“God’s Building” 1 Corinthians 3:9-17
Today we celebrate and dedicate our new building addition.
I told the children about a man who built a chicken house. He planned it, bought good materials, built it, and filled it with nice equipment. But he didn’t put any chickens in it. “The chickens would mess it up,” he said.
I asked the children, “Can you call it a chicken house without any chickens?”
The analogy should be clear. A church is just another building without Christians in it. A human being is just another person without God’s Spirit in it.
We need to fill our lives with Jesus, so that our building will be filled with God’s people.
Ephesians 2:22 tells us, “In Jesus you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Our scripture passage (1 Corinthians 3:9-17) is about a church building program.
HISTORY LESSON
About 56 AD the Apostle Paul was in Ephesus. It was his third (and final) missionary journey into the region. The Christian movement was barely 25 years old. There was heavy persecution of Christians and Jews throughout the Roman Empire.
Back home in Israel, things looked bad. God’s House (the Temple) in Jerusalem was still in use, but heavily controlled by Roman military. Jerusalem would be the center of conflict between the Romans and Jewish Terrorists for the next few years, until the Roman army took full control of the city and destroyed the Temple.
The early Christians first met in synagogues, but later met in houses. They couldn’t get a permit to build a church building because they were a despised movement, originating from a difficult part of the world.
A few years earlier, Paul and Apollos helped establish a church in Corinth. This town was full of temples to a variety of Roman and Greek gods. The Christians lived and worked amidst the temples of false gods.
Paul tells them something interesting. He makes an analogy and compares the new congregation in Corinth to a building. The church is like a building. “We are … God’s Building,” he told them in verse 9.
WE LIKE TO BUILD THINGS
Part of our human nature is to build things. It adds an air of excitement (and stress) to our lives. Sometimes building programs are difficult times for churches.
The story is told …
A man had been shipwrecked on a remote island for 20 years. When a ship finally arrived, his rescuers were impressed with the three buildings he had built and asked about them.
“Well,” the man replied, “this is my house, and that building over there is my church. It’s a wonderful church and I hate to leave it.”
The rescuer asked, “And what is the third building over there?”
The man replied, “Oh, that’s the church I used to go to. When it was being built there was such a fight, I just had to leave …”
I’m thankful for a peaceful building program. God was certainly in control (most of the time).
THE BIBLE IS FULL OF BUILDING PROGRAMS (MORE HISTORY)
Genesis starts with examples of good ones (Noah) and bad ones (Tower of Babel).
Israel worked (as slaves) on building programs in Egypt (Rameses and Python).
In the wilderness, Israel built a large tent for God to live in. It was known as God’s dwelling place. God gave them the plans and they built it. You can visit a re-creation of the tabernacle at the Mennonite Information Center in Lancaster (http://www.mennoniteinfoctr.com/tabncle.html).
When Israel became established in the “promised land” they began to build houses and live in towns. They began to question, “Why do we live in nice houses, while God still lives in a tent?” In 2 Samuel 7:2 King David remarks, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
King David made plans to build a temple, but he wasn’t allowed to because he was a warrior and had shed the blood of others.
David and Bathsheba’s son King Solomon took on the project. He was a beautiful building high on a hill, for all to see for miles around.
500 years later that temple was destroyed by the Babylonian army and the Jews were taken captive.
About 70 years later they returned and rebuilt a new temple on the ruins of the first. Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story – it was a struggle to find both funds and workers. Not uncommon for a building program.
About 350 years later, Herod (called King of the Jews), rebuilt the temple again. He made it one of the largest and most beautiful buildings in the entire region. It was built at great expense and by burdening the people of the region by obligating them to work (slaves) and heavily taxing the people. The final touches of this temple were still under construction when Jesus walked the earth.
The building was completely destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD. Josephus (The Jewish Wars) tells us that the Romans set the building on fire and the gold melted down into the foundation. The stones were dug up to find the gold and not one stone of the foundation was left in place. Complete destruction. It was gone for good; nothing remained but the retaining walls.
Each of those structures was called “God’s House” by the people. None of these remain today.
THE CHURCH IS LIKE A BUILDING
The early church didn’t build buildings. This was probably a good thing for the new movement. A building program to early-on may have diverted their attention from their primary task of witness and service.
The Apostle Paul tells them that they are a building. 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple?”
It seems that God was building the new temple out of people – something that couldn’t be destroyed.
Paul tells them (1 Cor 3:10), “I laid a foundation … others are building on it with a variety of building materials.”
Peter said, “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house …” (1 Peter 2:5).
In another place Paul said, “In Jesus the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple to the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:21, see verse 22 also)
WHAT TURNS A BUILDING INTO “GOD’S HOUSE”?
The world is filled with empty temples and cathedrals, many of them are museums. It seems that the emphasis was put on building a building instead of building the church (God’s Building).
These are all just buildings – very nice and beautiful buildings – but they are just buildings. They are all destined to be destroyed some day.
The Tabernacle became God’s House when God’s presence filled it (shekina glory).
The Temple became God’s House when the ark (God’s presence) was placed in the “holy of holies.”
Paul tells us, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you”? (1 Cor 3:16)
A building is turned into “God’s House” when God moves in.
Has God moved into your life?
This new temple, God’s new building, can never be destroyed. Jesus showed us that a life filled with God can be torn down (crucified), but it will rise up again.
We (the congregation) are God’s Building because we have lives filled with God’s Spirit.
We can get into trouble when we don’t have God in our lives, in our church. Our building will need some repairs that only God can make.
The church is just human beings filled with God’s spirit.
This new church building can only be “God’s Building” when it is full of Christians being faithful to our Lord in witness and service.
Otherwise it’s just a chicken house without any chickens – not much good for anything.
“The Lord is in his Holy Temple” Habakkuk 2:20
Monday, September 10, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
August 26 Sermon Synopsis
What does any of this Jesus stuff have to do with us?
A Jew from the beginning of the first century in a remote province of the Roman Empire, he lived a common life, nothing notable, living according to the customs of his people.
He started a movement (but history tells us that there were many movements at the time), he only led the group for about 3 years, and his followers took over for him.
He began his movement with a common practice called “baptism.”
He was convicted of trumped up charges in a “kangaroo court” that only sought to calm the political situation. He received the death penalty; was crucified as a criminal (a common practice) for political insurrection (King of the Jews).
