Order Of Worship
Pre Song
By Faith
Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving
Call to Worship & God's Greeting
BLESSed to be a BLESSing
Lord, I Need You
Great Are You Lord
Children's Message
“Love Does ...”
Mark 8:34
Offering - Doxology (stand up) - Deaconal Prayer -
Sending and God's Parting Blessing
God's Parting Blessing:
God go before you to lead you, God go behind you to protect you,
God go beneath you to support you, God go beside you to befriend you.
Do not be afraid.
May the blessing of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be upon you
Do not be afraid. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen
Closing Song
Our God
Have a Great Week!
Sermon Outline
“Love Calls Us to Follow”
John 6:66-71
66 From this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 "You do not want to leave, too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." 70 Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
Introduction ~ Priorities
I. Why Are You Following ME? (John 6:66-67)
66 From this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 "You do not want to leave, too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
A. People to follow Him
B. Challenges the motives (vv. 60-61)
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? Who can accept it?"
C. Love shows the way – and it is through the cross (Mark 8:31)
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
II. A Transactional Jesus – NOT!
A. Mark 8:31, 34 ~ A process that leads to a principle.
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
1. Deny yourself
2. Take up your cross
3. Follow me
B. The principle (Mark 8:35)
35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
Conclusion/Application (Mark 8:35-38)
35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
BLESSed to be a BLESSing
Kid's Bulletin
In the World-Not of the World
John 17:16,18
Summary of this sermon...
Jesus prayed that his disciples would remain separate from the world, just as colored water and oil remain separate in a mixed bottle. As Christians, we are called to live in the world but not become part of it, adding God's love to the world without being stained by it. John 17:16,18 reminds us that we are sent into the world to share God's love, remaining faithful to Jesus' call to be separate from the world.
There are two things in this bottle. Can you guess what they are? Colored water --- and oil. When we look at this bottle with oil and water in it, the first thing that we notice is that they remain separate from one another. Now, watch what happens when I shake the bottle. The water and oil appear to become one.
Have the oil and water really become one? Let's let the bottle stand for a little while and see what happens. Look! The water and oil have become separate again. That shows us that even when they were all mixed together, they were never really one.
This bottle is a pretty good picture of what Jesus wants us to be like in this world we live in.
Before Jesus was crucified, he prayed for his disciples. He prayed that as they lived in the world, they would not become part of the world. He wanted them to add the gifts he had given them to the world -- just as the water added some color to the oil -- but he did not want them to become stained by the world. He wanted them to remain the person God made them to be. He wanted them to know his love and to share that love with others (John 17:16,18).
This prayer is for us too. Jesus said that just as his Father sent him into the world, he has sent us into the world. We must live in this world, but Jesus has called us to be separate. Just as this colored water remains separate from the oil, Jesus wants us to be separate from the world. Dear Jesus, help us, as we live in this world, to remain faithful to your call to be separate from the world
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
