DirtyRotten

Scoundrels

Mountain Life Church/Life Pack/October 21, 2012

Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsSermon Notes

October 21, 2012

I. The Jewish PublicanA. A Traitor/Collaborator

B. A Thief

C. The Lowest Rung on Society’s Ladder - but wealthy!

II. Who Was Levi?A. Levi, or Matthew, son of Alphaeus

B. Alphaeus was the father of James the Lesser

C. Perhaps a prodigal or black sheep of the family

III.Follow Me!A. A Statement of Unconditional Love

B. A Statement of Unconditional Acceptance

C. A Challenge to Change

IV.Levi’s ResponseA. Throw a party for Jesus!

B. Invite my friends to experience Him!

C. Natural relationships are invited

D. The Party:1. Jesus is comfortable2. The people are comfortable

with Jesus

Write any notes from the week here

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Table TalkTeens

Read Mark 2:14-17

Question One:Levi, also called Matthew, was a Jewish tax collector who collected taxes for Rome.  The Jews hated tax collectors.  They had a reputation for taking more than they needed in order to add to their own wealth, often involving fraudulent practices.  Yet Jesus extended to Levi a gracious call to follow Him and leave his old calling behind.

• What did Levi do and would you do the same? Explain: Question Two:Eating with Jesus were many tax collectors (Levi’s former associates) and “sinners”, a technical term for common people regarded by the Pharisees as untaught in the Law, who did not abide by rigid pharisaic standards.

• In your own words, describe a “sinner”:  Question Three:For Jesus and His disciples to share a meal (an expression of trust and fellowship) with the tax collectors and sinners was offensive to the Pharisees.  They criticized Jesus for failing to observe their distinction between “the righteous” and “the sinners.”

• Would you share a meal with a “sinner?”  Why or why not?

 Question Four:In Mark 2:17, Jesus answered their criticism with a well-known proverb.  The Pharisees thought of themselves as the righteous who saw no need to repent and believe.  But Jesus knew that everyone, including “the righteous,” are sinful.  He came to call sinners, those who humbly acknowledge their need, and receive His gracious forgiveness to God’s Kingdom.  This was why Jesus ate with sinners.

• How does this passage clarify your view about Jesus?

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V. Jesus Redefines HolyA. Holy means “Set Apart”

B. God is transcendent

C. God is unapproachable

D. People die if they see Him!

E. Yet, God is LOVE: He pursues us!

F. God is intimate!

G. Truly Holy people are comfortable around sinners, and sinners are comfortable around them.

H. Holiness overcomes evil with love

VI.The Pharisees Definition of HolyA. Holiness is earned

B. Holiness has nothing to do with love.

C. It is all about rules and purity

D. Holiness stays away from the dirty, sinful, and evil

VII.Jesus’ Response to the PhariseesA. Holiness always wears compassion

B. True holiness does not repel the humble

C. True holiness repels the proud

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Life Group Questions for October 21, 2012

“Good News” SeriesMessage =Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Ice  Breaker:      Tell  about  the  most  strange  food  you’ve  ever  eaten.

Read    Mark  2:  14-­‐‑17.

1. Tell  what  you  observe  about  this  passage.

2. How  do  you  think  the  other  disciples  responded  when  Jesus  invited  Levi  to  join  them?

3. What  do  you  think  has  happened  in  Levi’s  heart  based  on  his  actions?

4. As  a  group,  see  if  you  can  find  an  agreeable  way  to  define  “Holy”.  (Note  to  Life  Group  Leader,  two  important  ingredients  to  holiness  are  “set  apart”  and  “unconditional  love.”)

5. If  Jesus  was  alive  today,  what  would  be  our  cultural  equivalent  to  Him  aQending  a  party  with  tax  collectors  and  prostitutes?    

6. Is  spending  time  with  unbelievers  a  part  of  your  priorities?    Why  or  why  not?

 7. Pray  for  one  another.

Table TalkElementaryMark 2: 14-­17

Day 1 - What would you do if a stranger came up to you and said, follow me? Would you? Should you? Today we will be reading a short passage about The Calling of Levi. Read Mark 2:14-17.