His followers believed that he rose from the dead, and kept the movement going.
What does it have to do with us?
The answer, of course, is “everything.”
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus brings us close to God and makes possible eternal life. In Jesus, our sins are forgiven. That is a free gift – made possible through the sacrificial giving of Jesus’ life.
We can’t earn it, we can’t work for it, we can’t “do” anything to receive it, except “receive it.” That’s what we call grace – that great feeling we have when we are forgiven.
Have you ever been forgiven for something you knew you should be punished for? It’s a great feeling!
Some of the early Christians, it seems, liked that feeling so much, that they were tempted to sin just so they could feel forgiven. The Apostle Paul tells them, “Do you think you should go on sinning so that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1)
Of course, the answer is no. The sin in our lives should be dead. Our sin died with Christ and was buried and stayed in the grave when Jesus rose from the dead. We go through Baptism as a symbol that our sins are dead and we are alive with Jesus.
Perhaps you heard the story …
A little boy saw a baptism service for the first time.
“Why are they doing that, Momma?”
“They’re being baptized to show that they believe in Jesus and are going to heaven.”
Later that day, the boy became interested in the eternal salvation of his cats.
He filled up a large bucket in the yard and proceeded to “baptize” the cats. The little kittens submitted to immersion pretty well. The young cats were a bit more work, but he got them under the water. The larger cats he could only sprinkle, but that was okay. Finally, the old tom cat put up a big fight, it struggled, it clawed and finally it got away.
The boy went into the house, all scratched up. His mother saw him and asked, “What happened to you?”
“I got just about all them cat’s saved, but that old tom cat’s gonna stay an atheist.”
Fortunately, our salvation doesn’t depend on baptism. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward condition. It demonstrates our decision to accept Jesus, ask forgiveness for our sins and make every effort to live like Jesus would want us to.
Baptism is a decision that each person needs to make. Nobody can make it for you (and force you into the bucket – like baptizing a cat – I’m sure those cats didn’t want anything to do with baptism). Baptism is a personal decision.
We have 9 candidates for Baptism. It’s great to see young people who have given their lives to Christ and want to give their testimony and be baptized to show everyone their faith. This is a public profession of their faith; they are not ashamed of the Gospel.
Baptism by water, may wash off some dirt (the pond may add some dirt). It’s not a process that will clean us in any physical way. But the act of Baptism is a symbol that we have been cleaned inside, a cleaning that only Christ can give. Baptism doesn’t “save” us, but it is a public symbol and witness that we are forgiven, “saved,” clean.
BAPTISM TELLS THE GOSPEL STORY
In Baptism we identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:3-4: “Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
1. Down in the water (or covered with the water), the old life is buried.
Our baptism shows that our sins have died on the cross with Christ.
It’s a funeral service for our sins.
It’s natural to mourn when someone close to us dies. It’s okay to be sad at a funeral service. Grieving is a natural part of our existence. Our sinful nature is something very close to us, but our sins are something we should be glad to bury. We’ll miss them, but they’re gone – hopefully for good.
Sin is dead as far as we’re concerned. Don’t mourn that loss.
2. Coming out of the water (or the water passes, taking the contaminants with it), we rise leaving our sins washed away. (Mel’s Pond must be full of sins)
As Jesus rose from the grave, we raise out of the water – proclaiming our resurrection life, our new life, our eternal life.
Verse 8 tells us, “If we die with Christ, we also believe that we will live with him!”
We proclaim that we want to live in the new life with our Savior.
We also proclaim that we live in eternal life, the life that begins when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
PART OF A BAPTIZED BODY
Through Baptism, we proclaim our intention to be part of the church, the family of God, “Christ’s living body in this world.”
The Apostle Paul wrote much about “the body of Christ” – the church.
“We were baptized to form one body through one spirit.”
Christ wants everyone to be part of his body.
How do we become part of Christ’s body?
Believe, repent, confess your sins, and receive Christ.
Jesus must have a body that is clean, not so much on the outside, but certainly on the inside.
THIS IS OUR NEW LIFE – Alive to Christ.
Christ makes us feel alive
We have Christ in our life and we are a part of Christ’s body.
Are you still mourning the death of your sins?
Let them go.
Let Jesus make you alive – truly alive. He came to bring us life, and to bring it in abundance.
“Count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God”
A Jew from the beginning of the first century in a remote province of the Roman Empire, he lived a common life, nothing notable, living according to the customs of his people.
He started a movement (but history tells us that there were many movements at the time), he only led the group for about 3 years, and his followers took over for him.
He began his movement with a common practice called “baptism.”
He was convicted of trumped up charges in a “kangaroo court” that only sought to calm the political situation. He received the death penalty; was crucified as a criminal (a common practice) for political insurrection (King of the Jews).
His followers believed that he rose from the dead, and kept the movement going.
What does it have to do with us?
The answer, of course, is “everything.”
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus brings us close to God and makes possible eternal life. In Jesus, our sins are forgiven. That is a free gift – made possible through the sacrificial giving of Jesus’ life.
We can’t earn it, we can’t work for it, we can’t “do” anything to receive it, except “receive it.” That’s what we call grace – that great feeling we have when we are forgiven.
Have you ever been forgiven for something you knew you should be punished for? It’s a great feeling!
Some of the early Christians, it seems, liked that feeling so much, that they were tempted to sin just so they could feel forgiven. The Apostle Paul tells them, “Do you think you should go on sinning so that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1)
Of course, the answer is no. The sin in our lives should be dead. Our sin died with Christ and was buried and stayed in the grave when Jesus rose from the dead. We go through Baptism as a symbol that our sins are dead and we are alive with Jesus.
Perhaps you heard the story …
A little boy saw a baptism service for the first time.
“Why are they doing that, Momma?”
“They’re being baptized to show that they believe in Jesus and are going to heaven.”
Later that day, the boy became interested in the eternal salvation of his cats.
He filled up a large bucket in the yard and proceeded to “baptize” the cats. The little kittens submitted to immersion pretty well. The young cats were a bit more work, but he got them under the water. The larger cats he could only sprinkle, but that was okay. Finally, the old tom cat put up a big fight, it struggled, it clawed and finally it got away.
The boy went into the house, all scratched up. His mother saw him and asked, “What happened to you?”
“I got just about all them cat’s saved, but that old tom cat’s gonna stay an atheist.”
