An Educational Adventure/Learning About God Series

Series: Destinations on the Journey of Faith

An Educational Adventure/Learning About God

Mark 10:17-22

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[a]”

20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Intro: Coming back from Dodge City Kansas already been in the car for 700 miles…stopping at science museum Little Rock…knowing we had a long drive yet to go…

I. Where I Belong

Unlike the first destination when we make this second stop along the way we no long wonder why we are going…we know that we belong on this journey…it’s a place where we find a sense of belonging…

Leslie and I pulling into the conference in Atlanta…huge church…only other white people we saw were the two speakers…but within just a few moments we didn’t feel at all out of place…we settled into a very pleasant experience and a sense of belonging…

But within the local church this is a place where we have finally found the place where feel that we are a part of the family.

It is where we belong…this is what the Rich Young Ruler was searching for when he ran up to Jesus and said

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

He wasn’t just looking for salvation he wanted a place that he could belong…everyone wants to belong…to feel like we fit in and are needed.

This is supposed to be easy for those of us that grew up within a local church…as it is our children should grow up and feel that they have a home church right here at FCC…BUT…

It is here that the small group movement was born…it began with Sunday school classes and youth groups…it then evolved into women’s and men’s groups and now the trend is home groups or life groups. This allows for us to be a part of a smaller group and to have a closer relationship with others.

It is a sense of belonging to a group of faith by association….

II. Need for a guide

When we have left the initial destination of awe and discovery we quickly realize we need a guide to help us determine the best way to get as much out of this place as possible…it would be like taking an unguided tour of the entire Grand Canyon…how much do you think you would miss or if you could even begin to scratch the surface without getting lost…(New York City on Saturday walking on our own…so much more that I would like to see…

So that is where the church is so important with strong leaders as we have seen this year that people are always looking for a cause or belief system to follow…. With the coming election the nation is divided and each group is sure that their belief system is the correct one…so it is important that our teachers and leaders are relaying the correct message of FCC…

The Rich Young Leader was searching for a leader that could take him on the right paths…now we know that when he found that Jesus wasn’t going to tell him what he wanted to hear…he

22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth

But when this destination is arrived at and we have accepted the group’s belief system and feel like we belong we develop…

III. Sense of Rightness

It is the “I found it!” like we discovered a hidden treasure we carry around our new found faith for everyone to see….we are like the Samaritan Woman whom Jesus met at the well and she went and declared to the entire village “Come, see man who told me all that I ever did” (John 4:29)

What an exciting time in the life of the believer…we can’t wait to tell everyone about Jesus and about our church family…

these are not the people you over hear complaining about their church and everyone that attends there!!!!