This Sunday Fouad Masri was our guest speaker. Fouad is the founder of the Crescent Project, a ministry that seeks to reach and connect with Muslims, building bridges to salvation.

Just like the disciples we are tasked to go into the world WITH Him and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.  As believers, we have been commissioned to play a part in God’s rescue mission for the world.

Marck 13

Additional Verses

Isaiah 49:7-10

Psalm 78:67-72

Ephesians 2:7

Jude 1:24-25

Revelation 5:1-5

Intro –It’s that time of the year we are, it’s the Christmas season! It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s a time for family traditions and family gatherings, movies about families. I love all these things, but it’s not always that way.. For many of us, there can be this tension because our families aren’t perfect and harmonizing over a grand piano.. Christmas can be hard because it magnifies much of the brokenness of the world and our lives.

Introducing the series, looking at the woman in the line of Jesus. There is a lot of brokenness in this genealogy, and maybe none more than the first woman mentioned, Tamar.. However, in the midst of the brokenness we see God turns the broken pieces into displays of His Glorious grace.

• A broken family (Genesis 38:1-11)
• A pattern of brokenness (Genesis 38: 12-21)
• A redeeming moment (Genesis 38:24-26)
• A family line changed forever (Genesis 38:27-30)

Judah becomes the son that receives the blessing from Jacob. The kingship line comes from his line and from this line will become the obedience of all people.. Genesis 49:10.. and at the end of history, it is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, that is the only faithful one to open the scroll.

Close – One of my favorite Christmas traditions we have as a family is our tree. ... Each ornament has significance for our family and many of them tie back to moments in our past. You know what Is interesting though, we don’t have any ornaments from horrible moments in our past.. I don’t have any ornaments that show the times I failed as a husband or father..

That is exactly what this genealogy in Matthew is.. It’s a family tree of God displaying the broken past that the savior has come from. It shows all of man’s actions that seek to cause evil and chaos will ultimately be used for God’s good glory. All the brokenness of our selves are made new in Christ and then displayed for a world to see they can have HOPE because Jesus, the son of God.. from the line of Judah by way of Tamar.. was born..

Be content to wait on the Lord (John 10:27-28)

Follow the Lord with your whole heart (personal relationship)

Follow the Lord for all the days of your life (Colossians 1:23)

Follow the Lord even if we have to stand alone (Numbers 14:10)

Follow Jesus by the power and strength of His Spirit (Numbers 14:24)

1. A Slight Shift

We first see one of the warning signs of mission drift starting to happen with the slight shifting in theology and how are we actually saved.. (Acts 15:1-5)

2. A Direct Approach (2-6)

Once mission drift is spotted it must be met with a direct approach. We can’t just ignore it and hope it goes away. It must be met head on to course correct or

the mission is in danger of being completely adrift

3. Courageous Leadership (6-21)

It takes courageous leadership to course correct back to the central mission. Fear of man is one of the strongest reasons mission drift goes un corrected. We must be courageous in our convictions to hold firm to the mission of Jesus.

4. A More Unified Mission (22-33)

Whenever Mission Drift is corrected, an amazing thing happens.. everyone becomes more unified and the mission advances stronger than before.

Close (36-41)

This is a great reminder for us as a church to keep the main thing the main thing. We tend to drift away from Jesus ultimate mission and get focused on other

issues.. Luke shows us a great example at the end of this chapter where that we can disagree, yet still be united together.

Luke tells us about a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas that then leads to them separating from each other. They had been so close with each other on virtually almost everything, been though so much recently and they end up splitting from each other? Did they forget the mission? No, they disagreed over

something that ultimately was a tertiary issue.. They split but were still united with the Mission of making disciples of Jesus in all nations. Their split lead to

more believers, more churches, and more glory to God.

Nothing can stop God’s Mission

If we aren’t careful we will give way to cynicism and shrink back from using our biggest witness to others, our unshakable JOY. Jesus wants to shift our focus and give us a new perspective for the year ahead. A perspective that allows us to move into any unknown fixing our eyes on who He is and how He will always provide!

“Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change—the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life.” – Tim Keller

1. started with keeping the main thing, the main thing

2. They remained Dependent upon the Holy Spirit

3. Knew Exactly who they were

4. Trusted in the promises of God

What we give God reflects our attitude toward Him. The Bible says our lives should be a living sacrifice to Him (Romans 12:1-2). What areas of your life (family, job, money, praise and worship, good works, witnessing to unbelievers) are you not giving your full heart to God?

You cannot and will not give your body as a living sacrifice unless you know what it took for Jesus to pay the price for sin

When you worship Jesus, you then see there is no greater joy than sacrificial service.

List of Books:

Messy Grace - Caleb Kaltenbach

Out of a far Country - Christopher Yuan

The secret Thoughts of an unlikely convert ) - Rosaria Butterfield

A Transgender‘s Faith - Walt Heyer

The Third Option - Miles McPherson

Under our skin - Ben Watson

Live not by lies - Rod Dreher

A practical guide to culture - John Stonestreet

Evidence that demands a verdict - Josh McDowell

Jim Newheiser, Professor of CounselingCharacteristics of worldly sorrow:

1. Self-focused; self-protective.
2. Doesn’t primarily hate the sin; hates the consequences of sin.
3. Blame-shifting.
4. Resents accountability.
5. Impatient – demanding to be trusted and restored immediately.
6. Focuses on the sins of others.
7. Criticizes the disciplinary process.
8. Unchanged (hard) heart.
9. No fruit.

Characteristics of godly sorrow:

1. Focused on God and other person; well-being of others is first priority
2. Hates the sin itself; accepts the consequences of the sin.
3. Fully accepts responsibility.
4. Seeks accountability.
5. Patient.
6. Focuses upon their own sin.
7. Submits to the disciplinary process.
8. Changed heart.
9. Fruit.