March 14, 2019
Sermon Series:
Christ in Me
Inspired by:
“Only Jesus” CD by
Casting Crowns
“Only Jesus
Devotional”
by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm 27
John 1:19-27
1 Corinthians 3:5-8
Philippians 3:4-8
“Nobody” Casting
Crowns
It’s Not About Me?
Let us pray…pray for the Spirits
leading
A
reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 1 verses 19-27. Listen to the un-self-seeking
words of John as they question him on who he is…
John
1:19-27 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
John
Prepares the Way
19 This
was John’s answer when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask
him, “Who are you?” 20 John
didn’t refuse to answer. He told them clearly, “I’m not the Messiah.”
21 They
asked him, “Well, are you Elijah?”
John answered, “No, I’m
not.”
Then they asked, “Are
you the prophet?”
John replied, “No.”
22 So
they asked him, “Who are you? Tell us so that we can take an answer back to
those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John
said, “I’m a voice crying out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord
straight,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Some
of those who had been sent were Pharisees. 25 They asked John, “Why do you baptize if you’re not
the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet?”
26 John
answered them, “I baptize with water. Someone you don’t know is standing among
you. 27 He’s
the one who comes after me. I am not worthy to untie his sandal strap.”
Good
morning. We are continuing our journey to the cross this week. As I have stated
before, lent is a time of soul searching and confession as we search our hearts
and prepare it for the new life, we rise to on Resurrection Sunday. We think
about what Jesus did for us. We contemplate the great love that was shown on Calvary’s
Cross for you and me.
We
are sojourning to the place of redemption…where God’s greatest work was done…to
the place where we surrender ourselves to the One who surrendered Himself for
all of humanity. But the questions I have asked us to ponder is this, what does
it look like when we begin to become the glove that the hand of our Savior can
wear for His glory? What does it look like when we surrender ourselves and not
live for Jesus but let Jesus live through us? I want Christ to be seen in me
but is it more important for Christ to be seen through me? One is about me…the other about Christ…
Last
week we looked at our motives…why we do what we do. In this world, we are told
that we need to leave a legacy. My question is, what or whose legacy are we
leaving? As we read God’s Word, we come to realize…if we don’t already…that
none of the real heroes of the bible didn’t wake up one day and thought “I want
to be a hero.” It was that they knew the secret…there view of themselves was
this…I got nothing…I have no business
here…they were humble…they weren’t looking to leave a legacy…they were looking
to live for God… That I should be our legacy. It is the only one that leads
to the One we are here to elevate, not ourselves. Pride and ego need to go if Christ
is going to live through you and me.
Beloved…it
is not about you and it’s not about me. Take John the Baptist as a pioneer of
it not being about him but about Jesus. John pointed to Jesus even from the
womb when he leaped in his mother’s womb as Mary walked into the room…while she
was pregnant with Him. He devoted his whole life to pointing to Jesus. He could
have made a name for himself, but he didn’t. He doesn’t even tell them who he
is in the scripture I read this morning. Only the only name he brings into the
conversation is the One who comes after me… At
times we want to have that flashing neon light on us…I am this and I have done
that … Most of us are ready to give that list of who we are when asked…but the legacy
is not about me…it’s about Jesus. I am just a nobody sharing the Good News. “I
can’t remember the woman’s name but all she talked about was Jesus…” Now that’s
a legacy of being a nobody.
The
world tells us that we need to be somebody, otherwise you are nobody. If we are
here to bring glory to God, then we can’t be self-seeking for our glory. So, we
pray to God and ask Him to keep us humble at heart. But, think about this for a minute, John didn’t
have to do that, he already was. He saw himself as a nobody and Jesus as
everything.
Look
church, I can stand up here and tach you how to (fill in the blank) but that is
not going to do any good…who cares about those things compared to the moment
your eyes are open, truly open, to who Jesus is and who we are and why we are
here…when you finally grasp these concepts…
And
even after Jesus humbles us…many times we soon forget…amnesia, and we are
saying “I am going to do this…and that for you today Jesus” instead of “What are
you going to do through me today Jesus…I can’t wait to see…”
Then
there is Paul…I want to have the resurrected heart of Paul…after he had his
divine appointment with the Somebody… paraphrase
the encounter.
Now
he could have pounded his chest all about himself… Philippians 3:4-6 tells us:
He was circumcised at 8
He was an Israelite Gods
chosen people
Hebrew of Hebrews
Pharisee extraordinaire
Persecuted those who were
of the way
Righteous and flawless in
the law
But
he didn’t. He considered himself week and in his weakness proclaimed Christ:
Philippians 3:7-8 GOD’S
WORD Translation (GW)
7 These things that I once considered
valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. 8 It’s
far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much
better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of
everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ
Paul
got it:
1 Corinthians 3:5-8 GOD’S
WORD Translation (GW)
5 Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are
servants who helped you come to faith. Each did what the Lord gave him to
do. 6 I planted, and Apollos watered, but God made
it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the
one who waters is important because only God makes it grow. 8 The
one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive
a reward for his own work.
It
doesn’t matter who…all that matters is Christ be glorified…all that matters is
Christ in me…working through me…on to the world around me…that still sits in
darkness…All that matters is Jesus. I love how Pastor Mark Hall of Casting
Crowns puts it- “We are not the point but here to point to the point…” I love
that. I want to live that. I want to live that each moment and with every
breath I breath. I am nobody…but let me tell you about Somebody…
(play
“Nobody” by Casting Crowns)
AMEN!
==============
March 17, 2019
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Second Sunday in Lent
March 17, 2019
St. Patrick’s Day
Sermon Series: Christ in Me
Inspired by:
“Only Jesus” CD by Casting Crowns
“Only Jesus Devotional”
by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm27
John 1:19-27
1 Corinthians 3:5-8
Philippians 3:4-8
“Nobody” Casting
Crowns
and sermon, “It’s Not About Me”
video
video, close of the sermon
text
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
8AM Live
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
March 17, 2019
&
March 10, 2019
we are a legacy
March 10, 2019
how can Christ use me
March 10, 2019
all about Christ
March 10, 2019
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
First Sunday in Lent
March 10, 2019
Sermon Series: Christ in Me
Inspired by:
“Only Jesus” CD by Casting Crowns
“Only Jesus Devotional”
by Pastor Mark
Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Acts 20:24
“Only Jesus” Casting Crowns
and sermon, “What Is Your Legacy?”
video
text
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
8AM Live
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
March 10, 2019
All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted
by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. All
rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)
for usage. See all 49,200 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
Christ, Spirit, God, Faith, grace, poem, prayer, hope,
love, Lent, journey, cross, Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist
Church, Patten, Maine, Casting Crowns, legacy, nobody,
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