Crazy Things That Jesus Said

Week 4: “Lose Your Life to Find It”

Matthew 16:24-27

12/15/24

Justin Scarberry

 

Message Notes

Matthew: 16:24-27

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds.

 

Context

• Peter was given a revelation from God of who Jesus is (Matthew 16:16-17)
• Peter corrects God (Matthew 16:23)

Our life is how we are living right now!  Our eternal life is where our __________will end up.

Forfeit: definition: ________________________________

The Bible says that _________________ is the God of this world:

 

2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT

⁴ Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

Our soul will end up in one of two eternal places:

 

Daniel 12:2 NIV

² Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

We all will have to give an account of what we did with our life! 

Our motives for doing things will also be considered.

“Works”:  business, employment, an act, deed or thing done.

Works do not get us into heaven!

 

Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

 

“Works” shows us that our faith in Jesus is real!

 

James 2:26 NASB

²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

As Christians we are to be __________________ focused:

 

Luke 6:28 NASB

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

 

3 Steps from our Study Today:

1. __________________________ (Romans 10:9)
2. __________________________ (Hebrews 5:13-14)
3. __________________________ (2 Corinthians 5:4)

 

Everything we do should be done for God!

 

4 minute Bible challenge-

Read the Bible 4 minutes every day!

 

• Dan Hall is the transition team lead.  Please contact him with any questions.
• Transition Team Needs
  • Areas that still need to be covered. If interested, contact Dan Hall:
  • Tech—Audio/Video and worship lyric technician.
  • IT/Hardware—manage the various connections of the service IT components/internet/wifi, etc.
  • Worship team/leader—play an instrument? Able to carry a tune?  Ready to use that gift for God?
  • Donut & Coffee Ministry—bring in donuts and make that oh so important drink for many of us, coffee!

• A Search Team will be put together to start the process of finding a new pastor.
  • The typical time to replace a Pastor is 12-18 months. Please wait on the Lord with us!
  • The team will update the church regularly

• Prayer is a critical part of this process! Please pray continually for the board’s guidance in seeking God’s will.

 

Baptism 12/15/24 after service

It’s not too late!  If you have committed your life to Jesus and would like to show your obedience to the world in baptism, now is the time!

Voting 12/15/24 after service

Vote on the budget that was presented 2 weeks ago and discussed last week.

 

Christmas Eve Service 3:30 PM

Please invite someone out for a message form God’s Word

and a reminder of why we celebrate Christmas!

 

BYO Bible!-January

Have a Bible just sitting around the house not getting any use?  Looking to get a new Bible?  Calling on everyone to bring your Bible to church for the next series starting in January (now is good too!).  The church also has extra Bibles if you need one.  Digital Bibles are great tools to use but also can sometimes be a distraction.  Dust off that old print Bible and bring it on in so we can all dig into God’s Word together.

 

Zelle

The board is working on setting up Zelle to use for a digital option for giving.

Stay tuned for more details in the next few weeks.

 

1. Do you think that people generally value life? How about the lives of those we love, how much do we value their lives?

2. Read Matthew 16:24-25, Is Jesus telling us we should be picking up a literal cross? Why or why not?

3. Is Jesus talking about literally losing our lives in verse 25? Why or why not?

4. Read Matthew 16:26, what is a soul? Do soul’s live forever?  Who does our soul belong to?

5. Read 2 Corinthians 4:4, why do you think God would allow Satan to be the god of this world?

6. What are “works” in the bible? Do you need to do “works” in order to get into heaven?  Are there any scriptures you can reference to support your answer?

7. Can someone go to heaven and never do any “works” for God? Why or why not?

8. Read James 2:26, what do you think is meant by this scripture?

9. Read Ephesians 2:8-10 and compare it with James 2:26. Do you feel that these verses contradict each other?  Why or why not?

10. Do you have someone in mind to invite to Christmas Eve service? Please pray that God will guide you to ask them to come and that God will give them a receptive heart.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf,

so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

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