Author: Rick Henderson

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.

Re:Verse passage – Acts 2:42-47 (day seven)

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. vs 44

“You have more in common with a Christian living in a village in Kenya than you do your non-Christian friends that live right down the street.” I often say things like this to our students. You may not be able to talk about the latest Marvel movie or the hottest new song, but there is something unique that brings us all together as Christians. Christ living in me relates and connects to Christ living in you. That commonality creates a bond that is tighter than any friendship the world can offer. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit bridges languages, race, color, and creed. We are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, and even if it may seem that we are miles apart in interests, hobbies, or politics, we can know that we are Better when we are Together because Christ is our commonality.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day seven)

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable […] for correction.” vs 16

What we have here is a promise from God that if we are faithful to the study of His Word, it will begin to shape every part of our being. We will find ourselves questioning, wondering, and reasoning with the Scriptures as it corrects our very beliefs. This has led many people to begin to “deconstruct” their faith. Deconstruction is not in and of itself wrong as long as the deconstruction and what is being reconstructed in its place are both sourced in Scripture. The problem in many modern cases of deconstruction is that the source of both constructions are found outside of Scripture. If we use anything outside of the Word of God to prop up our faith, the structure will crumble under the weight of the smallest resistance. The majority of us do not need a full on deconstruction, but what we do need is to refortify our structure with Scripture and let God correct the areas where we have allowed the world to influence our faith.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:15-17, Ephesians 5:22-32 (day seven)

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”  Ephesians 8:15

If you have seen the banners around church recently, you know that Monday begins Impact Youth Camp. If you have seen those banners you have seen our image for this year features a lion with the word FEARLESS in the middle.

There is a subliminal message in that image. It is easy to allow the spirit of fear to burden our hearts and minds, but as the Lord (Lion of Judah) adopts us into Hs family, He removes that fear. In its place, He instills in us a spirit of “power and love and discipline” (2 Tim 1:7).  Would you please pray for our students this week? Pray that they would be released from their burdens of slavery. Pray that they are equipped to share their faith without fear. Pray that they are emboldened to reach their friends and loved ones with the Gospel. Pray for those who will cry out “Abba! Father!” for the very first time! Pray that our students realize how much Better we are Together! 

Re:Verse passage – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27  (day seven)

Today we celebrate the start of Better Together.  If you have been around this church for a minute, you recognize this. We learn together. We laugh together. We worship together. We dream together. We pray together. We play together. Through this series we will do all these things (maybe even all of them today). Yet, this isn’t new information. This is an intentional time for us to remind one another of how special it is to be together.

What is it that you need to be reminded of? Do you need to be reminded that you have a family that you can lean on in your days of struggle? Do you need to be reminded that you have a place in this church to serve with your gifts? Do you need to be reminded that you are not alone inside and outside of these walls? On this Pentecost Sunday, ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of how and why He led you to FBCSA. Each of us will have different answers on how we got to this place, but I would guess all of us will answer the why in a similar way: we are Better Together!