Our summer series is entitled JOURNEY with the FAITHFUL. We are looking at the lives of a number of men and women in the Bible. Each of them chose to leave their comfort zone to follow God and do what He wanted them to do. Each person had to GET UP and GO; they had to move from HERE to THERE.

Today's message is on a woman of the Bible, maybe one we have put into a box of sorts, Mary Magdalene.
We are all guilty of putting others in a box at times. Sometimes those boxes are based solely on a first impression. The harmful boxes are those we either refuse to crawl out of ourselves or those that other's won't let us climb out of. Once we have been labeled it can be hard to break out of that box!

What do you think of when you hear the name Mary Magdalene?
Demons? Prostitute?
Before we discover what we know to be true, we need to dismiss what is not.
Luke 7:36-50; 8:1-3
There is nothing in any of the 14 references to Mary Magdalene that would give indication that she was a prostitute.
She was possessed by demons that would have affected her, but we see no hint of immoral activity.

We have no record of how the demons manifested themselves, only that she was severely afflicted by 7 demons.
God saw not who she was, but who she could become!

Let's look at some things we know about Mary Magdalene:

-She was called Magdalene because she was from Magdala, a port city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
-There is no record of her parents, if she was married, or at what age she was set free from the demons
-The fact that she was able to travel with Jesus and the disciples suggests that she was a single woman
-We don't know how she acquired her wealth but only that she had money of her own
-Every time we see her from this point out she is in the setting of serving/following Jesus
-You can find mention of her in all four Gospels:
Matthew 27:56, 61 and 28:1
Mark 15:40, 47 and 16:1-19
Luke 8:1-3 and 24:10
John 19:25 and 20:1-18

In getting to know Mary Magdalene, we see she is a woman we can identify with.
Sometimes we make choices that put us in a box, Mary Magdalene did not.
For us getting out of the box means stretching to reach the max of what God wants to accomplish through us. To move from what is comfortable and easy and stretch toward excellence so that it is obvious that it is God at work and that it is all done for His glory!
We cling to the box because it's comfortable. But this is where the stretching comes in.

Here's the GOOD NEWS

People see a BROKEN BOX,
God sees BEAUTIFUL POTENTIAL

Can you imagine if after Mary Mag was set free she would have decided to stay right where she was and with what she had always known? Not much remarkable about her transformation if she had chosen to continue with what was familiar, secure, and comfortable.
A relationship with Christ means transformation/change takes place.

Before meeting Jesus, Mary Magdalene was afflicted - after she was met Jesus she became one of his most devoted disciples. She left the life she knew behind – all of it, not just the demon possession part, but the comfortable parts too!

Mary didn't stay in the old box and we don't need to either. There is hope!

Do you encourage those who are trying to get out of their box?
Those whom have had an encounter with Jesus and are now on the long journey. Those who struggle to see themselves and be seen in the eyes of others as God sees them. Do you see what God is doing in their lives and come alongside them, even when they may have a relapse and fall back into the pre-Jesus box?

Do you need to free others from the box YOU put them in? Stop seeing them as a sinner, irritating, hypocrite, grouchy, uncomfortable….you fill in the blank. May I challenge you to be determined to see others, your blood and church family members, friends, or co-workers, through the grace filled eyes of Jesus.

Do you find yourself in a pre-Jesus box today? No one else put you there or keeps you in that box but you. Don’t stay there! Make the decision TODAY to get out! There are multiple men and women in this auditorium today who would love to come along side you, spending the next year to mentor and help you as you move from your broken box to experiencing the power of God that give you all you need to experience a full, new life in Him.

The absence of women among the 12 disciples has bothered a few people. But there were many women among Jesus' followers. It is also clear that Jesus did not treat women as others in his culture did; he treated them with dignity, as people with worth.
Mary of Magdalene was an early follower of Jesus who certainly deserves to be called a disciple.

-She was an energetic, impulsive, caring woman, she not only traveled with Jesus, but also contributed to the needs of the group
-She was present at the Crucifixion
-She was on her way to anoint Jesus' body on Sunday morning when she discovered the empty tomb
-She was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection

Mary Magdalene is a heartwarming example of thankful living. Her life was miraculously freed by Jesus when he drove seven demons out of her. In every glimpse we have of her, she was acting out her appreciation for the freedom Christ had given her.

Mark 16:9-11
She had a message to share. She was the wrong messenger with the right message.
How can God use someone like that?
Why would God use someone like that?
Can you imagine if Mary Magdalene had thought this, we wouldn't have known what happened that day.
Matthew 28:1-10
Mark 16:1-11
Luke 23:54-56
John 20:11-18

Lesson from Mary Magdalene's life: Recognition
2 Corinthians 5:17
Recognizing who we are and who He is.

It works this way. We are to Love God, then we can know more about God and when we know more about Him we can trust Him and when we trust Him than we can obey Him as we continue to obey Him we experience more of Him which then helps us love Him more and the cycle continues.

From here we move to information and then finally to transformation.

Mary Magdalene's transformation led her from the time the demons were taken out to walking with Him for 3 years, to standing at the cross to being the first to see Jesus first at the resurrection. A total life transformed.

How have you been transformed?
Do you need Jesus to break your chains, to get you out of the box you are trapped in? Are you ready to let it go? Let Jesus do those things for you today.

Application and Discussion Questions:

1. Read the account of the elder son in Luke 15:11-32. What do you think motivated him to be the “good son”?

2. Take a deep and private look at your own heart. What motivates you to be an obedient “good” child of God?

3. Read Philippians 1:20-26. What are the key words or phrases in this passage? List them out.

4. Which of those words or phrases describe you the best and which ones do you need to work on?

Birthdays and Anniversaries this week:

Sunday, July 26 - Mike & Jane Norris
Monday, July 27 - Kim Hansen, Doug & Beth Knoll
Tuesday, July 28 - Rylee Zalewski
Wednesday, July 29 - Skip VanDuser, Mike Norris
Saturday, August 1 - Jess & Liz Crofoot