Think Orange: Create Synergy

Now as we have announced the title of our present message series, some of you have maybe wondered, “What are we going to be talking about with a title of “Think Orange?”

Well first let me say what we are not going to be talking about …

We aren’t talking about Sun Tan in a Can or any particular representative in congress. We aren’t going to be talking about the Orange Barrels of Construction Sites … Tennessee Volunteers … and definitely not the Cincinnati Bengals!

Instead, we are going to be Imagining Together the Impact when Church and Family Collide! You see Orange is the color that is created when we combine the influences of two primary colors: Yellow and Red.

To illustrate Yellow, I have on stage this morning, a yellow flashlight, because …
Yellow - represents the church which exists to shine the light of God’s love and God’s Son!

The Bible describes in the extremely encouraging and symbolic book of Revelation, the church as a light in a dark world. As John the writer of the book describes the Revelation that he received from Jesus he wrote …

12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands …20 … and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Revelation 1:12, 20 NLT

You see the church and the people who belong to it are called to be a light in this world. And yet this light is a reflective light of the True Light of the World, Jesus. In another book that the Apostle John wrote in the Bible, he quoted Jesus as saying that he was the Light of the World. John also recorded that Jesus taught,

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32 NIV

Now I think this is an important reminder for us as a church that our responsibility as a church is to make sure we shine the light on Jesus Christ. He is the one that is going to draw people to Himself! You see a temptation for churches is to shine the light on themselves, their building, their programs, their ministries. And yet everything the church does should result in one thing and that is to point people to the “True Light” Jesus Christ!

Does the church have a responsibility to influence young people and future generations to follow Jesus? Absolutely and yet we are going to learn today that the church by itself will have limited impact on the younger generation without combining efforts with our other entity represented by the color red.

To illustrate Red, I also have on stage a warm, bright red pillow, which reminds us of the warmth and love of the home. And by the way, I am not sure why wives and mothers have so many pillows in the home, but I have accepted that is part of the female influence of the home. 

Red – represents the family which exists to demonstrate love and unconditional relationships!

God has created family to be a nurturing influence in the lives of human beings. In fact, the entire Old Testament (portion of the Bible) is a description of God leading an extended family of people who all descended from Abraham and specifically his grandson, Jacob (or Israel) and this extended family is typically described as the children of Israel. In the 5th book of the OT, Moses who was the greatest leader in Israel’s history is trying to prepare them for his upcoming death. Moses assembled the people of Israel and reminded them that they had a responsibility to pass on to future generations their faith in God and their understanding of His teachings for their lives. Moses reminded them of the LORD’s promise:

10 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. Deuteronomy 5:10 NLT

So as we combine Yellow, which represents the enlightening influence of the church and Red which represents the warmth and acceptance of God’s unconditional love in the family, we discover Orange, which is represented on stage with my new orange shirt or this book:

Orange – represents the synergy of church and family working together to influence children and teens!

The inspiration for this message series came from a wonderful book written by Reggie Joiner entitled, Think Orange. This is a book that our ministry staff has been reading together as we seek to rethink how we can be more effective in influencing this next generation to become whole hearted followers of Jesus! I would like to read to you a powerful excerpt from this book (read page 93-94).

You see as a church by the time you count in vacations, sick days, and other miscellaneous reasons for missing church meetings, we will have possibly only 40-50 hours in a given year to influence a young person’s life and faith. (Each of the dots on the page represents an hour in the life of that child.) And yet, the average parent has 3,000 hours per year to influence a young person’s life and faith.

So as we begin to “Think Orange,” the church can help influence the parents to have an even greater influence in the life of a young person. And I think this is why Moses as he gathered the people of Israel together at the end of his life to remind them of God’s commands and promises, he left them with this famous charge. By the way this is described by the Jewish people as the “Shema” which is the Hebrew word for “Hear.” And even to this day, the orthodox Jews will recite this synopsis of the Law of Moses every morning and night. Let’s read it this morning and then will make a few important observations as we begin this rethinking process:

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV

The Shema begins with the reminder to individuals and families alike to …
• Start with God

The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV

Now there is a lot to unpack here in this first sentence. It serves as a reminder to them and to us that there is only one God and his name is “LORD.” And we come to know the LORD through His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ! This One God, the LORD will be the unifying influence in our church and our families! And not only is He One, but He should also be the number One focus of our church, our families, and our lives!!

