1/7 Sermon Titled "He Said What?"

A week before beginning his series on the New Testament book of Philippians, The Family Church's senior pastor Philip Griffin delivered a sermon, titled "He Said What?", about an often troubling passage from the Gospel of Luke...specifically Luke 14:25-33, which you can read via Bible Gateway by clicking on the provided link.  Jesus is addressing large crowds and saying some pretty controversial-sounding things to them, such as that they have to hate all of their families...and even their own lives...in order to be his disciples. 

Pastor Philip listed four features of being a disciple of Jesus: choosing Christ over the crowd, rejecting the idolatry of family, counting the cost, and putting Christ before possessions.  In addressing the crowd, Jesus always spoke differently to them...often in hard to understand terms...and he would later explain the meaning of his words to his disciples.  In rejecting the idolatry of family, Jesus, as our pastor pointed out, is speaking to people for whom family is everything...well, idolatry by definition is the act of putting anything ahead of God. Jesus wants those seeking to be his disciples to realize the costs to their lives that this will entail.  As for possession, giving all to Jesus is cutting a covenant with him who supplies in turn everything we truly need in great abundance. 

Philip gave five characteristics of the crowds in Jesus' time that distinguished them from his disciples: (1) they were admirers of Jesus but not converts, (2) they needed their faith to be swayed by signs and wonders, (3) they were bent on using Jesus as a tool for what they wanted, (4) they sought in Jesus a political solution for a spiritual problem, and (5) they wanted a savior, but only on their terms.

Just who decides who is in the crowd and who is a disciple?  A lot of folks out there think that they somehow have the authority to pronounce this judgment, but in truth Jesus is the one who sees into each of our hearts. As a believer, the Holy Spirit works within me to affect my own behavior and grow me in Christ, not for me to spend my time and efforts measuring others' faith.  It's a mistake to automatically assume that if one doesn't dot all the "i's" and cross all the "t's" according to a prescribed formula, then he or she is not following Christ.  This would lead to the same trap of convention and ritual instead of faith that Jesus strongly spoke against when he walked the Earth...

You can watch Pastor Philip's message on the church's YouTube video website through the following link: [link]. The Family Church holds its Sunday morning services at 9 and 10:30 with the sermon, inspiring music, fellowship, prayer, opportunities for further learning and discipleship, and friendly people.  Definitely a nice place to spend your Sunday morning...