“By His Wounds We Are Healed” & “The Holy Spirit and Healing” – 2/18/24 Service
February 18, 2024
Stephen Streett
Follow the Healer Series:
By His Wounds We Are Healed and
The Holy Spirit and Healing
Scripture: Isaiah 53:3–5
In 2022, a nonprofit group launched a $100-million-dollar advertising campaign called, “He Gets Us,” and by “He,” they meant Jesus. If you watched the Super Bowl last Sunday, you may have seen the newest “He Gets Us commercial. Well, they’re right. Jesus really does get us. He suffered for us, and identifies with us in our suffering, but that’s not all. In an act of pure grace, he redeems our suffering. “God can take what was meant for evil and use it for good (Gen. 50:20). Our scars can become radiant too. Jesus not only wants to heal our wounds, but like his wounds, he wants ours to become wounds that heal others.” When we understand our suffering in the light of Christ’s suffering, and that God’s desire is to redeem our suffering, not just for us, but for others, and allow Jesus to touch our wounds with his wounds, we become “wounded healers.” This Sunday we will hear a powerful healing testimony from two mystery guests!
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
“By His Wounds We Are Healed” & “The Holy Spirit and Healing” – 2/18/24 Service
By Stephen Streett|February 18, 2024
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“Jesus, Healing, and the Kingdom of God” & “Embracing the Mystery of Healing” – 2/11/24 Service
February 11, 2024
Stephen Streett
Jesus, Healing, and the Kingdom of God and
Embracing the Mystery of Healing
(Matthew 10:1-8)
After giving the disciples his authority to cast out demons, and to cure every disease and every sickness, Jesus gave them specific instructions on where to take his on-the-road kingdom demonstrations: to the lost sheep of Israel. As the disciples made their way to the lost sheep of Israel, they were instructed to tell those sheep the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” In other words, tell them there’s a new sheriff in town. The Romans may think they are in charge. They aren’t. God is. In fact, God is ruling, and these healings are signs of his glorious reign. We aren’t told how show and tell went for all of the twelve disciples, but in Luke’s Gospel the seventy-two disciples who were sent out returned with joy. It’s safe to assume the twelve also batted a thousand.
The phrase “kingdom of heaven” is found thirty-one times in Matthew’s Gospel. The phrase “kingdom of God” is found five times in Matthew’s Gospel. Biblical scholars believe the two phrases are interchangeable. To unlock some of the mystery of the kingdom, Jesus used parables to teach us what it looks like. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, yeast, a treasure hidden in a field, a merchant in search of fine pearls, and a net that catches every kind of fish. The kingdom is something we seek, is near, and can be entered.
I hope to see you this Sunday as we learn more about Jesus, healing, the Kingdom of God and embracing the mystery of healing.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
“Jesus, Healing, and the Kingdom of God” & “Embracing the Mystery of Healing” – 2/11/24 Service
By Stephen Streett|February 11, 2024
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“The Five Ways Jesus Heals” – 2/4/24 Worship Service
February 4, 2024
Stephen Streett
Follow the Healer Series:
The Five Ways Jesus Heals Luke 9:1-2
When Jesus was physically here on earth, in his Galilean ministry he essentially did three things: he preached, he taught, and he healed. Jesus continues through his church to engage in that threefold ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing. As I've come to recognize and to know that it's his ministry, this healing ministry that I'm called to, that means that wherever I go he's already there. I believe God is giving back the healing ministry of Jesus to the church today. Just to think that he wants us to partner with him, that's good news. Just as we at Misty Creek made our study of the Holy Spirit a priority, we are now looking closely at the healing ministry of Jesus.
Most of the healing ministry and the emphasis on healing in the church today is being done by Pentecostals and charismatics. Over the last 125 years they are the ones that have really made this a priority and a focus along with an emphasis on the Holy Spirit. In Latin America, Africa and Asia, 80 to 90% of Christians believe healing is an essential part of their conversion experience to Christ. There are many teachers’, preachers, and evangelists out there that emphasize healing and the Holy Spirit, but they haven't been as biblically grounded sometimes as they've needed to be. They have a lot of zeal but not as much knowledge and operate based on manipulation, conjuring, and even falsely representing Christ.
