Perry’s Scope: Christian sermons, lessons, and resources for teachers

There are two times in the New Testament where Jesus is “amazed” in regard to the faith of certain individuals. In Luke 7.9 Jesus expresses his amazement at the faith of a Roman Centurion who believed that Jesus could heal his slave. The religious leaders in Israel should have recognized Jesus as the Messiah and should have had faith in him. Instead, many opposed and rejected him. Yet, this Gentile invader believed what he had seen and heard about Jesus. Jesus rewarded his faith and healed his servant.

One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples went to his hometown synagogue. Here he teaches and is met with doubt. Because of the peoples’ lack of faith, he does not perform many miracles in his town. These people should have known him. They should have known him not only from the scriptures but also from his time he had spent with them Yet, these people doubted him to the point that he was “amazed” at their unbelief (Mark 6.6).

On the one hand we have a “believing unbeliever”. On the other hand, we have “unbelieving believers.” With whom do we identify more? Are we like the Jews who should have known better and practiced faith in the presence of the Messiah? Or, are we more like the Roman who exercised the level of faith he had? He could not quote great portions of the Torah. He was an outsider, yet he believed.

Would Jesus say that our faith - or that lack of faith amazes him? Even faith the size of a mustard seed can be productive when it is exercised. God has promised, believe and do.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

Have you ever been in a situation that you initially thought was good and then found out it was not what you thought? I believe there were people who did that with Jesus. In John 6 Jesus gave some hard teaching. A group of disciples decided to walk away. Jesus was what they thought.

The same can be true today. People enter the church for many reasons. Some feel the weight of their sins and their need for forgiveness. Some want an easier road in life and believe that if they follow God, they will have comfort. Some see the church as a place of power. “If I can be a church leader, people will respect me and I can be in a position of authority,” they think.

The rule of God is his kingdom and it takes many forms. Regardless of the form, if we decide to submit ourselves to his kingdom rule, we need to understand that it is different than anything else on earth. Paul wrote:

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” (Romans 14:17-18)

The kingdom of God is not about the ways of the world. It is supernatural in its scope. It is about spiritual issues, not earthly ones. Therefore, politcs do not belong in the kingdom. Power through intimidation does not belong in the kingdom. Deception does not belong in the kingdom. Personal gain does not belong in the kingdom. The things that we normally see in the word have no place in God’s work. It is different, it is of the Spirit.

The kingdom of God is:

• A place of obedience to God - Matthew 5:19

• A place of exceptional righteousness — Matthew 5:20

• A place of gentleness and humility — Matthew 11:28-30; 18:4

• A Place of Mercy — Matthew 18:23ff

• A place of Service — Matthew20:25-27

Do you want to be part of God’s kingdom? Realize that it is a different place than what you are used to. Sometimes it makes no “earthly sense” and must be approached by faith.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

Americans have a view that “law” is restrictive and confining. We look in the rearview mirror, see a police car, and immediately feel like we have done something wrong. This has to do with our view of “law” and our guilty consciences.

We tend to see the “Law of Moses” as the “Restrictions of Moses” and the “Law of Christ” as a set of his restrictions. What if the Bible translators had opted to translate “law” as “instruction”? We would have the “Instruction of Moses” and the “Instruction of Christ.” Rather than a feeling of constraint, the instructions would give us a positive sense of freedom and growth.

Certainly within the instructions there are directives that we are to keep. There are consequences when we do not. God’s intention, however, is not to use his “instructions” to see how many times he can trip us up. He is not out to find an excuse to keep us out of heaven. He wants to be our “Father” now and forever and he has gone beyond the “second mile” to make it possible.

In addition to the gift of his Son, he has given us instructions (law) so that we can be the people he expects us to be. His “Instruction Manual” helps us create an intimate relationship with God. It guides our lives so that we produce the fruit of the Spirit. It helps us see people the way God does.

Let’s resolve to keep the instructions. Let’s follow the way of Christ. Let’s be his people.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

There is a lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Generally, we think about angels as being supernatural creatures with wings and are typically invisible to our eyes. They heralded the birth of the Savior. They informed Abram of upcoming events. One declared the coming birth of John the Baptist to his parents. They have foretold upcoming disasters to men of God (see Isaiah; Jeremiah; Zechariah; and John in the Revelation).As servants of the Most High God, angels do his bidding in whatever form he wishes. They are essentially his messengers to mankind. They bring good and bad news to the world.

While there are supernatural creatures among us, we could also simply translate the same word as “messenger.” “Evangelist” contains “angel” at its core. We know this is a person who is a messenger of the good news.

The devil also has his messengers. Some are invisible to our eyes, some are not. Many are in human form, proclaiming the message of the Evil One. They declare things like abortion on demand; that homosexuality and bestiality as acceptable lifestyles; racism; and a host of other deceptions that come from the “Liar and the Father of Lies.”

The Bible reveals their end. It is to be part of the eternal death that has been prepared for the Devil and his messengers. This place is not limited to the unseen winged creatures that have devoted themselves to God’s adversary. It includes people who deliberately or unwittingly have dedicated themselves to the ungodly cause.

We may find some comfort in the fact that justice will be done to the “Hitlers” and “Charles Mansons” of society. But, I am convinced that it breaks the heart of God to see the people he created reject him and turn to the Deceiver. That is one reason our task as “angels” of the good news is so important.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

Open

Please discuss one of the following:

If I was on the TV show, Survivor, I would:

• Display blatant Christian behavior at all costs
• Blend in with the crowd
• Lie, cheat, or steal to win the $1,000,000
• “Be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove.”