Fortunately, our salvation doesn’t depend on baptism. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward condition. It demonstrates our decision to accept Jesus, ask forgiveness for our sins and make every effort to live like Jesus would want us to.
Baptism is a decision that each person needs to make. Nobody can make it for you (and force you into the bucket – like baptizing a cat – I’m sure those cats didn’t want anything to do with baptism). Baptism is a personal decision.
We have 9 candidates for Baptism. It’s great to see young people who have given their lives to Christ and want to give their testimony and be baptized to show everyone their faith. This is a public profession of their faith; they are not ashamed of the Gospel.
Baptism by water, may wash off some dirt (the pond may add some dirt). It’s not a process that will clean us in any physical way. But the act of Baptism is a symbol that we have been cleaned inside, a cleaning that only Christ can give. Baptism doesn’t “save” us, but it is a public symbol and witness that we are forgiven, “saved,” clean.
BAPTISM TELLS THE GOSPEL STORY
In Baptism we identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:3-4: “Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
1. Down in the water (or covered with the water), the old life is buried.
Our baptism shows that our sins have died on the cross with Christ.
It’s a funeral service for our sins.
It’s natural to mourn when someone close to us dies. It’s okay to be sad at a funeral service. Grieving is a natural part of our existence. Our sinful nature is something very close to us, but our sins are something we should be glad to bury. We’ll miss them, but they’re gone – hopefully for good.
Sin is dead as far as we’re concerned. Don’t mourn that loss.
2. Coming out of the water (or the water passes, taking the contaminants with it), we rise leaving our sins washed away. (Mel’s Pond must be full of sins)
As Jesus rose from the grave, we raise out of the water – proclaiming our resurrection life, our new life, our eternal life.
Verse 8 tells us, “If we die with Christ, we also believe that we will live with him!”
We proclaim that we want to live in the new life with our Savior.
We also proclaim that we live in eternal life, the life that begins when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
PART OF A BAPTIZED BODY
Through Baptism, we proclaim our intention to be part of the church, the family of God, “Christ’s living body in this world.”
The Apostle Paul wrote much about “the body of Christ” – the church.
“We were baptized to form one body through one spirit.”
Christ wants everyone to be part of his body.
How do we become part of Christ’s body?
Believe, repent, confess your sins, and receive Christ.
Jesus must have a body that is clean, not so much on the outside, but certainly on the inside.
THIS IS OUR NEW LIFE – Alive to Christ.
Christ makes us feel alive
We have Christ in our life and we are a part of Christ’s body.
Are you still mourning the death of your sins?
Let them go.
Let Jesus make you alive – truly alive. He came to bring us life, and to bring it in abundance.
“Count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God”
Sunday, August 19, 2007
August 19, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
“What are you looking at?” Hebrews 11:29 – 2:2
Last week we began Hebrews Chapter 11, the faith chapter.
The story of faith continues …
Perhaps you’ve heard the story about …
The pastor announced, “There will be a meeting of the Board immediately after the service."
After the close of the service, the Church Board gathered at the back of the auditorium for the announced meeting. But there was a stranger in their midst -- a visitor who had never attended their church before.
"My friend," said the pastor, "Didn't you understand that this is a meeting of the Board?"
"Yes," said the visitor, "and after today's sermon, I suppose I'm just about as bored as anyone else who came to this meeting."
According to Hebrews 11, the life of faith is anything but boring. There is an excitement to a life lived by faith. And ultimately they were “commended for their faith,” they had a good testimony.
It's an impressive list of Old Testament believers and their amazing accomplishments. However, the writer kept interspersing the words "by faith," for his emphasis was strictly faith, not fame. Through faith these people obtained a good testimony (v.39), but was there always a good outcome?
By faith they subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, and escaped the edge of the sword. Others were tortured and killed. Did they obtain a bad testimony? No! Verse 39 says that "all these" – both the delivered and the undelivered – had a good testimony, they all acted in faith.
Faith does not automatically mean good things will happen to you.
I'm certain that all had asked the Lord for help. But some received deliverance, and others received an answer similar to the one given to Paul when he pleaded for his "thorn" to be removed: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Whenever you act in faith and in God's strength, you are obtaining a good testimony before Him—no matter what the outcome. Just the same, none of them received the full promise. The author tells us that this is reserved for us. All of these had faith that God would bring a messiah, a savior, etc., but they never saw Jesus. We are very privileged.
THEREFORE
Chapter 12:1 begins with this word; it’s an indicator of a practical application.
There are three things we should do to keep our lives guided “by faith.”
Three things to obtain a good testimony and be commended for our faith.
FIRST: LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS AND THE SIN THAT SO EASLIY ENGANGLES
Once, in Bolivia, I drove behind a loaded truck climbing the mountain road from Cochabamba to Oruro. It was loaded with produce destined for the highlands. The truck couldn’t handle the road, he had a compression problem. He had to get to Oruro, so he started to sell and give his produce to the people along the way. Some he just had to leave by the road. Why? He wouldn’t make it to the destination otherwise; stranded on a mountain road is not a good thing. It arrived with very little produce. It was painful for the owner of the truck to lose his load. He lost plenty of pesos on that trip, but he arrived.
It’s not an easy thing to do. Sometimes we really love the stuff we carry around.
It reminds me of the story of the Franklin Expedition.
In 1845, the ill-fated Franklin Expedition sailed from England to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean. The crew loaded their two sailing ships with a lot of things they didn't need: a 1,200-volume library, fine china, crystal goblets, and sterling silverware for each officer with his initials engraved on the handles. Amazingly, each ship took only a 12-day supply of coal for their auxiliary steam engines.
The ships became trapped in vast frozen plains of ice. After several months, Lord Franklin died. The men decided to trek to safety in small groups, but none of them survived. One story is especially heartbreaking. Two officers pulled a large sled more than 65 miles across the treacherous ice. When their bodies were found, they discovered that the sled was filled with table silver. Those men contributed to their own demise by carrying what they didn't need
But don't we sometimes do the same? Don't we drag baggage through life that we don't need? Evil thoughts that hinder us. Bad habits that drag us down. Grudges that we won't let go.Let's determine to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us"
When God told Joshua to take control of Jericho, and other cities in Palestine, they were told “not” to take plunder. Why? It would slow them down. It would divert their attention from the task. It would keep them from being effective in establishing the Kingdom of God.
