September 8, 2013
Stetson Memorial United Methodist
Church
“Cruising
Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Sermon
8 of Summer Series
Worship
Theme: Discipleship
Philippians
3:12-14 the Message Bible
Mark
8:34-38 the Message Bible
“Game Time. . . ”
Let
us pray. . . (Pray for the Spirit’s
illumination of the scriptures and its leading. . . )
A
reading from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8 and we will be looking at verses
3-38 from the Message Bible this morning. Listen for a word from God to you and
me the people of God. . .
Have you ever noticed the trends that are
around us? There are trends in clothing, trends in dieting, trends in how we
speak, even trends on the type of cell phone we use. There always seems to be
trends but most of them end up going back to some trend that was changed long
ago. Why do we need to change something if we are only going to go back to it?
Seems like a lot of headache to me.
I just can’t keep up with them. Take clothing.
. . I decided long ago that I would dress the way I want to instead of the
latest fashion trend. I want to be who I am and not try to be someone I am not.
Beside. . . eventually the fashion trend comes back around and then everyone is
dressing like me. . .
But there is one trend that started a long
time ago that has stayed pretty much the same. Humanity has tried to change it
but if we. . . as people of God. . . follow the root of this trend we will be
on the “cutting edge” of this phenomenal trend...this craze. You see the Root
of this trend is Jesus Christ and the trend is Discipleship.
Today we are going to stop into another port as
we “Cruise Sacred Waters with Jesus”. . . the port of Discipleship. Now before
we begin our tour let’s take a look at the definition of discipleship. By
definition, a disciple is a follower, one who accepts and assists in spreading
the doctrines of another. A Christian disciple is a person who accepts and
assists in the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ. Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in the
Lord Jesus Christ and are equipped by the Holy Spirit, who resides in our
hearts, to overcome the pressures and trials of this present life and as we become
more and more Christ like.
Now how do we do this? Paul stated in the
Philippians scripture that he kept his eye on the goal. . . reaching out for
Christ and Paul never turned back to where he came from. We need to examine
their thoughts, words and actions and compare them with the Word of God. In
order to do that we need to be in the Word daily—studying it, praying over it,
and obeying it. . . We need to refocus
on the Root of the trend in which we have our being.
Now we need to realize one thing. . . As we
focus and follow the leader of this wondrous trend. . . there will be a cost. Jesus laid His life down so that we can be
made free but we need to lay our lives. . . ourselves aside and follow Him.
The scripture from Mark I read this morning sums it up. In order to save
ourselves we need to lose ourselves. In order to help saves lives we need to
give our lives for others.
Now how can we tell that we are getting our
“game on”? We begin to:
1. Put Jesus first in all things®a disciple of Christ needs to be set apart from the
world. Our focus changes to our Lord and pleasing Him in every area of our
lives. We begin to put off self-centeredness and put on Christ-centeredness. How often do we put Christ first or should I
say not put Christ first? Have we lost our focus or are we right on target
letting Him lead us. . . captaining our ship? Are we self-centered or
Christ-centered in our lives? It is important to put Christ first if we want to
be “mirror images” of who we claim.
2. Follow Jesus' teachings ® we begin to be more obedient children and doers of the
Word. Obedience is the supreme test of faith in God and Jesus is the perfect
example of obedience as He lived a life on earth of complete obedience to the
Father even to the point of death.
3. Become Fruitful ® Now our job is not producing fruit. Our job is to abide
in Christ, and if we do, the Holy Spirit will produce the fruit, and this fruit
is the result of our obedience. As we become more obedient to the Lord and
learn to walk in His ways, our lives will change. The biggest change happens in
our hearts. The change is done from the inside out, through the power of the
Holy Spirit. It isn’t something we can conjure up on our own. Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to produce
fruit in us or are we still sowing our own seeds. . . seeds of the world. . . in
our garden of our Spirit? The Holy Spirit is what helps us grow but how can it
begin to germinate love, joy, peace and mercy if we are still living in our
past lives?
