A New Identity

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16

A New Identity

The scripture above takes place at Caesarea Philippi  where Jesus is with his disciples.  Caesarea Philippi but also the moment we proclaim Jesus as Lord we all get a new name – new identity in him. He changes us immediately. Peter then realized who Jesus was after he obeyed him and he called Jesus Lord instead of “Master” (boss). Obedience changes us forever and our perspective of Jesus.

Jesus and the disciples were in Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus asked them two very important questions: “Who do people say that I am,” and “Who do you say that I am?” The disciples had been with Jesus for three years, living with him, eating with him, learning from him and watching him perform signs and wonders. They had even been sent out on their own, two by two, to do the work Jesus had taught them, but they had yet to proclaim that Jesus was truly the son of God.

When Jesus asked the disciples what people were saying about who he is, they answered with what they had heard - John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets. Then Jesus personalized the question and directed it at the disciples - “But you, he asked them, who do you say that I am?” Peter answered You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  

As soon as Peter uttered the words Jesus responded: Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.” Then he gave the disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah. v17-20

Peter realized who Jesus was from the moment Jesus called him to be a disciple. In the passage from Pastor Jim’s message this past Sunday, Jesus gave Peter a simple command and Peter obeyed resulting in a miracle that helped them see that Jesus had to be the Lord. Peter obeyed Jesus’ command and then stepped out in obedience to follow him as a disciple. In that moment in scripture when Peter realized that Jesus was the Lord he is referred to as Simon Peter - a little foreshadowing of what happened at Caesarea Philippi. 

The disciples knew who Jesus was but they had not proclaimed it. When Peter proclaimed it his whole life changed - not just his name. When we become followers of Jesus we don’t just get a new name, but we get a whole new identity as well as a new family. That new identity cancels out every lie of the enemy about who you really are. 

Jesus asks this same question of all who come to him. We answer this question with our lives - how we act and treat others, what we say and what we do. What we believe to be true about Jesus will be evident in the way we live our lives. That also means that if we acknowledge him as Lord of our lives we will trust and obey. If we love him we will keep his commandments, as well as following in obedience every step of the way. If you love me, you will keep my commands. John 14:15

Who is Jesus in your life? Do you trust him with some areas but not others? 

The Power Of Obedience

 Monday, June 29, 2026

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.”  Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him. Luke 5:8-11

The Power Of Obedience 

When we become believers we are instantly changed but it is just the beginning of a path we will be on for the rest of our lives. Obedience is what propels us forward on this path. Yesterday we heard about four disciples who Jesus called away from their profession as fishermen to join him in his mission to fish for people.

Our key truth for this series, Come and See: Encounters With Jesus, is All are invited to come and see the truth found in Jesus. Jesus calls us out to follow him. We choose, just like the disciples in this story, whether to step out and trust him or to stay where we are. Stepping out in faith and obedience leads to the abundant life we are longing for.

The men in this story were experienced fishermen. They knew the right time and place to cast their nets to catch fish and they had been at it all night long with nothing to show. Jesus comes and tells them to cast their nets again - on the other side of the boat. They reluctantly (and maybe a little sarcastically) agreed, thinking they were going to show this man what they already knew - their nets would be empty again. But they were surprised that their nets were so full they were ripping, and the boat began the sink. Simon Peter instantly knew that this man was the Messiah. Jesus told him not to be afraid because he was about to make him a fisher of men. They brought everything to land, left it and followed him. 

He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.  He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.” When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. Luke 5:2-7

These men saw Jesus as the Messiah when he revealed himself to them. What Jesus asked of them did not make sense to them - after all they were experienced fishermen. They knew better right? Yet when they obeyed their nets were bursting. Yesterday Pastor Jim said - Obedience to Jesus isn’t predicated on our own understanding of the world, but on how Jesus understands and works in the world.

We can trust Jesus completely. We may think we know the best way but Jesus has a different understanding of the world than we do. He has a holy perspective, and he was before us, he goes with us and ahead of us. There is not a problem in this world too big for him – he conquered death and hell. 