What about the power of sin?
King David’s eyes were diverted and led him into sin. He needed to get rid of the sin that hindered his ability to rule God’s Kingdom. How did he get rid of that sin? By confronting the sin, confessing the sin and receiving forgiveness. There was no other way.
What is hindering your walk of faith? What is entangling your life?
What do you need to get rid of? You can’t get rid of it yourself.
Jesus said, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Give it to Jesus.
SECOND: LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE THAT IS SET OUT BEFORE US
Verb tense in the Greek language indicates a daily action, we continually run the race.
I used to climb mountains. I needed to pace myself. Newcomers to our group might race to the top, but they expend all their energy getting there. They forget that it’s a round trip. Others help carry them down, to complete the journey. Perseverance is pacing yourself for the long haul.
Heb 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
James tells us something about perseverance.
James 1:3 – the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
James 1:4 – perseverance is necessary for us to be mature and complete.
James 5:11 – using the example of Job we learn that those who persevere are blessed.
Whatever comes, whatever happens, we need to keep going forward in the Christian life.
THIRD: LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS
Years ago there was a farmer teaching his son to plow with a horse: “To make a straight furrow you need to fix your eyes on something in front of you and follow it. He got his son started and went off to work in the barn. When he came back the furrows went in every direction.
The father asked, “Didn’t you follow my directions?”
The son replied, “ I sure did, I set my eyes on that cow over there.”
It’s important what we keep our eyes on something firm – Jesus.
We must keep our eyes on the master.
I remember teaching my dog to “stay.” I put meat or cheese (something tempting) on the floor in front of her and I said “stay.” Eventually the dog learned to stay (treat or no treat). How did the dog keep its concentration? She couldn’t look at the treat, which was too much of a temptation. She kept her eyes on me.
Ultimately, the puppy was more interested in keeping the master happy than in satisfying itself. Somehow the puppy learns that the master is trusted. The master is the one who may reward us. The master is the source of the food.
We are so much more important than a puppy; shouldn’t we keep our eyes on our master?
We need to learn to fix our eyes on Jesus.
Not on the pastor, the elders, parents, conference leaders, or anyone else.
All of these are going to let you down (pastor included), but Jesus will never let you down.
What do we look at? There are many things to choose from.
Leaders
Sins / temptations
Fears
The world and things of the world
Ourselves
You can think of many other things to divert our attention.
In the long run, none of these things are going to help us successfully complete the course.
To live the life of faith we need to
1. Get rid of sin and burdens
2. Persevere
3. Keep our eyes on Jesus
What are you looking at?
Last week we began Hebrews Chapter 11, the faith chapter.
The story of faith continues …
Perhaps you’ve heard the story about …
The pastor announced, “There will be a meeting of the Board immediately after the service."
After the close of the service, the Church Board gathered at the back of the auditorium for the announced meeting. But there was a stranger in their midst -- a visitor who had never attended their church before.
"My friend," said the pastor, "Didn't you understand that this is a meeting of the Board?"
"Yes," said the visitor, "and after today's sermon, I suppose I'm just about as bored as anyone else who came to this meeting."
According to Hebrews 11, the life of faith is anything but boring. There is an excitement to a life lived by faith. And ultimately they were “commended for their faith,” they had a good testimony.
It's an impressive list of Old Testament believers and their amazing accomplishments. However, the writer kept interspersing the words "by faith," for his emphasis was strictly faith, not fame. Through faith these people obtained a good testimony (v.39), but was there always a good outcome?
By faith they subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, and escaped the edge of the sword. Others were tortured and killed. Did they obtain a bad testimony? No! Verse 39 says that "all these" – both the delivered and the undelivered – had a good testimony, they all acted in faith.
Faith does not automatically mean good things will happen to you.
I'm certain that all had asked the Lord for help. But some received deliverance, and others received an answer similar to the one given to Paul when he pleaded for his "thorn" to be removed: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Whenever you act in faith and in God's strength, you are obtaining a good testimony before Him—no matter what the outcome. Just the same, none of them received the full promise. The author tells us that this is reserved for us. All of these had faith that God would bring a messiah, a savior, etc., but they never saw Jesus. We are very privileged.
THEREFORE
Chapter 12:1 begins with this word; it’s an indicator of a practical application.
There are three things we should do to keep our lives guided “by faith.”
Three things to obtain a good testimony and be commended for our faith.
FIRST: LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS AND THE SIN THAT SO EASLIY ENGANGLES
Once, in Bolivia, I drove behind a loaded truck climbing the mountain road from Cochabamba to Oruro. It was loaded with produce destined for the highlands. The truck couldn’t handle the road, he had a compression problem. He had to get to Oruro, so he started to sell and give his produce to the people along the way. Some he just had to leave by the road. Why? He wouldn’t make it to the destination otherwise; stranded on a mountain road is not a good thing. It arrived with very little produce. It was painful for the owner of the truck to lose his load. He lost plenty of pesos on that trip, but he arrived.
It’s not an easy thing to do. Sometimes we really love the stuff we carry around.
It reminds me of the story of the Franklin Expedition.
In 1845, the ill-fated Franklin Expedition sailed from England to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean. The crew loaded their two sailing ships with a lot of things they didn't need: a 1,200-volume library, fine china, crystal goblets, and sterling silverware for each officer with his initials engraved on the handles. Amazingly, each ship took only a 12-day supply of coal for their auxiliary steam engines.
The ships became trapped in vast frozen plains of ice. After several months, Lord Franklin died. The men decided to trek to safety in small groups, but none of them survived. One story is especially heartbreaking. Two officers pulled a large sled more than 65 miles across the treacherous ice. When their bodies were found, they discovered that the sled was filled with table silver. Those men contributed to their own demise by carrying what they didn't need
But don't we sometimes do the same? Don't we drag baggage through life that we don't need? Evil thoughts that hinder us. Bad habits that drag us down. Grudges that we won't let go.Let's determine to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us"
When God told Joshua to take control of Jericho, and other cities in Palestine, they were told “not” to take plunder. Why? It would slow them down. It would divert their attention from the task. It would keep them from being effective in establishing the Kingdom of God.
What about the power of sin?
