Week 1 - Oct 6th Mon, 2025 Trent Sheppard
Having a relationship with God is at the very center of what it means to be human. It is, in fact, the essence of our humanity, rooted in the Father, revealed through the Son, and sustained by the Holy Spirit.
YWAM mission statement: "Do first, then teach."
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
James 3:1-5 ESV
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:28 ESV
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians 1:17-18 ESV
Out of the four Gospels, Luke is the only one written by non-Jew, a Gentile, a Greek. Many scholars believe that the book of Mark was the first Gospel written, and that both Matthew and Luke were written afterward.
A key contrast between Matthew and Luke is the starting point of Jesus’ genealogy. Matthew begins with Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, while Luke traces the line all the way back to Adam, representing all of humanity, including the Gentiles. Luke is also echoing the Hebrew word Bereshit, meaning “In the beginning,” which connects the life of Jesus with the Creation story.
John the Baptist was about six months older than Jesus, and he prepared the way for Him. Many scholars also believe that most of the disciples were likely teenagers or very young men during Jesus’ ministry, which reflects the typical age of disciples following a rabbi in Jewish culture. A master of all prophecies in his walk with God throughout the entire life!
“I believe in christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” - C.S. Lewis
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
John 14:9 (ESV)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Colossians 1:15 (ESV)
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mathew 28:16-19 ESV
How could Jesus care so deeply for some of His disciples who still doubted, even while standing before Him in His presence? He did not dismiss them or choose only those who knelt down and worshiped Him. Instead, He pursued them and came to them Himself, revealing who He is.
The reason Jesus carried such an unoffendable heart was because of the trust He placed in the Holy Spirit, believing that God would reveal more of His true nature, fully God and fully human. Jesus trusted the Father, not His own strength, power, or position. He chose to reveal the humble face of God through patience and lowliness.