My fear is that often God is viewed as the means to the end, instead of the end. You see if we are not careful, we can erect in our minds and hearts the false god of the perfect, happy, American family, and then we possibly even turn to the LORD to try to accomplish that end. And yet, let’s ask ourselves, do we just want a little bit of God to help our family life be better. If so, then this is starting with the wrong focus. I like what Joiner said, when he wrote, “If we don’t start with God, we may end up in the wrong place.”

So let’s resolve that instead of having as our goal to have a perfect family that doesn’t exist, let’s set as our focus to Honor the LORD with our lives, our families, and our Church. Let’s start and end with the LORD. Let’s resolve to make great effort (as the means) to accomplish the end which is to Honor the LORD!

• Fight for the Heart
Secondly, let’s fight for the heart of our children or teens and the children/teens that we can influence. Moses in our Bible passage this morning wanted to fight for the Hearts of the people of Israel. He wanted to make sure that they didn’t forget the LORD, so he reminded the people, what Jesus would later describe as the greatest commandment to …

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV

The remainder of Deuteronomy 6 in many ways is a commentary on the six verses that we are examining this morning. In the rest of this chapter and in many ways the rest of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses warns against simply passing down traditions, rules, or doctrines for our children (or the next generation) to adhere, without the context of a loving relationship with God. Moses instead challenges parents to fight for the hearts of their children.

Are you simply trying to teach your children what is right and wrong, and the importance of being a moral person? Or are you instilling in your children a love for the LORD, for His Word, and for His People, the church?

Sometimes as parents, we can fall into the trap of focusing on helping our kids develop morals, character, behaviors, and even at times success in academics, the arts, or athletics, and yet we can overlook the most important focus is to “fight for their hearts” to love the LORD!

And of course the best way to do this is to model for them what it means to “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This is why it is crucial that we …

• Make It Personal
Moses began with the reminder that before one generation passes on faith to another generation, that they must first make their faith personal. He wrote,

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Deuteronomy 6:6 NIV

I like what Reggie Joiner wrote on this point when he wrote, “Moses is implying that before I can ask who my children are becoming, I have to examine who I am becoming. As church leaders, it would fundamentally change the way we look at our ministries if we really believed “the greatest thing that could happen in the heart of a child would be what happened in the heart of a parent.”

You see if we want our children to put the LORD first in their lives, then we have to make sure that we are putting the LORD first in our lives. If we want our children to be in an ever growing relationship with the LORD, then we have to make sure that we are continuing to grow in our relationship with the LORD! (Note: Possibly read page 63 excerpt or paraphrase it.)

And yet Moses doesn’t simply say to be an example to the next generation, he tells them that they are to intentionally and deliberately …
• Create a Rhythm

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:7 NIV

The phrase “impress them on your children” is translated in the NLT,
“Repeat them again and again to your children.” Deuteronomy 6:7 NLT

As parents, it isn’t simply telling your children once the importance of Loving the LORD and Seeking the LORD, it is the continual repetition of what is right and more importantly … who they can trust!

Do you ever feel like your children aren’t listening to you? That is why Moses says, repeat it again and again! This is another reason why parents can’t simply rely on the 50 hours or so a year that our children are in children’s worship, junior high or high school class, or Remix on Sundays, but we must take responsibility to impress upon our children the importance of seeking the LORD with all their hearts! And yet we impress upon our children, not simply with our words, but even more effectively with our actions and example in our daily interaction.

Our text gives us four daily opportunities to impress upon our children the way of the LORD!

