Matthew 4:1-11, Submitted by Chris Barnes

As you read this passage, you find the devil at work in his attempts to get Jesus to fall or take a misstep. The devil is clever, using Jesus’ hunger to challenge him to perform a miracle to satisfy his hunger. Jesus uses his response as an opportunity to show the devil there is more to hunger than food alone. He reminds us the the words of God are more satisfying than bread alone. Bread will fill our stomachs but God will fill our spirit. It is important to remember that God has many things to share with us, and there is an importance to taking time to share with him in prayer and devotion. God will fill your spirit as the bread would fill your stomach.

In the devil’s second test, Jesus quotes the Scripture, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” This response brings us the very nature of testing God. What does it mean to put God to the test? How would one test the Maker of the universe? It seems simple to think of testing God in terms of sin. Remember that God has more grace and mercy than anyone can imagine. Putting God to the test to show his power is unnecessary, but he has already proven willingness to give his Son.

Finally the devil attempts to give Jesus the world, if he would only bow. How often does the temptation to have it all, bear the cost of serving a false god? Think in terms of money, possessions, and desires. How often do you see people losing their families over those things? Once you put something in front of God, everything else falls away. Take comfort in the fact that God is there for you and me. He is always willing to meet with you. You don’t need an appointment and don’t have to bring anything. Just take the time to worship God and look and the world he has given you.

Matthew 4:1-11

Hungry from going for days without any food, Jesus is confronted by Satan with a seemingly innocent kind of temptation. “What will it hurt to just make a little bread and eat it?” It’s easy to resist the “bigger” temptations because they are so obviously outside of God’s will and in many cases also against the law or against our own conscience, but how easy is it to fall to the temptation of the small, innocuous sins?

Here in this single temptation, and in Jesus’ response, three deep spiritual realities are taking place.

First of all, Satan is hitting Jesus with the same temptation with which he conquered Adam and Eve—the temptation to eat. If Jesus can beat this temptation, then he will prove his ability to be the “Second Adam,” the one who can start the human race all over again.

Secondly, unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus is able to resist the temptation to satisfy his own desires, but in resisting, he tells his secret that life comes from the Word of God rather than from food. He is declaring that time spent with the Father meditating on His Word is more important and more satisfying than food! I’ve been a believer for 30 years, but even so it’s hard for me to relate to that statement at 6:00pm when the smell of dinner is wafting through the house!

Finally, Jesus proves his own point in saying this because it is itself a quotation from God’s Word. God’s Word declares that it’s all we need, Jesus affirms his own belief in it by quoting it, and more practically, it gives Jesus the power to conquer his own temptation.

So what’s it mean for us? If Jesus needed the power of God’s Word to conquer temptation, how much more do we need it?

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: Get God’s Word in you, and you’ll live life beyond the needs and limitations of this physical world!

Matthew 3:1-16

One of the amazing things about Jesus is that he isn’t concerned with maintaining the appearance of righteousness but of upholding true righteousness for himself and also for others.

Picture the scene. For days and days now, a man named John has been wading out into the muddy waters of the Jordan River calling upon people to repent of their sins and be baptized by him. He is challenging the status quo of the religious elite and even calls Pharisees to repentance. He seems rather strange and eccentric and rumors fly around about him living in the wilderness off of locusts and wild honey as his only food. But regardless of his appearance or his unorthodox approach, his message is clear—”Be baptized in repentance for your sins.”—and the people keep coming. They come, they are convicted of their sin, and they are baptized.

Then, one day Jesus comes near. What are the people going to think when Jesus goes into the water? Well, of course, since Jesus hasn’t started his public ministry yet, no one really knows him. In the mind of the crowd, he’s just one more sinner repenting and going to John for baptism. John knew better, though. He knew that Jesus, a cousin of his on his mother’s side, had never committed any wrongdoing, and was promised by angels before his birth to be the Messiah. He knew Jesus didn’t need to repent, but everyone else would have misunderstood this moment.

John was concerned about Jesus’ reputation, but Jesus wasn’t. His concern was about righteousness, doing the right thing all the time, and the fact that John was promoting righteousness to his audience. Jesus wanted to be a part of that. He wanted to support that, and he wanted to personally associate himself with John’s ministry. It wasn’t about reputation. It wasn’t about repentance. It was about righteousness—doing the right thing and promoting the right thing.

