PASTOR Woods Message Notes

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PASTOR WOOD’S Message notes


Message Notes: March 17, 2024
Title: “The Way Saints Are Made”
Text: Mark 10:31-45

Intro: A little bit about St. Patrick. Many legends have gotten attached to St. Patrick. How much do we actually know?

I. Saints are made by hearing the message of the Gospel.
A. Review and goals.
1. What’s inside spills out.
2. The shape of Christian character depends on what we let shape it.
B. James and John demonstrate an obtuse spirit.
1. Vs 32-35 Jesus has set out for Jerusalem.
2. Followers are amazed and afraid.
3. In this context Jesus teaches about his mission.
4. “We are going up to Jerusalem…They will condemn him to death…mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
C. Difference in motivation—
1. Jesus is focused on his purpose.
2. Disciples focused on a selfish request.
3. “Teacher.” Not “Lord,” and not “Messiah.”
4. Not for Jesus’ welfare, but their own.
D. “We want you to do for us whatever we ask?”
1. Illustration: Haribo Gummy commercials
2. Like kids…Hindered.
E. Jesus responds.
1. “What is it you want me to do for you?”
2. “Give us the places of honor.”
3. Reaction of the other disciples—fain indignancy.
4. Not on topic at all.

II. Saints are distinct from Gentile Lords.
A. St. Patrick’s dumb stone dug up by God.
1. Jesus Patiently, gently digs disciples out of the mire of selfish thinking.
2. “You don’t know what you are asking.”
3. Vs. 42-44 “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”
B. The example of the caregiver.
1. Those who have cared for their loved ones throughout a long-term illness until their last breaths.
2. Love and devotion begin as the driving force.
3. Will lose themselves in the process.
4. Careful attention on loved one.
5. After the death of their spouse, they have forgotten how to think about themselves.
6. Things left undone are suddenly apparent.
7. Have to get reacquainted with a new identity.
8. This is a picture of how character is shaped by being a servant in Christ.
9. Christian character is an immersion, not a dip of the toe.
C. We all know the difference even if our own actions don’t always reflect it.
1. Druid pirates capture to enslave Patrick.
2. Example: Politics, election, or news are words that create immediate negative reactions.
3. Personal power; exercised in a way that is self-promoting; bullies, antagonizes, and manipulative.
4. The results of Gentile Lords are division, enmity, and frustration.
5. Not the way Jesus does things.
6. The saving strategy is sacrificial.
7. Humble service is formative for a saint.
D. “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
1. “That, my brothers, is how it is done.”
2. What spills out of us will reveal whom we honor.”

III. Saints receive benefits from the cup that Jesus drinks and the Baptism that Jesus is baptized with.
A. The question is not like the answer.
1. Question: Good Friday.
2. Answer: After Good Friday.
3. Not the same cup or Baptism.
B. The right and the left on Good Friday not so honorable.
1. James and John sought glory.
2. Good Friday was God’s glory.
3. Two criminals, one on the right and one on the left of Jesus.
4. “Remember me…” Witnesses
5. The other mocks Jesus. Rejects
C. After Good Friday, James and John would also live very different lives.
1. James is martyred in Acts 12:2.
2. John last to die.
3. John still suffered.
4. He certainly mourned his brother, James.
5. Imprisoned in Acts 4:3, 21, 5:18,
6. Scourged in Acts 5:40,
7. in mortal danger (Acts 5:33),
8. Forced exile at Patmos in Rev 1:9.
D. The cup and Baptism
1. Only Jesus could drink the cup of God’s wrath on Good Friday
2. The cup that the disciples drank we drink too in Lord’s Supper.
3. What is taken in becomes part of us.
4. Water or Energy drinks cups and baptism.
5. Develops saints with a spirit like Jesus’.

Conclusion: St. Patrick’s Breastplate prayer. The essence of this portion of the prayer is that Christ is what shapes our character. And as that character takes shape Jesus pours out from it. And Lord willing, people come to know Jesus more than we who witness to Him. So, we pray together…

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
In Christ we pray. Amen.

Taking it Home
1. When is a time that you recall acting like James and John where what we really wanted from Jesus was selfish and counterproductive to your faith?
2. Can you name a time when you were a caregiver? How did this season of your life impact your faith?
3. What is the greatest challenge of being a servant for you? Does it come naturally to you? Or is it something you have to “force” upon yourself?
Consider Reading Luke 14

PRINTABLE PDF: MNMARCH17.PDF

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Dear Grace Congregation


I am very humbled and grateful to have been in the Lord’s service for 25 years. I am grateful to have served here at Grace for twenty of those years. Thanks to all of you for making our family a part of Grace’s family these twenty years. Thank you for the kindness, the fun, and the joy of last Sunday’s celebration. Thank you for the great meal and fellowship. Thanks to the youth for remembering Michigan Jones so fondly. Thank you for your cards and gifts and for the many expressions of love. Thank you for putting up with all my VBS ideas and hanging in there with me each year. Thank you for your patience when I am a little slow or dull. Thank you for including us in your own milestones. Thank you for allowing me to continue to work side by side with you in this ministry. The family of Grace has been very consistent in its support of its staff and is a big reason I remain here as pastor. We love this congregation and look forward to many more years together with you.

Love in Christ

Pastor Matthew Woods (PW)