Talk about them when …
“When you sit at home.” When do we sit at home? Typically… at meal times. Meal times are a great opportunity to have more formal discussions with our children not only about the activities of our day, the current events of the day, but also what is the most important things to remember! Reggie Joiner cited a study in his book that reports that “the more meals families eat together, the better chance their children have of never taking drugs or going to prison.”

Are you making every effort to protect and make the most of your meal times with your family? For some of us we need to turn the television off and reinstate the importance of family meal time. Also, something that my wife and I weren’t as consistent as I wish that we had been when our children were younger was having weekly brief family devotionals.

In our attempt to begin to “Think Orange,” we have started including a family devotional in our bulletin and also in our weekly e-mail newsletter. I would love to receive input from you on whether these are practical. And I would also encourage you to make it part of your weekly routine to have at least one evening meal a week a time for a family devotional.

“When you walk along the road.” When do we walk along the road? Well I am not sure how much we walk today, but I know from experience that as our children get older, we spend quite a bit of time driving them to activities, practices, games, and events. These times in the car are a great time to have informal discussions. I found this was a great time to listen to your child and what was on their heart to really deepen your relationship with your child.

“When you lie down.” Bed time, is a great time to develop the routine of Bible Stories and prayers in the life of our children. This is also a great time not only to build faith, but also to build intimacy within the family as often it is at bedtime that children will open up with great questions and also sometimes sharing their worries and fears. Of course sometimes those questions can simply be stall tactics to delay the need to go to sleep, but it can be a great time to develop that personal connection between parent and child.

“When you get up.” The morning routine of waking up, eating breakfast, and preparing for the day ahead can be very influential on the outlook of the child as he/she begins her day. It is through the encouraging words and positive atmosphere that we seek to establish for our children, that we can set them up for success in the day and life ahead. When our children were younger, we had the practice of praying with them prior to them going out to the bus stop. Joiner writes, “Parents should ask themselves the question. What can I say or do to give them fuel for dealing with whatever they have to face today?” … I like that! Many teachers will tell you that they can get a sense the atmosphere of the home by the attitude of the student as he or she arrives at school.

Now I wish that I could stand up, here to tell you that as a parent, I have lived out this passage consistently and perfectly with my three children and yet the truth is I haven’t. The truth is that I am humbled by the task at hand in this series to stand up here and talk about parenting. Although I love deeply my three children and am very proud of each and every one of them, in retrospect I recognize ways that I fell down as a parent. At times, I focused too much on the wrong things (whether it was emphasizing too much athletic development or academic pursuits or at times being a bad example with either having a bad attitude or using harsh words in my interaction with them.) And yet none of us are perfect in our parenting and that is why we need the help of others who share a common faith and common values. This is why we need to …
• Widen the Circle
In closing, we need to remember the context of this text we looked at this morning, it was in the context of the reminder to an entire nation. And it began with the phrase …
Hear, O Israel Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV

You see not only are parents responsible to impress upon their children, but the entire nation was reminded of their responsibility to pass on to the next generation! Actually some of you who don’t have children or no longer have children at home, might be tempted to think well these messages don’t apply to me. But the truth is as we begin to Think Orange, we will learn that every person of faith has an opportunity to impress upon children through word or deed the importance of Loving the LORD.

If you are a grandparent, you have a very important role in the life of your grandchildren to impress upon them the way of the LORD. If you are single or a married couple without children, you can help be an inspiration to those who are younger, by investing time as a mentor. You see as we widen the circle, we can have a great impact on the next generation!

Closing: Belgian Plow Horses can pull 8,000 lbs. But trained to work together in an integrated strategy can pull up to 32,000 lbs. Now that is synergy! Let’s learn to work together. Let’s Pray!

Via Dolorosa: The Way of Suffering

As we draw to a conclusion our six week series Retracing the Steps of Jesus, I want to begin this morning, by thanking you for the opportunity to share with all of you some of my memorable reflections from my 15 day pilgrimage to Israel and bearing with me as I have shared some of my 3,000+ pictures that I took while in Israel.

