We see this pattern over and over in the psalms. The psalmist calls out in distress; God responds. The psalmist is quick to give God credit. In this week’s psalm, we read,

(Psalms 107:19 NIV) Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

This pattern is not only in the psalms; we see it throughout Scripture. In the Gospels, people come to Jesus with ailments; Jesus heals. Once the word is out that Jesus is able to perform such miracles, the crowds are unbearable. Everyone wants to be rescued when they are in trouble.

But what happens after the rescue? How did the people respond once they were delivered from danger or disease? Some went about their way paying little attention to the severity of their trouble. Others are overwhelmed with hearts of gratitude.

In Luke 17, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He encounters ten men who were suffering from leprosy. This disease caused tremendous suffering, not only physically but socially as well. They would have been separated from their families and society.

(Luke 17:12–13 NIV) 12) They stood at a distance 13) and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

No doubt, they are in trouble; they are in desperate need of rescue. Luke tells us that Jesus heals them. But that is not Luke’s emphasis in the story. Luke describes what happens next.

(Luke 17:15–16 NIV) 15) One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16) He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan.

So there were ten guys in critical condition. Jesus gets them out and only one comes back to thank him.

(Luke 17:17–19 NIV) 17) Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18) Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19) Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

This encounter illustrates our tendency to forget how bad things were once we are out of the woods. This ex-leper appropriately worships Jesus; he credits him for his astounding rescue. We all have various emancipations; some are more profound than others. Do we take the time to thank God when he delivers us? Do we continually live in a posture of gratitude. Join us on Sunday as we canvass Psalm 107. May we join the psalmist who repeats this phrase not once or twice but four times (v. 8, 15, 21, 31) in this psalm.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.

In this third sermon in our mission statement series, we consider the task of empowering one another in the faith. First Baptist Church Muncie exists to equip this body of believers to walk with Jesus. We do this by engaging Scripture, sharing our stories, praying together, prompting each other in spiritual disciplines, and discerning and using our spiritual gifts.

I was reading from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals this morning and came across a quote from Jesuit Jean-Pierre de Caussade (18th Century). Now, don’t forget, this upcoming sermon is on stewardship; it is about realizing all we have is God’s and we are responsible to use it for his purposes.

“The great and firm foundation of the spiritual life is the offering of ourselves to God and being subject to his will in all things. We must completely forget ourselves, so that we regard ourselves as an object which has been sold and over which we no longer have any rights. We find all our joy in fulfilling God’s pleasure — his happiness, his glory and the fact that he is our great and only delight. Once we have this foundation, all we need to do is spend our lives rejoicing that God is God and being so wholly abandoned to his will that we are quite indifferent as to what we do and equally indifferent as to what use he makes of our activities.” ¹

You may need to read this a couple of times to let it sink in. It is a powerful confession that our lives are not our own. We have given them over to God to use for his purposes.

When we see the word “steward” or “stewardship” in a sermon title, we assume the pastor is going to talk about money. But stewardship is much deeper than dollars. Sure, it has to do with dollars. If our checkbooks are not submitted to God, there is a problem. Jesus has much to say about money and it a key concern for anyone who seriously follows Him. Yet, living as a steward is a worldview; it is about how we understand our proper relationship to the Creator.

We are going to explore the parable of the prudent steward in Luke 16:1-13 this week. Jesus defines our position before God as He shocks us by praising questionable behavior. Join us on Sunday as we engage the story together.

On Christmas morning, we will consider the Christmas story as recorded in Luke 2. Jesus’ birth was not a snow filled, hot chocolate laced occasion. It was messy, dirty, smelly; we will remind ourselves of the story that we have heard a million times. As we celebrate Christmas, we will remember that Christmas was a pretty scary occasion for those in Luke 2. Yet the angel’s words, “do not be afraid” assure us that God was and is up to something incredible.

I know that holidays can be busy. Many are traveling, others are spending concentrated time with family. Yet, I encourage you to carve out time to worship. Join us as we remember the true meaning of Christmas this weekend.

For those of you traveling out of town, we wish you a merry and Jesus-centered Christmas. For everyone else, I will see you this weekend.

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