4. Show love for other disciples ® we are told that love of other believers is the evidence
of our being a member of God's family. Love is defined and elaborated on in 1
Corinthians 13:1-13. These verses show us that love is not an emotion; it is
action. We must be doing something and be involved in the process. Our attitude
should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
5. Make disciples of others ® we share our faith and tell nonbelievers about the wonderful
changes Jesus Christ has made in our lives. No matter where you are on your
faith journey, you have something to offer. Too often, we believe the lie from
Satan that we don't really know enough or haven't been a Christian long enough
to make a difference. Not true! Some of the most enthusiastic representatives
of the Christian life are new believers who have just discovered the awesome
love of God. They may not know a lot of Bible verses or the
"accepted" way of saying things, but they have experienced the love
of the living God, and that is exactly what we are to share.
Wow. . . this port has much to tell us. . . it
is kind of like the “rules and regulations” of being a disciple of Christ. But
how well to we play by the rules? Being a disciple of Christ is hard but God
never said it would be easy. The only thing God promises is that He will be
with us, guiding us in the way we should be.
This is one port that can’t be ignored. This
port is essential to the Good News of Christ. If we ignore this port. . . well
then I guess it’s all for nothing because how can God’s kingdom come if people
know nothing about the kingdom? We need to get into the game and refocus our
Spirits and our minds.
It is Game Time church. It is important that
we get our game on and become part of Team Jesus. Every day we should put on
the armor of God and our game faces so that we can be in the game of life. . . eternal
life that is. We need to be out there inviting others to join in the game. Let
us go forth and play follow the leader with the perfector of our Faith our
Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus depending on you and He’s depending on me to win
the game. Come. . . join in the game and
become a child again. . . a child of God who loves to play with abandon the
game of life.
Amen
September
8, 2013
Worship
Theme: “Discipleship”
Mark
8:34-38 (The Message)
Philippians
3:12-14 (The Message)
1
Corinthians 13:1-13
children’s
message
“Jesus
says” (not “Simon says”)
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Communion
and
sermon “Game Time. . . ”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
Sermon 8 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
September 8, 2013
&
Worship
Theme: “Fellowship”
John
15:11-17 (The Message)
1
John 4:7-12 (The Message)
“God
is Love”
Ecclesiastes
4:9-11
children’s
message
Love
them anyway
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Communion
and
sermon “The Love Zone. . . ”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 7 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
September 1, 2013
&
Worship
Theme: “Worship”
Luke
4:5-8 (The Message)
(extract of Luke 4:1-13)
Matthew
22:34-37 (New Living Translation)
(extract of 22:34-40)
John
4:19-24 (The Message)
(extract of John 4:1-42)
children’s
message
how
to make good decisions
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Worship. . . It Does A Body
Good”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 6 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
August 25, 2013
&
Worship
Theme: “Do We Make Room for God . . .?”
Ephesians
2:11-22 (CEB)
“The
reconciliation of God’s people” (CEB)
“One
in Christ” (NIV)
2
Samuel 7:1-7 (NLT)
Mark
6:30-44, 53-56 (CEB)
“Jesus
feeds five thousand people” (CEB)
“Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand” (NIV)
children’s
message
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Make Room for Yahweh”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 5 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
August 18, 2013
&
Prayer
Vigil at the Park
after
worship service
7/28/2013
&
Theme:
“Do We Worship Only on Sunday?”
Worship
song – “I Sing Praises”
Ephesians
1:3-14 (Gods Word Translation)
Ephesians
1:3-14 (The Message)
Acts
2:38-47 (New Revised Standard Version)
children’s
message
sharing
our joy
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Live Your Worship Out Loud!”
“Shout
It From the Mountaintops”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 4 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
July 28, 2013
&
Theme:
“Can we see the big picture”
“Big
Picture Followers”
1
Corinthians 13:9-12 (GOD’S WORD translation)
Mark
6:1-6 (The Message)
“Just
a Carpenter”
Mark
6:1-6 (NRSV)
“Jesus
Rejected in Nazareth”
children’s
message
sometimes
our vision is foggy
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Seeing More Clearly. . . ”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 3 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
July 21, 2013
&
Luke
7:36-47 (The Message)
Mark
5:21-34 (GOD’S WORD Translation)
Matthew
13:44-46
children’s
message
We
are precious to God
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “How much does Jesus really matter?”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 2 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
July 14, 2013
&
Mark
4:35-41 (The Message)
Luke
4:16-21 (Common English Bible)
Matthew
14:22-33
children’s
message
We
are not alone
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Who Is this Captain”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 1 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
July 7, 2013
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