New Beginnings Church of the Nazarene
2025.11.23 Sunday AM Service
  • 1. ENGAGE: The Setup
    Illustration: The Limits of the Fairy Tale
    We love the ‘Knight in Shining Armor’ story.
    The Prince rides in, kills the bad guys, and saves the day.
    But think about it: What happens after the fairy tale ends?
    The Prince and Princess still get old.
    They still get sick.
    They eventually die.
    The ‘Happily Ever After’ is temporary.”
    * The Point: A Fairy Tale Hero solves temporary problems (dragons, towers, bad guys).
    TRANSITION:
    We expect the credits to roll and the problems to vanish.
    The disciples had this exact script in their heads, but their ‘dragon’ had a specific name: Rome.”
    They were looking for a king to come in and kick Rome out of their country. 2. TENSION: The “Too Small” Expectation
    The Historical Context: Rome * The Jews were waiting for a Messiah to destroy the Roman Empire.
    Acts 1:6 ESV
    6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
    They wanted a king to come in and wage war on Rome.
    They wanted a hero to save them......
    They wanted :
    Chuck Norris, Hulk Hogan, Jackie Chan,
    Stephen Segal, John Wick, The Ghostbusters,
    The Avengers, X-men, Fantastic Four,
    Spiderman and even Underdog
    to come to their aid to fight for them.
    They wanted a political revolution.
    * The Problem: Their vision was too small.
    They were looking at the here and now, what was right in front of their noses.
    But what they were missing was the hope of an eternal future, not just a temporary fix of their current problem.
    We have been talking about God dwelling with us on earth, and how it started with the Garden of Eden and then was a movable tent during the e
    Even if Jesus had crushed Caesar and liberated Jerusalem, the people would still be slaves to Sin.
    They would still face Death.
    * Analogy: It’s like having terminal cancer and asking the doctor to fix your broken fingernail.
    The disciples were asking for a fingernail fix (Rome);
    Jesus was there to cure the cancer (Sin).
    Our “Too Small” Expectation We do the same thing.
    We get mad at God for not fixing our finances or our job situation.
    We get frustrated with God for not healing our bodies or keeping a loved one from dying. We are disappointed because we want a useful God who makes our life better, easier or more comfortable.
    * TRANSITION:
    The people at the cross mocked Jesus because He didn’t look like a Winner.
    They didn’t realize that ‘winning’ against Rome would have been a loss for humanity. 3. TRUTH: The Biblical Solution (Luke 23:33-43)
    Alright church lets get into the Word this morning.
    Grab your bibles or bible apps and turn with me to Luke chapter 23, verse 33.
    A. The Failed Ending (vv. 35-37): “Save Yourself!”
    Luke 23:35–37 ESV
    35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
    * The Demand: The rulers sneered, “He saved others; let him save himself!” They are demanding the Fairy Tale: “Show your power! Escape!” * The Misunderstanding: They thought His inability to save Himself was weakness. * The Reality:
    If He saves Himself, He loses us.
    A King who comes down from the cross is just a survivor;
    a King who stays on the cross is a Savior.
    PREACHING CUE (The Jump Back):
    They thought the story was over because the Hero wasn’t fighting.
    But they were looking at the wrong moment.
    To see why He was silent, we have to rewind the tape to verse 33. B. The Reality of the King (v. 33): The Cross
    Luke 23:33 ESV
    33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
    * The Setting: “There they crucified him.” * The Better Strategy: Jesus knew the real dragon wasn’t Rome; it was the curse of Sin. * The Comparison:
    * A Fairy Tale Prince kills the dragon to save his own life and get the girl. * Our King lets the dragon kill Him to save the girl (in this case, the entire world).
    * The Necessity:
    This was the only way.
    No amount of political victories or miracles could pay the debt of sin.
    Only blood could do that.
    We didn’t get the King we wanted;
    we got the only King who could actually help.
    We have been talking the last few weeks about:
    Creation -
    and how God created the world perfect and good
    but allowed us to have free will, and allowed us to choose to disobey
    and of course we did.
    but in Genesis 3, we see humanity falling into the trap of sin.
    Genesis 3:6 ESV
    6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
    Genesis 3:7 ESV
    7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
    Genesis 3:8 ESV
    8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
    Adam and Eve ate of the tree, and their eyes were open.
    They did in fact become like God, they know know that along with the good of the creation,
    they know there is also evil in the world.
    They know it because they brought it into the garden of eden by disobeying God’s only command, to not eat of the fruit of that one tree.
    They knew what they had done was wrong, so they tried to hide from God.
    From that moment on, the relationship between man and God changed.
    God was not the Lord and Creator that he had been to Adam.
    Adam and Eve now felt that God was the punisher, that he was out to get them.
    And since that moment, humanity in general has been avoiding God
    but God has not stopped pursuing us.
    We talk alot about THE ONE sheep, and how Jesus came to save the THE ONE lost sheep
    and bring them back into the fold with the other 99 sheep.
    This started in Genesis 3.
    The gospel of Jesus started in Genesis 3.
    Genesis 3:14 ESV
    14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
    Genesis 3:15 ESV
    15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
    The NIV translation of the bible puts verse 15 this way:
    Genesis 3:15 ESV
    15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall CRUSH your head, and you shall STRIKE his heel.”
    Now both translations are good, but the NIV really shows the force behind God’s intention for redemption.