King David’s eyes were diverted and led him into sin. He needed to get rid of the sin that hindered his ability to rule God’s Kingdom. How did he get rid of that sin? By confronting the sin, confessing the sin and receiving forgiveness. There was no other way.
What is hindering your walk of faith? What is entangling your life?
What do you need to get rid of? You can’t get rid of it yourself.
Jesus said, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Give it to Jesus.
SECOND: LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE THAT IS SET OUT BEFORE US
Verb tense in the Greek language indicates a daily action, we continually run the race.
I used to climb mountains. I needed to pace myself. Newcomers to our group might race to the top, but they expend all their energy getting there. They forget that it’s a round trip. Others help carry them down, to complete the journey. Perseverance is pacing yourself for the long haul.
Heb 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
James tells us something about perseverance.
James 1:3 – the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
James 1:4 – perseverance is necessary for us to be mature and complete.
James 5:11 – using the example of Job we learn that those who persevere are blessed.
Whatever comes, whatever happens, we need to keep going forward in the Christian life.
THIRD: LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS
Years ago there was a farmer teaching his son to plow with a horse: “To make a straight furrow you need to fix your eyes on something in front of you and follow it. He got his son started and went off to work in the barn. When he came back the furrows went in every direction.
The father asked, “Didn’t you follow my directions?”
The son replied, “ I sure did, I set my eyes on that cow over there.”
It’s important what we keep our eyes on something firm – Jesus.
We must keep our eyes on the master.
I remember teaching my dog to “stay.” I put meat or cheese (something tempting) on the floor in front of her and I said “stay.” Eventually the dog learned to stay (treat or no treat). How did the dog keep its concentration? She couldn’t look at the treat, which was too much of a temptation. She kept her eyes on me.
Ultimately, the puppy was more interested in keeping the master happy than in satisfying itself. Somehow the puppy learns that the master is trusted. The master is the one who may reward us. The master is the source of the food.
We are so much more important than a puppy; shouldn’t we keep our eyes on our master?
We need to learn to fix our eyes on Jesus.
Not on the pastor, the elders, parents, conference leaders, or anyone else.
All of these are going to let you down (pastor included), but Jesus will never let you down.
What do we look at? There are many things to choose from.
Leaders
Sins / temptations
Fears
The world and things of the world
Ourselves
You can think of many other things to divert our attention.
In the long run, none of these things are going to help us successfully complete the course.
To live the life of faith we need to
1. Get rid of sin and burdens
2. Persevere
3. Keep our eyes on Jesus
What are you looking at?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
August 12, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
“Faith Based Initiatives” Hebrews 11:1-16
Maybe you heard the story …
A businessman was in a great deal of trouble. His business was failing, he had put everything he had into the business, he owed everybody it was so bad he was even contemplating suicide. As a last resort he went to a pastor and poured out his story of tears and woe. When he had finished, the pastor said, "Here's what I want you to do, put a beach chair and your Bible in your car and drive down to the beach. Take the beach chair and the Bible to the water's edge, sit down in the beach chair, and put the Bible in your lap. Open the Bible; the wind will rifle the pages, but finally the open Bible will come to rest on a page. Look down at the page and read the first thing you see. That will be your answer; that will tell you what to do."
A year later the businessman went back to the pastor and brought his wife and children with him. The man was in a new custom- tailored suit, his wife in a mink coat, the children shining. The businessman pulled an envelope stuffed with money out of his pocket and gave it to the pastor as a donation to the church in thanks for his advice. The pastor recognized the benefactor, and was curious. "You did as I suggested?" he asked.
"Absolutely," replied the businessman.
"You went to the beach?"
"Absolutely."
"You sat in a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?"
"Absolutely."
"You let the pages rifle until they stopped?"
"Absolutely."
"And what were the first words you saw?"
"Chapter 11."
The scripture passage I want to consider is Chapter 11 of Hebrews, and maybe we will learn something about keeping our faith from going bankrupt.
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is known as the “Faith Chapter.”
The book is written to Jews (Hebrews) who have accepted Jesus and to Gentile Christians (who need to understand the OT heritage and message that Jesus fulfilled). Here we have a lesson about the “History of Faith.”
How’s your faith?
Is faith evident in your life?
Is faith guiding your life?
I recently heard the story …
A pastor was taking a load of medical supplies to a local medical ministry. He was pushing the limits of his gas tank, when he ran out of gas, only a mile from the gas station.
He walked the mile to the gas station and asked to borrow a gas can to get enough gas to get to the station. They didn’t have one, so he thought and walked back to the car. In the medical supplies he found a bed pan, so he took it to the gas station, filled it with gas and carefully carried it back to the car.
As he was putting the gas in the car some of his church members drove by and saw their pastor pouring the contents of the bed pan into the car’s gas tank. The one remarked to the other, “Man, that’s faith!”
Faith is more than believing you can run a car on pee.
From this passage, we learn some things about faith.
Verse 1 has a definition. It’s not complete, but focuses on a few important features of faith.
1. Faith is being sure of what we hope for. What are we hoping for? The Psalmist wrote, “Our hope is in the Lord.” We should hope for eternal life, heaven, God’s guidance, etc.
2. Faith is being certain of what we can’t see. Israel was unusual in the world; they believed in the “unseen God.” Others made fun of them for having a God you can’t see.
3. Verse 3 tells us that the world was made through the Word of God. We are re-created through the Word of God – the Word became flesh, John 1:12 – through Jesus.
The creation of the world is a matter of faith. What would happen if we took God out of the picture? There is no purpose to anything! The one who created is more important than how it was done. Faith gives purpose to life.
4. Verse 6 lets us know that you need to have faith to make God happy. “Without faith it’s impossible to please God.”
We live in a world where so many people are concerned about being happy and having “God make them happy.” The goal of our faith is to make God happy, not for God to make us happy. We need to learn: It’s not about making me happy; it’s about making God happy.
Faith Based Initiatives
Faith Based Initiatives are know as a government program to distribute funding through faith based organizations.
The government has learned that “faith based ministries” are the most efficient, the most successful at making permanent changes in peoples lives,
Some Christian organizations won’t accept government funding. They base this decision on the separation of church and state, that the government often has “strings attached,” and they don’t want any government control of their ministry.
Faith has motivated many people in ministry. Faith has initiated a number of ministries such as Tel Hai, Bridge of Hope, No Longer Alone Ministries, and the MCC.
