Series: When a Heart Breaks
Sermon: The Unclean Leper
Scripture: Mark 1:35-42
ICE BREAKER: Would you rather own 10 perfectly behaved Chihuahua's or 3 kind, but disobedient Great Dane's?
REVIEW:
In week 2 of our "When a Heart Breaks" series, Pastor Noel walked us through the story of Jesus meeting the Leper in Mark chapter 1. The lepers in Jesus' day were the "unclean" of society. They were outcasts, marginalized on the fringes of society.
Although hope seemed to be lost, the leper had the courage to come to Jesus. He knew that Jesus was powerful enough to heal him, he just did not know if He was willing. Jesus was MOVED TO COMPASSION when he met the Leper and healed him from his disease. This unique form of compassion is found specifically in the person of Jesus and is the template for how his followers should engage with others! The way we are saying it in this series is:
WHEN A HEART BREAKS
LOVE BREAKS OUT
Many of us feel Unclean in many ways. Like we don't quite belong or have done something to not qualify for a life with Jesus. However, this story shows us that Jesus comes to where we are and meets us in the mess of our life. If we have the faith of the leper to come to Jesus he will make us clean!
Jesus reaches out and touches the leper. Jesus became unclean to make the leper clean. This is exactly what He did for us on the cross! He took on the punishment of our sins and made a way for us to be seen as righteous before God.
APPLY:
This week was a gospel specific message. There are 3 potential areas for application:
1. If you have never trusted in Jesus, this is the perfect time to consider doing just that. Spend some time this week thinking through what it means for Jesus to have taken every single bad action, thought, or word in your life and paid the price for it. If you want help thinking through this, ask one of your LifeTeam members or reach out to our staff through the website "contact us" form at the bottom of the page!
2. As believers, it can become easy to grow arrogant in our faith. We begin seeing ourselves as Jesus in the story and forgetting that we are actually the leper! If you find yourself falling into this trap, spend some time thinking about how Jesus accepted you when you were unclean and loved you anyway!
3. We all have people in our sphere of influence who are living without the good news of Jesus, (and if not, get out of your Christian bubble!). This week share what Jesus has done in your life with ONE PERSON that you know has not believed in Jesus. This can feel very intimidating if you have never done it before! Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you and give you confidence. Ask God to open up the door to a spiritual conversation. Do not feel like you need to have all the answers. If you get stuck, invite them to a service with you this Sunday!
PRAY:
Spend some time praying with your team. Pray for anyone in your team who has not yet believed to find the answers they are looking for in Jesus. Thank God for a place like our LifeTeams where EVERYONE can come and wrestle with these huge questions. If you struggle with spiritual superiority, pray for humility and reminders that you are the leper and Jesus is the healer! Ask God for courage in seeking a conversation to share your faith this week. Most of all, thank God for sending his son to save us from our sins!
