Have you ever thought about what the beginning of Jesus' ministry was like? Surely, being the Son of God, it would be smooth sailing, right? All the right contacts, perfect follow-up, an infallible approach with no hiccups to irritate His new ministry. Although I would quickly agree, Jesus' ministry, like Himself, was and is infallible, the beginning of Jesus' ministry, however, was quite bumpy. The first words that are quoted of Jesus is His affirmation to John the Baptist to baptize Him. (There Jesus goes again being the perfect model for a life devoted to Christ and teaching us the importance of baptism.) But the very next place we see those red words of Jesus are not the intriguing parables of chapter 13 or the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. Before Jesus' adult earthly ministry begins, Jesus is tempted. TEMPTED....by SATAN....HE HASN'T EVEN GOTTEN STARTED YET and satan is trying to tempt Jesus. Really? When God calls us into ministry, how can we even begin to expect that everything will just "fall into place" and ministry will just magically happen. Jesus Christ Himself encountered great obstacles at the beginning of His ministry.
So how did he deal with it? Let's check out chapter 4. Satan tries to tempt Jesus in three ways: physically, with power, and with prestige. Now obviously, we know Jesus doesn't give in, but look at His response. Deuteronomy 8:3; 6:16; 6:13. The Torah, the Old Testament, the scriptures He was raised to know and trust. Live on the words of God, do not test God, worship and serve Him only. I feel as though we could learn so much from these words. What if we based our ministry on this advice...living on God's Word, not testing God, but fully relying on Him and worshiping and serving Him only.
Once Jesus' teaching ministry begins we are prompted with these directions: Matthew 4:17-19.
1. Repent
2. Follow Me
3. Become fishers of Men
Isn't it interesting how this parallels with his final words in Matthew 28
1. Making disciples
2. Baptizing
3. Teaching them all I have commanded
Do you see the connection? Repent, Follow, Fish so that you can take His lead to help others Repent, Follow, & Fish. May we continue to daily strive to learn more of all that He has commanded us!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Worship with children
Today I got a closer glimpse at understanding what Jesus is talking about in Luke 18:16 when He says not to hinder the children from coming to Him because the Kingdom of God belongs to "such as these." Today the children's ministry at CrossRoads started a focus on Worship. Specifically today we focused on the nations bringing glory to God.
Psalm 117: "Praise the Lord, all you nations...and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever..."
We sang God You Reign which was awesome because in the chorus the kids have the opportunity to sing "God You Reign" in 3 different languages...it was hysterical, but cool.
Psalm 136: "His love endures forever!"
Of course, we had to sing Chris Tomlin's "Forever." The kids really love this one
Psalm 118:124: "This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!"
Today is the Day is a song these kids love. We learned it at VBS and it is such an easy way for them to memorize scripture. Each day we should treasure because it is of the Lord's divine blessings and wants us to be joyful in it for His glory. And the kids love the "oh, oh, oh, oh" part in the beginning. :)
BUT THEN...here's the moment you've been waiting for...my glimpse.
Hosanna (Praise is Rising). The kids love this song, but what is really moving is that I didn't not even prompt them to sing louder. Normally, since they are tired and may not know the song very well, they can half-heartedly mumble the words. But they were gloriously uplifting "Hosanna! Hosanna!" It was at that moment that I caught the glimpse. The kids are learning, they don't even fully know what Hosanna means, despite the delivery of my academic musings. :) But they do know it is a name for the Lord. What if we, even when we didn't fully understand, unashamedly, with an uninhibited or distracted nature shouted out in song with one another..."Hosanna, Hosanna, You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises!" I got it. Many times we strive to be like the smarter and wiser ones, but what if, on occasion we tried emulating the heart and passion of a child.
With a mini-lesson on the wise men's worship of baby Jesus and a charge to "Tell the World," the kids and I BOTH gained a better understanding of God's call on our lives. Now, Go...and Tell...because He is the God who saves us and is worthy of all our praises.
Psalm 117: "Praise the Lord, all you nations...and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever..."
We sang God You Reign which was awesome because in the chorus the kids have the opportunity to sing "God You Reign" in 3 different languages...it was hysterical, but cool.
Psalm 136: "His love endures forever!"
Of course, we had to sing Chris Tomlin's "Forever." The kids really love this one
Psalm 118:124: "This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!"
Today is the Day is a song these kids love. We learned it at VBS and it is such an easy way for them to memorize scripture. Each day we should treasure because it is of the Lord's divine blessings and wants us to be joyful in it for His glory. And the kids love the "oh, oh, oh, oh" part in the beginning. :)
BUT THEN...here's the moment you've been waiting for...my glimpse.
Hosanna (Praise is Rising). The kids love this song, but what is really moving is that I didn't not even prompt them to sing louder. Normally, since they are tired and may not know the song very well, they can half-heartedly mumble the words. But they were gloriously uplifting "Hosanna! Hosanna!" It was at that moment that I caught the glimpse. The kids are learning, they don't even fully know what Hosanna means, despite the delivery of my academic musings. :) But they do know it is a name for the Lord. What if we, even when we didn't fully understand, unashamedly, with an uninhibited or distracted nature shouted out in song with one another..."Hosanna, Hosanna, You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises!" I got it. Many times we strive to be like the smarter and wiser ones, but what if, on occasion we tried emulating the heart and passion of a child.
With a mini-lesson on the wise men's worship of baby Jesus and a charge to "Tell the World," the kids and I BOTH gained a better understanding of God's call on our lives. Now, Go...and Tell...because He is the God who saves us and is worthy of all our praises.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Sing a new song
Think of this as a "new song." New design, new title, new information, a new song. God is calling Kasey and I into a new ministry for His glory. We are excited, anxious, a little nervous, and completely surrendered. Stay tuned for more updates!
Love,
Jordan
Love,
Jordan
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