August 30, 2009 - A Front Porch People:

Viewing People Like Jesus Does (John 3:16-17; John 9)

Key Focus:

• The world (the people of the world) are lost without Jesus. So God emptied Heaven of Jesus to redeem it (John 3:16-17; Philippians 2:5-11).
  • The part of the world (the stuff of the world) that we seek after in the world is all passing away: it will not sustain us (1 John 2:15-17).
• Just as God sent Jesus into the world to save it, so Jesus now sends us into the world to do the same thing (John 20:20-22).
• To do this, we must learn to view people as Jesus did (John 9). The focus of the message will come here with an emphasis on the wrong ways to view people and Jesus way of viewing people:
  • John 9:35 "Where is he?" Jesus asked. He had heard the religious council had kicked him out and his parents hadn't stood up for him. He was now alone. So Jesus came looking for him!
    1. "Where is he? Tattered clothes, ratty looking beard, big smile, and miracle mud on his eyelids. Have you seen him?"
    2. Yeah, one of my favorite Jesus stories is found here. And this one story helps us unlock one of the most important parts of being a front porch people
    3. Jesus was "the callous-handed nail bender from a one-camel town" (Max Lucado) of Nazareth that changed the world. But how did He do it?
       • He changed people. More than just changed them, he transformed them.
       • He made them realize who God created them to be.
       • He was about people. He came for people. He loved and listened to people. He was with people. Maybe the best way to understand is to be reminded of the places Jesus hung out (my names, Jesus' places):
         • The Lost Halo Hotel (Matthew 1) - the genealogy of Jesus and the amazing stories behind it: esp. the 4 women
         • The Upstairs Club -- the upper room filled with his buddies: people of the rabble - fishermen, zealots, tax collectors (drunkard & glutton)
         • The Chick Flick Cinema -- the women who surrounded Jesus!
         • The Old Seekers Inn -- Nicodemus, Nathaniel, Jairus, Ruler of a Synagogue, Joseph of Arimathea, generous Centurion
• How did He touch so many different people, so many different types? It was the way He looked at people! They knew He cared. Just as real as the wounds in His body after the Crucifixion was the love in His eyes before it!
  • For me, John 9 has always been the clear way for me see the way Jesus viewed people and made a difference in their lives. It is a story so real we can feel the pull of the politics and the religious pettiness and meanness of social acceptance. This is our world and we recognize it in this story! And in this story, Jesus shows us the difference between the way He views people and the shallow ways we often adopt as our way.

  The way a broken world looks at people.

  1. Religious Question (vs. 1-2) Sermon Illustration, an Argument to be Solved, issue in our church -- rather than people who need Jesus' grace and love and life
     [bridge vs. 3-7]
  2. Label (vs. 8-12) Yeah, we live in the world of political correctness, but in many ways, the gulf has grown wider: we can't legislate the value of all people and then limit whether they are worthy to live outside the womb, live to a ripe old age, or have value if they can't be productive!
  3. Religious Problem (vs. 13-17) Doesn't fit our theology! Not sure what to do but to deny reality because we can't put them in one of our religious pigeon holes.
  4. Biological Product (vs. 18-23) Yeah, he is our son, but we are not going to stand up for him, we are not going to stand beside him. We are going to push him out there and let him fend for himself.
  5. Religious Threat (vs. 24-34) Someone we've spurned, but who has obviously found Jesus, so we have to either skandalize them or get rid of them

  • But Jesus looked at the man as someone in whom the work of God could be done (vs. 3-7) This is all the difference!
    • What difference would it make if we looked at people in this way?
    • How would our talk change?
    • How would our actions change?
    • How would our prayer life change?
  • And what is the work of God that really needs to be done in their lives? (John 6:29)
• Specific Exercise: Find three people this week that we would not normally meet and engage them in conversation. Write a short paragraph of how Jesus would view them and how it would help you better reach them with God's grace. (Again, folks challenged in bulletin at Daybreak & Sundown and at the Table and Life Groups at Refresh.)

• Back to School: Gaining momentum, looking for visitors, inviting friends

• John 3:16-17 tniv

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

• Philippians 2:5-11 tniv
• John 20:20-22 tniv
• John 9 tniv

Drama, Media, & Connecting Pieces:

• Pre-video:
• Video Piece: Video Link
  • Direction
• Scripture readings
  • Scripture Directions
    1. Ref - Thoughts about use
       

Time in the Word Focus:

• Key focus of the Time in the Word
  • Key Ideas
    • Point

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

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