Sitting At The Feet Of Jesus!

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). The Place (vs 38)

(2). The People (vs 38-39)

(3). The Disagreement (vs 39-40)

(4). The Response (vs 41)

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• Photographs can be very deceptive,

• Whoever said; “The camera never lies”,

• Never had a studio portrait done of themselves or their family.

• It is probably more accurate to say: “The camera never lies”,

• But the software does.

• Because a good software programme;

• Enables you to manipulate and change a bad photo into a good one!

Ill:

• Studio portrait are often perfect prints:

• Every hair is in place & people are told even how to stand in the most flattering way.

• Even the backdrop is designed to create the perfect picture.

• Yet in reality that family, that home may be the complete opposite of what’s portrayed.

• For the camera and for the public we show one side of ourselves,

• But in our homes we can often reveal another totally different side.

Ill:

Adrian Plass Poem: The Real Problem,

Sunday is a funny day,

It starts with lots of noise.

Mummy rushes round with socks,

And Daddy shouts, 'You boys!'

Then Mummy says, 'Now don't blame them,

You know you're just as bad,

You've only just got out of bed,

It really makes me mad!'

My mummy is a Christian,

My daddy is as well, .

My mummy says 'Oh, heavens!'

My daddy says 'Oh, well!'

And when we get to church at last,

It's really very strange,

Cos Mum and Dad stop arguing,

And suddenly they change.

At church my mum and dad are friends,

They get on very well,

But no one knows they've had a row,

And I'm not gonna tell.

People often come to them,

Because they seem so nice,

And Mum and Dad are very pleased

To give them some advice.

They tell them Christian freedom

Is worth an awful lot,

But I don't know what freedom means,

If freedom's what they've got.

Daddy loves the meetings,

He's always at them all,

He's learning how to understand

The letters of St Paul.

But Mummy says, 'I'm stuck at home

To lead my Christian life,

It's just as well for blinkin' Paul

He didn't have a wife.'

I once heard my mummy say

She'd walk out of his life,

I once heard Daddy say to her

He'd picked a rotten wife.

They really love each other,

I really think they do.

I think the people in the church

Would help them-if they knew.

• TRANSITION:

• In Luke chapter 10 we get a behind the scenes look into a ‘real’ home.

• Nothing is airbrushed or glossed over;

• We enter a real situation that contains some valuable lesson for us to learn.

Note: the context of these verses:

• Verses 1-24: Jesus sends out the seventy-two as his ambassadors.

• They were very busy going from place to place, they were busy in serving Christ.

• Verses 25-37: The story of the Good Samaritan.

• Once again there is an emphasis on doing, lending a helping hand,

• Now in our passage we have the story of somebody busy serving,

• Luke places this story here to teach us something.

• Following Jesus is not all about doing things, being busy serving Christ.

• That is obviously important and has its place.

• But we also need to be balanced;

• We all need to learn to enjoy Christ, to take time out and sit at his feet;

• To rest and enjoy the company of Jesus!

(1). The Place (vs 38):

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way,

he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.

Jesus and the twelve disciples were on a journey through Judea:

• Luke doesn’t tell us the name of the village;

• But he does tell us who lived there Martha.

• John in his gospel (chapter 11 verse1) fills in the blanks/details.

• Three people share the house (Martha, Mary & Lazarus).

• John in his gospel (chapter 11 verse1) also lets us know the name of the village - Bethany,

• The village is Bethany which is two miles or 3km from Jerusalem on the road to Jericho;

Note:

• The important thing about this home in Bethany was;

• For Jesus this was a place of rest and relaxation.

• For about two and a half years, Jesus has been on the road,

• Traveling around as an itinerant preacher teaching and healing in village after village.

• He is by now a well-known public and popular figure.

• Where Jesus goes the crowds are sure to follow.

• Not only do they follow but they make demands,

• There is always a constant stream of people wanting to be healed!