One Finger Out, Three Pointing Back
Memory Verse:
' Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. '
James 1:12
Sermon Sentence: Beware the desire to not disciple others and find everyone else’s faults.
Day 1
Read John 3:1-21
A friend and I were talking about this encounter recently. He asked me why I thought that it was significant that Nicodemus came at night. He had recently read that the significance was not so much that Nicodemus was moving by the cover of night, but that it is also showed a sign of respect for Jesus by bringing the encounter at night, in private, as opposed to in the daytime in the public. If you read the other encounters of Jesus and the Pharisees, they are all very public and very blatant. I like this story and I can see how it would have been more beneficial to Nicodemus because of the way he approaches it.
In contrast to that is the encounter that we have been studying about in this series of sermons in Luke 11:37-44. That confrontation happened at a very public dinner and was an attempt at conflict. I think we learn from this that not all of the Pharisees were Pharisaical, or at the very least, they didn’t want to be that way if they were. Paul describes his past as being steeped in that label of Pharisee and here we see Nicodemus really appears to be trying to learn from Jesus.
In the sermon, we learned that the legalism of the Pharisees was that they were actually making the righteousness of the Law too obtainable, rather than too far out of reach. Where do you see this in the way Nicodemus reveals his thoughts and feelings to us in this encounter?
How do you understand what it is that Jesus is actually saying and how is that different from what you have heard before, seen in other places, or even were taught in other places?
Jesus states that whoever does not believe in Him, is already condemned (verse 18). What does that mean and how would you explain that to Nicodemus?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
A friend and I were talking about this encounter recently. He asked me why I thought that it was significant that Nicodemus came at night. He had recently read that the significance was not so much that Nicodemus was moving by the cover of night, but that it is also showed a sign of respect for Jesus by bringing the encounter at night, in private, as opposed to in the daytime in the public. If you read the other encounters of Jesus and the Pharisees, they are all very public and very blatant. I like this story and I can see how it would have been more beneficial to Nicodemus because of the way he approaches it.
In contrast to that is the encounter that we have been studying about in this series of sermons in Luke 11:37-44. That confrontation happened at a very public dinner and was an attempt at conflict. I think we learn from this that not all of the Pharisees were Pharisaical, or at the very least, they didn’t want to be that way if they were. Paul describes his past as being steeped in that label of Pharisee and here we see Nicodemus really appears to be trying to learn from Jesus.
In the sermon, we learned that the legalism of the Pharisees was that they were actually making the righteousness of the Law too obtainable, rather than too far out of reach. Where do you see this in the way Nicodemus reveals his thoughts and feelings to us in this encounter?
How do you understand what it is that Jesus is actually saying and how is that different from what you have heard before, seen in other places, or even were taught in other places?
Jesus states that whoever does not believe in Him, is already condemned (verse 18). What does that mean and how would you explain that to Nicodemus?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Matthew 11:25-30
When I was younger, I was interested in what my max weightlifting capacities were. That was how we measured how strong you are. You would brag about your bench press max weight lift. The funny thing was that it wasn’t really useful information. Sure, I could lift that if I was laying on a similar bench and the weight was in the shape of a bar and set up like that, but the real value was not in what the max I could lift was. Because if I could just lift it once or three times, that was not how life worked.
Weight is heavier the longer you carry it. I know that doesn’t work scientifically and exactly like that, but you get what I am saying, right? I can hold out a 10lb bucket with my arm extended, but the longer I hold it out there the heavier it seems to get. When I read this passage, that attempt to carry a weight for a long time is what I imagine. Jesus uses the example of a yoke. The yoke is not really all that heavy at first, but the longer you have it on and the longer you fight against it all, that is when the real value of the struggle comes into perspective.
Jesus was appealing to that idea the Pharisees lived under. They kept adding weight and spent their whole lives dragging along the weight that they could reach an end if they just kept plugging along. Surely there will be a moment when all of my deeds and righteousness come to significance and good. But Jesus had a better method. He offered to them his yoke, which was a yoke that had taken all of the weight on our behalf and offers to us rest. Real….true…rest.
How have you experienced this weight that Jesus wants to save people from?