This morning, we want to begin by describing more fully the picture that has been on the front of the bulletin the past six weeks (and seen above).

These steps are outside of the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu.



We believe that this was the location of the home of the Jewish High Priest, Caiaphas. So it is believed that Jesus actually walked these steps on his way from Gethsemane to stand trial before Caiaphas.



Following Jesus arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, which we talked about last week, Jesus was taken to Caiaphas home, where he was questioned by the Jewish Religious leaders. It was here that Jesus was rejected by his own people and even deserted and denied by his closest friends. This is a reminder to us that if we seek to follow Jesus, it will mean at times that we too will face rejection by those who don’t understand our commitment to follow this Jesus of Nazareth.

The Way of Rejection
Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and the elders had gathered. Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end. Matthew 26:57-58 NLT

This is a reminder to us to not simply be content to follow Jesus at a distance and play it safe, but to take seriously what it means to be a follower of Jesus every day even when it is challenging. In Peter’s attempt to only follow Jesus at a distance, he ended up denying the one that he had earlier professed his loyalty. Let’s keep reading …

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”
But Peter denied it in front of everyone. …
Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly. Matthew 26:69-70, 74-75 NLT



As I shared earlier these steps are outside the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, which like so many of the church buildings we visited in Israel was a beautiful structure with fantastic art work.



And yet one of the consistent objects of art in this location was the rooster.



In fact, the Latin word "Gallicantu", meaning cock-crow and while we were visiting this church building, our guide told us to listen closely and we could still hear a rooster, and sure enough while we were visiting this location and contemplating the arrest and trial of Jesus, I did hear a rooster crow!



Don’t you imagine that for the rest of Peter’s life, every time he heard a rooster crow, he was reminded of the time that he had denied Christ?

And yet the good news is that Jesus did not give up on Peter, and the incredible news is that he won’t give up on us, even when we have fallen down in life and are about ready to give up on him. In fact Jesus later confirmed to Peter his love for him and his confidence in him in spite of Peter’s denial. And as a result, Peter lived the rest of his life following Jesus and eventually died on a cross himself. So Peter eventually was willing to follow Jesus’ example on …

The Way of Suffering
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 NIV



One of the highpoints for me of our pilgrimage was (seven weeks ago) on Sunday, June 5th, when we spent more than two hours walking on the street in Jerusalem called Via Dolorosa - which means “the way of sorrow” or “the way of suffering.” During those two hours of quiet reflection we observed what is called the “Stations of the Cross.”



Now some of you have possibly observed the “Stations of the Cross” from past church experiences, but in my background, I had never participated in observing the “Stations of the Cross,” so this was something very new to me.



Personally, I found it a powerful experience, so much so that as we dream about the future as we make plans to move into our Worship and Community Center later this year, I would like to look for ways to offer this experience to not only this church but the community next spring in the week leading up to Easter. So I won’t share all the details of that extremely meaningful experience this morning, but I wanted to say briefly it was truly powerful to know that we were walking on the same narrow streets that Jesus had walked even if they were possibly streets that had been built on top of the actual streets that Jesus had walked on his way to the cross!



We observed the 14 Stations of the Cross in their original context, and this morning let’s just take a glimpse of one of them … Station 5.



It was here that we were reminded of what is recorded in the Bible in the Gospel of Matthew …

Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). Matthew 27:32-33 NLT



It was at this station, that we prayed the following prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, our Teacher on the Way, sometimes we need help. We need companions on the way to help us shoulder our burdens when they get too heavy. And yet, we are embarrassed to ask for help or unable to receive it when is given.”

It was during this prayer I thanked God for the Southwest Church family and the many individuals that I receive regular support and help from in my life and in my walk with Christ. Are you willing to admit your need for help and support from other followers of Christ?

This week, I met with a close friend and confided in him and shared with him some of my personal struggles and weaknesses as I seek to follow Jesus. We all have weaknesses and we all need others in our lives to help us in our journey, because sometimes it is tough to follow Jesus … and sometimes it includes suffering. And sometimes no matter how strong we might try to convince ourselves that we are, we still need the help of companions along the way!

