Rick Henderson

Freedom

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 1:26–31, Romans 8:18–22 (day seven)

Creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Romans 8:21

This weekend our students participated in our annual Disciple Now event called Freedom Weekend. They spent the last two days in Bible study, worship, and service. There might have been a little bit of fun to be had too! We challenged them this year to be Bold in their faith.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 2 Cor 3:12

The hope that we find in Jesus is the reason that we can be and should be emboldened. How could we know the hope, love, and freedom found in God and not want to share that to the world? For each of our students (and you too) this boldness is going to look different. For some it will be to place their faith in Jesus as Lord for the first time. For others it will be to share with their friends and family what the Lord is doing in their life. Pray for our students as they go home today. Pray that they will know the same Spirit that they felt at Freedom Weekend will be with them as they go back into their schools and activities. That same Spirit will continue to bring Freedom, Hope, and Boldness.

Cheerful Giver

Re:Verse passage – 2 Corinthians 8:1–9, 2 Corinthians 9:6–11 (day seven)

Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cor 9:7

Giving is not a unique belief to Christianity. Most major religions have an aspect of charity that is similar to our tithing. Truth be told, our recommended giving of 10% would be on the upper end of what most religions would ask for. What makes the Christian tithe different from other charity? What makes Christianity unique from other religions as a whole?

God is Love.

Most religions command giving. They make their charity obligatory and compulsive to the point that you might not go to heaven if you don’t give as commanded. Read through the Bible, including the passage today, your tithe is not salvific or redemptive. Tithing is an overflow of a relationship with the One who gave us everything. As we learn that He is Love, we will be eager to give back a portion of what He has given to us. As we experience He is Love, we will be joyful as we trust Him to provide for us in all ways. As we embody that He is love, we will be excited to contribute to the Kingdom’s work so that others might learn that He is Love.

Gifts > Talents

Re:Verse passage – 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Romans 12:4-8 (day seven)

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:7

If we are honest, we like to talk about ourselves. We are quick to tell people about the things we like and particularly the things we are good at. Much of that is tied to our vocational identity. We are well aware of our talents that attribute to our individual success. Yet, do we even know what our spiritual gifts are? Gifts are so much more important to our identity than even our talents, because it is our gifts that make the biggest impact for the Kingdom. Everyone has talents, but only those who are in the Spirit can receive the manifestation of the Spirit. Because of this, it is entirely possible for a spiritual gift to be the complete opposite of a talent, as the Spirit can manifest in us an ability that was not present before.

Everyone who is in the Spirit will receive a manifestation of the Spirit. Therefore, you have a spiritual gift! What is it/are they? You have already been challenged to take a spiritual inventory for yourself. Now, I challenge you to tell your Bible Study leader or a pastor at the Church what that gift is. It is not meant to lie dormant. The Spirit manifested a gift in you so that you can be a part of what God is doing and make an impact for the Kingdom now.

The Time

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:15–17 (day seven)

[…] making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16

The Greek word here for “time” is from the root word kairos which translates best to “the time.” This is a fixed range of time or a season of life. Galatians 6:10 translates this word to “opportunity.” It is not referring to time in a general sense as in every minute of every day. Instead of making the most of every moment in a day, we are to make the most of the opportunity that God has given us. The season of life we are in is a gift from God, so we need to steward and organize it as such.

It is not amiss to me that today was supposed to be a parenting emphasis day for our NextGen departments (now postponed due to winter weather). Did you know that if a child does not make a profession of faith by the age of 18 then their likelihood of doing so after 18 drops off exponentially? Any grandparent or empty nester will tell you that 18 years goes way too fast. That is why it is imperative that we help parents succeed in the discipleship of their children. We need to help parents make the most of the time they have left with their children.

No matter what season of life you find yourself in, God has placed you in that season for a specific purpose and plan. How can you steward this opportunity to most glorify Him and serve those closest to you?

Seek His Face

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 24:1-10 (day seven)

This is the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah. Psalm 24:6

I love playing hide-and-go-seek with my young sons. They like to hide in places where they think I can’t see them, like a lamp or curtains. They think because they can’t see me that I can’t see them, but almost always, a part, or most of their body is exposed. The only thing that is always covered is their face which is turned into a corner or hidden in their hands. They have hidden their face from me in an attempt to hide their whole self.

There is something intimate about seeking the face of someone. We can be present in the room, but if we don’t get face to face with them, we can still be disconnected.

Do we seek the face of God? As we begin this series on stewardship, it is important for us to first look at our individual and personal connections with God. When we seek His face, we will enter into a place of deep and intimate connection with Him. It is that connection that will guide us as we navigate His plan and His will for our life, this church, and His Kingdom.