True faith based initiatives have less to do with funding and more to do with ministry to others. After all, God has all the resources necessary to fulfill his plan for the world. Our initiatives need to be found within that plan. The scripture tells us, “Our Lord will supply everything according to our needs.”
Why do you do the things you do?
Why does our church do the things we do?
What motivates or initiates our actions?
We should be motivated by Faith
There is a phrase that is repeated throughout chapter 11 of Hebrews: “By faith.”
Faith is the motivational factor in the lives of the individuals we read about.
Faith is manifested in the lives of individuals
Chapter 11 makes a contrast between us and them
It is the “we” (present) / “they” or “he” (past) difference
The author says “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see.”
The scripture gives examples from the past, but the question of faith is in the present.
Interesting Note: verse 2 calls them “ancients” which is a translation of “presbyteroi” which is translated as “elders” in other places in the Bible. I’d be careful referring to our “Elders” as “ancients.”
Example 1: ABEL
Why was his gift better than his brothers? Many scholars have explained this in a number of ways. What stands out here is the faith the motivated and accompanied the offering.
By faith:
- He offered a better offering
- He was commended by God
- His story lives on
Example 2: ENOCH
He pleased God; that is, he made God happy. This gave him a direct trip to heaven.
By faith: he passed to heaven without experiencing death.
Example 3: NOAH
By faith he believed God’s warning and acted on it.
Example 4: ABRAHAM
By faith:
- He left his comfortable surroundings to obey God
- He made his home in a foreign land (illegal immigrant?)
- He fathered a child in his old age.
What do all of these have in common? They heard God’s word and acted on it.
I know a number of people in Bolivia and the Dominican Republic who can be added to that list:
Santiago Canaviri started training school for rural pastors and leaders.
Juan Corcos planted on the islands of Lake Titicaca.
Arelí began a ministry to the children in her community.
Marino & Graciela Garcia opened a school in San Cristobal for children who couldn’t go to school.
Pierre Espady started rural health clinics in Haitian communities in the DR
All of this makes God happy!
Do you make God happy? Or do you make God ashamed?
Verse 16 tells us, “There fore God is not ashamed to be called their God”
Have you ever been ashamed of your children? Your friends? Your church? Did you feel embarrassed by them?
How do you make God feel?
Sure, we can’t see the whole picture.
Did Abel know God’s plan of salvation for the world through Jesus?
Did Enoch? Did Noah? Did Abraham?
I showed the children a “connect the dots” picture of two cows grazing in a field. You really couldn’t tell what the picture was without the dots connected. Doing a “dot-to-dot” puzzle is similar to having faith.
You trust that an artist designed a picture that will be revealed to you if you continue to trace the sequence, dot to dot. If you decide to stop drawing you’ll never see the full picture the artist designed.
So it is with our faith in God. God is leading us and sometimes we only have part of the picture, but faith helps us connect the dots.
Did Abel see the whole picture? No, he just connected dot 3 to dot 4.
Did Enoch see the whole picture? No, he just connected dot 5 to dot 6.
Did Noah? No, dot 16 to 17.
Did Abraham? No, but he connecte a few of the dots.
None of them saw the entire picture.
God knows the big picture (when all the dots are connected). We need to trust God.
We need to make God proud!
Do problems in your life cause you to stop connecting the dots?
Did you just lose interest in connecting the dots?
You just need to trust God. That way you can live your life “by faith.”
Maybe you heard the story …
A businessman was in a great deal of trouble. His business was failing, he had put everything he had into the business, he owed everybody it was so bad he was even contemplating suicide. As a last resort he went to a pastor and poured out his story of tears and woe. When he had finished, the pastor said, "Here's what I want you to do, put a beach chair and your Bible in your car and drive down to the beach. Take the beach chair and the Bible to the water's edge, sit down in the beach chair, and put the Bible in your lap. Open the Bible; the wind will rifle the pages, but finally the open Bible will come to rest on a page. Look down at the page and read the first thing you see. That will be your answer; that will tell you what to do."
A year later the businessman went back to the pastor and brought his wife and children with him. The man was in a new custom- tailored suit, his wife in a mink coat, the children shining. The businessman pulled an envelope stuffed with money out of his pocket and gave it to the pastor as a donation to the church in thanks for his advice. The pastor recognized the benefactor, and was curious. "You did as I suggested?" he asked.
"Absolutely," replied the businessman.
"You went to the beach?"
"Absolutely."
"You sat in a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?"
"Absolutely."
"You let the pages rifle until they stopped?"
"Absolutely."
"And what were the first words you saw?"
"Chapter 11."
The scripture passage I want to consider is Chapter 11 of Hebrews, and maybe we will learn something about keeping our faith from going bankrupt.
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is known as the “Faith Chapter.”
The book is written to Jews (Hebrews) who have accepted Jesus and to Gentile Christians (who need to understand the OT heritage and message that Jesus fulfilled). Here we have a lesson about the “History of Faith.”
How’s your faith?
Is faith evident in your life?
Is faith guiding your life?
I recently heard the story …
A pastor was taking a load of medical supplies to a local medical ministry. He was pushing the limits of his gas tank, when he ran out of gas, only a mile from the gas station.
He walked the mile to the gas station and asked to borrow a gas can to get enough gas to get to the station. They didn’t have one, so he thought and walked back to the car. In the medical supplies he found a bed pan, so he took it to the gas station, filled it with gas and carefully carried it back to the car.
As he was putting the gas in the car some of his church members drove by and saw their pastor pouring the contents of the bed pan into the car’s gas tank. The one remarked to the other, “Man, that’s faith!”
Faith is more than believing you can run a car on pee.
From this passage, we learn some things about faith.
Verse 1 has a definition. It’s not complete, but focuses on a few important features of faith.
1. Faith is being sure of what we hope for. What are we hoping for? The Psalmist wrote, “Our hope is in the Lord.” We should hope for eternal life, heaven, God’s guidance, etc.
2. Faith is being certain of what we can’t see. Israel was unusual in the world; they believed in the “unseen God.” Others made fun of them for having a God you can’t see.
3. Verse 3 tells us that the world was made through the Word of God. We are re-created through the Word of God – the Word became flesh, John 1:12 – through Jesus.
The creation of the world is a matter of faith. What would happen if we took God out of the picture? There is no purpose to anything! The one who created is more important than how it was done. Faith gives purpose to life.
