The Baptism of Our Lord Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 (NRSV) The baptism of Jesus
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." ...
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
DEVOTION
I love today’s scripture because it is a fabulous passage on evangelism!
My definition of evangelism is “to share--or bring--the good news message about Jesus to others.”
I love that although John could have received and accepted glory for himself, he did no such thing! Instead, he pointed the people to Jesus, the true Messiah and the only one capable of saving their souls.
This side of the cross, John’s words make more sense to us, than they would have to his followers. He said, “One…more powerful that I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire…”
Indeed, one day Jesus did come down to the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin John. And as Jesus came up out of the water praying, the Holy Spirit descended, and a voice spoke from heaven saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
I love these words because it is not just a declaration for Jesus; but also for us! When we become baptized, making a public declaration of our faith in the good news message that Jesus lived, died, and rose again on the third day to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, God says to us also—“You are my Son/Daughter, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
When Jesus died on the cross, he made provision for us to be adopted into the family of God! As we put all of our faith in Jesus, we become the sons and daughters of Almighty God and joint heirs with Christ in the Kingdom of Love.
I don’t know about you, but it amazes me every single day that God loves me so much that God will willing to give JESUS to die in my place! It thrills me to no end to know that I am the daughter of the Most High King! It humbles me beyond my capacity to express it that my good God is well-pleased with me.
As I wrote this devotion, I heard the words to the song, “What Wondrous Love is This?” playing in my spirit. I have attached the song for you to hear.
Walk in joy my friends! You are the Son or Daughter of God! You are beloved and pleasing in God’s sight!
Hallelujah!
Let’s pray:
Thank you God for the great joy that comes from knowing and loving you. I thank you for my baptism and for the gift of being a part of your family! Thank you for giving Jesus to die for me. Thank you for forgiving all of my sin and making provision for my eternal life. I love you and I will share our love with others. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
THE INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @
Acts 4:13-31 (NRSV) The believers pray for boldness
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. They said, "What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name." So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:
'Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
and the rulers have gathered together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.'
For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.
DEVOTION
Oh yes!
Today’s scripture reading fills me to the brim with excitement. It is thrilling to read about the early Christians and their desire to experience the “Holy Ghost Boldness” necessary to declare the good news about Jesus, no matter what the cost.
See, Christians were being persecuted by religious and civil authorities. In the case of Peter and John they were prosecuted for preaching and healing in the Name of Jesus!
Whilst most of us do not live in countries where we are forbidden to believe in Jesus, I am sure that we have all had experiences of timidity when faced with the opportunity to declare that God loves the world so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life.
It seems that the good news message does not easily roll off of our tongues in places where we fear judgment, condemnation or ridicule.
Whilst the Holy Spirit may be prompting us to share good news with the man on the bus, or the woman in our workplace, or our grandchildren who have gone astray, we find it difficult to muster up the courage necessary to say, “Jesus loves you this I know, for the Bible tells me so!”
Perhaps we fear that we will be intruding in people’s lives or that we will be “forcing” our opinions on others.
This is not so my friends! As we joyfully and humbly share our faith with others, we are doing nothing more than sharing the heart of God with a person in need.
It does not take a rocket scientist to notice that “what the world needs now is Love.” Too many of our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and enemies suffer from the mistaken notion that nobody loves them and that this world is all that exists for them.
Look around you my friends! We are surrounded by hurting, lonely, depressed, anxious, worried, concerned, angry, frustrated people who need a relationship with JESUS!
No matter what the personal cost, we must find the Holy Ghost Boldness to speak words of life to our spiritually dead and dying friends!
So, let us be like the early church. Let us gather together and pray that God will give us courage to speak The Word with boldness and to preach, teach, and heal in Jesus’ Name!
I believe—by faith—that everyone who prays a prayer like this will be anointed with the Holy Spirit and emboldened to share the good news that God loves, gave, and saves!
To GOD be the glory, great things GOD has done!
