Into The SpiderVerse

There’s only one Spider-Man… right?

Jesus is inviting us all into this story.

“What I like about the costume is that anybody reading Spider-Man in any part of the world can imagine that they themselves are under the costume. And that’s a good thing.” – Stan Lee

Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus

Pharisees (like Saul) had their way of thinking challenged by Jesus.

Jesus did this by building relationships with…

THESE WERE INTENTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Jesus was all about including EVERYONE

If you draw your circle too small, you eventually end up alone

1 Timothy 2:1-4

We’ve got to take care of our “neighborhood.”

“Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.” – Charles Spurgeon

1 CORINTHIANS 10:33

I never thought I’d be able to do any of this stuf—but I can! Anyone can wear the mask. YOU can wear the mask. If you didn’t know that before, I hope you do now. -MILES

JESUS BELIEVES IN US

ACTS 1: 8

We cannot do it on our own

“When I feel alone, like no one understands what I’m going through I remember my friends who get it.” – Miles

1 CORINTHIANS 11:1

God uses our relationships with each other to bring us closer to Him.
Jesus knew this. That’s why he said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

We may fail… but we can’t lose.

TAKE THE LEAP

Brother’s Keeper

GENESIS 4

This race isn’t against each other…
Hebrews 12:1

Genesis 4:9
AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER?

“You have never talked to a mere mortal.”
–CS Lewis (read full quote)

Cain left no legacy because he failed as his brother’s keeper.

To leave a legacy of our own, we must be each other’s keeper and there are some things we must keep doing!

We need to keep REACHING

There is someone who doesn’t know Jesus today that will before the end of 2019—if you reach out to them.

MATTHEW 28:19&20

We need to keep DISCIPLING

Discipling is just passing on what we’ve learned.

There are people who need the Small Group you are already ready to lead.

Learn more about leading a Small Group

We need to keep SERVING

Galatians 5:13

“One of the principal rules of religion is, to lose no occasion of serving God. And, since He is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve Him in our neighbor; which He receives as if done to Himself in person, standing visibly before us.” – John Wesley

There are opportunities all around you.

CHURCH 29:11 exists to reach the disconnected.

Are you an owner… or just a consumer?

YOU HAVE SOMETHING AWESOME TO DO FOR JESUS

Reaching—Serving—Discipling.
When you stop doing these things, coming to church becomes all about YOU. (and quickly stops making sense!)

LET’S OWN THIS.

Abel’s sacrifice was messier, and more difficult… but that’s sacrifice!

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” – Hebrews 13:15-16

If it’s easy, it’s not a sacrifice.

A Parable – Matthew 25

▷ This story is about an upcoming event

▷ This story is about the Kingdom of Heaven

▷ This story is about JESUS returning

Because Jesus is returning that gives us HOPE!
We know God is doing something—history is headed somewhere.
And if you are following Jesus, then you’re a part of that!

THEY MISCALCULATED THE TIME.

MATTHEW 24:45-51

By focusing on Jesus, we take the focus off of ourselves and leave the focus where He put it—on those who don’t know Him yet.

THEIR PRIORITIES WERE OUT OF WHACK

They were either misinformed about the magnitude of the upcoming event, or just didn’t regard it with enough importance.

LUKE 14:28-33

LUKE 10:30-35

He gave…
– His stuff
– His sweat and effort
– His care
– His time
– His money

We all have something to give — and you don’t get to take it with you.

“This earth is the little isle; eternity the ocean round it; on this shore we have been cast. There is seed; but the mines of gold attract us. We spend spring and summer there; winter overtakes us in our toil; we are without the Bread of Life, and we are lost. Let us then value all the more the home which holds the treasures that no one can take away.” —D.L. Moody (read the whole quote here)

Are your priorities out of whack?

Are you ready to play your part?

The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ – Matthew 25:8&9

There are some things you have to get for yourself.

The Goonies

So… What’s a Goonie?

RICH STUFF

Matthew 13:44

“So the point here… is that the people who receive the kingdom, treasure it more than everything else. You don’t buy it. You get it freely because you want it more than you want anything else… In other words, there is a condition for having the kingdom… but the condition is not wealth or power or intelligence or eminence. The condition is that you prize the kingdom more than you prize anything else.” – John Piper

The man understood the true value of the treasure he’d found. Do we?

ROMANS 10:11-14

“THE GOONIES” IS PLURAL

SEE YOUR LIFE AS A TEAM UP MOVIE

1 COR 12:12-19

WE NEED EACH OTHER

[ctt template=”3″ link=”1leiX” via=”no” ]Church is not about just GOING… it’s about BELONGING[/ctt]

OUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES EVEN OUT.
Only when we know them and own them does it begin to work.

THIS IS OUR TIME

Mikey’s doing three things…

1. HE’S CALLING THEM BACK TO THE ADVENTURE

2. IT’S NOW OR NEVER

3. IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED, IT’S ABOUT WHAT CAN HAPPEN NOW.

John 9:4

This is our time and we can spend it wondering…

How this happened
Why it happened
What should have happened
What could have happened

… OR we can spend it making something happen.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN…

• Be part of a Small Group
• Serve somewhere
• Go through Growth Track
• Invest in ministry
• Reach someone

Princess Bride

Jeremiah 31:3

1 John 3:16

Ephesians 3:17-18

Just because it’s “inconceivable” doesn’t mean it can’t be known!

AS YOU WISH

Romans 5:8

LUKE 15 — SHEEP / COIN / SON

WHEREVER YOU ARE, GOD’S LOVE IS REACHING OUT FOR YOU.

THE MAN IN BLACK

She’d heard the rumors… but hadn’t found the truth

IF YOU’VE HEARD RUMORS… I DARE YOU TO FIND THE TRUTH BEHIND THEM.