Obedience is powerful. Andy Brady once said four powerful words that have stuck with me - Obedience is the rescue. Obedience changes everything. It sets a whole new trajectory for our lives - propels us forward on the right path. Obedience saves us from ourselves, consequences of sin, broken relationships, being out of God’s will, and so much more, but most of all it saves us from hell. Obedience may sound like a confinement of sorts, but it is actually the greatest freedom we could know. The power of obedience brings confidence – in ourselves to make the right choice and in Jesus who always has our backs. It brings security and safety. It brings reassurance and peace. 

In our competent self-sufficiency we balk at surrendering in obedience. After all, Simon was a fisherman, and he knew what he was doing. He had experience and they had already been working all night to catch fish – at the perfect time, the perfect conditions that all experienced fishermen paid attention to, but what Jesus was asking didn’t make sense to them. 

How does obedience play a central role in knowing and following Jesus? 

What has God asked you to do that seems impossible, or even illogical in your mind?  To follow actually means to follow – him. To move where he moves, in his footsteps, not our own. Surrender to him. Submit to him. Give him everything. Lay your nets down and leave them. 

Get some accountability in your life. With no accountability but only to ourselves we sometimes make obedience optional, but for a Christ follower obedience is never optional. We can always talk ourselves out of something that is hard or inconvenient. Obedience is hard but it is where life is found – in Jesus.

Be aware of the work of God around of you. What is he inviting you to be a part of?

Come and See: Encounters With Jesus “The Obedient”

Come and See: Encounters With Jesus
“The Obedient”
Luke 5:1-11 (CSB)

 

Key Truth: All are invited to come and see the truth found in Jesus.

Main Question: How does obedience play a central role in knowing and following Jesus? 

1. The call to obedience. (vs. 1-4)

- Obedience to Jesus isn’t predicated on our own understanding of the world, but on how Jesus understands and works in the world.

2. The act of obedience. (vs. 5)

- Faith always leads to obedience and obedience is always the by-product of faith.

 

3. The power of obedience. (vs. 6-11)

After the Message: 
Read Luke 5:1-11. What is Jesus asking you to do today? Does it seem impossible? Will you trust Him today and step out in faith to obey Jesus and watch what He can do?  

 

Please Christ, not Man

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Please Christ, not Man – Colossians 3:22b-4:1 Submitted by Kay Crumley

I have verse 23 engrained in my mind because as a child growing up on a farm I spend a lot of time with my Dad. He would often quote the message to me about doing the best I could at whatever I did because all is to be done for the Lord not people. I probably thought, as a child, that he was just trying to make me try harder to do my best.  

This chapter of Colossians is about more than our work. Paul is writing to the church in Colossae from prison to believers who had cultural influences ‘water down’ Jesus’ teachings. He is trying to get them back into line with his teaching when the church was first established there. Chapter 3 opens with what it means to be a new man, how that is different from life before becoming a Christ follower and how to live out that life as a new creation. Beginning in verse 18 through 4:1 Tony Evans titles that section as Kingdom People in the Home, on the Job and in the Church. Paul is giving practical instruction of how the Christian life it different from the pagan or non-Christian life.   

Wives submit to you husbands and husbands love your wife. The relationship between them is to be respectful and loving. The husband is the head of the house but is to be considerate of the wife who submits to his Christlike authority in the home.  

Children obey your parents as is commanded in the Ten Commandments. However, parents don’t exasperate your children. Parents are to teach their children the ways of the Lord as their lifestyle are in alignment with God’s Kingdom.  

Thirdly, Paul addresses the treatment of slaves within the household. He is addressing the societal conditions of the day, not advocating slavery. This can be interpreted in today as how employers treat their employees and the response of Christian employees. Employees should obey their bosses sincerely, with their best effort. He admonished them not to only work diligently when the boss is watching.  

Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism. 1 Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven. 

The point my Dad always made was to do the best you can at everything you are asked to do because God is the ultimate One is charge and makes the final judgement as to the effort and product. As Christian employees we must realize that the ultimate reward is not an earthly reward. All we do is to bring honor and glory to Him. A poor effort on the part of a Christian reflects badly on our Father. The One we serve is our Heavenly Father, not the earthly employers. You receive pay back for wrongdoing if you fail to follow Christian character or principles on the job.  

Paul also addresses the Master or employer. They are to treat those under their authority both justly and fairly. Why? Because we all have a Master and God is Master over all.  

