Prepare for Resistance

Scripture: Matthew 10:24-39

Matthew 10:24–39 NIV

24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! 26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

6/21/2026

Order of Service:

Announcements

Opening Worship

Prayer Requests

Prayer Song

Pastoral Prayer

Kid’s Time

Offering (Doxology and Offering Prayer)

Scripture Reading

Sermon

Closing Song

Benediction

Special Notes:

Standard

Father’s Day

Opening Prayer:

Merciful God, we confess that our fear overwhelms us, preventing us from living and acting in Your name. We struggle to trust in Your promises and speak boldly of Your love. Forgive us and strengthen our faith, that we may live as Your fearless disciples. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Call to Worship

Leader: Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! He has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

People: We come to proclaim His goodness and trust in His care.

Leader: Fear not, for the Lord is with us.

People: We are not afraid, for we are loved and held by God.

Leader: Come, let us worship the Lord who gives us life.

All: Alleluia! We rejoice in His salvation!

Prepare for Resistance

Movement 1: Overwhelmed

It is easy to feel like you're overwhelmed when you're serving with Jesus, like we are tiny creatures hidden away in a world that grows darker all the time. While the world keeps handing us longer and more complicated to-do lists, the gospel writers constantly remind us to stay connected to Jesus, no matter where we are or what we're doing. And as we saw last week, we do that most often through prayer—prayer before we jump into doing the work, and prayer that continues while we're working. The stories of the disciples show us that, just like his eye is on the sparrow, he will be with us no matter what we go through.

We sang that song this morning,  and Jesus reminds us about those sparrows in our scripture today—those tiny birds that God watches over. They're small enough that we don't always see them, but often, we can hear them, especially in the quieter parts of the early morning, just before the sun comes up.

Several years ago, we lived in a town that had only existed for about 60 years. Unlike this area, which has been farmland for ages, that land had been forest. Even though a town grew up in the middle of it, the forest never truly left. Deer roamed all through the town, along with lots of other wildlife.

I never needed an alarm clock because every day before the sun came up, I could hear all the birds beginning their day loudly through the walls of our house. I used to be able to recognize sparrows just by their song, along with more popular robins, bluejays, and cardinals. Maybe you've heard some of these birds yourself.

What I find curious about these little birds is that they choose to get out and sing their songs, often very loudly, before the sun comes up in those early morning moments when wild predators are still out hunting them. While it is still dark and they can't see the hawk, the owl, or the feral cat waiting to pounce on them, they get up and sing their hearts out, trusting that before long, the sun is going to come up and light their way.

That takes more faith than they know, and that's the kind of faith that you have today. After all, you're here, aren't you? You've heard me tell you about Jesus for almost three years now, and I've never told you it was easy. I know you have questions about God, and I know you don't have answers to all of those questions either. There are a lot of people in the same position as you with the same kind of questions. Some of them stopped showing up a long time ago, but not you. You're here.

You've been through those dark valleys. Some of you are still in those dark valleys, but you're still here, seeking Jesus, waiting for Him to show up, knowing life keeps changing—and not always in the ways that you prefer. But here you are, singing, "Jesus, be thou my vision." In these moments where I'm trying to see just anything at all: Jesus, you be my vision.

Be encouraged, because God watches over every one of those sparrows as they sing their songs of faith, welcoming in the dawn. According to scripture, those are the cheap birds. You're worth far more to Him than they are, and He sees your faith, too. There is no darkness too thick to keep you hidden from his watchful eye or keep him away from you. In fact, you sing with faith because of the hidden work he is doing in your life.

Movement 2a: Facing Resistance

You are going to face resistance as you follow Jesus and serve with Him. Some days, it will feel like irritation and awkwardness. Other days, it will feel like betrayal and persecution. Sometimes it comes from those we are trying to help, and other times from those we want to trust the most.