This weekend, we have four men from this church (Joe Garland, Jordan Barnhart, John Moreland, and Scott LeBlanc) competing in an Iron Man Competition at Lake Placid, NY. If you don’t know what an Iron Man Competition is, then let me briefly describe. It begins with a 2+ mile swim in water, followed by a 110+ mile bike ride, and then concluding with a 26.2 mile marathon run. Personally, I don’t know why someone would even attempt to do such a thing, but I am going to be remembering these guys while I stay in my AC house today and make a few laps to the refrigerator. And yet as I have talked with all four of these guys about this exercise in insanity, they have shared with me some of the challenges and injuries they have suffered during their intense training and the support they have received from one another as they have trained in this way.

The Christian Life is more like a marathon, than it is like a sprint and we need companions along the way to help us as we face challenges, setbacks, and discouragements along the way. Do you have any traveling companions? If not, then let me or someone you know and trust that worship here and we would be glad to point you to someone who can help you train and grow as a Christ follower!

Simon was forced to carry Jesus cross on the way to Calvary or Golgotha. While we were in Jerusalem, we visited two different spots that would have been outside the original city wall of Jerusalem.



One of them is called the garden tomb, and although most don’t believe it is the site. It was amazing to see the rock formation at that location and how much it looked like a skull …or as Matthew wrote, “the place of the skull”.





And yet as terrible of death and suffering that Jesus endured.



The good news is that his death was not the end of the story, and we want to emphasize this morning, that following Jesus includes traveling …

The Way of Victory
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. Matthew 28:1-6 NLT



On one of the possible sites of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection, is called the Garden Tomb and inside the Empty Tomb there was a powerful sign posted that stated emphatically … “HE IS NOT HERE – FOR HE IS RISEN!”



At the end of our Stations of the Cross Experience, we ended at the site believed by many and held from tradition to be the actual location of the cross of Christ and the empty tomb of Christ.





These two amazing spots are both housed in this huge structure called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is actually not one church building, but six church buildings combined into one extremely large structure.





It was incredibly moving to kneel at the location that is believed by many to be the actual place where the cross of Christ was driven into the earth and to reach into the hole (#25) the size of a wooden post and feel the limestone rock of Golgotha.





And then to later also touch the slab of stone which is believed to be the slab that Jesus dead body was placed while being anointed, and covered with a burial cloth.



Yet what really grabbed my heart was visiting what is believed to be the empty tomb of Jesus. On the first day, we visited the tomb right around noon, the Sun shined in directly on the tomb … it was powerful to try to grasp that the most important event in all of history took place on this spot!!!





My heart was so grabbed by this experience that I woke up the next two mornings at 4:30 am so that I could visit the empty tomb once again! You see this historic event is why I am a follower of Jesus, because I really believe that this Biblical event took place and I wanted to just soak it in, while I had the opportunity to be in Jerusalem, because this is the Victory that I am clinging to as a follower of Christ!



Have you come to embrace this victorious message in your life? Have you experienced the victorious power of the Holy Spirit in your life, which is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead?

In the midst of this phenomenal experience and all of the significance of each site that we had to witness, I was saddened by some of the “Religious Trappings” that surrounded these historic sites. One that especially saddened me was the story behind the ladder at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This ladder has been on this ledge for approximately 150 years. Unfortunately, the six churches (Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Egyptian (or Coptic), Ethiopian, and Syrian) have had difficulty getting along and sharing this large structure that most believe was the actual site of the crucifixion and the tome of the resurrection.



In fact, approximately 150 years ago the arguing between these six groups became so intense that the government in power had to get involved. They finally got the six groups to quit arguing about space and possessions within the church building, that they passed a law that nothing could be moved in the building. So when the law went into effect someone had placed a ladder on the ledge and now 150 years later the ladder still stands there, because no one can move it.



