Luke 2:20 (10/16/24)

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Luke 2:20 (10/16/24)

Going Back

October 16, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Luke 2:20

- God is looking for faithfulness.

- He doesn’t care about fame or fortune.

- He cares about us being faithful right where He’s placed us.

- Case in point - God wanted to announce the birth of Jesus.

- Who did He show up to?

- A group of blue-collar workers who were faithfully tending sheep.

- Faithfulness in your work puts you in the way of God’s divine visits.

- So they went and checked out the place where Jesus was born.

- Notice what they did next.

- vs 20 - “The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.”

- After they experienced the greatest announcement in the history of mankind and after they visited Jesus they went right back to shepherding.

- They went back to the drab drudgery of scooping poop and walking slowly, the mundane routine of everyday life.

- After David was anointed king, he did the very same thing - he went back to work tending sheep.

- The mountaintop experiences are momentary.

- But growth takes place in the valley.

- My dad always said that the Christian life is filled with hours and hours of routine punctuated by moments of stark terror.

- We can't live for moments of pure bliss—we need to go back to our fields and tend our sheep, whatever that may mean for you.

- These shepherds didn’t start a prophetic ministry because they were the ones who received the divine download.

- They went right back to blue-collar work.

- And we’re still talking about these dudes today.

Mark 15:21 (10/16/24)

October 16, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Mark 15:21

- As believers, our job is to pick up our cross daily and carry it. - A cross is a place of death. - The Christian life is not easy - it involves suffering. - But strength comes through strain. - Sometimes, our duty is so unbearable that God brings people into our lives to lighten the load. - This is the beauty of the church - a community of people doing life together to help shoulder the load when others cannot carry it alone. - Jesus, as He carried His cross, met someone along the way who was pressed into helping Him. - But notice what Mark says about this man who was pressed into service. - vs 21 - “They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.” - The gospel of Mark was written decades after Christ left the earth. - Mark mentioning Simon’s sons means they were known to the apostles in the church when his gospel was written. - Because of Simon’s faithful service to carry the cross, his sons’ lives were changed forever! - They became well-known Christ followers themselves. - Alex and Rufus certainly never forgot the day their dad carried His cross. - I can imagine years later, when the gospel spread that these two boys had a story nobody else had. - “Our dad carried Christ’s cross - we watched it with our own eyes!” - Soon after, they placed their faith in the man whose cross their dad carried. - As parents, we have a cross to bear. - If we pick it up and carry it, faithfully with a heart to honor God, our kids will see it - and they’ll never forget it. - We don’t know how long after this episode Alex and Rufus placed their faith in Jesus, but it happened. - And I like to think it had much to do with their dad carrying that heavy load for them to see.

Mark 10 (10/9/24)

October 9, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Mark 10

* Wiersbe - "As a master Teacher, our Lord used many different approaches in sharing God’s Word: symbols, miracles, types, parables, proverbs, and paradoxes.” * A paradox is a statement that seems to contradict itself and yet expresses a valid truth or principle. * EX: “When I am weak, then am I strong”. * God’s ways are always different than man’s ways. * His ways don’t always make sense. * In Mark 10, Jesus gives us 5 paradoxes that teach 5 lessons. * Two Shall Be One (Mark 10:1–12) * vs 8 - “and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.” * In marriage, two people become one person. * Physical marriage is a sign of spiritual marriage. * But it’s also about the church - we unite with others. * EX: baking ingredients - yield to the baker! * Adults Shall Be as Children (Mark 10:13–16) * vs 15 - “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” * God’s kingdom requires surrender, trust, and humility. * All of these are childlike qualities. * The First Shall Be Last (Mark 10:17–31) * vs 31 - “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.” * Faithfulness is rewarded in heaven over fame and fortune. * They may be last on the earth, but they’ll be first in heaven. * EX: getting on the train at an airport. * Servants Shall Be Rulers (Mark 10:32–45) * vs 43b - “…but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;” * Those who serve Christ now will be rulers with Him in His Millenial Kingdom. * The Poor Become Rich (Mark 10:46–52) * You can experience poverty on the earth but have great riches in Heaven. * You can live in a singlewide trailer on Earth but have a mansion in Heaven.

Mark 14:50 (10/9/24)

October 9, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Mark 14:48–50

* Growing as a believer involves suffering. * Strength always comes through strain - it’s a principle of life. * More is accomplished in the pain cave than the comfort zone! * You can’t drink grapes - they have to be crushed. * God is making us “poured out wine” to nourish others. * Jesus shows us how to deal with the struggles. * He give us two keys that will help us through difficult times. * The night He was betrayed, a small army came out to get Him. * Look how He responds: * vs 48-50 - “And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled. Then they all deserted Him and fled.” * KEY #1 - PIVOT. * He voiced His complaint - “What are you doing w/all these weapons? This is dumb.” * But then He pivoted to God’s plan - “But it’s God’s will, so be it.” * David in the Psalms did the same thing - he always voiced his complaint then pivoted to God. * This is a powerful mindset shift to help us sit in the pain cave - pivot to God’s plan over our plan. * KEY #2 - PERSPECTIVE. * vs 50 - “Then they all deserted Him and fled.” * All of Christ’s friends deserted Him. * One way we face difficulty is by knowing who we could be. * I used to write this verse on my baseball gloves when I played ball. * I wanted it to be a reminder that I'm no worse in possibility than all of these guys were in reality. * I could be a deserter just as much as they were. * But I have to rely on God's almighty power to keep me from deserting. * This changed my perspective on the importance of baseball in my life. * When you think like this, going through struggles isn’t as big of a deal because you know you deserve far worse!