Today, don’t allow concerns of doing the right things and promoting the right things to be overshadowed by the concerns over your reputation. It matters not what people think of you but whether you are living in willing submission to God, His Will, and even the leaders he has appointed. Jesus, the king of the universe and creator of all that is, placed himself under the leadership of John, and in a moment of profound submission, was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness.”

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: The only person whose opinion matters is God.

John 6:26-71

As we begin our series focusing on the words of Jesus, it’s fitting to reflect upon this key passage. Jesus has just fed 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Then, he walked across a lake without a boat, and the next morning, the people showed up ready for another meal.

In the following conversation, Jesus makes it clear that their hearts are in the wrong place. Here he is standing right in front of them, he himself, the source of life and the source of life eternal, and all they can think about is lunch.

The conversation culminates in his statement that the flesh counts for nothing, but that real life comes from the work of the Spirit through the words Jesus is speaking.

This is the truth we need to hear at the beginning of our journey into the words of Jesus. Though we have a tendency to focus on the earthly things around us, on our clothes, our stuff and on the food we eat, our source of life is to be found in Christ and the words he has for us. There may be some hard teachings, but if we are willing to stay close to Jesus, the power of his words will come alive in our hearts.

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: The words of Jesus will be our life.

(PROJECT) RED is more than a sermon series, more than a church campaign, more than a single event. It is a life-changing adventure that promises to impact thousands of people in Lafayette, and tens of thousands of people around the world starting with YOU!

The History of (RED)

Some time ago, Bono, lead singer for U2 became an outspoken advocate for the plight of the less fortunate in Africa. In particular, he recognized that the problem of AIDS, running rampant and killing millions was a symptom of systemic economic oppression. That is, one reason there is no resolution to the problem of AIDS in Africa is that the poverty of the country and the corruption of the government is preventing the right help getting to the people who need it. Additionally, the system of intergovernmental loans has caused many countries in Africa to owe more money in interest to foreign powers than their total wealth production can afford.

To help solve the problem of global poverty, he launched the ONE campaign.

To help solve the problem of AIDS in Africa, he launched the (PRODUCT) RED Campaign which is a business model rather than a charity. Companies produce “RED” versions of their products and give a portion of their proceeds to the Global Fund which then routes 100% of those funds to purchase anti-retroviral drugs for distribution in Africa.

These are things Christians should be doing, and these are things Jesus would commend. After all, red isn’t just the color of an iPod, it’s also the color of the strongest words of social justice to be found in the Bible! (Many English Bibles follow the tradition of printing quotations of Jesus in red ink. These Bibles are called “Red Letter Editions.”)

Our Version

One one hand, our (PROJECT) RED Campaign is a parody of the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, but on the other hand, it’s a parallel endeavor aimed at doing something good for this world because that’s what Jesus told us to do. We also believe that as we pay attention to the words Jesus spoke, we will become better people ourselves.

Over the summer months of July and August 2008, Lafayette Community Church will be exploring the words of Jesus in the New Testament. We will be “reading the red letters” and putting them into practice by rethinking our own lives and taking strategic steps to serve the poor in our own community and around the world. Additionally, in the spirit of the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, we will be raising money through T-Shirt sales and direct donations to send to AIDS relief in Africa through a partnership with Art and Dorothy Helwig, Christian missionaries to Nigeria. This video shows some of the work they’ve been doing in addition to AIDS relief.

How it Works

• Subscribe to our campaign updates and daily devotionals written by members of this church from Lafayette and supporters of this church nationwide.

• Show up for our Sunday Gatherings at the Long Center in Downtown Lafayette (more info).
• Buy a shirt. Shirts will be sold at our Gatherings or by mail to those who request one for $15. All profit from shirt sales will go directly to AIDS relief in Africa.
• Send money. Gifts can be made online by clicking Donate Online here or at the top of our website.
• Sign up to serve. Twice this summer, we will be hosting a service project to help us get serving together. Stay tuned in to find out what they are and how you can help.