BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHY DO PEOPLE REJECT JESUS? People reject Jesus because all people are born with a sin nature and want to please themselves rather than obey God. Everyone is invited into the kingdom of God, but not everyone will enter. People are saved only by trusting in Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
As the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth was drawing nearer, large crowds of people followed Him from each town and village. So the question someone raised in Luke 13:23 may seem unusual: “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” Jesus had spent time with the crowds. He had fed them, taught them, and healed them; yet He knew that relatively few would follow Him as true disciples. He knew He would ultimately be rejected by the crowds. Jesus said that the gate is narrow, and few will find it. Most people will not taste and see that the Lord is good. The simple answer to this probing question is, “Yes, the number of people who will be saved is significantly less than those who will not.” Many people knew about Jesus. They had shared meals with Him and listened to Him, but they did not know Him personally as Lord and Savior. Jesus was clear that being a Jew by birth or a zealot for the law was not enough to enter God’s kingdom. God’s heart is both for Jews and Gentiles. Jesus’ honest response offers hope to those who will hear. He tells them that no matter the numbers, make every effort to be one who enters that narrow gate. You do not want to be left outside the entrance. We are surrounded by people who wonder about this very same thing. Who will be saved? Though we are not armed with the eternal knowledge of God, we do have pictures like this in Scripture that remind us to point to the hope of Christ in all things. We don’t know the future—and it’s not for us to know—but we do know where hope is found. The subject line of our message should be as hopeful as the gospel that saved us. The invitation to God’s kingdom is for all to place their trust in Christ, the One who was rejected and killed on a cross—so that we may be justified and fully accepted by His sacrifice on our behalf. GOSPEL APPLICATION
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHAT DID JESUS TEACH WHEN HE WAS ON EARTH ? Jesus taught about God and His kingdom. He taught that all Scripture is about Him. Jesus invites us to join Him in heaven—the great wedding feast. When we receive His invitation, Jesus gets us ready by clothing us in His righteousness. Salvation is a free gift for everyone who trusts in Christ. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
What makes someone worthy? Have you ever wondered that? What makes someone worthy of the situation they find themselves in? What makes someone worthy of high degrees of responsibility or leadership? What makes someone worthy of recognition or acclaim? For someone who has been exposed to the things of God, it’s common to ask, what makes someone worthy of the blessings of God? Jesus told a parable in Matthew 22 that speaks to this question. The answer is that they have responded to the invitation of the King. Metaphorically, this parable teaches that, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” And those that are chosen are worthy. Contrary to what our culture tells us, what makes someone worthy is not their accomplishments, their position, or the acclaim. The ultimate answer to this question is not found in what someone does, but by the grace of the King of the universe. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” The good that we do is an outflow of our worthiness, given to us by the grace of God through faith in Him. It is not the other way around. We do not do good works to earn His grace or to prove our worth. We ought to be careful to understand that worthiness comes out of a gift that has been given by God. And that He is the only King able to assign us worth. He did that when He created all of us. Let us seek to find our worth in nothing less than this. GOSPEL APPLICATION
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHAT DID JESUS TEACH WHEN HE WAS ON EARTH ? Jesus taught about God and His kingdom. He taught that all Scripture is about Him. The kingdom of God is growing in the world. This kingdom is valuable and worth giving everything for. While we wait for Jesus to return and fully set up His kingdom, we carry out the mission of telling others about King Jesus, who rescues sinners. Memory Verse: Read the Story:
Jesus often used parables to teach about the kingdom of God. These were fictional stories that illustrated larger points, and those who heard them were often perplexed by their meaning. In Matthew 13, Jesus gave clarity to two important questions that readers of the parables often ask: why does He teach this way, and what do these things mean? Jesus had a specific purpose in everything He did. Not one moment in the life of Jesus was purely accidental or circumstantial. Jesus had clear intention in all that He did. Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Why are you speaking to them in parables?” Jesus explained that He did this not to confuse them but to fulfill the prophecy that those who belong to the kingdom of God will hear and understand, but those who do not will hear and not understand. In this same chapter Jesus also explained some of these parables. All of them were intended to show the unique, surprising, and powerful nature of the kingdom of God. As you consider this week’s Bible story, reflect on two realities illustrated by these parables about the kingdom of God. First, the kingdom of God will appear to be made up of those who are true believers and those who are not. There are some good fish and some worthless fish; some wheat and some weeds. But in these parables, we learn that there is no confusion for God in who His children truly are. In the end God will separate the two, which means we don’t have to. God will take care to guard His eternal Kingdom. Second, the kingdom of God may look small or weak, but in the end, it will prove to be larger, more powerful, and more beautiful than we can imagine. The kingdom of God is worth giving up all you have; though starting from a small seed it will grow to be the most prominent tree, and the leaven of the kingdom will impact every bit of the flour. God’s kingdom is unlike anything else we’ve ever known, and the way Jesus sought to explain that was through parables that demonstrated the beauty and power of the Kingdom. These parables allowed God’s people to hear and understand, yet left those of this world to hear and wonder. GOSPEL APPLICATION
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December 2023
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