4. Verse 6 lets us know that you need to have faith to make God happy. “Without faith it’s impossible to please God.”
We live in a world where so many people are concerned about being happy and having “God make them happy.” The goal of our faith is to make God happy, not for God to make us happy. We need to learn: It’s not about making me happy; it’s about making God happy.
Faith Based Initiatives
Faith Based Initiatives are know as a government program to distribute funding through faith based organizations.
The government has learned that “faith based ministries” are the most efficient, the most successful at making permanent changes in peoples lives,
Some Christian organizations won’t accept government funding. They base this decision on the separation of church and state, that the government often has “strings attached,” and they don’t want any government control of their ministry.
Faith has motivated many people in ministry. Faith has initiated a number of ministries such as Tel Hai, Bridge of Hope, No Longer Alone Ministries, and the MCC.
True faith based initiatives have less to do with funding and more to do with ministry to others. After all, God has all the resources necessary to fulfill his plan for the world. Our initiatives need to be found within that plan. The scripture tells us, “Our Lord will supply everything according to our needs.”
Why do you do the things you do?
Why does our church do the things we do?
What motivates or initiates our actions?
We should be motivated by Faith
There is a phrase that is repeated throughout chapter 11 of Hebrews: “By faith.”
Faith is the motivational factor in the lives of the individuals we read about.
Faith is manifested in the lives of individuals
Chapter 11 makes a contrast between us and them
It is the “we” (present) / “they” or “he” (past) difference
The author says “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see.”
The scripture gives examples from the past, but the question of faith is in the present.
Interesting Note: verse 2 calls them “ancients” which is a translation of “presbyteroi” which is translated as “elders” in other places in the Bible. I’d be careful referring to our “Elders” as “ancients.”
Example 1: ABEL
Why was his gift better than his brothers? Many scholars have explained this in a number of ways. What stands out here is the faith the motivated and accompanied the offering.
By faith:
- He offered a better offering
- He was commended by God
- His story lives on
Example 2: ENOCH
He pleased God; that is, he made God happy. This gave him a direct trip to heaven.
By faith: he passed to heaven without experiencing death.
Example 3: NOAH
By faith he believed God’s warning and acted on it.
Example 4: ABRAHAM
By faith:
- He left his comfortable surroundings to obey God
- He made his home in a foreign land (illegal immigrant?)
- He fathered a child in his old age.
What do all of these have in common? They heard God’s word and acted on it.
I know a number of people in Bolivia and the Dominican Republic who can be added to that list:
Santiago Canaviri started training school for rural pastors and leaders.
Juan Corcos planted on the islands of Lake Titicaca.
Arelí began a ministry to the children in her community.
Marino & Graciela Garcia opened a school in San Cristobal for children who couldn’t go to school.
Pierre Espady started rural health clinics in Haitian communities in the DR
All of this makes God happy!
Do you make God happy? Or do you make God ashamed?
Verse 16 tells us, “There fore God is not ashamed to be called their God”
Have you ever been ashamed of your children? Your friends? Your church? Did you feel embarrassed by them?
How do you make God feel?
Sure, we can’t see the whole picture.
Did Abel know God’s plan of salvation for the world through Jesus?
Did Enoch? Did Noah? Did Abraham?
I showed the children a “connect the dots” picture of two cows grazing in a field. You really couldn’t tell what the picture was without the dots connected. Doing a “dot-to-dot” puzzle is similar to having faith.
You trust that an artist designed a picture that will be revealed to you if you continue to trace the sequence, dot to dot. If you decide to stop drawing you’ll never see the full picture the artist designed.
So it is with our faith in God. God is leading us and sometimes we only have part of the picture, but faith helps us connect the dots.
Did Abel see the whole picture? No, he just connected dot 3 to dot 4.
Did Enoch see the whole picture? No, he just connected dot 5 to dot 6.
Did Noah? No, dot 16 to 17.
Did Abraham? No, but he connecte a few of the dots.
None of them saw the entire picture.
God knows the big picture (when all the dots are connected). We need to trust God.
We need to make God proud!
Do problems in your life cause you to stop connecting the dots?
Did you just lose interest in connecting the dots?
You just need to trust God. That way you can live your life “by faith.”
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
July 22, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
We Forgive Those Who Sin Against Us – Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35
How is your relationship with God? God wants us to have a good relationship with him.
GOD WANTS US TO BE FORGIVEN
I told the children a familiar story that has been circulating ….
Johnny and Sally went to visit their grandparents on the farm. Johnny’s grandpa gave him a slingshot to play with. He went out into the fields and the woods, but he could never hit his target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for lunch.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and scared!
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she didn’t say anything.
After lunch Grandma asked Sally to help wash the dishes. But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny wants to help wash the dishes.” Johnny looked a bit puzzled and Sally whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny helped Grandma wash the dishes.
Later that day Grandma asked Sally to help with the baking. Sally told her, “Johnny really wants to help you.” Again, Johnny was a little confused so Sally whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny helped in the kitchen.
Every time there was something to be done, Sally volunteered Johnny and reminded him, “Remember the duck!” After several days of doing both his chores and Sally’s, Johnny finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He went to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Darling, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
How do we deal with the bad things we have done? God knows everything we have done. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, “The eyes of Lord are everywhere.” The Bible also lets us know that, through Jesus on the cross, God has already forgiven us. We need to confess. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he … will forgive us.”
We are forgiven by God through Jesus – that’s good news! God has forgiven us. We can have a good relationship with God when we confess our sins. That way, nobody can bother us, “Remember the duck.”
GOD WANTS US TO FORGIVE OTHERS
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
In today’s Scripture passage Peter asked Jesus, “How many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Peter was being generous. Rabbinic tradition at the time taught that we need to “forgive for three times, on the fourth there is no forgiveness.”
Jesus told Peter he needs to be even more forgiving – 77 times or 490 times (depending on the translation). Basically what Jesus was saying, was that we should always forgive.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEING FORGIVEN AND FORGIVING OTHERS
The verses that follow the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:14-15) highlight that fact. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
That’s a pretty heavy condition to lay on us if we want to be forgiven.
Peter asks, “How much is enough?” Jesus asks Peter to put it into perspective, and he tells them a story (parable).
God’s Kingdom is like this ….
A King (God) wants to settle accounts with his servants. The servants represent the disciples or followers of God – us, the citizens of God’s Kingdom.
