great joy they shared loving as Jesus did, and what our calling is at Christ Lutheran Vail.  Today's sermon is on "Healing", Sozo




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Holy Love Sermon Series Part 5 Devotion and Sermon Questions

A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily prayers. The scripture is from our 20 September Sunday Service Bulletin. We are in a series of sermons regarding Christian love that looks at the life of the early Christians and today’s topic is “Sozo” [sode-zo] a Greek word meaning “to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction” or “to make well, heal, restore to health.”  Some of the themes or content in the devotion are directly from the footnotes innet.bible.org.

Mark 10: 46-52 (English Standard Version)

46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart. Get up; he is calling you." 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." 52 And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

”Devotion: “Sozo”

The author, John Mark, is describing a healing miracle (a Sozo) in Jericho. Possibly he included the name of the beggar’s father,   Timaeus, because contemporary readers knew him. There are two descriptions of Jesus that give us a clue to the faith of the blind Bartimaeus. Some of Jesus’ contemporaries called Him “the Nazarene” and Bartimaeus, as soon as he heard it, loudly proclaimed that Jesus is the “Son of David.” Yes he believes that the prophesied Messiah is Jesus. So Jesus did perform a miracle but Bartimaeus’ strongly proclaimed faith is the means by which it was accomplished. Bartimaeus pictured discipleship clearly. He recognized his inability, trusted Jesus as the One to give him God’s gracious mercy, and when he could ‘see’ clearly he began to follow Jesus. We need to trust in God’s healing and/or saving power when we get in a situation where we seem to be at our wits end. God loves us and wants to save us. As much as we have confidence in our abilities, it is ultimately God in charge. Submit to Him.

Pray: Lord, help me remain steadfast in faith. Amen

Blessings,

Joe

1.  Knowing yourself: In Mark’s story it is a time that Jesus was walking the earth and His presence stirred up Bartimaeus’ faith. In our time, what stirs you up that causes you to proclaim or show your faith? Is there anything that might cause you to keep your faith inside?

2. Scripture:  Verse 47 has Bartimaeus using a Messianic title, ie “Son of David”. Take a look at these passages and see if you see a connection: Mk 11:9-10; Mk 12:35-37; 2 Sam. 7:8-16; Isa. 11:1, 10; Jer. 23:5-6; Ezek. 34:23-24.

3. Application:  What can you or your church do to promote healing in this fractured world?

Holy Love Sermon Series: Part 4 Diaconia

The early church was know by their acts of love and mercy. Simply put, it was Holy Love.  What is Holy Love?  How do we show it? Why? In this sermon series, Pastor Hook will teach about those first Christians, the great joy they shared loving as Jesus did, and what our calling is at Christ Lutheran Vail.  Today's sermon is on "Serving", Diaconia.




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Holy Love Sermon Series: Part 3 - Katartismos

The early church was know by their acts of love and mercy. Simply put, it was Holy Love.  What is Holy Love?  How do we show it? Why? In this sermon series, Pastor Hook will teach about those first Christians, the great joy they shared loving as Jesus did, and what our calling is at Christ Lutheran Vail.  Today's sermon is on "Equipping the Saints", Katartismos




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