2020 View of the Cross: The Meaning of the Cross

Pericope: Matthew 16: 24-27 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Sermon Text: Matthew 16: 24 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Sermon Title: 2020 View of the Cross: The Meaning of the Cross

Point 1: Stop looking for signs, start looking for a symbol. Vs. 16: 1, 21 16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign… 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem… that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Vs. 2-4 2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

Point 2: Keys come with a cross. Vs 19, 22 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[a] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Vs. 13-18 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Point 3: There is a cross between sacrifices and eternal salvation. Vs. 25, 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?   

Matthew 8: 21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Luke 9: 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

Vs. 24 - 24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Point 4:  Cross bearing is reward sharing. Vs. 27  For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Mark 10:29, 30 - “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.

Vs. 27 - 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Philippians 3:10-11  I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

What does it mean when you live like there is no tomorrow because tomorrow is eternity?

a)  Cross bearing is worth it

b)  Cross bearing is no pain no gain

c)  Cross bearing is now and later.

Life Application:

1. Pick up your cross.

2. Put yourself down.

3. Do it Daily.

Don’t Sleep on Jesus: Stay Woke!

Pericope: Matthew 26: 36-45 36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.

Sermon Text: Matthew 26: 45 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.

Sermon Title: Don’t Sleep on Jesus: Stay Woke!

Point 1: Someone has to keep watch. Vs. 37. 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John] along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Vs. 41 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Point 2: Jesus arrest is eminent. Vs 46. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

John 11:46-48 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

John 13: 26, 30 26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. 55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?

Point 3: Watch and Pray not Fuss and Cut. John 18: 10-11 10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

1 Corinthians 10:13 TLB 13 But remember this—the wrong desires that come into your life aren’t anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation’s power so that you can bear up patiently against it. 

Point 4:  Don’t disown Jesus demand his release. Vs. 74-75 74 Then he [Peter] began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times…”

Don’t disown Jesus, Demand his release!

1. Speak up for the less fortunate, disenfranchised injustice, vote biblically not politically

2. Get involved United Congregational Metro East (a justice organization that New Life is part of) & the NAACP.

3. Become a student of your history, your culture

4. Become a LifeChanger – be a part of a woke community.

White Privilege - Black Pride - A Biblical Response Part 1

Pericope: Gen 9: 18-27 18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,

Sermon Text: Gen 9: 25-27 he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” 26 He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”

Sermon Title: Slavery: The Curse and Cure: A Biblical Perspective

Point 1: The Biblical History of the Curse. Genesis 9: 25-27 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan!  The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”  26 He also said, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!    May Canaan be the slave of Shem.  27 May God extend Japheth’s territory  may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,  and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”

Point 2: The cost and corruption of the curse.

Colossians 3: 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord.

Exodus 21: 20-21 20 “If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished. 21 But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property. Titus 2: 9-10 9 9 Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back 10 or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good…

Point 3: The currency and consequences of the Curse. Gal 3: 28 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Definition:

White Privilege: Inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice.  White privilege is a position and space of financial, social, economic status that is inherent and not readily available to others. 

Black Pride: Black pride is a movement in response to dominant white cultures and ideologies that encourages black people to celebrate black culture and embrace their African heritage. In the United States, it was a direct response to white racism especially during the Civil Rights Movement.

Self-Hatred: Intense dislike of oneself.

10 ways to recognize when you might have self-hatred tendencies:

Point 4: The cure for the Curse. Ezekiel 37:7 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

-      Reparations. Luke 19:8 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

-      Remembering quote Elie Wiesel.  Elie Wiesel is pronounced, el-ee vee-ZEL    To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides.” “Only the guilty are guilty.”

-      Restructuring: Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind

-      Reconciliation. John 17: 22-23 22…that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know…

Call to Action:

1. Get involved, exercise your voice/thoughts

2. Register and vote

3. Connect Grow and Go in the community. Be a LifeChanger.

Five Winning Ways 10am

Pericope: Joshua 6: 1-22 6 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 4 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat,[a] and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” 6 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord.” 7 And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”

Sermon Text: Joshua 6: 20 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city.

Sermon Title: Living That Super Bowl Life: Five Ways To Win!  

Way 1:  Fight from victory not to victory. Vs 2. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand…

Way 2: Winning requires obedience. (you got one job to do). Vs 3-5 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once… On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout…

Way 3: Confident and quiet not arrogant and cocky. Vs. 10. 10 But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth…

Deuteronomy 31:8 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Way 4: Faithing it not Faking it. Vs. 20 NLT  20… Suddenly the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

Way 5: Remember winning is about we not about me. Vs 20. Vs. 20 NLT  20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

Gen 11:6 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

Psalm 133: 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Don’t sweet talk your way.

Philippians 2:3-4MSG Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.

How

1. Give our First Fruit together.

2. Learn together by signing up for Life Groups.

3. Believing God together – agreement.

Five Ways to Win - 8am

Pericope: Joshua 6:1-7 - Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” 6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

Sermon Text: Joshua 6:20

Sermon Title: Living that Super Bowl Life – Five Ways to Win

Way 1: Fight your battles from a position of victory (v 2) Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands…

How many of you are facing a Jericho in your life?

-      A sin that you cannot overcome

-      A person that you cannot find the strength to forgive

-      A situation that has you completely overwhelmed

-      A problem that seems to resurface over and over again

-      A habit that you cannot seem to beat

Way #2: Victory flows out of obedience Vs. 3-5 - 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout;

1 Corinthians 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Way #3.  Wait for God to work

Dear Lord, please give me patience and be quick about it.

Way #4.  Be confident and quiet Vs. 10 But Joshua had commanded the people, "Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word…

Way #5.  Have faith in God Vs. 20-21 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.

Hebrews 11:30 tells us that: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”

Conclusion: The wall came down because it was a unified effort.  God always direct the blessing to unity. Gen 11:6 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Psalm 133: 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Don’t sweet talk your way. Philippians 2:3-4MSG Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.

How

1. Give our First Fruit together.

2. Learn together by signing up for Life Groups.

3. Believing God together – agreement.