Archive for August, 2010
Men’s Showdown
Undomesticated and Untamed: Men who Follow Jesus
When we think about Jesus, what images come to mind? For me, the prevailing picture has been the one of the docile, gentle, and agreeable Jesus featured in the painting that hung in the hallway between my childhood bedroom and my sister’s. That’s the Jesus I was told to emulate. But the Gospels offer a stunningly different portrait. Therein we see a man who was passionate, militant, and sometimes angry. What does it mean to be like THAT Jesus?
Join us September 24th – 26th for Northpoint’s Men’s Retreat, when Pastor Sloan will show us from Scripture that “nice” is not a good descriptor of a true Jesus-following man. Say goodbye to being “swell”.
Stealthy Death
Hebrews 3:12-14 2 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
Sin is a spiritual disease that will haunt the Church world until Christ returns. It works like physical heart disease. In stealth and with deadly hardening effect, it kills. Consider three cautions and fixes in regard to the passage
Sin is deceitful. That means you often won’t see it coming. That means you have to prepare for internal inspection and a very cautious and humble commitment to examining yourself for its effects. You must “take care”.
Our default course is independence- and that is the fertile soil of demise. The Gospel frees us to and calls us to bind ourselves together for all of our health. God wants us to go out of our way to help each other and exhort each other to fight against this deceitful disease. The King has called you to access your brother’s hearts. The King has called you to avail your heart to the access of your brothers. Is that true of you? Really? Which brothers would agree with you on that?
Hearts become hardened and fall away. What is the Word of God doing in your heart? What is it doing in your friend’s heart? What is your response to the potential of sin in your life? Are you becoming more and more soft-hearted or hardened? Let the presence of a hard heart , in you or another, scare you to death. That is a potential sign of an unregenerate heart. Yet the text leads us to understand that it is a common thing to find hardness of heart. What is unfortunately uncommon and yet the sign of true spirituality is when the person fights against it.
14 For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
Men Who Follow Jesus
Undomesticated and Untamed: Men who Follow Jesus
When we think about Jesus, what images come to mind? For me, the prevailing picture has been the one of the docile, gentle, and agreeable Jesus featured in the painting that hung in the hallway between my childhood bedroom and my sister’s. That’s the Jesus I was told to emulate. But the Gospels offer a stunningly different portrait. Therein we see a man who was passionate, militant, and sometimes angry. What does it mean to be like THAT Jesus?
Join us September 24th – 26th for Northpoint’s Men’s Retreat, when Pastor Sloan will show us from Scripture that “nice” is not a good descriptor of a true Jesus-following man. Say goodbye to being “swell”.
Band of Brothers Breakfast
Gentlemen, our next BOB Breakfast is Saturday, August 28th, at 7:30 am. Join us for a great meal and fellowship, followed by a short devotion by our own Tim East. For more information, contact Amber McEwen in the church office.
