I tried my hardest to upload the video of the first talk I gave at the Sunday service here. But, it just wasn't working out; the internet is just not strong enough here.
But, by popular demand, I'll try to give yall the short version:
I knew I wanted to tell a story from the Gospels about Jesus. Because, I believe the best thing for new believers is to fall in love with Jesus. Get to know his character and who he was as a person as well as God. Because God came down to be human just like us. Jesus was 100% man AND 100% God. So, I wanted to speak about the character of Jesus.
I came across the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. And I stole a lot of stuff from a Mark Driscoll podcast.
So, I started by briefly describing the scene:
Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector of Jericho. So, this means he probably stole a ton of money from the people. This was why he was a "very rich man." He was a notoriously sinful man and everyone in Jericho would have hated him for the wealth and power he stole from people! He was the worst of the worst.
So, here comes Jesus, traveling through Jericho, on the way to Jersusalem. He sees Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree and CALLS HIM BY NAME and invites himself over to Zacchaeus' house for lunch. Back in those days, when you shared a meal with a person, you were considered friends with that person. So, Jesus was calling Zacchaeus out of the tree and into a friendship, a relationship with him.
And I basically talked about how Jesus calls us all out by name. He sees us in a tree, hiding from him, because we think our sin is too great for him to love us. And then he calls us down by our name. Even though we are sinners, he calls us to be in relationship with him.
Then I told them how some of them may feel like they're not good enough or that their sin is too great for Jesus to love them. I reassured them that Zacchaeus was the worst of the worst. No one was more lost than he was. Yet, Jesus invited him into a friendship. And he does the same for you!
Because he doesn't care who you were or what you've done. He only cares about who you can be, if you choose to follow him. He only looks at you with love and he asks nothing of you in return. The only thing Jesus wants is a genuine, whole-hearted, intimate, loving relationship with you. But, it's a choice that he leaves for you to make. That's what's so beautiful about Jesus, he doesn't force anything on you. He allows you to choose.
It was a lot for them to soak in for one day…
It was also important for them to know that if they're not ready to make this choice yet, that's ok. It's a BIG, life-altering decision to make and we don't want them to take it lightly. It's not like choosing between a Big Mac and a Double Cheeseburger. This is ETERNITY we're talking about! This is Jesus we're talking about! And if you're just not quite ready for this relationship or if you're just not sure or if you have some more questions to work out… guess what?………. We're still going to love you!
Sorry for the long blog. But it was a special day for me to be able to share this news with the community. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts, additions, subtractions, ect. to this story of Zacchaeus. Because it's one of my favorites!
