"Come and See"... Sermon Notes and a Celebration of Sorts...

I was just looking at the list of posts that I have written over the past 9 years (this blog started in February, 2011), and I just realized that I have now crossed the 1000 posts mark, 1080 to be exact (this will make 1081!)  I suppose I should have had some kind of celebration when I crossed the 1000 "mile marker", but I didn't even realize it had happened.  If I am counting correctly, the 1000th post would have been HERE, April 22, 2019, the day after Easter!  Now that was certainly a time to celebrate! Here is my opening paragraph from that day:

"Happy Easter Monday...can you imagine what a glorious day this was back in Jesus' day?  The day AFTER the Resurrection?  Can you imagine the excitement rippling through the disciples' community network...they didn't have social media back then, but they sure had ways of getting the message around...and look what we have today...God's Word The Bible and the New Testament...we would not have The New Testament if Easter had never happened!  We would not have our churches and Christian schools, ministers, missionaries...we would still be lost in our sins...Oh, my goodness! What a difference Three Days Make!" 

And here are my closing remarks from that same post:

"Again, I think..what would our lives be like without Jesus in our lives? There would be no "church family"...no Easter music...no Christmas...no salvation from our sins...none of the wonderful sacred music that we enjoy so much every week at church and in between...no Christian charity, ministries, hospitals...wow...if Jesus had never come to earth...if Jesus had never died on Calvary...where would we be? Have you ever thought of this?  I supposed we'd all be like the rest of the heathen world...following after false religions and gods...or not knowing any kind of god at all. We'd be lost. Our lives would be dark and sad and filled with sorrows with no hope.
Thanks to Calvary...we have hope of life eternal...we have salvation from our sins...we have life and love and faith to carry us through all of life's trials.
Jesus said to Martha in John 11:25-26
"I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die...."

Hallelujah for this hope that we have in Christ Jesus, all because of Easter!" 

I love this because today's sermon reminded us that we are to be disciples of Christ like the early converts to Christ found in John 1:29-42.  First there was John the Baptist, who testified that Jesus is the "Son of God" (John 1:34), and then again in verse 36: "Behold the Lamb of God!" In verse 37 the two disciples of John heard him speak, and then they followed Jesus. One of those disciples was Andrew, and then he went and found his brother Simon Peter and told him that they had found the "Messiah", and then next came Philip, and then Philip found Nathanael, and the list just kept growing from there...and here we are today!

We were challenged in the message today to remember and think about who it was who led us to Christ...was it a Sunday School teacher, a Pastor, a friend, a parent?  Who has ministered to us in the Name of Jesus?  Who sent you to Jesus? Who gave you a Bible? Who helped you to form a relationship with Christ? We should thank God for those people who had such an influence in our lives.

And then furthermore, is there anyone who thanks God for YOUR witness? Who do YOU represent to the people you meet every day?

Jesus invites us to "Come and See" (verse 39) where He is staying. He invites us into His presence.
Do you know someone who is filled with darkness, bitter, angry?
Jesus can shine in the darkness...God's Word brings light and new life into old dry bones...

As believers in Christ we should want to tell others about the Good News of Jesus Christ. We just need to share what has transpired in our own lives since we met the "Messiah".

We should pray that God will give us the words to say to that person...whatever their need may be...listen to them, and then allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you and give the comfort and peace they need.
We need to be the ones who get folks to the place where Jesus can be found..."Come and see..."
We should be disciples who make disciples...
Listen to your heart...the hope that you have in Christ...share your faith...
I don't care what the question is...the answer is Jesus!
"The more you give your faith away, the more you share it...the more you have of it."
Jesus is ever calling us.
Your challenge is to introduce someone to that voice....

Okay, so there you have it! I am trying to get back into writing the weekly sermon notes again.
A dear soul in our church anonymously gave me this Sermon Notes journal for Christmas. (I did find out who it was and thanked her).  I took the hint...I needed to get back to doing what I was doing before...

"And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have..." 

2 Corinthians 8:10-11

So this is my way of celebrating passing the 1000 posts mile marker (1081!)  Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with you and looking for ways to share Him with others throughout the week.  Oh, and by the way, in keeping with my One Word for 2020, "Joyful",  I found this cute placemat (see above) the other day in, of all places, the Dollar General store..."Enjoy the little things"... and it gave me joy to see it and I wanted to bring it home with me so that I could continue to enjoy it! We should be looking for the "little things" in life every day that bring joy to our hearts...and also perhaps ways that we can bring joy to other people's lives.  What better way is there than to introduce them to Jesus?

"Come and See!"

Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor John Bennett, 1/19/2020

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.