In our scriptures last week and today, both tell us that Jesus faced the same thing, and we can't expect better treatment than he got, because he is the one we're trying to share. So stand firm, stick with Jesus, and don't be afraid of them. Some of that resistance you face is from the things you have learned from Jesus personally, in the ways that he is shaping you and changing you, even through those trials. The world doesn't want you to change. Sometimes the people around you don't want you to change either.

But you are growing. You are changing. And it's not because you come to church, or sing songs, or give money, or serve others. Those are some of the fruits of the faith that is growing inside of you, changing you from the inside out. That change is happening because you are spending time with Jesus.

I don't know how often you stop what you're doing and give Jesus your full attention. I hope you have time every day to go to him, in whatever dark and quiet place has become your prayer closet. The important thing is that it's where you uncover yourself and pour your heart out before him, openly and honestly, revealing to him the things that you know he already knows. There are few places in the world that are darker than the corners of our own hearts. Those places hold the things that bind and keep us, and they are the things that Jesus wants us to invite Him into so He can carry them out into the light.

Jesus says, "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight. What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs."

Many of you have been sharing video devotions with us, and I know some of you have had opportunities to share a testimony, a witness, or a reflection on the scripture in other places as well. You know what it is to stare at that blank page and wonder what you possibly have to share with others. Some of you have books and resources and know how to find good information online to get you started. You may have read some studies or commentaries from some of your favorite teachers to get you pointed in the right direction. Those resources are good at helping us discern the difference between what is true and what we feel or think in the moment.

Those resources get us started, but there is always a corner we turn in that process where we really begin to see the message for what it truly is and understand what it is Jesus wants us to share. Those moments don't come while we're looking for ideas online. They come when we stop and turn away from everything else, and give Jesus our full attention.

Sometimes in those moments, He shares something that's new to us. Many times, He shows us how some of those different ideas we've come across are connected together and helps us to understand them better in Him. But you know when it happens. The Holy Spirit helps you know this is not your own thought or another person speaking into your life, convincing you it was your own idea. No, this is Jesus speaking to you, opening your mind to what He has for you and how He wants you to share it with others.

When we share with others what Jesus reveals to us in the dark and bring that into the light, we are part of a long history of people who have changed the world one life at a time. Moses went on his mission to set the Hebrew people free because of a private encounter with God. Elijah, one of the greatest prophets, is best remembered for one really dark day in his life, hiding away in a cave and realizing he didn't have to be afraid when he heard God's still, small voice. Paul wrote many of his letters from prison, alone in the dark.

Perhaps the most famous verse in the entire New Testament, maybe the entire Bible, John 3:16, wasn't preached on the Sermon on the Mount or out in the marketplaces. It was said to one man on a quiet night, hidden away from everybody else. Can you imagine what the world would be like if that verse had not been shared but was left in the dark?

Movement 2b: The Dark and the Light

Our world believes there is light and there is darkness, and that each has its place. Each needs to stay in their place. The things of the light need to stay out of the dark, and the things of the dark need to stay out of the light. We are taught that this is the difference between knowing right and wrong.

But Jesus came and made a mess of things. He took people who were bad, lifted them over the fence, and set them in the light. He reintroduced ideas like grace and redemption without even using those words himself. He showed it in his actions and in the way he worked with and through his disciples, because their lives changed. Grief, trials, and hearts poured out in prayer in those dark nights were brought to light in ways that sometimes made people uncomfortable.

They wanted him to be a carpenter and to build that fence dividing the light and the dark, stronger and higher. But Jesus came, took a sword to it, and built a bridge between the darkness and the light. Because the truth was, those who thought they were in the light only thought that because they had not yet experienced the true light of Christ. The whole world was in darkness, and sometimes his first step to bring them into the light was helping them see how dark their own lives really were and how blind they were to it.

My dad taught me patience and gentleness, but not forgiveness. He knew what it was like when bad things happened to good people, and the entire community loved him for his selfless service. He was very patient raising my siblings and me, but inside the home, I got a different picture of him than the rest of the community did.

I don't know that he had a three-strike rule, but it seemed like the first two times people hurt him or caused him trouble, he'd shake it off, say, "It's okay," and try to get back to normal. But shortly after that, if someone kept mistreating him, he cut them off and refused to share his life with them any longer.

