In her final sermon as Pastor of Discipleship at Alive, Pastor Susan teaches us about the concerns of God. In Matthew 16 Jesus explains to the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer. Peter rebukes him and says, “Never, Lord!” Jesus sees that Peter is acting out of his own self-interest and not in the interest of God, so he says to Peter, “Get behind me Satan.” Like Peter, God calls us to surrender our own plans and concerns to God and to put God’s concerns ahead of our own.

Jesus washes away our shame and restores us through his living water. Imagine you had a lot of mistakes in your past. And someone you didn’t know came to you and told you everything about your past. Most people would feel ashamed, but when Jesus reveals to the woman at the well that he knows her, she goes back to town and celebrates.

Today we continue our series about how God works to restore relationships. Pastor Terry opens up Matthew 20 and Ephesians 4 to tell us how God can use leaders in the church to restore relationships. Two of the disciples ask Jesus to elevate them to become his right and left hand men in the Kingdom and Jesus response surprises them. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”