Paul advises all to behave in a manner of justice and fairness regardless of their position or power. The reward that matters is the one we will be given by our Heavenly Father, our eternal inheritance with Him in Heaven.    

Choosing Hope

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

When he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Right away a man with leprosy came up and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made lean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  Then Jesus told him, “See that you don’t tell anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Matthew 8:1-4

 

Choosing Hope

This past Sunday in the Come and See series Pastor Jim talked about a man who had leprosy. He had absolutely no hope until the Messiah came and, in faith, he was willing to step out and find true hope that only Jesus could offer. 

In Jesus’ day no disease was more feared than leprosy. It slowly eats away parts of the body leaving its victims deformed. Among the Jews, lepers lived in separate communities, away from the general population, so that others would not be infected. They lived solely on alms, leaving them poor. People, even their families, avoided them because they were considered “unclean,” cursed by God. 

One day a man with leprosy came up to Jesus and asked if he would be willing him to make him clean. Jesus told him he was willing, and he healed the man. Jesus healed a man from an incurable disease that no doctor or medicine could. No one approached lepers or even got near them, yet Jesus took the time to stop, pay attention to this man and heal him. Jesus was his only hope.

 

This man had absolutely no hope. He was an outcast, unclean, helpless - and desperate. He saw the opportunity for hope when he saw Jesus. He obviously had the need for hope and knew that Jesus was the answer to hope. Jesus was modeling for us how we are to take his hope to those around us who are desperate and seeking - and even those who may have given up. 

 

Do you know someone that needs hope? If you have ever felt hopelessness, it is unmistakable when you see it in someone else’s eyes. The problem with hopelessness is that once we believe that hope is not for us we move into the leper colony, create an identity as a leper with no hope of being healed, and live as a leper. We stop looking for hope. It takes faith like the man in the story to step out and run to Jesus. It takes faith to surrender and want to be made clean - because that requires change. Jesus cleans us but we have to live differently. We have to move out of the leper colony and live in hope. There will be those who are still living in no hope and won't understand why you don't want to stay there. They may pull and tug on you to come back. But it takes some work on our part to choose hope again and again after we have been given the everlasting hope of Jesus, because even after the leper spots are gone and we are healed, sometimes we can loose sight of that hope in the midst of other circumstances. Choose hope over and over again.

 

Jesus wants us to reach out and love the lepers in our lives. We don’t know what seeds we are planting or how God is touching their hearts when we offer a kind or encouraging word.  He changes people’s lives and heals their diseases - both physical and spiritual - and He uses us to touch people’s lives in ways we may not even be aware. We should always have eyes to see those around us who not only need to hear the gospel, which is hope, but need to know we are a product of his hope. We have been hopeless and now we are not. We know how Jesus pours hope into a life that seems over - an outcast, unclean, helpless, and desperate. His saving grace erases our lepers’ spots and gives us a new identity in him. His saving grace gives us the hope of eternal life - hope for today and hope for eternity. We no longer belong in the leper colony but instead have a seat at his table and a place with him in eternity. 

 

Look around you as you go through the day. Who needs this everlasting hope that only Jesus offers?  

The Confession of our Hope

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Let’s approach God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; Hebrews10:22-23

The Confession of our Hope

There are three main points to this passage that we can hold onto when we are in need of hope - Approach God with assurance and a clean heart, hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, and remember His faithfulness.  

Approach God With Assurance and a Clean Heart – Let’s approach God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  As Children of God we have been given the incredible privilege of access to our Holy God. We are invited into His presence, to dwell with Him, to abide with Him any time. 

In the Old Testament, on the Day of Atonement (a day once a year where the high priest performed elaborate rituals to atone for the sins of the people), only the high priest was allowed to enter the holy of holies - the holiest place of all - with fear and trembling. Because of the regulations placed on them by man’s laws, several washings and the blood of a sacrificed animal was required to enter. The cleansing and forgiveness of the people rested on the high priest. 