Some of us may have grown up in a more Bible centered orthodox Christian evangelical tradition. Even though we say we believe in divine healing, for all practical purposes we function like cessationist, which is a word to describe people who basically have said that the gift of healing and healing miracles stopped after the age of the apostles or after about the first three centuries. The bottom line is that charismatics, Pentecostals, and orthodox Christian evangelicals are hungry for a more balanced, holistic approach to healing. The church of Jesus Christ is to be the primary healing agency in the world. This Sunday, I will spend some time unpacking the 5 ways that Jesus heals.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
“The Five Ways Jesus Heals” – 2/4/24 Worship Service
By Stephen Streett|February 4, 2024
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“The Five Ways Jesus Heals” and “Healing & the Image of God” – 1/28/24 Service
January 28, 2024
Stephen Streett
In 1868, Fanny Crosby penned the lyrics to “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior.” Fanny, blind since birth, experienced the saving love of Jesus at the age of thirty-one. While she never received her sight, even though she was taken to the best doctors, and presumably prayed for, Fanny came to know something about Jesus that the woman with the issue of blood would come to know. Jesus, even when he’s calling on others, simply refuses to pass by anyone who seeks him. When someone is skilled at caring for the needs of the sick or dying, we say they have the “healing touch.” But no one has ever shown the power to heal like Jesus. In his Gospel, Mark records Jesus’ power over many areas of life. First, in Mark 4:35-41, Jesus demonstrated His power over nature when He calmed the “furious squall” that arose on the water. Then, in Mark 5:1–20, Jesus restored a demon-possessed man to health, displaying His power over the darkness.
In today’s passage, Jesus exhibits authority over sickness and death. The two stories within Mark 5:21–43 are meant to be compared and contrasted. At the same time, Jairus’s daughter was born, a woman began hemorrhaging and could find no answer to her pain. According to the custom, this woman would have been considered unclean. She was a social outcast, unable to worship at the temple courts. Jairus’s daughter, by contrast, grew up happy and healthy, seeing her father come and go regularly to the synagogue as one of the leaders. Even though they came from different social standings, both Jairus and the woman showed a similar faith in Jesus. They both believed He had the healing touch. It probably took courage for both individuals to reach out to Jesus for help. No doubt, a bit of fright was running through their veins. However, they realized that nothing and no one else could help them in their desperate time of need. Through their courageous act of reaching out, their faith in Jesus healed them. Mark makes it clear that these narratives prove that the only one who has authority over nature, the powers of darkness, sickness, and death itself, is God. Folks, we have a Savior who refuses to pass anyone by.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
“The Five Ways Jesus Heals” and “Healing & the Image of God” – 1/28/24 Service
By Stephen Streett|January 28, 2024
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“Participating in the Healing Ministry of Jesus/Healing & the Love of Jesus” – 1/21/24 Worship Service
January 21, 2024
Stephen Streett
Follow the Healer Series: Participating in the Healing Ministry of Jesus and Healing and the Love of Jesus.
Matthew 4:23–25
In 1985, Huey Lewis and the News had a number one hit with the song, “The Power of Love,” from the blockbuster motion picture Back to the Future. The lyrics of the song, however, have nothing to do with the movie. While the lyrics weren’t motivated by the movie, they do have something to do with the greatest attribute of God: his powerful love. Mr. Lewis knew you didn’t have to be rich or famous in order to receive the power of love. The only thing needed is a willingness to allow it to save your life.
