Sunday Leftovers

In preparation for last Sunday, I felt like God wanted me to narrow the focus of my message to finding His rest and I'm glad I did. I was so amazed at how this message effected so many. Never in Jubilee's history have so many people come forward for prayer (roughly 80-90 people). If you were one those people who received prayer...I would love to hear a testimony of how God met with you. Leave a comment on this post or email me at bryan@jubileestl.org.

Narrowing the focus to God's rest was absolutely the right call, but there were so many leftover thoughts that I would have liked to included. I'll mention one of them.

In Hebrews 3, Jesus is compared to Moses and it's the writer's contention that Jesus is better than Moses. Now, this wasn't meant to discredit Moses (he was a faithful servant), but rather highlight the greatness of Jesus as a Son and builder of the house.

There are a lot of things we can say about why the writer chose to make this comparison, but the one that I find the most helpful will require us to be reminded that this letter is addressed to a 1st century Jewish audience. What we must remember is that most of these Jewish Christians were probably kicked out of the synagogue and perhaps their families for following Jesus. They became outcasts and their families were probably very disappointed for them turning their backs on the "family religion". It was necessary to remind them that in Christ, they most certainly belong to the House of God. They may have been cast out of the local synagogue, but they have not been cast out by God.

Maybe you have had a difficult time with your family for turning your back on the "family religion". You may even feel isolated and alone for doing so. The writer of Hebrews would remind you that you are not an outcast in God's eyes. If you are a believer in Jesus, you belong to the House of God.

Joint us this Sunday as we continue in our series in Hebrews, Rescued Faith. I will elaborate on finding God's rest and how we can help one another stay there.

A Message for the Weary and the Wanderers

For those tuning into Jubilee's sermon series in Hebrews titled "Rescued Faith", I hope that you are finding it both meaningful and beneficial to your life.

This week, I will be preaching from Hebrews 3 and will be addressing the idea that God wants to bring us to a place of rest...a place life, vitality and fulfillment. However, most of us (like the Israelites) reject God's offer and prefer to wander. This kind of life is God is far below what He has in mind for us and usually leads to discouragement, disillusionment and disappointment.

If you know someone who is discouraged in their Christian experience, this will be a highly relevant message for them.

Abby Loves Her Church

Abby Chance (age 13) and her family are members of Jubilee Church in St. Louis. Recently, she was given the assignment in school to write a persuasive speech. She choose to do her speech on, "why you should go to Jubilee." I thought I would pass it along to you:

Everyone has different habits. One thing my family always does is go to church. We truly enjoy doing this. Three reasons why you should come to church with me are you will be welcome, you will meet great people, and you will learn some things you may not have known.

One reason you should come to my church is because you will feel welcome. People will not snub you. They will accept you. You won't be uncomfortable. People will want to be your friend.

Another reason is because you will meet awesome people. You may meet new friends. I can guarantee people will be kind and you will enjoy being with them. You will want to come back.

It won't just be about people, it will also be about learning. You may learn something you didn't know. It may even be something that will change your life.

Going to my church will be a great experience. You will be welcome, you will meet great people and you will learn things. All of these things will make it a great time for you. You should come and be amazed.

Abby loves her church. What has been your experience?

Don't Miss Father's Day

This Sunday at Jubilee Church in St. Louis City, all fathers will receive a free copy of the book Wild At Heart by John Eldredge. In this book, John invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God. This is an excellent book and a must read by every man.

John Lanferman will continue our series, "Rescued Faith."

Rescued Faith

This Sunday, I will begin a 13 week sermon series in the book of Hebrews titled “Rescued Faith”. The unknown writer of Hebrews is writing this letter to believers who were about to give up on their faith...some were under intense persecution...others were falling back into religion and legalism...others were just bored, immature and unfruitful and maybe were never Christians to begin with. They were a group of believers whose faith was in need of rescue. And I’m pretty excited about this series for a few reasons:

1. It is a book that is intended to be inspiring and thought-provoking with very few commands. This isn’t a book with a lot of "do this" or "don’t do this". This is a book that explains to us ultimate reality found in the person of Jesus Christ. So this isn’t a book that is meant to be immediately practical, but I think it will be eternally helpful.
2. There is some ideas in here that I normally wouldn’t touch with a 10-ft pole like, “Can you lose your salvation?” I will cover that July 19 in chapter 6.
3. And there are some beautiful, beautiful OT practices that come alive as the revelation of who Jesus is becomes clear.
   

So let me ask you a question: Does your faith need to be rescued? Do you can relate to these believers? Maybe you know someone who's faith is waning? They know the church game all too well, but they've lost sight of Jesus. This is why we are doing this series. To help those of us who have lost sight of true faith in Jesus.

Excellent Teaching!

Celebration MW is a great event for many reasons...the fellowship, the sense of unity, the prayer, the worship, the recreation, but this year, I felt as though the teaching was the highlight and will be what I remember about 2009. The teaching is always good, but this year was especially good.

If you missed it, the good news is that it's currently online. You can listen to it on the Newfrontiers USA website. If you only have time to listen to one message, try Lanferman's talk in the final session.

Living Single

I can't remember a message at Jubilee that has had more buzz than the message from this past Sunday titled, "Living Single". I think it confirms my suspicion that a message on singlehood was long overdue. It was encouraging to hear that marrieds also found this message helpful and applicable to them.

You can listen to the entire message online, but I wanted to highlight the main points:

1. Singlehood as well as marriage is a gift: Like any gift, don't wish for something different, but make the most of it. Ask yourself, "How can I leverage my status as a single (whether temporary or permanent) to make the most kingdom impact?
2. Don't use your status as a single to pursue self, but use this as an opportunity to decrease self. Seek to know God more (and yourself less). Self-discovery is a dead end road.
   
3. Don't idolize sex and marriage. Most people view sex and marriage from a self-centered perspective...a way to to have your own needs fulfilled. From a Biblical perspective, sex and marriage is an opportunity to meet the needs of your spouse.
   
4. Wanting to be married isn't wrong, but don't allow that "want to" to consume you. Allow the truth of God's sufficiency to permeate your heart. Rest in his grace.

Singles (as well as marrieds) are a gift to the church. It's my desire that as we grow and mature as a church, we'll discover this to be true and learn to rest in the sovereign grace of Jesus.