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They Studied Jesus Christ
Brian Mashburn
April 13, 2008
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They Studied Jesus Christ
I played soccer growing up. In high school, I would go out onto the street in front of my house and dribble the ball (in soccer, that means to keep the ball in air using only your feet, knees and head) for hours and hours. I would set up targets and practice my long range accuracy by trying to hit them from far away. I would get a buddy and go find a tennis court and play soccer tennis, or find a field of trees and play soccer golf. I remember taking over our school gym with a game of soccer basketball (there was very little scoring in that game). I would kick the ball on the roof of my house, and every time it came off the edge, I would see how many times I could "head" the ball back up. Everywhere I walked, the soccer ball was rolling close by. It was under my feet at the dinner table, in my room, even in the bathroom. I remember one Saturday coming home and collapsing in my bed after volunteering to play in 6 games in one day. Suffice it to say, I was a devoted student of soccer.
In the book of Acts, we find that those first Christians were devoted students of Jesus Christ. Luke takes his first shot at describing the nature and activities of the first church in Acts 2:42, saying that "they devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching." And what were the apostles teaching? You guessed it, they were teaching Jesus Christ.
If we want the same life-giving, multiplying results that they had in Acts, then we need to be students of Jesus Christ, as they were in Acts.
Do you study Jesus Christ? Do you know his teachings? What he talked about the most? What his heart was like? How he reacted to various situations? Who his best friends were and why? His view of life? His view of God? His view of you? Do you take him with you to the dinner table, your bedroom, your workplace, your recreation? Can it be said of us, at the Southwest church, that they devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching? Do you study Jesus Christ.
In Acts, they studied Jesus Christ. They were devoted to it. And the results were absolutely devastating to the forces of death, empty religion, robotic lifestyles, and numbness. Are you studying Jesus Christ?