So, what exactly is the healing power of love? It is nothing less than a demonstration, a revelation, and an expression of the love of Jesus. Jesus’s healing power, rooted in his love, shows up at tombs and calls forth a man dead four days. Healing power shows up at intensive care units, chemotherapy appointments, prisons, the counselor’s office, and is present during traumatic events. It flows through worship services, pastors’ offices, prayer groups, youth group, and small groups. In fact, there is no place too dead, too dark, or too despondent for the healing power of love to reach. As many in this congregation dive into the book study of Follow the Healer, and the healing stories found in the Gospels, we can expect to encounter the healing power of love. As ministers (and remember you are all ministers), we want the Holy Spirit to work through Scripture, and our unique gifts, to make the stories become a living reality for us, our families and congregations. Our goal is to communicate the reality that Jesus’s ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing has not ended, but has “merely assumed a different shape.”
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
“Participating in the Healing Ministry of Jesus/Healing & the Love of Jesus” – 1/21/24 Worship Service
By Stephen Streett|January 21, 2024
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“Christ Is Our Living Hope, Part Two” – 1/14/24 Worship Service
January 14, 2024
Stephen Streett
Follow The Healer Series: Christ is our Living Hope Part 2
Philippians 2:5-11 and 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, 16.
There’s nothing quite like tearing off the last page of a calendar and turning to a new year. It brings a clean slate, offering a new start with fresh possibilities. New Year’s resolutions will abound. New habits will be attempted. Once again, we will aspire to put our best foot forward. But before we do that, let’s remind ourselves of our back story.
It’s an all too human thing to want to be better and to strive for more. We are created in the image of God. The inconvenient truth is that our ancient ancestors determined that bearing the image of God was not enough. They wanted to be God. They were reaching to be God’s equals. And maybe that’s our problem—reaching. Isn’t that where things went wrong? When our ancestors reached for the forbidden fruit. It wasn’t an apple they were reaching for. They were reaching for equality with God. They wanted to be their own god. Then and now, sooner or later, it always leads to epic failure. You see, by definition, God has no equal.
We’ve been doing it ever since. That’s the essence of sin—not trusting in the trustworthy goodness of God. The minute we do that we set out on a course to find another god or worse, to become our own god. We make great humans, but terrible gods. And when we set out on a course to find other gods, we can actually become quite terrible humans.
We were not made to reach for God, but to bow before him. That’s the one place where we discover that God was reaching for us all along. That’s who Jesus is—the one who reaches to us, right where we are. Not only does He reach us, He restores his glorious image in us and remakes us into the people He created us to be in the first place. In short, He reminds us to think like God thinks and to act like God acts and to love like God loves.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
“Christ Is Our Living Hope, Part Two” – 1/14/24 Worship Service
By Stephen Streett|January 14, 2024
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“Christ Is Our Living Hope” (Follow the Healer, Pt.1) – 1/7/24 Worship Service
January 7, 2024
Stephen Streett
1/7/24 Worship Service
Follow the Healer, Part One:
"Christ Is Our Living Hope"
Isaiah 43:18-19 & Philippians 3:13-14
So, things haven't turned out as you hoped. Life took a turn, a bump, a darkened sky and at times it may have seemed there was no hope but here's the good news, our God is the God of fresh starts. God is the God of new beginnings. Our God brings new mercies, new compassions not just once a year, not just when things are bad, but every single morning. This past year and the last few years have been tough, and for many of us things will never be the same, but we are here breathing, maybe smiling or we're crying or shouting or laughing but we are here feeling, maybe fighting with pain, discomfort or cheering or seeking or grieving but we are here living, we are not alone our God is here, our God is with us and our God is the God of new creations and He is saying to you right now, “behold I make all things new.” This is what the LORD says in Isaiah 43:1-3 he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not weep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” The Lord continues in Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. This is such wisdom as we begin 2024. God is with you to face down your fears by faith. God is with you in your doubts. God is with you even when you don't feel his presence. Emmanuel came to be among us. Believe me, He is near. Christ is our living hope and He lives through you and me. DON'T LOOK BACK, LOOK FORWARD!
I am eager to see what God has in store for us in the new year. Our lives and ministries will continue to transform in ways we could never imagine. I am grateful for all the ways you support the ministries of Misty Creek Community Church and pray that you will continue to do so with your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness in 2024. Happy New Year!
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
“Christ Is Our Living Hope” (Follow the Healer, Pt.1) – 1/7/24 Worship Service
