Shelbyville Community Church Shelbyville Community Church

With all of the views on what happens after you die, is there someone’s opinion we can trust? What about someone who has actually risen from the dead? What about someone who has actually conquered death?

In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us a story about the Kingdom of God and forgiveness. The reason Jesus tells this story is simple: Life is filled with opportunity to take offense. Actually, that’s only part of the reason.

Jesus also tells this story in response to a question from Peter about the limits of forgiveness. Here is how he asked it:

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21–22, NIV)

Many of you know the number 7 is the number for completion or fullness in the Scriptures. It represents perfection. The implication is that Peter thinks he is being super gracious. He thinks he is being magnanimous. But Jesus does a play on words with Peter’s answer.

No, Jesus says, not just 7 times, but 7 X 70 times! If you do the math, that is 490 times. So do you think the idea is that on event number 491 of a relationship, we no longer have to forgive? Of course not. The idea is, you forgive someone as much and as often as necessary. There is no limit, no finite number to describe how often we should forgive others.

And then to illustrate this, Jesus begins to tell a powerful and life-changing story. Join us this weekend as unpack it together.

Heart disease is among the greatest killers in the United States. We are often urged by medical professionals to get our hearts checked with the hope that test could literally save our lives. While we are aware of the importance of taking care of our physical hearts, the Bible tells us our hearts play a vital spiritual role in our lives. “Above all else, guard your heart, because everything you do flows from it”. (Proverbs 4:23). In the Parable of the Sower and the seeds, Jesus also talks about the importance of tending to your heart.

In fact, Jesus says that the condition of your heart can determine, not only whether you are in the Kingdom of God or not, but even the kind and quality of fruit that you might or might not bear with your one and only life.

Join us this weekend as we do a heart check of our own. We’ll tend to your heart assess together what might need to change for you to be ALL IN on Jesus.

In Matthew 24:3, the disciples ask Jesus a question: “What will the end of the world be like?”

And Jesus answers their question by telling three stories in a row. First, He tells the Parable of the 10 Virgins. The primary point of this parable is: “Be ready, be prepared, don’t miss the party.” Then Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents. This story would seem to say, “Don’t waste your life!” Finally, He tells a story about some Sheep and some Goats. The point of this story could be summarized with “Take care of hurting and forgotten people!”

When you stack these three stories together, Jesus answers their question about the end of the world with: “I want you to depend on the Gospel, declare the Gospel, and demonstrate the Gospel. If you do those three things, you will be fine.” They want to know what they end times will look like, but Jesus is more concerned about how they live and act in light of the end times. They want to know the future, but Jesus wants them to live in the present reality of the Kingdom.

This weekend we’ll look closely at the middle story: The Parable of the Talents. One of the ideas here would be, “If you want to be prepared for the end times, don’t waste your life!” It’s going to be a powerful weekend, and you won’t want to miss it.

Baptism is a picture of a new life! This weekend we have the amazing opportunity to celebrate what God is doing here at SCC through the ancient practice of baptism.

We’re used to thinking that baptism day is about us or the other people who made their declaration of faith alongside of us, but nothing could be further from the truth. Baptism is a celebration and picture of Christ’s loving work of salvation on the cross. It points us to His grace and power in our lives.

For this reason, baptism is a reminder to keep our spiritual appetites sharp. It reminds us to never stop pursuing Christ, seeking to know Him, and letting Him fill us with His grace and mercy. Scripture reminds us: “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time–to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.”

Once upon a time in Silicon Valley there lived a very important and educated man. He routinely worked twelve to fourteen-hour days. Even when he wasn’t at work, he found himself thinking of work so that it was not only his occupation, but his preoccupation as well.

He was vaguely aware that his kids were growing up and he was missing it. But he also reasoned that he was working for them and their future security. Making it big was important to him, partly because of what it could do for his family, but mostly for what it would do for him.

One day he woke up to find his company doing so well it became necessary for him to lead his company through a technological revolution. This was the opportunity he’d been waiting for! He brushed up on his leadership and passionately poured himself out for the benefit of his company.

When he arrived home that night, he told his wife, “Our future is secure! This means we can relax and enjoy life more. Let’s take that vacation together you’ve been talking about.” That night his wife woke up around 3:00 a.m. and noticed her husband wasn’t beside her. She found him hunched over his desk and touched him on the shoulder. He was cold.

His death was a major story in the financial community. His obituary was written up in Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. At his funeral, his friends and co-workers gathered and talked about what an entrepreneur and innovator He had been. They buried him at the cemetery, and then all went home to get on with their lives.

That night the angel of God made his way past all this other graves to the newly dug grave of this man. There on that tombstone the angel of God traced with his finger the 1 word God used to describe this man: “Fool.”

By now you may have recognized this story as an updated story that Jesus actually told 2,000 years ago. In this story, Jesus doesn’t call this man wicked or evil, but simply a fool. Why? Join us this Sunday to find out! It’s going to be a powerful weekend, and you won’t want to miss it.