Sermons

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” -- Matthew 13:31-32 ------- There is an inspirational American movie called “Rudy.” It is about a young boy who has wanted to play American college football for the most renowned college football program in the world, the University of Notre Dame, for his entire life. However, there is a challenge. Rudy is slow. Rudy is small. Rudy has dyslexia. Notre Dame recruits only the fastest, biggest, and strongest athletes, and they do require that their athletes come to school and go to class and not just play football. Rudy would definitely be considered the runt of the litter and someone who could never make it into Notre Dame as a student, let alone be able to play on the field for the “Fighting Irish” as they are known. So, spoiler alert: Rudy, through all of the challenges and tribulations he has to go through—and I recommend that you watch the movie—ends up playing on the field for Notre Dame and records a sack in the last game of the season. Not only that, but he goes on to become a motivational speaker, where he has made hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. In our following of Jesus this week, Jesus gives us a parable that tells a similar story, but this time about the kingdom of God. He gives us a picture showing that “The Mite is Mighty.”

Over the past four decades, Christianity has grown faster in China than anywhere else in the world. Daryl Ireland, a Boston University School of Theology research assistant professor of mission, estimates that the Christian community there has grown from 1 million to 100 million. What led to that explosion centuries after the first Christian missionaries arrived in China? That is a great question. And so much of this growth is unseen because to be seen as a Christian in China will expose you to ostracization at best, persecution on a consistent basis, often imprisonment, and possible death. Like what we discussed last week with the mustard seed, Jesus talks about small beginnings leading to great growth in His Church, even if it is hidden.

When you go through affliction, have you ever had the idea to rejoice because of it? It's certainly not the first thing that comes to my mind. So why would the Bible say to rejoice when we experience affliction? What could possibly be gained by such a thing? Tune in this week to hear a "different kind of good news" to find out why.

by Desiring God (www.desiringgod.com)

Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? The power and immensity on display is hard to describe. If that is hard to describe, how do we communicate the power and immensity of God? As you will find out today, I don't know exactly, but I am going to try to help all of us look at God in a way that has been lost by many in this generation.

Look at the picture. Goodness it took me about 10 minutes to find it. Have you heard the saying "Hidden in Plain Sight" before? The idiom "hidden in plain sight" means that something is not easily noticed or recognized, even though it is easily visible or apparent to everyone. It implies that the object or information is so commonly found that it remains unnoticed by most people. As we are following Jesus step-by-step, we see that He is telling parable after parable explaining to His audience what is happening and what is to come. Telling of things of old that people have heard and known for centuries, but for many people their understanding is clouded, even though it is staring them in the face. Why is that? That's what we are going to explore today with Jesus. Do you see it yet? Look closer! Not just with your eyes, but with your heart. For if you really are ready to listen and learn from Jesus, removing all of your biases and pre-conceived notions, then you will be able to see what is "Hidden in Plain Sight" and it will change your life forever.

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. -- Mark 4:33 – 34 I was trying to remember my favorite bedtime story growing up, but I couldn’t remember any. However, I do remember one of the favorite bedtime stories for the children the Lord blessed us with and that was Goodnight Moon. In this children's story there are images of cows, socks, colors, etc. and of course the moon. For the parent everything that they are reading is very basic, but for the young child some of what is being read and shown they may not know or understand. As a Dad I would read the book and receive a question from Jared, Jordan, or Chayil and explain it to them, in a way they could understand. Our Father in Heaven knows all things. No matter what question we may have. He will be able to answer our question in a way that we can understand just like I was able to explain to the children what was in “Good Night Moon." I want to emphasize today as we follow Jesus that “God Shall Explain His Stories to His Children.”

One of my great joys as a Dad is interacting with the children the Lord has blessed me with. And I know from Scripture that our Heavenly Father delights in His children. Scriptures such as: Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness.” Psalm 147:11, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” ... remind us of this fact, but I never saw a scripture that specifically, explicitly said God is happy. Implicitly from verses like what I have written above and others it is logical that God is happy. However, I had never seen, or maybe I never noticed the word "happy" being attributed to God, in the way I have been happy with the children He has blessed me with. Not just pleased and not just joyful, but also happy. In the 21st century there is a difference. I must thank my wonderful wife for encouraging us to read a book together, which shook my world in a fantastic way this week. Caused me to change the sermon I was supposed to give, so I can share this new found happiness that has been revealed to me, which is ... We know our God is Holy, but guess what ... He is also Happy. Hope you can join us.

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it. -- Matthew 13:44 - 46 Around the year 2006, a Filipino fisherman made an amazing discovery in the sea off the coast of the Palawan Island, Philippines: a two-foot-long (26 inches to be exact) pearl inside a giant clam. He must not have realized its value since he took it home and hid it under his bed, keeping it as a good luck charm. Regretfully, his house burned down, but the pearl survived. It weighed almost 75 pounds and was worth about $100 Million USD in 2016. As we follow Jesus today, we will see him talking about a pearl, too. In this case, the person would not have mistaken that 75-lb pearl as a good luck charm; he would have known its value. However, what Jesus is showing us today is that what He has for us is not just worth $100 Million USD; it is “Worth Everything.”

Have you heard the saying, “All roads lead to heaven?” This saying means there isn’t just one way to get to heaven; it means that however you live can still get you into God’s kingdom. I don’t know if that is discussed much in Malawi, Pakistan, or Ghana, but it is popular here in the United States. Many influential people believe this. More on that later. But is that what Jesus said? If you have been with us for a while, you probably already know what Jesus has said about this. However, Our Lord is a little more explicit today, just in case we missed it previously. So He will take us fishing today and teach us that “Not All of the Fish Make it to Market.”