Day 2 - Look up the following verses and decide what should go in each blank:Matthew 16:24 (Follow Jesus by __________ for His sake) John 13:34 (Follow Jesus by ________ one another)John 15:10 (Follow Jesus by being ____________)Philippians 2:5 (Follow Jesus by having a good ___________)Colossians 3:15 (Follow Jesus by not arguing or ___________)

Day 3 - What do you think Jesus meant when he said, "It's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick?” The Pharisees did not think Jesus should be hanging out with the sinners and the tax collectors, people who weren't highly respected. Our society does not value the "lowly" people. Can you think of anyone who is perhaps treated as an outcast at your school? Your neighborhood? What are some ways that you can reach out to them and show them Christ's love? After all, this is what it means to follow Jesus!

Closing Prayer:Dear Lord, I am ready to follow You. Help me remove anything in my heart that could hinder me from doing this. Give me a pure heart, one that is not selfish or envious, one that is not boastful or proud. Give me the courage to follow You everywhere I go. Amen

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Table TalkPreschool & Nursery:Mark 2:13-17

Day 1: Read Mark 2:13-17Start out talking about Jesus’ friends, the disciples, and remember when we learned their names. (Simon Peter, Andrew, James son of Zebedee, John, Philip, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon, Judas, Bartholomew, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna) Talk about how Jesus called all of these men to follow Him and to be in God’s family. The story is about how Jesus called Levi, a despised tax collector, to follow Him. Levi is one of Jesus’ disciples, but he is also known as Matthew instead of Levi. Jesus called Levi to follow Him even though he did bad things as a tax collector. Talk about how Levi immediately followed Jesus and even invited some other people to meet with Jesus. Jesus came to invite ALL people into God’s family. Ask what it means to be in God’s family.

Day 2:Share again, about how God loves us ALL very much! Even unhealthy or naughty people in the world. Every single person, whether they are good or not. Jesus wants us all to follow Him and be a part of God’s family. Discuss how important it is to be in God’s family and who deserves to be in God’s family. Ask what they think it means to “follow Jesus.”

Memory Verse:“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” -John 1:12

Day 3:Share your story of how you came to be in God’s family. Talk about how amazing Jesus is and how wonderful it is that we are called to follow Jesus and help others to know Him and follow Him too.

Activity: Set up an age appropriate obstacle course either outside or inside in the living room. Make it a bit difficult or unpleasant in some spots. (For example, a low object forcing them to crawl on their bellies.) Have everyone line up and then say to them, “Follow me.” Every so often, as you are leading them through the course, repeat the phrase, “Follow me.” When you are finished talk about how it was when it became difficult to follow. Ask if they were tempted to stop and go their own way. Talk again about what Jesus meant when He said, “Follow me.”

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Personal Devotion PagesThe following pages are designed to help you enjoy a regular time alone with God. We have divided up the curriculum to help us grow wherever we are at in our relationship with God and in our knowledge of His Kingdom.

LEVELS: Since we are a Colorado church, we use skiing imagery to communicate the different levels of intensity and time involved in relating to God.

BEGINNER: If you are new in your relationship with God, we encourage you to try the exercises under this symbol:

INTERMEDIATE: If you have walked with God for some time and would like a little more challenge and more time involvement, try the exercises under this symbol:

ADVANCED: These exercises are for people who have walked with God for some time and display maturity in their relationship with Him.

These exercises provide a practical way to encounter God and His truth on a regular basis. There are no rules here. Please don’t hurry through the process. Slow meditation and memorization seems to soak in better than cramming.

Enjoy!

Day One1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.

2. Read  and  meditate  on  Mark  2:  14-­‐‑17

3. In  the  space  below,  write  down  what  God  says  to  you  through  the  passage  in  Mark.

Memorize  Mark  2:  17

Memorize  Mark  2:  17  and  Romans  2:  1-­‐‑2

Memorize  Mark  2:  17  and  Romans  2:  1-­‐‑4

That night Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. (There were many people of this kind among the crowds that followed Jesus.)