Won’t you pray with me?:
Holy God, please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Please make me bold in my declaration of the good news! Please use me to preach, teach, counsel, heal, and pray in Jesus’ Name! Where I am weak and afraid, please make me strong and courageous! I know so many people who need a relationship with you! I also pray for my Christian brothers and sisters in nations where it is still forbidden to speak the Name of Jesus. Make them bold and courageous in their declaration of the good news and please inspire me to pray for them daily. Lord, please use me as an instrument of your peace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
THE INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus."
To hear an audio recording of Pastor Yolanda reading this sermon, please click here.
SCRIPTURE
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 (NRSV) Christ healing the multitudes
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. ...
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
DEVOTION
Today, I am struck by the lessons regarding discipleship that are found in the Gospel reading. I think as Christians we often wonder what we “should” or “ought” to be doing for Jesus. We know that salvation is a free gift given out of the unmerited favor of God. We know that we cannot buy our pardon or purchase an admittance ticket for the pearly gates. We know that all that is required to be “saved” is to believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and resurrected from the dead conquering sin, death, and the grave on our behalf (Romans 10:9).
However, we also know that the Bible says in James 2:20 “faith without works is dead and without faith it is impossible to please God.” We also know that Jesus has instructed us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and visit the sick and imprisoned (Matthew 25). We also know that we have been given the Great Commission to “go ye therefore into all the world baptizing and making disciples (Matthew 28)!”
I am afraid that as Christians we have a history of either leaning too far to the right and doing nothing asked of us in the name of “free gift” theology or too far to the left and doing too much seeking to “earn our way” into Heaven.
My friends, it is clear to me that the best place to be is smack in the middle. We know that we cannot purchase our salvation, but we do charitable good works as a means to express our gratitude and thankfulness for the free gift of salvation and eternal life.
It is out of our grateful hearts that we respond to the needs of the world! After all, Jesus said, “As you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me (Matthew 25).”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ disciples are returning with their GOOD NEWS testimonies. Jesus had sent them out two by two on ministry expeditions with instructions to cast out demons, anoint with oil, and heal the sick! The disciples were now joyfully returning explaining all that they had taught and done in His Name!
This leads us to our first lesson in evangelism and Christian ministry which is that Jesus is our leader and we should take all of our direction, instruction, and praise from Him! When we want to know how to reach the world for Christ we have two means of getting our marching orders—prayer and the Holy Scripture!
God has given us a good plan for evangelism. Jesus has given us a wonderful example of how to go to the lost sheep of his fold. We were instructed to go out two by two with the GOOD NEWS message!
To be an evangelist is to be one sent out with a GOOD NEWS message! By this definition, all Christians are evangelists, or witnesses for Christ! As we tell the whole world that God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, we become ambassadors of Jesus and the Kingdom of Love.
As we make our GOOD NEWS testimonies more specific by sharing how a relationship with Jesus impacts our own lives, we help non-Christians to understand that faith is not a “wish upon a star” mentality, rather it is a saving relationship with The One who gave His life on Calvary’s Tree for us!
Oh, how the world needs to know that Jesus saves and He saves to the utmost! As Christians we have sometimes hidden our light under a bushel casting the whole world into darkness. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine that people may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16)!”
We are to be candles of flame, illuminating our spheres of influence, bringing the love, joy, peace, hope for the future, and an attitude of gratitude that are the natural by-products of living into a Holy Ghost inspired life!
The second lesson regarding evangelism and Christian ministry from today’s scripture is that Spirit is able to go in front of us, behind us, and in us making the Name of Jesus famous everywhere we go!
Can you imagine how wildly successful the disciples GOOD NEWS witness must have been? Scripture tells us that they had done such a good job proclaiming the Name and Power of Jesus that people were following them everywhere they went. The people were coming and going so frequently in response to the GOOD NEWS that the disciples hardly had time to eat or sleep.