And as sad as this is, I discovered something even more troubling. More than 900 years ago, these six groups could not agree upon when to open the church building and who would have keys to the building. So more than 900 years ago someone acting as in the role of a judge issued a ruling, that a specific Muslim family who lived in Jerusalem would have the keys and open the church building every morning. And the sad thing is to this day a descendant of this Muslim family has possession of the keys and opens it every morning. This is a sad commentary of living out Jesus prayer for …

The Way of Unity
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:20-23 NIV

Let’s resolve as a church that not only will be willing to embrace the one who was rejected, suffered, and ultimately victorious, but that we will also make his prayer our own and that we will strive to follow the way of unity and recognize that this will be the ultimate sign to the world around us that we are truly followers of Jesus if we can continue to learn to love one another as Jesus taught and maintain unity as we work together to hold up the one that we are following!!

And as we see the walls of our future worship and community center going up next door, let’s make sure we keep the prayer that is written on this wall hidden in our heart!!

In closing, although this present message series is coming to an end, my prayer and my resolve is that our focus on walking in the way of Jesus … has just begun!
Let’s Pray!

Mount of Olives: Place of Prayer

This morning as we continue our message series on “Retracing the Steps of Jesus,” we are leaving the region of Galilee where Jesus carried out the majority of his earthly ministry and we are going to examine some observations that we can make from an area just outside of Jerusalem called the Mount of Olives.

We are introduced to the Mount of Olives in the NT portion of the Bible in Matthew’s gospel:
As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. Matthew 21:1-2 NLT

What I didn’t realize fully until going to Israel was that this Mountain ridge outside of Jerusalem is covered with Olive Trees and that is why it is called the Mount of Olives. This is the location of the villages of Bethany (the home of Jesus good friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus). And in this previous passage that we just read it was also the location of the town Bethphage.







This was also the beginning point of his triumphal entry into Jesus at the beginning of his last week prior to his death on the cross. It was here that he got on a donkey and rode into Jerusalem. As our group of pilgrims, were walking down the Mount of Olives, we saw a donkey on the road, little did I realize that this photo would cost me a $1 and so I wanted to make sure that I got my dollars worth this morning. (See Pictures Below)





From the Mount of Olives, you can see the Kidron Valley that separates the Mount of Olives from Mount Zion the location of the city of Jerusalem and yet while in the Mount of Olives you find yourselves in a peaceful serene atmosphere nestled in the midst of the groves of olive trees. No wonder that while Jesus was in Jerusalem, he would spend his evenings with friends in this peaceful setting. (Show Pictures)











This morning we are going to learn from Jesus as he frequently visited the Mount of Olives and treated it as his place of prayer, and in fact we have recorded in the Bible one of his most famous prayers that was prayed in this place. This morning, we want to ask ourselves five practical life application questions as we examine Jesus’ prayer as he felt extremely burdened by the task that lay ahead for him. So our first question this morning is …

1. What causes your heart to be worried and burdened?

Let’s read in the Bible from Matthew 26:36, about what burdened Jesus …

Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:36-38 NLT

First of all it is important for us to notice that the specific olive grove Jesus prayed was called Gethsemane. The word Gethsemane means - “oil press”. I learned during my pilgrimage to Israel that the way Olive Oil was extracted from the Olives was in an Olive press. This is what an olive press looked like … (Show Pictures). The farmer would place the Olives in the press and then place a series of weights on top of the olives. In fact they would give the first oil that was extracted from the olives by the first weight was given to the priest. The oil extracted by the second heavier weight would be used for food and cooking. The oil extracted by the third yet heavier weight would be used for lamp oil. And the oil extracted by the final heaviest weight would be used to make soap, so that nothing would be wasted.







Interestingly enough Jesus describes the burden that he felt in his heart for the human race prior to going to the cross as a crushing wine press weight. Understandably so, Jesus said … “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” It is important to note that Jesus was a willing participant in His sacrificial death on the cross, and yet that does not mean it was an easy task or decision. It was an act of sacrificial love, with great cost and since Jesus, the Son of God, became human or flesh, then he had to struggle with his human desires of self-preservation. And yet the good news is that his love for us overcame his human desire to avoid pain and death.