How do you experience the peace of Jesus in your life right now?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
When I was younger, I was interested in what my max weightlifting capacities were. That was how we measured how strong you are. You would brag about your bench press max weight lift. The funny thing was that it wasn’t really useful information. Sure, I could lift that if I was laying on a similar bench and the weight was in the shape of a bar and set up like that, but the real value was not in what the max I could lift was. Because if I could just lift it once or three times, that was not how life worked.
Weight is heavier the longer you carry it. I know that doesn’t work scientifically and exactly like that, but you get what I am saying, right? I can hold out a 10lb bucket with my arm extended, but the longer I hold it out there the heavier it seems to get. When I read this passage, that attempt to carry a weight for a long time is what I imagine. Jesus uses the example of a yoke. The yoke is not really all that heavy at first, but the longer you have it on and the longer you fight against it all, that is when the real value of the struggle comes into perspective.
Jesus was appealing to that idea the Pharisees lived under. They kept adding weight and spent their whole lives dragging along the weight that they could reach an end if they just kept plugging along. Surely there will be a moment when all of my deeds and righteousness come to significance and good. But Jesus had a better method. He offered to them his yoke, which was a yoke that had taken all of the weight on our behalf and offers to us rest. Real….true…rest.
How have you experienced this weight that Jesus wants to save people from?
How do you experience the peace of Jesus in your life right now?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
(Today’s devotion written by Autumn Gildroy)
Read Ezekiel 34
This passage paints a painful but hopeful picture for us. God confronts the leaders of Israel, who were meant to be shepherds, and sees how they’ve failed their sheep. Instead of protecting their flock, they fed themselves. Instead of seeking the lost, they let them wander. The flock was left vulnerable to predators, hungry for food and scattered across the earth.
Unlike the leaders of Israel, God doesn’t selfishly shrug His shoulders and walk away. He makes a beautiful promise, “I myself will search for my sheep.” The Creator of the universe steps in personally, tenderly and lovingly. He binds up the injured. He strengthens the weak. He rescues the lost. He doesn’t just promise a search, but a rescue.
This isn’t just a promise to Israel from a long time ago, but a promise that still stands true today for you. In moments when life feels heavy, when anxiety clouds your mind, or when you feel too weak to take the next step, your Shepherd is near. He doesn’t stand far away waiting for you to come to Him—He lovingly comes to meet you right where you are.
We see fulfillment of this in Jesus. In John 10, He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The God who promised in Ezekiel 34 became flesh to keep His word. On the cross, the Shepherd gave His life to save His flock.
Read Ezekiel 34
This passage paints a painful but hopeful picture for us. God confronts the leaders of Israel, who were meant to be shepherds, and sees how they’ve failed their sheep. Instead of protecting their flock, they fed themselves. Instead of seeking the lost, they let them wander. The flock was left vulnerable to predators, hungry for food and scattered across the earth.
Unlike the leaders of Israel, God doesn’t selfishly shrug His shoulders and walk away. He makes a beautiful promise, “I myself will search for my sheep.” The Creator of the universe steps in personally, tenderly and lovingly. He binds up the injured. He strengthens the weak. He rescues the lost. He doesn’t just promise a search, but a rescue.
This isn’t just a promise to Israel from a long time ago, but a promise that still stands true today for you. In moments when life feels heavy, when anxiety clouds your mind, or when you feel too weak to take the next step, your Shepherd is near. He doesn’t stand far away waiting for you to come to Him—He lovingly comes to meet you right where you are.
We see fulfillment of this in Jesus. In John 10, He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The God who promised in Ezekiel 34 became flesh to keep His word. On the cross, the Shepherd gave His life to save His flock.
- In what areas of your life do you feel most in need of a Shepherd right now?
- How have you experienced God “coming after you” in seasons when you felt lost or weak?
- Which description of God’s care in Ezekiel 34 (gathering, binding up, strengthening, protecting) speaks to you the most today? Why?
Day 4
(Today’s devotion written by Autumn Gildroy)
Read Ezekiel 34
The leaders we read about in Israel abused their position. Instead of feeding the sheep, they fed themselves. Instead of protecting the flock, they left them vulnerable. God was grieved because His people were suffering under selfish leadership.
Sometimes we find ourselves falling into the same pattern. We come to church to open our Bibles asking, “What can I get out of this?” We want to be fed— and that’s not wrong, because we often need nourishment from God’s Word. But if we stop there, we become like those bad shepherds, unwillingly to share. Always receiving but never giving.