Hosea 2:5,8

2 Timothy 2:13

HELLO, MY NAME IS…

1 John 4:16-17

“Love isn’t something we fall into; it’s some one we become.” – Bob Goff

YOU CAN’T BE SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW.

When we know love…

We think of ourselves last
We believe the best
We forgive others more often
We’re less possessive
We worry less about the future
We begin to see others like Jesus does

John 15:20

What does Love do?

LOVE STORMS THE CASTLE

“Death cannot stop love. All it can do is delay it for a while.” – Westley

1 Corinthians 13:8

Acts 3:23&24

1 John 3:14

Instead of issues you’ll see people.
Instead of arguments to win, you’ll see people to love.
Instead of problems that need fixing, you’ll see people that need Jesus

“the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving.” – Fred Rogers

1. YOU ARE LOVED

You were worth the most daring rescue mission ever put to action.

2. THERE’S A WORLD FULL OF PEOPLE THAT NEED THIS LOVE

-What did it cost Jesus for you?
-What will it cost you to reach them?

HAVE FUN STORMING THE CASTLE!

When We Run

Jonah 1:1
The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai…

His Word has come to us…
– Love God, love people – Matt 22:36
– Let your light shine before men – Matt 5:14,16
– Get rid of what causes you to sin – Matt 5:29
– Put God first – Matt 6:33
– Care for the needy – Matt 23:34
– Go make disciples of all – Matt 28:19

Jesus seems less concerned with our titles, our family history, our salaries, our past experience, our intentions and our qualifications,
and more concerned with the action we need to be taking right now.

Jonah 1:1-3
THE ACTION YOU TAKE (or don’t take) MATTERS…

Jonah 1:3-5

This storm isn’t punishment… it’s a wake up call.

God uses the storms in our lives to wake us up; to force us to check ourselves…
—our motives
—our direction
—our destination.

SO WHAT DO WE DO?
What did Jonah do?

Wake up
Be honest & humble
Don’t fear the outcome
Get busy

Jonah 1:1-3

It doesn’t tell us what was going through Jonah’s mind…

You get to put yourself in Jonah’s shoes.
Why would he run? Why do people run? Why do you?

Jonah 4:2

WHATEVER THE REASON MAY BE, WHEN WE RUN INSTEAD OF TAKING ACTION, WE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES AFFECTED.

Easter commitment:

Commit to reach 1
Commit to volunteer

If you’ll accept that challenge, CLICK HERE to take the next step.

Blockbuster — Spider-Man

Unlike other heroes, Peter Parker is not perfect, rich, well-polished or all-powerful.

“I decided to depict him as a real life teenager who by some miracle had acquired a super power. He’d have to be insecure, inept and often out of step with those around him. He’d be my kind of teenager—a loser—just like I was when I was young. After all, who ever said that extra strength, or talent, or ability has to make a guy a winner? If you suddenly gained the muscle power of a hundred men, OK—so you’d be able to outwrestle King Kong; but that doesn’t mean you still wouldn’t have to worry about dandruff, or acne. Wouldn’t you still have trouble balancing your checkbook?” – Stan Lee

This is what I think we find so inviting about Jesus. Throughout history, society has glorified the successful, the ones who had it all together and all figure out. But Jesus chooses nobodies and no ones.
1 Cor 1:26-31

“To whom much is given, much is required.” – Jesus

“With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.” – Stan Lee

What’s the great gift that we’ve received? GRACE

John 1 :14-17
Without GRACE the good news isn’t good at all.

What’s our responsibility in response? TO SHARE IT

Grace is a life-altering force.

“If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it.”

If Grace is great enough to save us… it should change us to.

Jesus taught “blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” and He also said that “if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.“

BUT GRACE IS HARD…

“Ungrace” sounds nice until it’s you that needs forgiveness

“The only thing harder than forgiveness is the alternative” – Philip Yancey

Romans 12:14-21
– Don’t hit back.
– Don’t insist on getting even.
– Bless your enemies.

What are the limits to Grace?
Who is unforgivable?

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am” – John Newton

1 Timothy 1:12-16

Joseph reunites with his brothers – Genesis 45

Lewis Smedes Quote “When we genuinely forgive we set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner was us.”

Our world is sorely lacking grace and because of that, it’s one of the greatest things the Church has to offer.

I Want To Believe But… Where Do I Start?

The Church Blog
– Asking the right Questions
– When Believing Isn’t Easy

JOHN THE BAPTIST
John 1:29, Matthew 3:16-17
Matthew 11:2-3

Let’s be real… everyone has their doubts.

“Start with Jesus.”

Because if He’s not legit… none of the rest matters.

What I found…

Love people — Even your enemies! Matthew 5:38-44
Forgive… and forgive and forgive Matthew 18:21-22
Put other people first… above what you want Mathew 20:26-27
Give everything you can to those in need Matthew 5:4, 25:44-45
Don’t think too highly of yourself Matthew 23:12

The way Jesus lived is the best way to live…
and it’s the way I want to live.

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic…or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” – C.S. Lewis

When you focus on Jesus, the questions seem to not be so big anymore.

Faith isn’t the opposite of doubt. Faith overcomes doubt.

1. “Why is God Hiding from us…” Why doesn’t he just show himself?
Didn’t he already do that?

2. Is the Bible reliable? Hasn’t it been changed?
An interesting talk from Tim Mackie on how the Bible was put together
(The video will start at the important part, but watch the whole thing if it interests you)

3. Doesn’t Evolution/Science disprove the Bible?
An interesting interview to listen to later

4. Isn’t Religion to blame for a lot of the bad in the world?
1. Religion is a tool and it (like other tools) can be used for good or evil.
2. Christianity has done A LOT of good
3. Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion
– Religion is about us trying to reach God.
– Jesus came to bring God to us.