Reality TV

There's not much people won't do for money. What are some crazy things you have seen people do for money? They would stop at nothing to win a prize.

Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

What are you willing to do in the "reality show" of your own life to win the Heavenly prize (the only prize that will last)?
Are you willing to sell all you have to receive it?

Matthew 7:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Are you willing to follow Jesus who has no place to lay his head?

Matthew 8:19-21 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

So, now you are wondering what the cost of discipleship is?
EVERYTHING.

Luke 14:33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

What is everything? Is everything family? Jesus gave up his family.

Mark 3:31-35 31Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." 33"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. 34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Is everything rest? Jesus gave up rest to show God's love to others.
Is everything the right to mourn the loss of a dear friend and family member? Jesus did that when he lost John the Baptist. (Matthew 14)
Is everything giving up your rights to freedom and worldly pursuits? Paul did that.

Philippians 3:7-9 7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

Paul counted EVERYTHING loss compared to knowing Christ. He was being groomed to be the next pope of their day, but counted it all loss to know Christ and share him in a more personal way.
Do you see the cost? Do you want this Heavenly prize? Is Heaven worth EVERYTHING to you? If you want to talk more about what your EVERYTHING is let us know. That's what our personal Bible studies are all about.

Super Heroes

If you could have any super power you wanted, what would you choose? Why?
When you think of the tv/movie super heroes of our day, what is their main focus? They are focused on the good of the people around them.
God in flesh could have had any super power he wanted. He could fly like the birds if he wanted to or run as fast as a cheetah or...Why did he harness himself for us? Do you think he would have had more followers had he shown them he could fly or time travel? I'm not sure that he would have. Like we talked about last week, Jesus message was so challenging that even most of the people who saw his miraculous acts didn't continue to obey and live as disciples.
What "super powers" did he have?
Healing - even without contact he could heal.
Raising from the Dead.
What do his miracles have in common? They are others centered. He came to express God's love for us.
As we take on the challenge to walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6) what do you think your life should look like? Just as his life was others centered, so should our lives be. We should be looking for ways to comfort the broken hearted and bring his love to the world. And when we do this, Jesus says we will do greater things than him.

John 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

This is hard to believe, but I believe we can do greater things than him with faith and numbers because he was only one man and we are many with him in each of us if we obey. You want to be a super hero and do greater things than Jesus, you must have faith in him. What does that look like?

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see

You say, I don't have much faith?

Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

You want faith, get into the Word! You want to make a difference in this world and be a super hero for God, get into the Word. We are offering you the opportunity to dig deeper in your personal relationship with God. We are happy to be a support to you in your journey and hope you will take advantage of the opportunity we are giving you and God is giving you!

James 2:14-19 14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Does your life show your faith? When you are tempted to cheat on the test, what is your response? When you are tempted to curse at the person who cut you off in traffic, what is your response? When you are tempted to have an impure relationship with your significant other, what is your response?

Galatians 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

We can either live our lives for God in submission to his will and seeking to live an extraordinary life (a super ordinary life) serving him or live a life for ourselves and miss the Kingdom of God.