My dad didn't have a problem with church or with most Christians, if they were acting Christ-like. But he had a problem with Jesus and this idea of forgiveness. He thought you survived this world by keeping yourself out of harm's way, not by forgiving those who hurt you and going back for more, because that's how I think it looked to him. For him, what happened there in the dark stayed there. He locked it away and never went back. You don't confess your sins, and you don't let other people confess them to you. You work to figure out any other way around it so you can get back to normal.

There was conflict in my house when I tried to bring Jesus home. I was young, and there was a lot I didn't understand at the time. The problem wasn't that I was talking about Jesus—that made others uncomfortable. The problem was that I was changing. I didn't fit their normal anymore, and I never would again. Some of my friends and family did not know what to do with that because they wanted the old Tony back. They didn't realize I'd laid him at the cross. He wasn't coming back. What they'd been given was a new creation. For them, it wasn't my words; it was my life that was different. They had been living life just trying to avoid doing bad things, and thought they were pretty successful. I was living life with a new purpose. I wasn't just singing Be Thou My Vision; I was living like I meant every word of it.

Movement 3: Not the End

That's not the end of the story, not by a long shot.

Dad passed away about 16 years ago, after some of the better years of his life, when I was beginning to see some glimmers of change in him. Then, three years ago, we moved here to Indiana, and when I went to get a new driver's license, I discovered that the photo on the new license looked more like him than the way I thought I looked. I think sometimes we can grow into the people who pour their lives into us. It's not just looks, either. I have learned to see things more the way I think he saw them, and felt some of the challenges he faced as well.

We all have those stories, and we all continue to live them out throughout our entire lives as we follow Jesus. We can promise him in a moment that we're turning everything over to him, but we can't fulfill that promise in a moment. We don't know what everything is.

We can have a moment of prayer and confession, a public declaration, and baptism. We can fill our changed lives with gifts of marriage and family, meals and memories, church services where we bring the whole clan, no longer just ourselves... and still have darkness in us. We can do all that and discover there are darker places in us than we realized at the very beginning, when we first invited Jesus in. In those moments, we begin to realize that there is a new dawn ahead of us, where we rely on Jesus to be our light, our vision. This new dawn looks different than what we remember, and it's ok. It is Jesus working his holiness in us, preparing us to live fully in the light with him.

Jesus teaches his disciples to prepare for resistance because it's an ongoing work, not just one big battle. And in that long list of the things that might happen to us, people who might betray us, the two things he tells us to do are not to fear but to stand firm in him, to trust that no matter what happens, he's right there with us.

The truth is, Jesus wants to work on some of that stuff in the dark with you and bring it out into the light with you. He wants to do it in his timing, so that you know what it is you're sharing and how valuable it really is.

You will face resistance from those around you, but the greatest resistance will come from within you. Letting Jesus do that work inside you means you are no longer pursuing life, seeking it out for yourself. It means you're letting go of your life, giving it over to Jesus, and entrusting him to give you what you need.

Our world says a lot of things about Jesus. His voice commands the winds and waves and tells death to go away. But he chooses to let our lives speak for him. He asks us to be witnesses to who he is. We do that best when we take what he gives us and share it in faith, knowing the darkness is still all around us. We're not in the light yet, but we can sing with the sparrow, knowing the sun is coming back and will bring everything into the light. We don't have to fear because we know he loves us. So we stand with him, not to take on the world, but to show the world what he's doing in us.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for watching over us every moment of our lives. Thank you for calling us to serve with you as you save and redeem our world through your Son, Jesus. We know we face resistance when we stand and serve with you, and we confess that some of that resistance comes from within ourselves. Help us to let go of our self-sufficient ways and learn to trust and find our lives in you. We thank you for all who have poured their lives and love into us, and we pray that you would continue to grow us all into your likeness. Be our light, our vision in the dark places, and give us the strength and courage to stand and share with the world all that you are doing in us. In Jesus' name. Amen.