Before the rooster crows

Jesus declared that the disciples will fall away. Peter actively denied the Saviour whom he lived with, heard, and learned from.

We must be careful that we may fall and fail in our faith if...

1. We compete or compare with others in our faith.
-We must not use others as our gauge in our maturity.
-In Luke 22:24, the road to Gethsemane was filled with argument as to who was most faithful and who was the greatest amongst the disciples.
-Our target is setting Jesus Christ as our personal gauge, and it is useless to compare with each other.

2. We rely on ourselves.
-Luke 22:31-34 says that Peter, hearing that the enemy asked for his failure and that Jesus even prayed for him, declared that hs is ready to go anywhere Jesus does--even death.
-1 Corintians 10:12 reminds us to be careful that we not fall.

3. Our faith is about us
-Considering the pronouns that Peter used, he is considerably self-centered (v. 32 declared that Jesus will be raised from the dead, but Peter focused on his own actions, not hearing that Jesus assured them of Him being raised up).
-John 13:36-38 mentioned that Peter ranted why he cannot follow Jesus, like a spoiled child.
-faith is not doing what we just want to do but what Jesus wants us to do.

STOP RUNNING AWAY, START RUNNING BACK TO JESUS. HE IS RISEN!

*based on Matthew 26:30-35
by Rev. Anthony Hao

From mourning into dancing

Godly mourning brings godly happiness.
-we mourn for personal loss
-we mourn for sin, sorrow, and suffering in the world
-we mourn for our own sin--this is the MOURNING that the beatitudes refers to.

A person knows that he is spiritually poor when he mourns his spiritual condition.

To be comforted, we must recognize what sin does to our lives (Lk.7:46)--leading to unworthiness to anoint Jesus' head.

Sin
- is lawlessness--breaking the law (1John 3:4)
- sometimes leads to physical weakness (Ps32:3-4)
- wreaks havoc in our relationships with each other (Jas4:1)
- places a wedge between sinful man and holy God (Ps66:18)
- must be responded to by repentance--a commitment to change our ways (Lk7:37)
- has been forgiven--and we are free to receive this forgiveness (Lk7:48)


*based on Matthew 5:4; Luke 7:36-50
by Ptr. Joy Gotico

The Grace Spectacles

While the Pharisees only saw sinners and tax collectors among them, Jesus saw a potential future disciple.

Question: How would you treat a man with piercings, earrings, punk rock shirts?
---It is important for us to see as Jesus sees, USING GRACE SPECTACLES--not as we see their past, but as Jesus sees their future.

Jesus called and Levi dropped everything to follow Him.

Question: How are we listening to His call for us today?
---The closer we are in listening to Him, the better we can see how Jesus sees them. In the same way, we can direct people to follow Christ as we follow Him closely.

Jesus did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Question: How involved are we with the caring and healing ministry?
---Jesus' call is persistent and compelling. The church is a hospital of sinners, not a performance arena for the righteous.


*based on Luke 5:27-32
by Rev. Paul Wang