We can have boldness to enter His presence because Christ's blood satisfied the requirements for us. He provided that way for us with His shed blood on Calvary. We have the incredible privilege of dwelling in God's presence at all times. Christ's sacrifice made this unlimited access possible! His blood washes our sin away and makes us clean, but we cannot enjoy the privilege of His presence with sin in our life. We honor His holiness when we approach Him with humble and contrite hearts, confessing and asking for forgiveness.

Hold Fast - Don’t Swerve Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering… 
With the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, things changed and the Jews struggled to embrace these new truths, and to navigate a life of faith versus a system of rituals and rules. They were tempted to go back to their old ways. They were wavering from the truth. But a renewed confidence in the power of Jesus, and a reminder of what the “truth” actually is helped the Jews get back on track.  

When our faith begins to waver, we gain stability by focusing on our present (and future) hope - Christ. We must also remember what the “truth” is, especially in a world that has twisted the truth so completely. Most of all, we find confidence in God's faithfulness to keep His promises.

The Hope We Profess - He is Faithful – For He who promised is faithful… This is the absolute only reason we can have hope - because He is faithful. It is far better to trust in His faithfulness instead of ours, and when we struggle with hope, He is still faithful. 

Because of the blood we have hope. Because Christ alone saves. Because Christ alone is worthy of holding onto. Because He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, and because He always lives to make intercession for them we can have hope that nothing can take away. 

As we approach Him with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, let us remember and surrender so that he will have his way in our heart and lives for his glory. No matter what happens, or how bumpy the ride, let us hold firmly to his truth and the confession of our hope - his faithfulness through the ages. Let our testimony of his faithfulness in our own lives be a beacon of hope for those looking for a hope that never fails. 

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25 

Come and See: Encounters With Jesus “The Hopeful”

Come and See: Encounters With Jesus
“The Hopeful”
Matthew 8:1-4 (CSB)

 

- Key Truth: All are invited to come and see the truth found in Jesus.

- Biblical hope— The anticipation of a favorable outcome under God's guidance.

 

Main Question: How does Jesus provide hope for the hopeless and how can we be the messengers of that hope?

 

1. The opportunity for hope. (vs. 1)

2. The need for hope. (vs. 2)

3. The answer to hope. (vs. 3-4)

After the Message: 
Read Matthew 8:1-4. In whom are you placing your hope? Will you trust Jesus to meet you at the point of your need?  

 

 

 

Free Indeed

Friday, June 19, 2026

Free Indeed – John 8:34-36 Submitted by Kay Crumley

In this chapter of the Gospel of John, John records Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts to a Jewish audience. Some had believed Him to be the Messiah. In Verse 32 He told them if they knew the truth it would set them free. They understood freedom meant not being enslaved. They believed they were a free nation as descendants of Abraham, even though there are many periods in their history that their ancestors had been in bondage to other nations. 

Jesus’ reply referred to a very different kind of slavery than being held in bondage politically, physically. The bondage we all experience outside His freedom is to our own sinful nature. 

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

We are slaves to sin, to the hold Satan has on our lives as he builds a foundation of lies in our heart and soul. He is the father of lies and uses them to insidiously guide our thinking. These lies seem harmless in the beginning but build into convincing us that we are unable to free ourselves from them until they control our thoughts.   

One trick of the enemy is to use two truths and one lie to deceive and control us. As Christ followers we know that Jesus died for us. We know He strengthens us when we are weak. The Satan will tell us if He truly is our strength we shouldn’t mess up so maybe He didn’t really provide salvation to us, just to others. He finds the fear we have about our worthiness and assaults our mind with doubt. The result is that we believe that lie and may find something else to serve and worship. He keeps us enslaved to that sin until we believe we are without hope. 

The promise, in the words of Jesus Himself, is that we are His children, sons and daughters. A slave’s position in the family is temporary; slaves are property that are traded or sold. But a child is a permanent member of the family. We are His, in His family forever, for eternity. 

When we believe Jesus truly is the Son of God, we commit our lives to follow His way, then we are His forever. Therefore, we have the tools to counter all the lies of Satan and overcome that sin that causes us to be trapped. His truth defeats all Satan’s lies. 

We are set free from the power of sin when we become Christ followers. We are indeed free from the bondage of sin. To exercise that freedom, we must cling to His truth. Proverbs 3:3 Don’t let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.Bind them on your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Remain steadfast in your faithfulness to Him.