When I play Monopoly I (circle 2)

• Get in fights
• Give up before the game is over
• Forget about being kind and generous
• Feel sorry for the ones who are losing and help them out
• Hang in until the bitter end
• Cheat
• Get bored (I hate games)

Study

Please read Ephesians 4:17-32 and discuss the following:

• What do you think controls the behavior of the non-believers? (see vv. 17-19)
• What role does “truth” play in our understanding of Jesus? How do you think that truth is to come out in our words and actions? (vv. 25-28)
• What impact does the heart have on our actions?
• How does Jesus affect the way we deal with: Anger? Honest work? Our words? Our relationship with the Holy Spirit?
• How do you think we benefit ourselves when we get rid of sinful behavior and embrace godly living? How does it impact others?
• What do you think is the power of forgiveness?

Apply

Discuss one or two of the following with the group:

• What “blocks” exist in your life (what keeps you from being all you know to be)?
• In what ways are you inefficient? Ineffective?
• What is one quality you have that is not usually seen by others?
• With whom would you like to get along better?
• How can this group assist you in these things?

At one point during the early days of the American Restoration Movement, the whole effort almost came to an end. Momentum for the concept of the unity of believers virtually stopped. Had it not been for Walter Scott, the Movement would have died.

Scott, as other preachers of the day, held “protracted meetings” (or Gospel Meetings). He would go to schoolyards and tell the children about the “Five Steps of Salvation” using the fingers on his hand. Then he sent them home to tell their parents. As a result of this simple memory technique, many people changed from their previous denominational allegiances to unite as “Christians only.”

Scott’s five steps were:

• Faith
• Repentance
• Baptism
• Remission of Sins
• Holy Spirit & Eternal Life

Over Time, these steps have changed to:

• Hear (Rom. 10:14-17)
• Believe (Mark 16:16)
• Repent (Acts 2:38)
• Confess (Matt. 10:32-33)
• Be Baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; I Peter 3:21)
  And some like to add…
• Live faithfully until death

One way to look at the steps is to see them as our efforts to earn or gain salvation and appease an angry God. Another way is to see the steps as the process by which God saves us and creates a loving relationship with us through Jesus. One puts the emphasis on US, the other on God.

Remember - The “Steps” are not an end in themselves. They are the beginning of our relationship with God. He does not plan for us to go through the “steps” and just endure life until we get to heaven. He intends that we have abundant life now as well as forever.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

Open

Spectrum Lines

Pinpoint where you see yourself on these Spectrum Lines and explain one or two to the group.

Talker____________________________________________________Listener

Thinker___________________________________________________Doer

Leader____________________________________________________Follower

Rabbit____________________________________________________Turtle

Adenturer__________________________________________________Nester

Pitcher____________________________________________________Catcher

Study

Read James 2:14-26 and discuss your answers to the following:

• 1. How do you see the relationship of faith and works? When are works important and when are they unimportant?
• 2. What experiences have you had/seen with benevolent cases? How have you felt dealing with them? Why do you think benevolence is so difficult?
• 3. How do James’ three examples display faith?
•      a. Demons
•      b. Abraham
•      c. Rahab
• 4. What applications do you see to the body without the spirit and faith without works?

Apply

• 1. How would you rate your faith - Living or Dead? How do you know?
• 2. How can you strengthen your faith? How can this group help you?
• 3. On the line below write down the name of the person(s) you will encourage with a phone call this week:

I Will Call ____________________________________________________

  When I was in elementary school my teachers taught me some very basic grammar. I was taught to be polite when we talk about other people and ourselves. We are to put the other person ahead of us in the sentence. For example, “Jim and I went to the store.” Typically today we say, “Me and Jim went to the store.” Not only is that terrible grammar, it demonstrates the sentiment of the day  - “ME first; it is all about ME.”

The current generation has been called the “Me Generation.” Some have criticized this age group for acting like everything revolves around them. They have been perceived as being very self-serving.

As I read the Bible, that description fits EVERY generation. From ancient times until today it seems that we have been obsessed with ourselves. Our actions have shown that we are all about gratifying the “lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.”

How often we resist our place in our relationship to God. We seem to easily forget that we are the servants and he is the King (Matthew 25:31-46). We forget our place with others. Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 2?

³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

  Open

Please share from the following:

1. What I need more than anything else from this Group is someone:

•  To talk to
• To belong to
• To support me
• To affirm me
• To share my concerns
• To stir up my dreams
• Other ____________________

2. What scares me about being in a close Christian community is that they might:

• Find me out
• Not accept me after they find out about me
• Expect something out of me if they accept me
• Not be my kind of people
• Upset my lifestyle
• Let me down

Study

Read Ezekiel 33:30-32 and discuss the following:

1. Why do you think the prophets had such a hard time getting people to believe their messages?

2. Why did the people “go through the motions” of listening to Ezekiel? What kept them from following through with their commitments to God? How do you see this today?

3. Why do you think we lose a sense of urgency about our relationship with God?

4. Why is it important that we not only KNOW what God says/wants, but that we put it into practice?

5. How does the “greatest command” (Deuteronomy 6.4-5) and the “second greatest command” (Leviticus 19.18) sum up our need to HEAR and DO?

Apply

1. When do you think that we are serious about spreading the kingdom of God? How can we tell if we are NOT serious about it? When are times you personally have been serious about it? When have you not been serious?
2. How does Christian community help you to keep on track with God?
3. What do you think are the stumbling blocks to having the kind of community of believers that we see among the early disciples (Acts 2, etc.)?

•  We don’t know each other
• We don’t know each other’s needs
• We don’t take time for one another
• We have more pressing issues
• We don’t feel urgency
• What spiritual things do you know but aren’t doing? How can this Group help you?