All posts tagged Jesus

Matthew 16:13-24

by Ryan Marcum on May 23, 2010 in Blog, Ministry Helps, Sermon Outline with No comments

Hey everyone! This is a short outline for a recent message I taught to a local Youth Ministry’s DNOW.

What is the most important question in the world? For me, when in school, it was something like: What am I going to wear today? What am I going to do after school? Who’s going to the game tonight? When I got older it was, what am I going to do after HS? (Play soccer for UofL or join the Army) I joined the Army. Then what college will I go to? Who will I marry?

These are all important questions in life, but none of them compare to the question we will look at this morning. Everyone will answer this question, either on earth or find out the answer in death.

We are going to pick up the story at the peak of Jesus’ ministry. For 2 ½ years Jesus had been moving toward this moment. He was going to give the ultimate lesson of who He was to His disciples. Let’s read.

Read, Matthew 16:13-24

vv 13-20
I. When Following Jesus, we must know whom we’re following.

  1. Jesus is the Messiah! The Savior of the World.
  2. The Confession: The Christ, or Messiah. Through Jesus is salvation alone
  3. The Result: blessed. Those who confess Jesus as Lord are divinely & eternally blessed.
  4. The Source: God. It’s not about knowledge alone God reveals Himself to those who seek Him.

vv 21-23
II. When Following Jesus, we must submit to the plan of the Father.
Jesus was plan “A”! He had to go to Jerusalem, in order to save that which was lost.
He was going to the cross to redeem sinners. There was no other option. Peter didn’t understand what Jesus, the Messiah, was talking about!! The minds of men are not the mind of God. God has a plan and purpose.


Vv 24
III. When Following Jesus, we must understand the road that is chosen.
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Mark 8:34
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27

Come after Me: Salvation

Deny himself: disown, completely leave the sinful desires to chase after Christ. It’s not about me anymore it’s about Jesus and His will for my life. (John 3:30 – He must become greater, I must become less.)

Take up his cross: The cross is an instrument of death! Those who wish to follow Christ die to self and live for Christ. Check out: Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 1:21

Follow me: obedience,  1 John 2:6; Matt. 7:21

Pop Quiz

by Ryan Marcum on April 15, 2010 in Blog, Ministry Helps, Sermon Outline with No comments

POP QUIZ!

Ever taken a test?  Kind of like a pop quiz?  But this test only had one question, and everything leading up to this (all the studying, preparation, even the future) would rise or fall according to how well you performed on this quiz?  Think about a quiz so important that it could literally change your life.  Everything rides on this quiz, and only you can take it. This isn’t a quiz to take haphazardly or think of it as just a bad day and there will extra credit at the end of the semester.  It is a question that no one can escape or avoid (ignored).

- READ THE PASSAGE

MATTHEW 16:13-17

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ (Messiah) the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven.

For two and a half years Jesus had been moving toward this moment, teaching and re-teaching, affirming and re-affirming, demonstrating and re-demonstrating, building and re-building the truth of who He was in order to completely and securely build the foundation in the hearts and minds of the disciples.

During the previous months preceding this moment the crowds were getting larger and they wanted to make Him their King a political deliverer from Herod and the bondage of Rome!  And in the crowds the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the teachers of the law wanted to get rid of Him.

In Luke 9:18; Jesus spent time in prayer with the Father before He posed this one question. He saw the magnitude of this all important question and one day all people of every nation of every religion must give an answer.

——————————————————————————————

(transition)

Jesus gives an introduction to the test,

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

It was not that Jesus was unaware of what people were saying about Him but He wanted the disciples to think carefully about the popular answers.

vv. 13b-14
I. The wrong answer!

The disciples gave the answers:

1. John the Baptist Matt. 14:1-2
2. Elijah Malachi. 4:5
3. Jeremiah or a Prophet of old.

In these three instances He was considered to be only the forerunner to the coming Messiah. How about some contemporary thoughts:

- Jesus was the founder of Christianity
- A political revolutionary
- A philosopher (who taught about love and nonviolence)
- Wise teacher
- Jesus is a brand of blue jeans (Jesus jeans and Judas jeans Italy)
- He was insane or crazy
- A great prophet though not the Son of God

Since Jesus’ day people often speak highly of Him without accepting Him as being Savior and Lord.

- Pilate said, “I find no guilt in this man.”
- Napoleon said “I know men, and Jesus was no mere man.”
- Some in our own day say He was a Superstar. - Jesus is my homeboy…

But all these titles and descriptions fall short of identifying Jesus as He fully is…   The Messiah, God in human flesh, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Forever and ever. Amen.

*If we get this question wrong it will lead to an eternity separated from God.

——————————————————————————————

(transition) The pop quiz…

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ (Messiah) the Son of the living God.”

Now the disciples had to answer for themselves.

vv. 15-16
II. The right answer!

Have you ever aced a test?  How did it feel? Peter aced the test. But like Peter we at times miss the mark.  Some days Peter was unstoppable, and others he denied he even knew who Jesus was.  Even after Peter answered the question the disciples would still experience times of weakness and confusion about what Jesus said and did but they would no longer doubt who it was who said and did them. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Colossians 1:15-20, Philippians 2:6-11, John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10

vv. 17
III. No Cramming!

(Transition) As a result of Peter’s answer Jesus calls him “blessed”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven.

If you’re anything like me, the night before the test sometimes even hours before the test you CRAM! I mean an all out attack on facts and figures jamming things inside your head as if there were no tomorrow! In this verse Jesus reveals that for this test you can’t cram…

1 Corinthians 2:6-14

APPLICATION:

Who do you say Jesus is?  Is He your Lord and Savior?  Or, is He just another man…