~Mark 2:15, NLT

Jesus invited Levi into his circle of closest friends and it set him free. That simple act of unconditional love and acceptance changed Levi forever.

He then did what came naturally. He threw a party to celebrate! Levi didn’t invite the regular town’s folk or the religious hierarchy. He invited the people he knew and loved. These homies included all sorts of undesirables, but they all seemed to enjoy Jesus.

One of the first things we can do when Jesus transforms us is to lovingly invite our close friends to party with Jesus. Notice that it was a party, not a church service. We don’t see Levi preaching to everyone. He’s not suddenly become long winded and preachy. He invites his friends to party with Jesus. He invites them to experience them. He tells them what happened to him, and then tells them that his guest of honor that evening was to be the very man who set him free!

Sharing Jesus with our friends and loved ones was meant to be relational, not preachy. We don’t have to clobber people over the head with the Gospel. We tell them what He did for us and invite them to meet Him! It’s that simple!

Father, give me the grace to love my friends like You love them!

Day Five

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Day Five1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.  

2. Ask  the  Lord  if  there  are  any  aQitudes  in  you  that  resemble  the  Pharisees.

3. Take  time  to  pray  for  people  you  love  who  do  not  know  Jesus.    Write  three  of  their  names  in  this  space  and  ask  the  Lord  to  bring  them  to  Himself.

4. Finish  your  Bible  memorization  today.

Day OneAs he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax-collection booth. “Come, be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.

~Mark 2:14, NLT

Who was this tax collector, or publican, named Levi? At the time of Jesus, most Jews had two names. He was also known as Matthew (See Matthew 9: 9). Matthew Henry tells us about this young man: This Levi is here said to be the son of Alpheus or Cleophas, husband to that Mary who was sister or near kinswoman to the virgin Mary and if so, he was the brother to James the less, and Jude, and Simon the Canaanite, so that there were four brothers of them apostles, It is probable that Matthew was but a loose extravagant young man, or else, being a Jew, he would never have been a publican.

What would lead a young man in Jewish culture to become a tax collector. It had much more sinister meaning than becoming an IRS agent in today’s world. To be a publican in Jesus’ day was to become a traitor to your people. Their job helped the Romans oppress the Jews by taking the people’s money and giving it to the enemy. On top of that, the typical tax collector would collect more than what was required by Rome and pocket the rest. The people knew this fact and therefore viewed the publicans as the lowest of the low. They were both traitors and thieves.

Levi, or Matthew, was the black sheep of his family. His brothers were also followers of Jesus, but he had apparently sunk to the lowest of lows in order to become a publican.

Like a snowplow, Jesus drove right through the divisions between siblings, classes, races, and even cliques in his own follower-ship. His actions told us all that He did not distinguish between anyone, nor did He favor anyone above anyone else.

Father, who have I recently pushed away because I was offended by them or their actions?

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Day Two1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.  

2. Write  out  your  own  definition  of  “HOLY.”

3. Many  times,  as  we  see  ourselves  becoming  more  holy,  we  pull  away  from  sinful  people.    Jesus  did  just  the  opposite.    Have  I  pulled  away  from  people  because  I’m  offended  at  their  sin?    Take  some  time  to  ask  God  how  He  would  like  you  to  love  that  person.

4. Take  time  to  pray  for  people  who  pull  you  down  spiritually.    Ask  the  Lord  to  strengthen  you  so  that  you  might  grow  and  influence  them  for  His  kingdom.

5. Continue  memorizing  and  meditating  on  the  scriptures  for  this  week.

Day FourWe’ve established that Jesus was comfortable with sinners, and they were comfortable with Him. Jesus redefines holiness for us. Holiness has been defined through the ages as set apart from the world. In addition, it is avoiding sin and temptation. Jesus epitomized this definition, with one major addition: LOVE.

