Following Jesus
We have finished our fasting series, which provided reasons why biblical fasting benefits a person’s spiritual life. Now, we begin our winter-spring series that takes us to Easter. We will follow Jesus as He leaves northern Israel and makes His way to the cross in Jerusalem.
We will use Luke’s gospel for our series. Luke says in 9:51, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” God’s time had come for Jesus to complete His earthly mission: To rescue all who will follow Him and reconcile them to God by preparing them to enter heaven.
Like His disciples, we, too, will follow along the road as Jesus continues to teach and model the ways of God. Jesus will explain how we should treat others, including those we dislike. He will challenge us to examine our priorities to keep the first things first.
Something confusing for some is the spiritual dimension. We are most comfortable in this realm because we see, taste, smell, touch, and hear things in the natural dimension every moment of our existence. However, eternal things belong to the spiritual realm where angels (good and bad) reside. When Christians encounter demonic influence and harassment, what should they do? As we follow Jesus, we learn from what He does.
Maybe you wonder what being a disciple of Jesus means. Well, on the road to Jerusalem, Jesus clarifies what we should expect in following Him. Controversial is His explanation of the Rich Man and Lazarus. I find His statement regarding the two men’s positions important, “between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that . . . none may cross from there to us.” Everyone should be concerned about what Jesus means.
Jesus finally arrives in the capital city, Jerusalem. Here He will die a horrible death even though He committed no crime or sin. Yet, His death was with the most heinous criminals of the time. Those leaders responsible for His death slept well that night, believing the “troublemaker” would never harass them again. However, they were utterly wrong. Jesus historically proved He was the God-Man sent to rescue all who would surrender to His will and judge those who would not.
I hope you join us for this series, Following Jesus. As we follow Him, God meets us where we are to take us to where we have not been.
We will use Luke’s gospel for our series. Luke says in 9:51, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” God’s time had come for Jesus to complete His earthly mission: To rescue all who will follow Him and reconcile them to God by preparing them to enter heaven.
Like His disciples, we, too, will follow along the road as Jesus continues to teach and model the ways of God. Jesus will explain how we should treat others, including those we dislike. He will challenge us to examine our priorities to keep the first things first.
Something confusing for some is the spiritual dimension. We are most comfortable in this realm because we see, taste, smell, touch, and hear things in the natural dimension every moment of our existence. However, eternal things belong to the spiritual realm where angels (good and bad) reside. When Christians encounter demonic influence and harassment, what should they do? As we follow Jesus, we learn from what He does.
Maybe you wonder what being a disciple of Jesus means. Well, on the road to Jerusalem, Jesus clarifies what we should expect in following Him. Controversial is His explanation of the Rich Man and Lazarus. I find His statement regarding the two men’s positions important, “between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that . . . none may cross from there to us.” Everyone should be concerned about what Jesus means.
Jesus finally arrives in the capital city, Jerusalem. Here He will die a horrible death even though He committed no crime or sin. Yet, His death was with the most heinous criminals of the time. Those leaders responsible for His death slept well that night, believing the “troublemaker” would never harass them again. However, they were utterly wrong. Jesus historically proved He was the God-Man sent to rescue all who would surrender to His will and judge those who would not.
I hope you join us for this series, Following Jesus. As we follow Him, God meets us where we are to take us to where we have not been.
Posted in CastineConnect