Order, Words, & Voices
02.18.24, The Things We Cannot Do, Mark 10:17-34
Order
Pre Worship Music – Spotify – Open and Close
Songs Your Lovingkindness (Father of Love) Billy/Team
Hallelujah He Reigns
Reading and Prayer Petty
Songs Draw Me Close Billy/Team
Change My Heart O God
Passage Mark 10:17-34 Renee
Message The Things We Cannot Do Rick
Music Change My Heart O God Billy/Team
Community/Benediction Rick
Closing Peace Rick
Music The Goodness of God (Chorus) Billy/Team
Post Worship Music – Spotify – Open and Close
Music (slides) Billy/Team
Your Lovingkindness CCLI Song # 818174
Verse
Father of love
Lord of all creation
I will bless Your name
Forever and ever
I will declare
Your grace and Your mercy
And tell of Your unfailing love
Chorus
Your lovingkindness
Is good to all
Your wings of mercy
Lift me when I fall
Your lovingkindness
Meets my ev’ry need
You cleanse me from unrighteousness
And You give new life to me
Hallelujah He Reigns CCLI Song # 290455
Chorus
Hallelujah
He reigns in majesty
Hallelujah
He reigns in glory
Hallelujah
He reigns in righteousness
Oh hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah
He reigns in righteousness
Oh hallelujah
Participatory Response (Slides) Petty
Leader: We come into God’s presence, not because of what we bring, or do not bring, we come before God as a child, innocent and incapable.
Response: We come before God because of God not because of ourself.
Leader: We come before God with an attitude of helplessness and trusting dependence.
Response: We come before God with a joyful hope and a teachable spirit.
Leader: We come before God with an open heart and a receiving mind.
Response: We come before God with a hunger for truth and a thirst for understanding.
Leader: We come because of God’s love and to grow in God’s grace.
Response: We come to praise God who has given that which is unattainable.
Leader: May what we have or do not have cease to be the pride of our lives.
Response: May our gains and losses not be the hope on which we stand.
Leader: Today we enter into the presence of God.
Response: Today we stand on the life of Jesus our Rock.
Leader: Join us in the prayer of Jesus,
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses,
while we forgive those who trespass against us.
And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Music (slides) Billy/Team
Draw Me Close CCLI Song # 1459484
Verse
Draw me close to You
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I’m Your friend
You are my desire no one else will do
‘Cause nothing else could
take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find the way
Bring me back to You
Chorus
You’re all I want
You’re all I’ve ever needed
You’re all I want
Help me know You are near
Ending
Help me know You are here
Change My Heart O God #1565
Chorus
Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You
Verse
You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray
Passage (Slides) Renee
A man ran up and knelt before Jesus asking, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”
“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit murder or adultery and you shall not steal, bear false witness, or, defraud. Plus, you shall honor your father and mother.’”
The man said to Jesus, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
Jesus, looked at the man and lovingly said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then you will be ready to follow me.”
The man was shocked by Jesus’ reply and went away grieving, for he had much.
Jesus said to his disciples, “It is hard for those who have much to enter the kingdom of God!”
The disciples were surprised by his words, as Jesus continued “It is just plain difficult to enter the kingdom of God. And, for those who are rich it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than to enter the kingdom of God.”
The disciples were astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Mark 10:17-27
Message Rick
So, a man approaches Jesus and bows down before asking the question, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’
- Genuineness of man, not set up
- Common Question/Different perspectives
- But, before asking Q, he addresses Jesus as ‘Good Teacher’
- Power of word ‘Good’
- Probing perspective of man ‘Who do you say I am?’
[Slide] Jesus responds, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit murder or adultery and you shall not steal, bear false witness, or, defraud. Plus, you shall honor your father and mother.’”
- [Slide] Notice that Jesus uses the commandments 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and ten – the second table/tablet. First table/tablet, first four commandments are the relating to God.
- [Slide – leave slide up until noted to change] First four Commandments- no other gods, do not make false idols, do not take the name of the Lord in vain, & remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
- Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, used this rabbinacle concept of 2 tables/tablets to develop our concepts of separation of church and state. The first table/tablet were for the church to control and the second 6 were for government to keep control. Thus governing law could properly address moral issues such as adultery, stealing, and murder because these were in the second table of the law. Puritans later objected to this stating that the second of the 6 commandments were for God and God alone to judge.
