Prepping for next week’s message and just cannot get over Luke 7:36-50. This story floors me every time I read it.
My boy (we are tight) Perry Noble often says, in jest, that everyone in the south is a “christian.” How right is that? It seems everyone you meet checks that box when asked what “religion” they are. But, honestly, what is the measuring stick most are using? “Good” deeds, nice personality, treat people nicely, go to church?
The “sinner” in this story of scripture absolutely encompasses real Christianity. When she meets Jesus she is so floored and humbled that all she can do is sit at his feet and cry, cry, and cry some more. She washes his feet with her tears and her hair. She kisses his feet over and over and over again. When I picture this scene in my head I am broken that most self-proclaimed “Christians” would not be caught dead doing the same thing as this “sinner.” I pray that God humbles me to the point He humbled the lady in this story.
Imagine. What if my daily walk with Christ resembled the humility she displayed? What an impact one person with this attitude could have on the world around them!
A few things really stick out in my mind…
#1. Very thankful that God has given us a worship leader with a genuine heart of worship.
#2. Praise the Father, Praise the Son is good in any form. Our take on it last night was a little different than Tomlin, but it still went over very well.
#3. There were lots of new faces. Praise God. May we remember it is our job to share the gospel with these new faces
#4. The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Uh-oh. This is the one that stings a little. If I could just tell myself this each time I go to grab a candy bar…I might just put it back
#5. We have a great youth team. People who are willing to do whatever is asked of them to reach students. What a blessing
“ If I believed what you believed, I would never stop preaching
— One of my best friends in the world, who does NOT know Jesus
The past few months have been amazing. Life is really taking a spin that no one would have seen coming five years ago. It is astonishing that God has allowed me to be a part of His enormous plan. It is so exciting, humbling, nerve-wracking, scary, fun, and a million other things to know that I get to be a part of His big deal. Awesome.
As I have prepared to deliver sermons over the past month, one thing keeps becoming more and more clear. As a leader of students or any other group of christians, my level of effectiveness goes up as I my complexity goes down. The old business saying, keep it simple stupid, is spot-on. I am currently preparing for the next month’s series on humility, titled “Dirty Jobs.” One thought pervades all others. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. How do I communicate Jesus? If I can effectively communicate who He is and what He does people will be rocked to the core. If I cannot, they will be attending a nice seminar on religion and the bible every Wednesday night at 6:30. If I can get out of His way and allow Him to be first in everything we do as a youth team, people’s lives will be forever changed. However, if I fall back and begin to think it’s the preaching, the worship, the lights, the programs, or anything else that is positively affecting people, I will have failed miserably and will be setting us up for further failure.
I truly hope that, years from now, I can look back on this post and recognize that I have accomplished this. Tell people about Jesus. Get out of His way. Watch in amazement as He accomplishes that which seems impossible to me. I cannot wait!
