Jesus
Jesus Christ continues to captivate millions of people in 2004. Whether it’s in a church service, on the Cover of Time or Newsweek, or in the movie theaters, he still is intriguing some 2000 yrs later! While not everyone agrees with us about his deity, almost EVERYONE agrees with his incredible leadership skills.
So, that is what we are going to study next. The “leader heart” of Jesus. OF course, this by nature must be different than our other 3 character studies. And the reason should be obvious: JESUS IS GOD!!!!!!!
That is 100 % true! So that means he had the ability to tap into resources our other 3 heroes could not, and that we cannot. But we often forget, that he was also made fully human. This means he went through life developmental stages, including a growing awareness of who/what he was! Jesus was fully God and fully human.
So tonight the study will be a little different, basically because NOTHING is average about our savior!
Gal 4:4 says “When the time had fully come….God sent his Son.” To me that means that the time had to be right. Certain factors had to be in place. A plan had to be followed. Jesus was born where he was and when he was FOR A REASON! Greek culture was big. Roman was gaining ground. Spiritual institutions in culture were crumbling. And the time was ripe! CAN YOU LIST SOME CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF CULTURE THAT SHAPED WHO JESUS WAS:
This is a tough one. Did Jesus have a “call” experience? Did he need one? Did he know from infancy that he was God? Just how did that work??????? It is not very clear or understandable to be honest. But there were times in his life, where his unwavering faith clearly displayed his strength and faith in his calling. You might choose to focus on a few of those. IN YOUR WORDS LIST SOME TIMES WHERE THE CALL OF JESUS WAS CLEARLY DISPLAYED:
God could have sent a fully-grown adult into the world. But by choosing instead to let Christ enter the world in a tiny human frame, bound by time, space and survival needs of a baby; by placing him in a family, having him develop as a child, and giving him chances to do and watch business, receive Jewish training and religious instruction etc; God made sure Jesus would be shaped by community and commonplace. He had a job and he had everyday chores and tasks. He faced hunger, tiredness, temptation etc. SHARE IN YOUR OWN WORDS EXAMPLES OF THOSE IN JESUS” COMMUNITY THAT YOU THINK AFFECTED HIM:
SHARE IN YOUR OWN WORDS EXAMPLES OF THINGS IN JESUS’ COMMON LIFE THAT YOU THINK AFFECTED HIM:
This one is probably the most evident. Jesus was CONSTANTLY plugged in to the father! So I will not waste a lot of times giving you ideas and hints. It is your turn! IN YOUR WORDS TELL US EXAMPLES OF THE MEASURE OF JESUS’ COMMUNION WITH THE FATHER:
Once again, this too is a very easy one. From the time Jesus was born and from the moment he began his ministry, he faced severe conflict. It flowed him everywhere he went. THINK OF SOME EXAMPLES OF CONFLICT THAT YOU THINK HELPED SHAPER JESUS:
What a mighty God we serve! What a beautiful Savior we share! Please never take for granted the fact that his life was recorded for us. There is SO MUCH MORE to learn from than just his last week! Jesus lived just like you and me and in everything he did; he left behind examples of perfect execution for each of us!
HOMEWORK--- be prepared for self-examination! It is time to dig in and find out who and what you really are. Pray about it, and be ready to discover and to share!