Lighthouse Fellowship Men’s Breakfast 7-12-2025
Part I of Teaching:
Superheroes:
- Discussed Superheroes and how Jesus is our Epic Hero. He can walk on water, he can raise people from the dead, he can not just stop bullets like Superman, but can rearrange the entire Universe so that you’re not in front of a bullet in the first place.
- Discussed that we will be learning all about the life and times of Jesus and how to be a better follower of Jesus Christ.
Discussed why “ What Would Jesus Do” is a nice platatude,but it’s the wrong question because:
1: It’s an intellectual question, requiring an intellectual answer.
Jesus gave us a better way to handle scenarios in our lives:
John 14:26 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My
name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
2: WWJD allows for everyone’s own personal Oprah, Buddah, Hindu Jesus who agrees with them on all things and sins with them, marches in the pride parades, etc… to manifest itself in our minds. We are to let the Holy Spirit bring these things to rememberance. That’s why it’s important to study the word of God, so the Holy Spirit has something to work with.
What it Means to be a True Follower of Christ:
Count the Cost
It’s not that costly to be a Christian in the United States. Our lives really aren’t in danger from our government for worshipping God. That day may come, but what is much more likely is that we could lose our sources of income, Social Security, Jobs etc… if we don’t succumb to secularism and denounce our faith. This became evident during the COVID pandemic when employers were refusing religeous exemptions for the vaccination and firing people who refused to take the jab.
We Must Follow Jesus Commandments
1: Love God and love each other:
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
I made the argument that not only are we no longer under the Old Testament Levitical Law, but we are no longer under the 10 Commandments either.
But this doesn’t give us license to lie, kill, commit adultery etc… because we are under Christ’s Law and it’s actually more encompassing and in some ways more stringent in the interpretation of what constitutes sin. Example, Jesus said that if we hate a brother, it’s the same as murdering him. If we look at woman in lust, it’s the same as committing adultery. This goes beyond the mere action but entails the condition of the heart.
Progressive Christians who say it’s ok to live in homosexuality because we are no longer under the law, are missing this very important concept of Christianity in that they are breaking the 1st and 2nd commandments of Christ’s law.
Another point is that if everyone walked in perfect love, we would need no laws.
2: Make Disciples and Teach Them
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Christians have been fighting the wrong battles over the past 60 -70 years. We’ve been fighting cultural and political battles instead of working to get people saved. If we had 70-80% of the people in the country saved, most of our cultural and political problems would go away.
3: Forgive One Another
Matthew 18:21-22
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
4: Love One Another
John13:34
34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Loving one another as Christians is the litmus test for the world to tell if we are true disciples.
5: Pray
Matthew 6:5-6
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17
pray without ceasing,
Private prayer is important, but so is corporate prayer. If your married, pray with your wives. If not married, find another Christian to pray with or come to the Tuesday night prayer meeting.
6: Give to Those in Need
Luke 14:12-14
12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
13 But when you give a feast
invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Matthew 6:3
3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Matthew 10:16
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.“ (Use wisdom and discernment when giving, being led by the Holy Spirit)
I have a personal policy of not handing cash to strangers, and I’m not a 100% sure it’s biblical to begin with. I can’t find a verse that instructs us to do that.
1 Timothy 5:3-16: This passage provides the most detailed guidance on supporting widows in the early church: Widows “truly in need” (v. 3, 5) were to be supported, particularly those without family to provide for them (v. 4, 8). This suggests a form of means-testing, prioritizing those with no other support (e.g., children or grandchildren).
Criteria included age (over 60, v. 9), a reputation for good works (v. 10), and no alternative support. Younger widows were encouraged to remarry (v. 14) to avoid dependency.
The church was to focus resources on widows who were genuinely destitute and faithful, indicating a practical assessment of need to ensure sustainable care.
7: Deny Yourself
Luke 14:33
33 “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Context: Jesus underscores that true discipleship involves relinquishing attachment to possessions and personal ambitions to fully commit to Him.
8: Be Alert and Watchful
Matthew 24:42
42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”
9: Be Baptized
Matthew 28:19
42 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
If We are Obeying Jesus’ Commands and We’re Full of The Spirit We Will Produce Fruit
Part II of Teaching
Jesus Genealogy:
Matthew 1:1
Matthew and Luke have different Genealogies:
Matthew’s genealogy traces Jesus’ legal or royal lineage through Joseph, His adoptive father, emphasizing Jesus as the rightful heir to David’s throne.
What is this 14 all about?
Matthew leaves out a bunch of people to get to compress the genealogy down to get to this 14 number
Why?
1: Matthew was trying to show Jesus is the sacrificial lamb:
The Passover Lamb is Killed on the 14th
The sacrificial lamb was killed on the 14th of Nisan
Exodus 12:5-6
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.
2: Matthew was illistrating that Jesus is the new David
Abraham was messed up, he ended up with Ishmael
Genesis 17:7 (NKJV): “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.”
David Messed up, was a murderer, thief and adulterer
Tamar, Ruth and Rahab were not even Jewish
Rahab was a prostitute.
God is soveraign and can use messed up people to accomplish His will. He even used non-Jewish people in His geneaology.