- [Slide] 300 years after Jesus, theologian Augustine, in considering this 2 table concept in this passage along with others, wrote, “Love is only made perfect through the two commands – love God and Love your neighbor. Why is it that Jesus, and later the Apostle, mention only the love of neighbor.
- [Slide] Is it because people can lie about their love of God, since it is put to the test less often?
- [Slide] However, we are more easily found guilty of not loving our neighbor when we behave wickedly towards others, which tells us that we do not love God.
- [Slide] It follows that one who loves God with our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, also loves love our neighbor as ourself, because God, whom we love, loves our neighbor as well.” (Augustine, ancient theologian, abb)
[End Screen Share]
Eternal Life
- Afterlife – different versions of afterlife, compared to our vision of eternity and heaven.
- A sizable group of Jews in time of Jesus did not believe in the afterlife, in general they did not believe in any type of resurrection.
- Others believed that the afterlife was an eternity of knowing more and more of who God is.
- Others saw the idea of eternal life as a full life now and forever. Therefore, the man was not just seeking an version of the afterlife, but he wanted to live a full life now.
Jesus answers the “What do I do….” “Give up your ‘much’”
- The Man cannot, walks away dejected.
- [Slide] ‘When the rich man leaves, Jesus teaches that wealth has a way of distracting people from seeking the kingdom of God.
- In the interpretation of the parable of the sower, the desire for money and possessions were key elements that enticed people from the word, the truth, of God (4:19).
- Perhaps this is why Jesus had sent out his disciples on their mission with only a staff, to rely on divine providence through the gifts of those to whom they minister (6:6b-13).
- Still, in our text, the disciples are amazed at Jesus’ teaching because a pious rich man appears to have all the resources necessary for gaining eternal life.’ (Elizabeth Shively, Lecturer in New Testament Studies, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland, UK)
- [Slide] Jesus addresses the surprise of the disciples “It is just hard to enter the kingdom of God!” was not just at this man, it was not just directed at rich people –
- it was a statement for all peoples, for all people can get distracted by something. Jesus then adds that it is especially difficult for those who have much. (see Mark 10:24)
- For the man to live the life of eternity it was going to mean living in a full pursuit, not to please God, nor was it to receive deliverance. It was to know God, and the life God has given. Money/much/anything, could not be allowed to be a distraction.
[End Screen Share]
Closing – “Who is God, What is Jesus’ Purpose”…Jesus prepares the disciples for Jesus, the Messiah, act of letting go and loving God over all.
- Transformation
- They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the gentiles; they will mock him and spit upon him and flog him and kill him, and after three days he will rise again.” (Mark 10:32-34)
- The question for us, today, is what is your “Much” that distracts you?
Pray.
Music (Slides) Billy/Team
Change My Heart O God #1565
Chorus
Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You
Verse
You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray
Community (Slides) Rick
- Next Sunday, 02.25, Mark 10:35-52, ‘Being Great’
- ‘In-Between’ Bible Study, Tuesday, Feb 18 at Nielsen’s house, Psalm 19
- Lent
- Giving Statements Mailed
Closing Benediction (Slide per line) Rick
May we leave this place with the realization that all we have was a gift of God.
May we never cling to what we have so tightly that it holds us down.
May our much never withhold us from enough.
May our hands be open and able to hold on to our blessings lightly.
May our hearts be open to pass our blessings on to our world.
May our minds be open to learn and adopt.
May our steps be in accordance with God’s path.
May our future be navigated by an eternal mindset and a holy willingness.
May our strength be dependent on God’s power.
May our weakness be comforted by God’s sacrifice.
Closing Peace (Slides) Rick
[Slide] Leader: May the peace of the Lord go with you.
[Slide] Response: And also with you.
[Slide] Leader: Go in the peace of the Lord.
Music [Slides] Billy/Team
Goodness Of God (2 times)
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
Order, Words, & Voices 