What is it in your life that leads you to fill like you are being crushed under the weight of the world? Is it the burden of caring for other people as Jesus carried? Is it worries that you are facing at work? Is it the burden of taking care of elderly parents? Is it worries about your marriage? Is it worries about your children? Is it the burden of debt that you feel from past poor financial decisions? Is it worries about your family’s financial situation? What is it that causes you to feel burdened and worried?

And maybe an even more important question: How do you handle the burdens of this life? Do you look for the answer within yourself? Do you look for comfort from a bottle or overeating or some addiction? Or do you follow Jesus example of turning to His Father in Heaven to find comfort, relief, and direction? Let’s look at how Jesus relied on the Father during times of prayer and let’s look at the specific question:

2. How did Jesus pray?

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39 NLT

What did you notice? First of all Jesus approached His Father in a personal (“My Father”), and yet reverent way. He bowed with his face to the ground … can you picture it?





When is the last time you got down on your knees and put your face on the floor or ground and prayed to the One who can really lift you up and remove the burdens of life?

It is good to have time that we kneel before God in prayer … and yet more important than our bodily posture is the posture of our heart.

The story is told of a little boy, who got in trouble with his parents and the little boy had to sit in a time-out chair in the corner of the room. The defiant little boy told his parents, I might be sitting down on the outside, but I am standing up on the inside!



Possibly more important than us kneeling on the outside is that we are kneeling on the inside with our face to the ground before God our Father!

The Hebrew writer recorded Jesus attitude in prayer as:
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Hebrews 5:7 NIV

When is the last time you bowed and cried out to the One who can deliver you from the burdens and worries of your life and truly prayed for deliverance? Jesus was heard because of his reverent submission. Does that describe your approach to His Father and Our Father in Heaven?

Another important application for us on this question … is that Jesus took his closest friends to pray with him. During this intense time in Jesus’ life, he takes some close friends aside to pray with them. Not only do we need to approach the LORD with reverent submission, but there is great power available through turning to close friends of faith during intense times of our lives. If Jesus needed others around him in prayer … How much more so us!

When is the last time you confided in a friend some challenges you are facing (some burdens and worries) and ask someone else to pray for you? There is tremendous power found in prayer and for many of us we have not tapped into the source of strength and comfort available through asking others to pray for us!

In fact, this morning, I would like to ask for your prayers on a couple of matters: First … please pray that the LORD will give me the wisdom I need to be a godly leader of the Southwest Church helping us become a church of major impact reaching out to this community and surrounding communities. Specifically, for this fall, please pray for us to wisely choose our church wide message focus and small group material for this upcoming fall.

Also, please join me in praying that we will not simply (only) have love, serve, share as our purpose statement, but that will be consistently demonstrating what it means to be a church that is committed to love, serve, and share!! In fact, we welcome your prayers as we are seeking a new church logo that we will plan on unveiling as we get closer to the opening of our new Worship and Community Center. We plan to incorporate those three words (love, serve, share) into our logo and yet we want to make sure that we don’t simply have these words on our bulletin and on a logo, but that we are living it out in our lives individually and collectively!!!

This brings us to our next life application question surfaced from this text …

3. Why is it important that you consistently pray?

Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Matthew 26:40-41 NLT

Jesus tells us the answer … it is because although our spirit is willing, in and of ourselves we are weak! Now let me pause there for a minute: Some of us have to be honest that at times we struggle with having “willing hearts” or “willing spirits.” But here is good news we can also pray for a heart that is willing to obey God as well! King David of Israel was described as a man after God’s own heart, but on one occasion he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. … Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” Psalm 51:10, 12 NLT

If you are seeking God for the first time or for the first time in a long time and you are having trouble getting your heart into this whole God thing … maybe a beginning point for you, is to take the “David Challenge” and to simply pray … ”LORD, Give me a Willing Heart!” “LORD, make me willing to obey you!”

