forgotten
virtues - this is the series –today - devotion
Mt 2:13-23 13 When they had gone,
an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take
the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for
Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during
the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the
death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the
prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[c] 16 When Herod realized
that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to
kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and
under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then
what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 “A voice is heard in
Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her
children and refusing to be comforted, because they are
no more.”[d] 19 After Herod died, an
angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and
said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for
those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” 21 So he got up, took the child
and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he
heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was
afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district
of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.
So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a
Nazarene.
4 dead teens in the middle east –
when we think of devotion, we think of love
we shouldn't. what most of us say about love is not love
- we say I love you but it really means take care of me
- we say I love you but it really means I am lonely
- we say I love you but it really means I don't want to be alone
- or I need financial help or my biological clock is ticking
the word devotion takes us in a different direction – a holy direction
it
is much more clear in its meaning -
devotion is determining your true north and staying the course
it is doing the right thing
devotion is determining your true north and staying the course
it is doing the right thing
this
sermon predisposes that you have done your best to make a thing work as you can
joseph was devoted
devoted to doing the right thing
he was going to put mary away
then he listened to the angel
not all of us listen to God
he takes them to Egypt [long journey- how far] 350 miles
he raises jesus in Nazareth
works as a carpenter
the methodical methods of a carpenter
when I was in seminary I built decks
Joseph - does not get any publicity in bible
would have won best supporting actor
that's devotion
doing the right thing when you don't need the attention
staying with the program
being devoted to a person is not
I love you
oh, im tired ofyou
im out of here
sometimes we should leave abusive situations
most marriages are thrown away too soon
what does it mean to be devoted to a person
I will care about you
I will care for you
I will serve you
I will forgive you
I will give you grace
being devoted to your church is not this
I like my church
I love my church
oh? im not getting what I want?
Joseph - does not get any publicity in bible
would have won best supporting actor
that's devotion
doing the right thing when you don't need the attention
staying with the program
being devoted to a person is not
I love you
oh, im tired ofyou
im out of here
sometimes we should leave abusive situations
most marriages are thrown away too soon
what does it mean to be devoted to a person
I will care about you
I will care for you
I will serve you
I will forgive you
I will give you grace
being devoted to your church is not this
I like my church
I love my church
oh? im not getting what I want?
im
gonna skip
im out of here
im out of here
sometimes
we should leave abusive churches
most churches are thrown away too soon
devotion to a church means
working to make it better
understanding its warts
seeing past the parts that you don't prefer
understanding the value that we have working together
praying instead of complaining
being there - supporting it - advocating for it
pulling weeds, picking up trash, singing in the choir, painting, serving in mission
contributing to the greater good
being devoted to the cause of Jesus Christ
most churches are thrown away too soon
devotion to a church means
working to make it better
understanding its warts
seeing past the parts that you don't prefer
understanding the value that we have working together
praying instead of complaining
being there - supporting it - advocating for it
pulling weeds, picking up trash, singing in the choir, painting, serving in mission
contributing to the greater good
being devoted to the cause of Jesus Christ
requires
us to remember our mission
there
are many ways to be off mission
jeff’s
not here so I am going home- doesn’t jeff get vacations
holding
up one thing over other things
I
am only here because I like the gospel choir
My
main purpose here is to take care of the flowers
John
ortberg- book on shadow mission
All
good things but not the main things
our mission is connecting people to
jesus
I am going to love god - I am going to love others
I am going to be the hands and feet of jesus
I am going to fight off selfishness and keep at it
I am going to love god - I am going to love others
I am going to be the hands and feet of jesus
I am going to fight off selfishness and keep at it
I
am going to keep loving god - I am going to keep loving others
I am going to keep being the hands and feet of jesus
I am going to keep being the hands and feet of jesus
I am going to live an ethical life
I am going to work on the fruit of the spirit
love joy peace patience goodness kindness gentleness self-control
conclusion
devotion means doing the right thing
In
a world of uncertainly
What
keeps you grounded
Fear
concern, stocks, war, supreme court……what keeps you grounded
What
will we do if great gets to be a nickel a loaf?
There are Confused and painful moments
in life
The
titanic is sinking
Jesus
died
Jesus
left
Something
happens and we experience base worry
The
girls friend was killed in a boating accident over the weekend
Combat
fear and confusion with devotion
Purpose
in the middle of confusion
The
right thing to do is the right thing to do
Fighting
thru dysfunction to do the right thing
7 I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 1 tim 4
John
evans visited his mom every day for 30 years
To love something truly – keeps us on
the positive track
Love
keeps us from the worst of ourselves
From
hurting others
From
being hateful
It
keeps our dark side from rising
Devotion means possibly suffering for
the thing that you love
Story-
john I knew you would come
There
is an end to this kind of thinking, but many people never suffer for a cause
Truly loving, being devoted to a thing
brings us meaning in life
We
find meaning by loving others
What
is out there that is worth loving?
A
wife, a friend, a child, a cousin, a cause, a dog, a cat, God - God’s children
There
is an answer in this life – it is to love
Not
a feeling. Not depende10321nce. Not attraction.
Generation
to generation it does not change
Light
of the world, shine on
me, love is the answer – England dan/john ford coley
In
a world where we seek meaning- to love and be loved is the thing
To
love is the pinnacle of life
Love
the lord thy god…….on this hangs all the law and the prophets
It
is the highest calling of anything that you can do in life
Love
is what god does.
Love
is what god is
Try
it. love something. Be devoted.
To
A person, a thing. A dog. A cat. A random child of god
They
suddenly are not that random are they?
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