Stones Hill Community Church
In Luke 17, Christ on his way to Jerusalem to die. He’s only months away from the cross. I think he gets a glimpse here of what 9/10 people are going to do after it’s all done. Only one returned to say thanks. I think He sees that – that after the cross – many will be on to other things. Ingratitude is the leprosy of the soul. It eats away on the inside, destroys our happiness, cripples our joy, withers our compassion, paralyzes our praise and renders us numb to all the blessings of God.
Welcome to "Clearing the Clutter".
We welcome you to Stone's Hill today!
A typical Stone's Hill service has:
* music (so feel free to sing out);
* some announcements (things that are upcoming that you can be a part of);
* a message out of the Bible (God speaks to us through his Word);
* and an opportunity for you to respond to the message (either immediately in the case of a decision that needs to be made OR in the future as you live out the message in your daily life.)
So relax and enjoy your morning! We're so glad you are here!
Luke 17:11-19 NIV
MESSAGE TEXT
Luke 17:11-19
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INTRODUCTION
God will give you a life stop sign where He wants you to stop, really listen, and then choose gratitude and surrender at the feet of Jesus. God is going to do something beautiful in your life. You may not expect it. You may be busy. You may be distracted. You may be cluttered with many things. But when you hear the music – stop, listen, and choose gratitude.
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We'll look closely at our text and make three OBSERVATIONS of the lepers… and these observations will lead to three LESSONS from the lepers.
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Observations: They were...
A Miserable Bunch
A Surprised Bunch
A Thankless Bunch
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Lessons:
Lesson #1: God values the least.
Lesson #2: God invites a response.
Lesson #3; God checks our pride.
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CONCLUSION
Leprosy is a type in the Bible – it’s a type of sin. We’re all infected with it. Just like the lepers had to yell out “Unclean unclean” in order to warn people of their condition, the only way we can come to Christ is with that same confession “Unclean unclean.” Until we get there, you’ll be pretty miserable.Here's the irony in all of this. The Temple all pointed to Jesus. Once you got there, there were rules and protocols about where you could go. You could only go so far – especially if you were a leper, and doubly so if you were a Samaritan leper. The one guy that came back was at the feet of the one to whom the Temple pointed. Instead of going to the priest, the Samaritan became a priest, and he built his altar at the feet of Jesus (read Ps. 116:12–19).