    The offspring of the woman, the representative of humanity, would crush the head of the serpent, but the serpent will strike his heel.
    This is Jesus on the cross.
    He defeated sin, death and the grave.
    He reversed the effects of the fall in Genesis 3.
    This is the Gospel.
    This is him bridging the void that sin left on humanity.
    That had to be done in order to restore humanity back to a state where we were not naked and ashamed,
    to a point that we were not hiding from God.
    This is the king that we desperately needed.
    PREACHING CUE (The Result):
    And because He gave us what we needed on the cross (Forgiveness and Redemption),
    instead of what we wanted (Escape from the disciples’ current circumstances at the time),
    We are able to walk boldly with God again.
    Even though we are not fully restored to Eden yet, we will be someday.
    but for now, since the cross, our relationship with God was able to be restored.
    We see what this really looks like when we jump forward to verse 42. * C. The True Rescue (vv. 42-43): The Thief
    Luke 23:42–43 ESV
    42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
    * The Realization:
    The thief saw past the blood and the wood.
    He realized: “This man isn’t dying because He is weak;
    He is dying because He is good,
    he is dying because he is God providing a way to restore humanity from their sin.”
    * The Gift:
    Jesus didn’t give him a “rescue” from the cross (the thief’s legs were still broken; he still died).
    Jesus gave him the ability to return to the garden Paradise that God created in creation.
    * The Takeaway:
    The thief didn’t get his circumstance changed, but he got his eternity secured.
    That is the better gift. * TRANSITION:
    The thief didn’t get a ‘Disney rescue’—he still died that afternoon.
    But he got the ‘Kingdom rescue.’
    That is the better story.
    And that brings us to your dragons, and your Romes today. 4. APPLICATION: The Plot
    * 1. Realize the “Plot”: * We often feel disappointed that God didn’t fix our problem (The Fairy Tale).
    We need to realize He gave us something better: His Presence and His Pardon (The Reality). * Don’t trade the Cross for a knight on a white horse.
    The Disney story is temporary; the Cross is eternal.
    * 2. Trust the King’s Wisdom: * If God is saying “No” to your request for a “fix,” it might be because He is doing a deeper work that we cant see right then and there.
    * 3. Celebrate the Savior You Have:
    The disciples wanted a King to hate Romans.
    We got a King who loves Romans, who forgives thieves at the last minute.
    We got a Kingdom of love and eternal life, not just a King to take over one government.
    5. INSPIRATION: The Vision
    * Imagine if Jesus had listened to the crowd and come down.
    History would be different, Rome might have fallen… and we would all be lost.
    * Thank God He didn’t listen to our “Disney script.”
    Thank God He loved us enough to disappoint our expectations so He could save our souls. 6. ACTION: Your Assignment
    * Trade the Script:
    Identify where you have been disappointed with God. Write it down. Then write next to it:
    “Thank you for not just being my Fixer, but being my Savior.
    I trust Your plan is better than my script.”
    Closing Line:
    Just like the early Disciples, We wanted a Prince on a white horse, riding in to save the day and to make our lives easier, more convenient or less painful.
    Instead, we got a King dying on a rugged cross to make us alive.
    And that is a far better story. Lets pray and then we will worship the one who died for us.
    CLOSING PRAYER: PRAISE * Lord Jesus, we lift up Your name because You are not the fairy tale Prince we expected,
    but the Suffering Savior we desperately needed. * You are holy, not because You slay our dragons instantly,
    but because You loved us enough to let the dragon slay You to save us.
    PURPOSE * Lord, we surrender our demand for a “Disney ending”
    where the white horse shows up and the problems vanish;
    today we surrender our script to Yours. * Help us to say what Jesus said in the Garden:
    “Not my will, but Yours be done,”
    trusting that Your plan for our eternity is better than our plan for today.
    PROVISION * God, we ask You to provide the “daily bread” of Your presence,
    giving us the strength to endure the “un-happily ever afters” of this life. * Give us the spiritual eyes of the thief on the cross,
    so we can recognize Your Kingship even in the middle of our suffering.
    PARDON * Forgive us, Lord, for the times we have been offended by You
    and for demanding that You be our “Fixer” instead of worshipping You as our Redeemer. * Give us the grace to forgive those who have hurt us,
    just as You prayed “Father, forgive them” while You were suffering.
    PROTECTION * Guard our hearts from despair when the “white horse” doesn’t show up
    and the rescue doesn’t look like we thought it would.
    * Deliver us from the real enemy—not our debt, sickness, or circumstances—
    but the enemy of Sin and the fear of death.
    PRAISE * We declare that Yours is the only Kingdom that will last;
    Rome is gone, Caesars are gone, but Your Cross stands forever.
    * We give You all the glory, for You are the King who died to make us alive.
    Amen.

      • Acts 1:6ESV

      • Luke 23:35–37ESV

      • Luke 23:33ESV

      • Genesis 3:6ESV

      • Genesis 3:7ESV

      • Genesis 3:8ESV

      • Genesis 3:14ESV

      • Genesis 3:15ESV

      • Genesis 3:15ESV

      • Luke 23:42–43ESV

  • Amazing Grace - Just Chorus
  • What A Beautiful Name
  • Let Me See Jesus
  • Jesus Messiah
  • Amazing Grace
  • Come Now Is The Time To Worship
  • Father I Adore You
  • Great Is Thy Faithfulness
  • Here I Am To Worship
  • How Great Thou Art
  • Jesus Messiah
  • Let Me See Jesus
  • Lord I Need You
  • What A Beautiful Name
  • Sanctuary
  • The 99
  • You Are My All In All
New Beginnings Church of the Nazarene
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