Greater Than He

Re:Verse passage – Luke 7:18-35 (day seven)

[…] yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Luke 7:28b

How can the least in the Kingdom be even greater than the greatest man born of a woman? Simple, John was only born of a woman. He was not born again under the New Covenant. We know that John was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb, but due to his death preceding the death of Christ, He was unable to fully participate in the New Covenant; and thus, he was fully unable to experience regeneration as we are able to through Jesus’ death, resurrection, and baptism in the Holy Spirit. This is not a knock on John. Jesus was explaining that we are going to get something so much greater than anyone who lived under the old covenant, even those filled with the Spirit.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

As born again believers, we get to experience a Living Hope. We get to experience His Kingdom here on earth. We get to taste Heaven now.

Spirit Power

Re:Verse passage – Luke 4:14-30 (day seven)

And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Luke 4:14

What happens before this moment is as paramount to the text as what happens in the passage itself. Just before this, Jesus defeats Satan and temptation after being pushed to his physical limits. He returns from this in the Power of the Spirit. God did not need the Spirit to bring the Son into glory, but Jesus needed the Spirit to defeat temptation without relying on His deity. Jesus was tempted as we are, and He overcame that temptation without sinning, not because He is God, but because He relied on the Holy Spirit. He laid out the battle plan for us.

Do you desire to do big things for Jesus? The battle plan is simple. Fight sin. Fight with Scripture. Fight with prayer. When you win, you will feel a Spirit power unlike any other. A feeling of accomplishment that could lead you to run through a wall for God. Ride the momentum and keep on defeating sin again and again until it runs from you. This is what it feels like to walk in the power of the Spirit. This was the long-expected power that would come to change the tide of the war. If Jesus needed this power of the Spirit, how much more do you?

As Was Supposed

Re:Verse passage – Luke 2:4-7; 3:23, 31-34, 38 (day seven)

[…] as was supposed, the son of Joseph […] Luke 3:2

We know that the “supposed” signifies that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. Though not biological, Joseph still passed the test of historical lineage that would be necessary for the earthly father of the Christ. Joseph and Mary both could trace their lineage through the accounts of the Old Testament, all the way to Adam. Joseph gave Jesus the legal lineage that would connect the Messiah through the entirety of the Old Testament, and namely, an heir to the throne of Israel.

Yet, this “supposed” also shows us something else beautiful and poetic in the life of this family. Joseph adopted Jesus, and everyone around them supposed that Joseph was Jesus’ father. Joseph became the father that Jesus needed to guide Him through the beginning of His earthly life. He took Jesus in, mentored Him, discipled Him in both carpentry and the Law, and showed Him what a Godly human life looks like. Joseph adopted the Son who would make it possible for you to be adopted by the Father.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:16-17

Two Turtledoves

Re:Verse passage – Luke 2:21-38 (day seven)

and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Luke 2:24

In the words of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, “I never knew that. I thought they were just part of a song.” Kevin was given his turtledoves to become a token of eternal friendship, but the two turtledoves in the Bible were actually the Offering of the Poor.

Leviticus 12:8 ^“But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.”

The King of Kings stepped down into poverty. We would expect a coming King to be born in a palace or to be followed with grandeur (Wisemen have not yet arrived), but our King needed to sympathize with us. He came to be the God for the poor, not just for the rich. He showed us that He is the God for all of us. The faithfulness of Mary and Joseph to bring Him to the temple shows us their heart. The humbleness of Mary and Joseph to admit that they couldn’t afford a lamb shows us their character. Little did they know, they brought the Lamb that would atone for their sins and the sins of the entire world. Jesus is the Lamb of God and our friend for eternity!

Deaf and Dumb

Re:Verse passage – Luke 1:57-80 (day seven)

But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.” […] and they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. Luke 1:60, 62

We know that Zacharias was mute, but was it more? As the community implored Elizabeth to name the child Zacharias, they begin to try to get his attention with signals. Mute people can hear just fine; why didn’t they just speak? It would appear that he was deaf and dumb (or at least to them), which makes the fact that Elizabeth knew the name of the child all the more miraculous. Whether he had written it for her previously, or if the Holy Spirit revealed the name of the child to her through discernment, it is clear that Elizabeth was listening to the Lord!

Elizabeth was not a passive recipient in Zacharias’ calling. She had the authority and boldness to proclaim John’s name as a fact. It wasn’t the priest who was the primary theological voice in this moment; it was the faithful mother. This is only the beginning of how the Messiah is going to flip the world upside down. God has called us all to be a part of His plan for eternity. Will you join Him?