My Sermon notes

Notes from Sunday

Mr. Bill's testimony makes me queezy. Here is a picture of my notes from Sunday.

Discipleship and Tinfoil hats

Last week's sermon was about Discipleship and was based on Luke 14:25-35. I've always wondered about verse 26 because on the surface it sounds like it contradicts Jesus' teachings on "love your neighbor as yourself" and also doesn't reflect His tenderness in making sure that someone cared for His mother while He was tortuously hanging on the cross dying for us. Sadly, I've never really jumped deeper into the passage other than shrugging it off as another one of those things Jesus will explain to me when I get to Heaven, so Sunday's sermon really stimulated me. I'm sharing the major points of the sermon, but a lot of this are things I'm thinking about so don't hold it against Pastor Paul if you see something you don't agree with. Feel free to share your thoughts too!

Luke 14:26-27 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. "

(Click to read the passage in full:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2014:25-35&version=31)

1. Loving Less Than
First off, we learned that the original Greek word "hate" better translates "Loving less than". So a better way to read this verse is "If anyone comes to me and does not love his father and mother less than me".... Basically, love Jesus more than anyone. Seek first the kingdom of God, love the Lord your God with all your heart, and have no other gods before Him.

2. v. 27 "Carry his cross..."
This isn't necessarily a literal cross, though some of our Christian siblings overseas are physically suffering for Christ even as I write this. (See http://www.persecution.com/) We need to be willing to follow the Lord despite the consequences.
I don't know about the rest of you, but this verse is a whole lot easier to follow during a crisis. Daily sacrifice feels more "expensive" without racing adrenaline to help us get things done.

3. Count the Cost v. 28-33
Pastor Paul gave the story of having to carry a calculator in Ecuador to figure out how much things cost b/c the rate of exchange varied sometimes daily when Ecuador used the Sucre. I lived in Ecuador for a couple of months and I remember that well. Pastor Paul advised not to "count the cost on the run". We need to sit down and count the cost before we jump in to a situation. I often fail to do this or I do my counting with a broken calculator that only guesstimates.
A couple of years ago I got this cool laser level to hang the curtain rods with in my new house. I was so proud of that little gadget! After I got the curtains hung, I noticed they were all slightly crooked on the right side. My laser level was not level. I found out later that my toddlers had also loved the little gadget - especially when the laser beam bounced around every time it was dropped. How many of us measure our lives with broken gadgets? We don't accurately count the cost of serving, recklessly rush in and then give up when it gets too hard. We also measure success according to worldly standards and not the Lord's. How many churches have you visited that bragged about numbers and statistics but didn't really seem to be open about what was happening deep below the surface? It's like the modern goal is to get people saved and baptized and then our job is done like, "Ta-da ! we've "fulfilled" the Great Commission. "

4. v. 33 "give up everything he has..."
This verse is oft used as an excuse for cults and communist-like truth twisting. To follow that reasoning robs one of learning a deeper truth.
a. Don't be possessive and hoard our "things". These are tangible things we have a hard time letting go of.
b. This is also intangible things. If you're serious about being discipled or discipling others, it will take a major sacrifice of time.
Time seems like the greatest sacrifice these days. Lately I've noticed that Christians seem more and more willing to give money for an outreach than they are willing to give their time. Giving money hurts; giving time hurts way more. Some people give their time but not always happily. "God loves a cheerful giver". It's difficult to give your time cheerfully, sacrifice your privacy, and be selfless in a "me" driven society.
Pastor Paul urged us to take the time to memorize scripture, study, be discipled, and disciple others. Last night I was really struck by this as I thought about the sermon again. I used to be in Bible Quizzing as a teen. Why does Bible quizzing stop when you grow up? Why aren't adults urged and cheered for memorizing scripture the same way we encourage children to? Where are the "Awana for adults" type programs?
c. Give up Privacy
Discipling is not something that can be done as a "Lone Ranger". Even if you're not the type of person with your heart on your sleeve, you have to be willing to open yourself up to be a disciple and to disciple. Pastor Paul shared about his own accountability partner. I confess I was jealous about that. How different would Christ's bride in 2009 be if every Christian had a steadfast accountability partner?
Another thing about being accountable to someone else is that we have to be willing for people to tell us when we're wrong. Ouch! My generation hates that. We like to justify everything with truth being relative to particular situations or overall ends justifying the means. If people get too close, our feathers get ruffled and we fly. (If you feel your blood pressure escalating, don't think I'm pointing that comment at anyone in particular. I've "been there, done that" myself. Yesterday, actually.)

d. Talent
We have to be willing to give our talents to the Lord.
Sometimes I think that means not using them, which I know sounds crazy. Being a type A /firstborn chic /recovering work-a-holic, I'm always trying to restrain myself from chasing every "great idea" that flies through my imagination.
I also think this is a great point for people with serious insecurities. If your insecurities are keeping you from doing what God has given you the talent to do, then your insecurity has become a stumbling block in your path of following after Jesus.

In summary because you are probably crossed eyed at this point, within the sermon was a challenge to be discipled and to disciple others. Read the scripture for yourself and pray about it. I am. It was definitely one of those sermons that left me squirming in my seat. In fact, the last two messages seemed like they were written for me so I'm entertaining the idea of wearing a tinfoil hat in my house b/c Pastor Paul is obviously tapping into my thoughts somehow. =) Maybe that will be a great craft project for Family Group one Sunday?

I should probably also add that these are my opinions and not necessarily those of Cape Fear Alliance or the denomination. =)

Read the Luke 14: 25-35 passage of scripture and share how it affects you! Better yet, go and memorize it.

-Alicia

It was a trick!

I didn't write that note... I was misquoted... FRAMED I tell you!
Paul told me to bring up a note when he mentioned Simeon during the sermon. The note was just a piece of paper with some scribbles on it.

















(Artist's representation of the note in question)

On the bright side, I did get at least one extra Christmas present out of it.
So it's all worth it.

Sunday Sermon Thoughts: 11/23 Highlights

Speaker: Pastor Paul
Main Scripture Passage from Sunday 11/23: Jeremiah 38 (key verse: 38:6)

Well, for the last two Sundays I've been (A) a bit suspicious that someone at CFAC is sharing my diary with Pastor Paul and (B) wondering about the rest of you b/c he seems to mostly be preaching to me! I've heard a couple of other people say similar things, however, so I'm saying this a bit in jest.

This week's sermon illustration was around Jeremiah being thrown into a muddy cistern for doing what God told him to do. Thankfully I've never been literally stuck in the mud, but I've definately been in stuck in the mud spiritually far too many times to count. Most of those occasions have been entirely my fault. When it has hurt the most, however, is I've been struck by trials and physical fatigue when doing what I feel like God has told me to do. I do tend to learn things the hard way, so it usually seems that I learn far more from the trial than I do from the actual activity I feel like God has inspired me to do. When it's all said and done, sometimes I think it's way more about what He wants to show me along the journey of serving Him than the actual task at hand.

Pastor Paul also cited examples of Job and how encouraging his "friends" were in the midst of the trial. One more reason to keep our inner eyes focused upward instead of around us.

Another awesome point was that Jeremiah got out of the muddy cistern and went right back to delivering the same message God told him to preach. That's an awesome reminder. He could have kept the Divine message to himself and thrown a pity party. When we get bogged down by problems, it's part of our human nature to quit, run as far from the painful experience as we can, and/or to whine to God the whole time asking why this could happen to us.

Okay, so those are the two main points I'm sharing. What struck you on Sunday? Learned any other good lessons this week?