Their witness was so effective that everywhere they went—whether on the farm or in the city—people came rushing out to see Jesus from the surrounding areas bringing all those people who were sick and needed to be made well!
Oh hallelujah! I don’t know exactly what the disciples said about Jesus, but if you will permit me to use my Holy Ghost imagination I will tell you some of what I think they must have said.
They might have said, “Come see a man who knows the unknowable, sees the unseeable and opens up the scriptures to us in ways we never imagined. Come see a man who is able to make demons tremble and sick people well. Come see a man who is able to command the wind and the waves from a fishing boat. And finally, come see a man who loves and touches everybody with the very power of God.
WOW!
Whatever the disciples said spread like wildfire all throughout the region! This reminds me that GOOD NEWS is meant to be shared. When God has done something marvelous for us, we are meant to share our testimonies with others. I have heard it said that “we are blessed to be a blessing.” I have also heard it said that we are to share our testimonies with others, not to be braggarts, but to encourage others going through similar trials, tribulations, or challenges.
In the Black Church tradition we say, “If God did it for me, God can do it for you! God is no respecter of persons.” What this means is that God loves all of God’s children equally and seeks to bless all of us real, real good!
When people ask me how I am I always say, “I am blessed and highly favored!” This often takes non-believers off guard. They ask me why I am blessed and highly favored, after all most people just say “fine” and keep walking.
As Christians we are invited to take the time to look people in the eyes and tell them, “I am blessed and highly favored. You are blessed and highly favored. And here’s why…”
I love to tell the GOOD NEWS story! God loves, gave, and saves! Jesus is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me or anyone else! Like Jeremiah, when I have tried to keep this GOOD NEWS to myself it feels like fire shut up in my bones and I just have to let it out (Jeremiah 20:9)!
My friends, all of us need the love of God which has been revealed to us in Christ Jesus. All of us need the light of Christ to illuminate our dark corners. All of us need the Amazing Grace of God to forgive our sins and restore us to right relationship with our Maker. All of us need to be healed in body, mind, and spirit by Jesus! And all of us need to be commissioned with a life’s work as meaningful as sharing the GOOD NEWS with others, leading to the very salvation of people’s souls!
Now, this leads me to the final lesson regarding evangelism and Christian ministry as found in today’s text. After Jesus heard about all of the good work that the disciples were doing in His Name, he said, “"Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while."
I don’t know about you, but I think that this is wonderful advice! Sometimes as Christians we get so exuberant about the work of Jesus that we forget the importance of solitude, quiet time, reflection, prayer, and rest. We forget that we are commanded to “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8).” We actually resent church folks who have learned to say no in the face of too many obligations that wear them down and take the joy out of their service.
This ought not to be so my friends! Jesus has given us permission to “Come away to a deserted place all by ourselves and rest a while.”
When we are undertaking the important work of evangelism and Christian ministry we must remember the importance of self and family care. We must remember that we can be no earthly good to others if we are run down, exhausted, cranky, and burnt out Christians!
We will not be examples to others if we lose the Spirit of love, joy, and peace because we need a nap. We will not be a faithful witness to non-Christians friends if they see us snapping at each other out of mutual exhaustion. We will not look “blessed and highly favored” with bags under our eyes and despair in them.
Dear Ones, do not forget to rest from your labors! There will always be another weekly supper. There will always be another opportunity to host the homeless. There will always be another brat or lemonade sale. There will always be another outreach ministry opportunity.
If all of us do our work, there will be enough hands on deck when one of us needs to “go away to a deserted place and rest.” No longer can we continue to allow 5 or 10 people in a church to do all of the work. With all due respect, all of us are called to the work of evangelism and Christian ministry. All of us have been given gifts and talents that are to be used for the building of God’s Kingdom on Earth until Jesus comes from Heaven. All of us are able to do something to make a difference in the lives of people in need.
These are today’s evangelism and ministry strategies. First of all, take your marching orders from Jesus through prayer and scripture reading. Secondly, make the name of Jesus famous everywhere you go through your GOOD NEWS testimony. Finally, remember the importance of quiet time for reflection and rest.
