Author: Rick Henderson

Re:Verse passage – Hebrews 10:19-25 (day seven)

… for He who promised is faithful.

The concept for our Better Together series was formed during a staff retreat almost a year ago. As we all sat together in that room, we realized that we had missed being together as a team. We laughed, we prayed, we sang, and we dreamed. As we dreamed, we realized that just as we (the staff) were better together, so was the entirety of our congregation. God was moving amongst all of us to come back and tell you about “Better Together” immediately, but to do this right, we needed to plan it out. We needed to write our own curriculum. We needed to wait until the timing was right, but we knew that this was from the Lord and He who promised is faithful.

Wouldn’t you agree that He is faithful? Have you felt as encouraged by this study as we have? Don’t you feel more connected to one another than we did even a few months ago? The final word of our study tells us that we will be encouraged as we draw near to God personally and as we draw near to one another in community. That is how we will continue to be Better Together beyond these 13 weeks, for He who promised is faithful.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 18:15-35 (day seven)

When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. vs 24

How much is 10,000 talents. One talent was approximately 20 years wages for a working class citizen. Just for fun, let’s see how much that is in the U.S. Dollar. Twenty years working $15 an hour for 2,000 hours per year is $600,000. That’s just one talent. This individual owed 10,000 talents: $6,000,000,000 in todays economy. That is 6 Billion with a “B!”

Why would anyone allow such a debt to accrue? That just seems like bad management. Why would the king even let it get to that point? It seems absolutely ridiculous until you realize what Jesus was saying. We have a debt on our hands that is incalculable.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

The wages of our sin has accrued a debt we cannot pay back. Yet, Jesus absolved it all. We are debt free. God tells us we are Better Together when our relationships are in order. We can find forgiveness with one another, because God has already forgiven us all.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 18:5-14 (day seven)

For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come. vs 7

When initially reading this passage, it really makes you stop and think. Why would Jesus want me to cut off my foot and gouge out my eye? After a period of trying to figure out if you could survive like a pirate with an eye patch and a peg leg, you then begin to think about the root of what Jesus was really saying. He was saying that:

1. Temptation will come.
   • • It is a part of human nature that we will be tempted. Even Jesus Himself endured temptation. There is nothing new about the temptations of today. The vessels may change, but the fight remains the same.  1 Corinthians 10:13 
2. Temptation is necessary.
   • • Just as Jesus was able to overcome temptation, so can we. Not only can we overcome it, but when we do, it will make us stronger. Romans 5:3-5
3. Temptation needs to be removed.
   • • In order to fight these battles effectively, we need to cast aside the sins and weights that are holding us back and fix our eyes on Jesus, and He will help (perfect) our fight. Hebrews 12:1-2

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 18:1-4 (day seven)  

“Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

What would have happened if Jesus had given them an answer they actually sought? Would the group as a whole be able to respect the decision while being hurt that it was not them? The question revealed their personal intentions and expectations. They had not quite figured it all out yet. At this point they were not there to serve Jesus, they were there for what Jesus could bring them.

Where were you when you figured it out? Where were you when you realized that being a Christian is not about what Jesus can do for you but what you can do for Jesus?

I think this was that moment for the disciples. Maybe not immediately, but looking back they saw this illustration and realized what it took to be heavenly residents. All three synoptic writers include this event in their account. John addresses his readers in 1 John as Little Children. The disciples all looked back at this illustration as a defining moment. They were Better Together when the together was centered on Jesus.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 19:1-10 (day seven) 

And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. vs 6

The icon above was done by William Holman Hunt in the 1850’s and was titled “The Light of the World.” People from around the world flocked to see what became known as a “sermon in a frame.” Jesus, carrying a lantern,  penetrating the darkness, has come to a door that seems to have been overgrown with weeds and has rusty nails and hinges, but the most peculiar thing is that there is no door handle on the outside. The sermon in the frame: it is up to the person on the other side to let Jesus in.

“Christ will not force himself into any man’s house, and sit there against the man’s will. That would not be the action of a guest, but of an unwelcome intruder.” Charles Spurgeon

Zaccheus had to come down from the tree and receive Jesus into his house. Like Zaccheus, when we go looking for Jesus, He will call us to do something. It is our responsibility to be faithfully obedient to His calling. It is our job to get out of the tree.  It is our job to open the door.  When we are obedient, He will then come in and dwell with us and show us more than we could have ever imagined.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 28:18-20 (day seven)

teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. vs 20a

As I sat in a subway car on my way out of Manhattan late Friday night, I began to think about this verse in light of what had transpired this week. I led a team of 11 high school student leaders and adults through New York as we aided a church planter in Brooklyn. We didn’t lead anyone to Christ this week. I didn’t preach at a service. Surely we didn’t come all this way just to have fun in the Big Apple? That is when it hit me; the great commission is less about going and more about teaching. This trip wasn’t about making converts, it was about making disciples. Our group was able to have some rich meaningful discussions about things we were seeing and hearing as we were traveling. We discipled each other. We taught each other. We also had several divine encounters where God led us to speak with people about why we were there. We pointed hundreds of people to the Borough Church as we served behind the scenes for an NYPD basketball tournament. We were able to help the Borough Church host their first ever youth outreach event at a bowling alley in Sunset Park. Though we may never see the fruit of our work, we were helping make disciples by planting seeds. Whether we were discipling our own group or planting seeds throughout New York, we were fulfilling the great commission!

Re:Verse passage – John 13:3-17 (day seven) 

For He knew the one who was betraying Him.

Jesus washed Judas’ feet. Can you imagine knowing your friend who had walked by your side for years was about to betray you for a few coins? Can you imagine looking him in the eye knowing what peril he was about to put you through, and instead of casting him aside, you bend down and begin to clean his dirty and grimy feet? Can you imagine loving him enough to forgive what was about to happen? Judas betrayed Him with clean feet.

Could you wash Judas’ feet? It is easy to wash the feet of those who love us. We would all wash the feet of Peter who flatters us with words of affirmation, but could you wash the feet of your enemies? That is where the line is drawn for most of us. We will serve when it is in our best interest, but to truly serve like Jesus is to serve even when you know the act may not bring rewards. Clean their feet anyway!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:5-13 (day seven)

The way you pray matters. Jesus clearly addressed that prayer does not have to be a rehearsed show like the pharisees’ public prayers, but in showing the disciples (and us) how to pray, Jesus also makes it clear that there is an order that is important: our wants are not supposed to precede His praise. The first half of this prayer Jesus focused on the preeminence of the Father. The second half He turned the focused to our personal wants. Why is this important?

When you pray, how long do you wait before you start asking for things? It is my guess that the majority of prayers that come before the Lord are in the form of supplication. People begin to pray off a Christmas list of wants  before ever even communicating with God. It is not just about the praise. God craves conversation with us. When we communicate with Him instead of at Him, things begin to shift. By following this model and starting off our prayers by praising God for who He is, it shifts the priority of the prayer from us to Him. When our priority is on Him, He begins to shape our heart through His words, and then His words begin to shape our wants.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 (day seven)

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; vs 8

God never gives us anything out of grudging obligation. He always happily and graciously gives out of His love for us. He always provides when we need it. He is always there when we need Him. Yet, it seems that when we return the gift it is out of grudging obligation. We count to the exact percentile of 1/10th of our paycheck. We hold money back when we see a rainy day coming. We let our circumstances dictate our giving. What would it look like for us to give to God as He gives to us? It begins in the heart. Money has a hold on our heart stronger than almost anything in this world, but when we trust God over money, our giving will no longer be out of grudging obligation but out of love.