A new series has started at the church I attend called “Not a Fan”. The first message is titled “Fan or Follower?” All sermons are available by clicking on Pastor’s Podcast at this link: First United Methodist Church Waco.
One part of the message made note of was the change in both Joseph and Nicodemus. I heard this song on the radio recently: Changed – Rascal Flatts. I thought it fit right in with the message as we change from being a fan of Jesus to a follower.
Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus and Nicodemus brought very expensive embalming ointment for the burial of Jesus. They were both fans before He was crucified but were changed into followers when they went public. We also go from being a fan to a follower when we go public and follow Jesus one faith step at a time.
Below is an outline of last Sunday’s message.
1. FOLLOWING IS ONE FAITH STEP AT A TIME.
“When Jesus was leaving, He saw a man named Matthew sitting in
the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me,’ and he
stood up and followed Jesus.” – Matthew 9:9 (NCV)
2. BEING A FAN IS BELIEVING.
“After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to speak with Jesus, “Teacher,” he
said, ‘We all know that God has sent You to teach us. Your
miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with You.” – John 3:1 (NLT)
3. BELIEVING IS NOT FOLLOWING.
“When Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, many people
believed in Him because they saw the miracles He did.” – John 2:23 (NCV)
4. FOLLOWING IS GOING PUBLIC.
“Nicodemus, the leader who met with Jesus earlier, then spoke up.
‘Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?’ he asked.
They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Search the scriptures and
see for yourself – no prophet ever comes from Galilee!’ ” – John 7:50-52 (NLT)
5. GOING PUBLIC CHANGES EVERYTHING.
“Afterwards Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of
Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for
permission to take Jesus’ body down…. Nicodemus, the man who
had come to Jesus at night, also came, bringing about seventy-five
pounds of embalming ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Together
they wrapped Jesus’ body in a long, linen cloth with the spices, as is
the Jewish custom of burial.” John 19:38-40 (NLT)
Related articles
- LISTEN: Nicodemus: Another Secret Saint Who Came Through for Jesus in the End (The Unsung Heroes of Easter #7) (blackchristiannews.com)
- Nicodemus, the mystery man of Holy Week (religionnews.com)
- The Impact of Fear (mandylynncarpenter.wordpress.com)
- The Public Burial of Jesus (truthmattersblog.wordpress.com)
This Day With God - A Spiritual Journey 
Great practical message, love it.
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Thanks for sharing Peter. God bless your day!
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going public really changes everything… it is a place of no turning back… give your pastor high fives for me… and thanks for sharing… stay blessed Mark
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Going public does make one accountable and like the song said, “give it to the Father and change for the better”.
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Reblogged this on Well Worth Repeating and commented:
Fan vs Follower
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Good Post. I reblogged this at wellworthrepeating.wordpress.com
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Thanks for the reblog.
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Hey Mark! Approximately two months ago I tried to put a post together with the title: “Christian or Fanatic”, but I could not get my sentences together. I was motivated to write the post because I realized that Jesus has a lot more fans than followers. Even when He fed the 5,000 and healed the sick.
Thanks so much for sharing. God blesses.
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My Pastor mentioned in the sermon that for both Nicodemus and Joseph, it didn’t completely click until Jesus was raised upon the cross. Then they realized that the purpose of Jesus on earth was to die for our sins. Have a wonderful weekend Noel.
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You’ve just broadened my mind! I’m now evaluating and trying to understand in which category I am. Be Blessed!
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I think that the sermon message is designed for us all to evaluate and understand which category we are in. I’m looking forward to the other sermons in this series. I believe there will be three more and I will be posting on each one. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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welcome and I look fwd to, thank you Sir
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I have been leading an open-discussion study through Not a Fan during a Sunday School class. It has been both convicting and encouraging. I plan to use it as the basis of a sermon series, too. Great book.
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Sounds like it will be a great sermon series. I pray that hearts are touched and fans become followers. God Bless!
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Reblogged this on My Tropical Home and commented:
We’ve been studying this as well in my own church and this post says it much better than I ever could…
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Thanks for the reblog
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