As we follow these examples from today’s scripture we will see the miracle working power of Spirit working in us as we lead people to Christ! We will experience the blessing of seeing new friends joining our church as they put all of their hope in Jesus. And we will have the joy of knowing that we have done all that we know to do to share the Love of Jesus with everyone we meet.
Go out my friends and make the Name of Jesus famous!
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
To listen to audio recordings of Pastor Yolanda's Sunday sermons, please visit http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/57814 or click the widget to the right on this page!
If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html
If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus" http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html
Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/
You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda
Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews
You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.
EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right!
Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.
From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com
On the face of it, the scripture reading for today is appalling! Paul and Barnabus who have been friends for the entire length of Paul’s Christian ministry have a falling out over a “ministry helper.” Barnabus wanted to journey with John Mark; Paul had no such desire. He was still disappointed with John Mark for deserting them and their important work the last time they had worked as evangelists together. Instead of resolving the conflict as you would imagine “saints” would, they became so angry, and the disagreement became so sharp, that they decided to “part ways.”
How could this type of fight happen between two men who so passionately loved Jesus? After all, Barnabus was a strong Christian. He had known Paul when he was still Saul. It was Barnabus who first believed that the old Saul was dead and the new Paul was sincere in his love for Jesus and his desire to bring the GOOD NEWS to the Gentiles. It was Barnabus who brought Paul to the Chrisitians in Rome and who made sure that he was well received and trained for the work ahead. Together, Paul and Barnabus had been evangelizing with good success leading many a soul to Christ. How could they allow anything to come between them? They were brothers!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen these types of fallings-out in churches before and when they happen there is heartbreak enough to go around. But, let me tell you something. Paul and Barnabus did a wise thing when they agreed to disagree, yet continue their work. So often, when people fight in the church, the work of sharing GOOD NEWS falls by the way side. People get so caught up in the conflict, that they forget that there are people in need of love and care. We turn our eyes to earthly things and forget about the heavenly pursuits to which we have been assigned like feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, or caring for the sick, imprisoned, orphaned or widowed.
Now, here’s the GOOD NEWS! Paul and Barnabus set a wonderful example for us contemporary Christians to follow. Although they were very angry, they kept their eyes on the prize. They agreed to part ways, but still get the work done. I think Paul and Barnabus were wise enough to realize that the Bible is right when it says, “To everything there is a season and a time for everything under the heavens.” They realized that even relationships can be seasonal. This is hard for us to accept as human beings. We want our friends to be friends forever. But, this is not always so. Sometimes God brings a friend or co-laborer into your life for a season, to do the work that is needed, and then you part ways so that greater works can be accomplished in the one vineyard of the Lord.
My friends, let us not kick against the pricks. When the season for a relationship is done, let it go…After you’ve tried all that you know to do to resolve conflict and reconcile with a sister or brother and it comes to no avail, gently place them into the hand of God. Love them, forgive them, and bless them to go in peace! God wants to use both of you in new ways and perhaps in new places. If you don’t surrender the relationship you won’t live into your greater purpose!
Have you noticed that the season has changed for a relationship in your life? Can you surrender that person to God today?
God, you are all about relationship! Help us to love and nurture our friendships and never to take them for granted. When the season ends for a friendship, help us to treasure the happy memories and release them into your loving care. We want to keep our focus on you and your kingdom goals, not our petty squabbles. In Jesus Name, Amen.
*The entire scripture reading for today can be found by clicking the ELCA Daily Bible Reading Tab to the right.
*from Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/
*EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right! Thanks for reading and please come again.
*Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us. Today, we are especially praying for the people in Australia who have been affected by the fires.
*Check out the map to the right! Do you know anyone in Canada, Alaska, Greenland, South America, Australia, Africa, Western Europe, or Asia that you can share GOOD NEWS with today?