When we look at the definition of Holy, we always find that it means set apart, unique, pure and sinless. We apply this word best when describing God, who is so holy that He is transcendent - unapproachable.

On the other hand, we know that God is love. He stoops and gives grace and mercy. He pursues man even before man ever pursues Him.

Jesus epitomizes a holy God who lovingly pushes into relationship with sinful and messy people. It’s quite an irony.

The Pharisees grasped only the first part of holiness. They didn’t comprehend the love part of it. When Jesus came declaring Himself as the Messiah and the Son of God, they expected Him to be so holy that he would avoid the rabble and the sinners. Yet Jesus, in all His perfect holiness, pursued people like a bloodhound pursues an escaped convict.

Pursuing sinners, for most of us, is the most challenging part of walking with God. We’re scared, we’re afraid of compromising, and we’re afraid we’ll say the wrong thing. We have these fears because we’ve seen God only as holy, not loving, and because we see people as projects. When I understand that my responsibility is to worship Jesus and unashamedly love others, then the barriers to sharing the Gospel naturally come down.

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Day TwoI often wonder what life was like following Jesus. He had fishermen, a tax collector, the tax collector’s brothers (who might have been estranged from him due to his choice of occupation), a Zealot (who believed in ousting Rome through violence), and Judas, who was, well, he was Judas.

If I was going to form my own small group of disciples, I wouldn’t pick these guys. My immediate sense would be that they would never get along. Why not find a group of homogeneous people who would all get along? Then I suddenly realize that even when people are very similar, it can be difficult to walk in unity!

Jesus would have it no other way. He came to break dividing walls. Paul says this about what happened after Jesus’ resurrection: In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Colossians 3:11, NLT.

Paul knew that Jesus’ love would break every dividing wall between people. The love of Christ is the glue that joins together all the different people of the earth. He breaks down arrogance, racism, and judgment. When He is truly my Lord, my King, and my Savior, I join all others at the foot of the cross - where we are all his favorites!

Lord, do I see myself superior to any person or race? Will You please reveal my arrogance to me? As You do, I chose to humble myself and accept Your unconditional grace.

Day Four1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.    

2. Meditate  again  on  Mark  2:  14-­‐‑15.    

3. Meditate  on  Romans  2:  1-­‐‑4  and  Colossians  3:  1-­‐‑11.

4. Continue  meditating  on  and  memorizing  the  scripture  for  this  week.

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Day Three Day Three1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.    

2. Ask  yourself  and  ask  the  Lord  if  you  are  actively  involved  in  spending  time  with  unbelievers  to  love  them  and  show  them  God’s  Good  News.

3. If  you  are  not  involved  in  the  life  of  unbelievers,  what  do  you  think  keeps  you  from  wanting  to  share  God’s  love  with  them?

 4. Continue  meditating  on  and  memorizing  the  scripture  for  this  

week.

That night Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. (There were many people of this kind among the crowds that followed Jesus.)

~Mark 2:15, NLT

Poor Levi. He has never learned real social manners. Doesn’t he understand that you don’t invite sinners to be your guests at the same party that you are inviting a rabbi? In everyday Jewish culture, this would be a real fo-pa.

I think the average church goer of today can relate to this story. Here is Jesus, the self proclaimed Messiah and King of the universe, and He’s at a party with the dregs of society. How many followers of Jesus do you know that frequent parties where there are prostitutes, traitors, thieves, and other folks that smell of a mixture of stale cigarette smoke mingled with body odor?

Imagine yourself reading the Sunday paper and seeing a picture from the night before at the Rio restaurant. The subject of the picture is your pastor and wife. They’re sipping marguerites with two flamboyant pimps and three scantily clad prostitutes.

This picture still falls short of describing the scandal that was Jesus at a party for sinners. In the midst of our horror, we realize a subtle fact: Jesus is comfortable around these people and they are comfortable around Him. The most holy, pure, person in the universe is comfortable with non-flyers and they are at home with Him! Jesus doesn’t compromise one millimeter, yet the sinners around Him yearn to be near Him! That’s my King!

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