August 2, 2009 - "Follow me!" (John 20:18-25)

Key Focus:

• So frequently, we view ourselves and our value to God by comparing ourselves with others:
  • "Am I being blessed like they are?"
  • "Am I doing as much as they are?"
  • "Aren't I better ... aren't more worthy of blessing ... don't I deserve more credit ... than they are?
• Peter starts the comparative game by trying to compare what the Lord is going to do with the "beloved disciple (aka John?) with what the Lord is calling Peter to do.
  • Jesus basically says, "That's none of your business, Peter, it doesn't matter. What matters is that YOU follow me where I am leading YOU!"
  • Two passages come to mind on this:
    1. Galatians 6:1-4
    2. Romans 14:4
• Peter is wanting to make following Jesus into a religion that gets him what he wants. In essence, this is what we all want as fallen humans: we want God to promise to do what we want if we do what He wants. But Jesus reminds Peter that this is really idolatry - a way we can manipulate and control God so we can feel good about our relationship with God and feel better about ourselves in comparison to others. Instead, Jesus says that Peter must follow even if he doesn't know the outcome because:
  1. Jesus is Lord and should be followed because He is Lord and not because we are looking for a payout for it. We are called, surrendering all, to follow Him! cf. Mark 8:34-37
  2. Jesus has demonstrated His love and grace and mercy, and so our responsibility is follow Him!
• Like Wendell broom said a long time ago, "The problem I have with being a living sacrifice is that the sorry old sacrifice keeps crawlin' off the altar." cf. Romans 12:1-2

• Church-wide emphasis

Drama, Media, & Connecting Pieces:

• Pre-video:
• Video Piece: Early in Refresh, a good way to start after the pre-video could be the following video:
  • Follow Me

Scripture readings

• Responsive Reading
  1. Mark 8:34-35 & Romans 12:1-2 - In the following order:
     • [Leader]
       Then Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)
     • [Congregation]
       Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is true worship. (Romans 12:1)
     • [Leader]
       For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:35)
     • [Congregation]
       Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
• John 21:18-22 - This is our key text for the LifeWORDS series
  

Time in the Word Focus:

• Will we follow Jesus simply because He is Jesus, or are we expecting some kind of special treatment in this life, some kind of guarantee that things will go well?

Daybreak Focus: (See emphasis above! Team Working on Planning Order - Marisue & Luke)

Refresh Focus: (See emphasis above! Team Working on Planning Order - Names)