Total Acceptance

Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 06 May 2007 09:35

SHIFT_

Sermon Notes

The discussion about sharing Christ begins with acceptance.

Luke 4:14-19

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁴Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Four Observations About The Ministry of Jesus

1. Jesus' ministry was a ministry of the Spirit.
2. Jesus' ministry overturned expectations and assumptions.
3. Jesus' ministry was a ministry of preaching and power.
4. Jesus' ministry was a ministry of acceptance.

Who did Jesus reject?

Only those who would not accept Him, because they felt they didn't need Him.

How far do we take God's acceptance?

Acts 10:34-35

³⁴Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

What does acceptance look like?

It looks like having a pulse... being there and listening! It takes making time for someone and having sensitivity to the movement of God.

Why does this process of sharing Christ begin with acceptance?

• A practical reason: because we have to overcome tremendous obstacles.
• A spiritual reason: because we are God's acceptance conduits.

When we try to hoard the work of God in our lives, we lose it. When we try to give it away, we keep it.

Visit our sermon series website at www.gatewaychurch.org/shift

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Small Group Study

Shift\vb\ 1: to exchange for or replace by another: change 2: to change the place, position, or direction of: move

Shift\n\ 1: a means or device of effecting an end 2: a change in emphasis judgment or attitude

Why SHIFT

• People need God's love.
• Because of how His love changed our lives.
• Jesus commanded his followers to. Matthew 28:16-20
• We need to share God's love to experience fullness in Christ. Philemon 1:6

Icebreaker: What was the best thing about your week? What was the worst thing about your week?

Worship: Read Romans 5:6-8 and spend some time thanking God for loving and accepting you.

Primary Scripture Luke 4:14-20,
Secondary Scriptures Acts 10, Romans 15:1-9

Small Group Questions:

1. Have you ever been the first one picked or chosen for something? What was it?
2. Have you ever been rejected or left out, how did that feel?
3. Do you feel totally accepted by God, or do you feel you need to work for His acceptance?
4. Is there any group or class of people you find yourself avoiding or judging?
5. Why is it so hard to accept people who are different than yourself?
6. If we accept people with faults, does that mean we agree with their choices?
7. What would it look like to accept someone at work or in the neighborhood you don?t like? Would you be willing to try if for a week and report on what you learned next week?

Spend some time praying for each other that we would see opportunities to accept someone and see them from God?s perspective.