And for those of you who are seeking after God’s lead in your life, and yet you like these early friends of Jesus find yourself willing and yet at times incredibly weak, then recognize that there is a direct correlation between the amount of time you spend praying to God and your ability to say “No” to temptation! What is that temptation in your life that keeps tripping you up? Have you specifically asked the LORD’s help to “deliver you from that temptation?” Remember Jesus taught us to pray: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:13 NIV

How much have you been praying for God’s deliverance in that area of weakness in your life? It is amazing to me how there is a direct correlation between the amount of time that I spend praying for strength in the face of temptation and deliverance and the victories that I experience.

Why is it important that you & I consistently pray? … So we can tap into God’s strength!

Our fourth life application question this morning is …

4. What are you doing when you should be praying?

Let’s read about what Jesus’ friends were doing while he was having this intense time of prayer:

Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.
So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” Matthew 26:42-46 NLT

For these guys, Peter, James, and John, they were sleeping when they should have been praying with Jesus!! Maybe for some of us we have been sleeping when we should be praying. Possibly, we are sleeping up to the very last possible moment prior to going to school or work and we are walking into our work day trusting in our own strength, as opposed to being clothed with God’s power as the result of spending some time in the morning getting our hearts focused in God’s word and strengthened by a time of prayer.

What else can we be filling up our time with that is robbing us from strength found in prayer? Possibly watching TV shows, sporting events, spending time on line playing games or on facebook. Now am I saying that those things are wrong? NO … not in and of themselves, but if we call ourselves follower of Jesus and yet we find ourselves spending hours every evening watching television or spending hours on line, but we don’t have time to spend 15 minutes in prayer with the giver and sustainer of life, then something is wrong about our priorities.
What are you doing when you should be praying?

And finally let’s learn from this passage …

5. What is the result of not praying?

Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.”
Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.
“Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” Matthew 26:50-54 NLT

Following Jesus time in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is prayed up and ready to face the incredible challenges ahead. Peter, on the other hand, who was snoozing when he should have been praying, resorts to pulling out a sword and trying to use a physical weapon to fight a spiritual battle. I like what the Apostle Paul later wrote in the Bible:

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NIV

As you go through your day, are you tapping into divine power or are you simply fighting with the weapons of this world?

My concern is that there are many powerless, defeated, burnt-out Christians, because they are failing to tap into the divine power that is available to the follower of Christ. Are you willing to put the effort to develop a prayer life as we get serious as a church what it means to follow Jesus?!

In closing, I want to share with you something that is one of my souvenirs from my time in Israel. This is a rock that I found on the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane.



We had about 30 minutes to read, pray, and meditate on the significance of this place.





After reading through this prayer in Matthew 26 (and Mark 14 & Luke 19), I found the tree that I thought would have looked like the one that Jesus possibly knelt in prayer in this same garden. I knelt and prayed that the Lord would have his way in my life and that I would totally surrender to the LORD’s Will in my life. And I prayed “Not my will, but your will be done!”



After getting up from my time in prayer, I realized that I had my head resting on a little rock that was beside this tree. So I put in my pocket as a reminder of my meaningful time of surrender to the LORD’s Will. (Hold up rock and show the picture of rock near tree).



Have you surrendered to the LORD’s lead in your life? Today, Rick Stump is going to surrender his life to the Lordship of Christ by being obedient in baptism. Have you made that initial decision to follow Jesus and to surrender to his leadership in your life?



If not, then you are welcome to join Rick in his decision and be baptized today as well? If you have already made that decision, and yet you have fallen into the trap of trying to grow as a Christian by relying on your own power, if that true is of you, then possibly today is the day for you to truly bow on the inside and recognize your need to tap into the divine power that is only available in Christ!! Possibly for some of you today will be a breakthrough by either coming forward during this final song to ask for prayers and/or write down your prayer need on the communication card and pass it in during this song.
Let’s Pray!