God’s design is different. He fills us so we can pour into others. He comforts us so we can comfort others. He feeds us so we can feed others, not with bread, but with encouragement, truth, love, and hope.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
So, the question is: am I only seeking to be fed, or am I also feeding others?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Read Ezekiel 34
The leaders we read about in Israel abused their position. Instead of feeding the sheep, they fed themselves. Instead of protecting the flock, they left them vulnerable. God was grieved because His people were suffering under selfish leadership.
Sometimes we find ourselves falling into the same pattern. We come to church to open our Bibles asking, “What can I get out of this?” We want to be fed— and that’s not wrong, because we often need nourishment from God’s Word. But if we stop there, we become like those bad shepherds, unwillingly to share. Always receiving but never giving.
God’s design is different. He fills us so we can pour into others. He comforts us so we can comfort others. He feeds us so we can feed others, not with bread, but with encouragement, truth, love, and hope.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
So, the question is: am I only seeking to be fed, or am I also feeding others?
- When you think about your spiritual life, do you tend to focus more on receiving or giving? Why do you think that is?
- Can you think of a time when someone “fed” you spiritually, with encouragement, prayer, or wisdom? How did it impact you?
- How does remembering Jesus as the Good Shepherd challenge and inspire you to care for others?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Matthew 5:17-48
I have often wondered about the proper way to describe following Jesus. Is it easy? Yeah, it is as simple as surrendering your life to Him, which is a singular step with many aspects. So even in describing the part that is easy, it gets difficult. Even Jesus said that the yoke that He offers is easy and the burden light. Then, I read the things I find in the Sermon on the Mount here, and it just seems a bit difficult. I have not murdered anyone in my life. The life that I have chosen to live, that is not that surprising. I haven't even really been close or had to be talked out of it in a vulnerable moment. I am not trying to brag and shame all of you that have murdered people out there, I am just following an example in this text.
For the Pharisees and those of us like them, that was a pretty humble brag point. “The Law is easy!” we would like to say. “Just do good things and be good.” Then we would go away and just do the things that we could think of that were considered good. Once in a while, we would run into a grey area and the best thing to do was to hide that and expect everyone else to live exactly like we do. That is a condensed, super simple way of how the Pharisees (and us) got to be like we were. Jesus comes along and blows that whole idea up when he ties the heart of anger to the heart of murder. The thing that I was not, I now become, because it is from the same flavors. So is it easy or difficult to follow Jesus? I think the Bible would give us the answer of “yes.”
How is murder and anger in the same category and how does that help you understand the problem of sin?
How does a person who has enemies, go about loving those enemies?
If you were explaining retaliation to a grown adult, not a child (because that is easy!), how would you incorporate what Jesus says here in verses 38-42?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
I have often wondered about the proper way to describe following Jesus. Is it easy? Yeah, it is as simple as surrendering your life to Him, which is a singular step with many aspects. So even in describing the part that is easy, it gets difficult. Even Jesus said that the yoke that He offers is easy and the burden light. Then, I read the things I find in the Sermon on the Mount here, and it just seems a bit difficult. I have not murdered anyone in my life. The life that I have chosen to live, that is not that surprising. I haven't even really been close or had to be talked out of it in a vulnerable moment. I am not trying to brag and shame all of you that have murdered people out there, I am just following an example in this text.
For the Pharisees and those of us like them, that was a pretty humble brag point. “The Law is easy!” we would like to say. “Just do good things and be good.” Then we would go away and just do the things that we could think of that were considered good. Once in a while, we would run into a grey area and the best thing to do was to hide that and expect everyone else to live exactly like we do. That is a condensed, super simple way of how the Pharisees (and us) got to be like we were. Jesus comes along and blows that whole idea up when he ties the heart of anger to the heart of murder. The thing that I was not, I now become, because it is from the same flavors. So is it easy or difficult to follow Jesus? I think the Bible would give us the answer of “yes.”
How is murder and anger in the same category and how does that help you understand the problem of sin?
How does a person who has enemies, go about loving those enemies?
If you were explaining retaliation to a grown adult, not a child (because that is easy!), how would you incorporate what Jesus says here in verses 38-42?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
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