Life in the Sand

Sitting in the Sand

Intro

-Inspiration moment

John 8:2-11

John 8:2–11 NIV

2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Pray

Story Time

*Video about surfing*

-Sometimes we get put in situations we can’t handle or aren’t ready for and we need hope.

-For me, I needed someone to save my literal life last year but it’s not always that blatant and easy to see.

Thrown in the Sand (v. 2-3)

-Life will inevitably throw you in the sand.

-Our Pastor has a saying, “You are either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or heading into a crisis.”

-It’s very dark and kind of depressing but it’s honest.

-I guarantee you that the women in our story today had no idea she would be caught in the act of cheating on her husband and be thrown in the middle of a church patio naked and ashamed about to die.

-Just like I bet some of you weren’t expecting to have your parents get a divorce or lose their jobs in the midst of a global pandemic. Maybe you made a choice in private that you had no desire of making public that went viral because of some really mean people. Maybe your life was fine and moving a long when all of a sudden you lost a loved one and weren’t given the opportunity to say goodbye.

-I don’t know all of you and I for sure don’t know all of your stories, but I know all of us can think back to a moment of life where we had our plans, hopes, dreams, or lives thrown into the sand out of no where.

-Since we can’t prevent life from having ups and downs, we need to do our best to prepare for what will inevitably come.

-Martin Luther King Jr once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

-People will learn more about your God when you walk through tough times, than they will when your life is easy and clean.

Cleaning the Sand (v.4-5)

-Pretending you’re perfect

-Why would you try to clean sand?

-Hiding your own mess not only hurts others, but also yourself.

-Trauma in you left unaddressed turns into trauma for others because of you.

-When you avoid your pain, you cause more pain for not only yourself, but also everyone around you.

-The only thing that comes out of cleaning the sand is death.

Sitting in the Sand (v. 7-11)

-If you aren’t thrown in the sand, you should be sitting with others in the sand.

-IN the same way we learn about the character of someone in their tough times, we learn about someone’s love and care for others by the way they support others going through tough situations.

-Our quote earlier from MLK was only the first part, he finished by saying, “The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.”

-The work of Jesus is done while sitting in the sand with people who have been thrown into without a choice.

*Story about me sending the email to my boys*

Close

-Where are you tonight?

-Have you been thrown in the sand?

-Do need to drop your rock and stop trying to clean the sand?

-Who in your life needs you to sit in the sand with them?