The story talks about one particular case. A man had a debt of 10,000 talents.
A talent was a monetary unit equal to 6,000 denarii. One denarius is the daily wage of a hired worker (picking grapes, for instance). If you do the math, the man owed the King a little more than 190,000 years of work – probably more than he could ever pay.
The king’s request was not reasonable – he asked the man to pay it back
The man’s offer was not reasonable – he asked for patience and promised to pay him back.
The king did the unexpected – he forgave the man’s debt.
GOD FORGIVES A DEBT WE COULD NEVER REPAY
How does the man feel? How do we feel?
God didn’t have to do it, but he forgave us our sins through Jesus’ death on the cross – Grace. Grace is an undeserved gift.
I don’t understand the response of the forgiven man.
He went out and found a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii (about 3 months wages), he grabbed him and began to choke him, demanding to be repaid.
What an ingrate!
The other man responded to the forgiven man exactly as the forgiven man responded to the King – “please be patient, and I’ll pay you back.”
But he put him in prison until he paid him back.
GOD SEES EVERYTHING
The king found out – God will always find out.
It wasn’t a happy ending, but it didn’t have to be that way.
WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE TO GOD’S FORGIVENESS?
You’ve heard the old story …
The Trustees were painting the church building. They didn’t have enough paint and there weren’t funds available to purchase more paint, so they added some water to the paint. Halfway through, they realized they still weren’t going to have enough paint, so they added some more water. Finally they finished the job – a pretty thin coat. Our Trustees wouldn’t do such a poor job.
When they were finished, a big storm came through – thunder, lightning, wind, a gully washer! All the paint washed off the building and a booming voice was heard from the sky, “Repaint and thin no more!”
Jesus often asked people to repent and to stop their sinning. Sin is going against the values and principles that God (our King) has established. Apparently it would be a sin not to forgive someone who as done something bad to you.
If we don’t forgive, God won’t forgive us. Our response to God’s forgiveness is to be forgiving of others. Not just once, twice, seven times or 490 times, but always.
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples. Some of what he said is recorded in John 20:21-23. “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
God gave us the job to forgive sins – We go to others as God sent Jesus – to forgive their sins.
God gave us the power to forgive sins – God’s spirit is in us. Only God can forgive or not forgive.
God gave us the responsibility to forgive sins – There isn’t anyone God won’t forgive – there shouldn’t be anyone we won’t forgive, even though we have the power not to.
We need to forgive others. It’s the way God would have it.
How is your relationship with God? Have you forgiven anyone today? Your relationship with God depends on it.
May God's forgiveness be seen in your lives this week and always.
How is your relationship with God? God wants us to have a good relationship with him.
GOD WANTS US TO BE FORGIVEN
I told the children a familiar story that has been circulating ….
Johnny and Sally went to visit their grandparents on the farm. Johnny’s grandpa gave him a slingshot to play with. He went out into the fields and the woods, but he could never hit his target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for lunch.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and scared!
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she didn’t say anything.
After lunch Grandma asked Sally to help wash the dishes. But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny wants to help wash the dishes.” Johnny looked a bit puzzled and Sally whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny helped Grandma wash the dishes.
Later that day Grandma asked Sally to help with the baking. Sally told her, “Johnny really wants to help you.” Again, Johnny was a little confused so Sally whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny helped in the kitchen.
Every time there was something to be done, Sally volunteered Johnny and reminded him, “Remember the duck!” After several days of doing both his chores and Sally’s, Johnny finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He went to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Darling, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
How do we deal with the bad things we have done? God knows everything we have done. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, “The eyes of Lord are everywhere.” The Bible also lets us know that, through Jesus on the cross, God has already forgiven us. We need to confess. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he … will forgive us.”
We are forgiven by God through Jesus – that’s good news! God has forgiven us. We can have a good relationship with God when we confess our sins. That way, nobody can bother us, “Remember the duck.”
GOD WANTS US TO FORGIVE OTHERS
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
In today’s Scripture passage Peter asked Jesus, “How many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Peter was being generous. Rabbinic tradition at the time taught that we need to “forgive for three times, on the fourth there is no forgiveness.”
Jesus told Peter he needs to be even more forgiving – 77 times or 490 times (depending on the translation). Basically what Jesus was saying, was that we should always forgive.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEING FORGIVEN AND FORGIVING OTHERS
The verses that follow the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:14-15) highlight that fact. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
That’s a pretty heavy condition to lay on us if we want to be forgiven.
Peter asks, “How much is enough?” Jesus asks Peter to put it into perspective, and he tells them a story (parable).
God’s Kingdom is like this ….
A King (God) wants to settle accounts with his servants. The servants represent the disciples or followers of God – us, the citizens of God’s Kingdom.
The story talks about one particular case. A man had a debt of 10,000 talents.
A talent was a monetary unit equal to 6,000 denarii. One denarius is the daily wage of a hired worker (picking grapes, for instance). If you do the math, the man owed the King a little more than 190,000 years of work – probably more than he could ever pay.
The king’s request was not reasonable – he asked the man to pay it back
The man’s offer was not reasonable – he asked for patience and promised to pay him back.
The king did the unexpected – he forgave the man’s debt.
GOD FORGIVES A DEBT WE COULD NEVER REPAY
How does the man feel? How do we feel?
God didn’t have to do it, but he forgave us our sins through Jesus’ death on the cross – Grace. Grace is an undeserved gift.
I don’t understand the response of the forgiven man.
He went out and found a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii (about 3 months wages), he grabbed him and began to choke him, demanding to be repaid.
What an ingrate!
The other man responded to the forgiven man exactly as the forgiven man responded to the King – “please be patient, and I’ll pay you back.”
But he put him in prison until he paid him back.
GOD SEES EVERYTHING
The king found out – God will always find out.
It wasn’t a happy ending, but it didn’t have to be that way.
WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE TO GOD’S FORGIVENESS?
You’ve heard the old story …
The Trustees were painting the church building. They didn’t have enough paint and there weren’t funds available to purchase more paint, so they added some water to the paint. Halfway through, they realized they still weren’t going to have enough paint, so they added some more water. Finally they finished the job – a pretty thin coat. Our Trustees wouldn’t do such a poor job.
When they were finished, a big storm came through – thunder, lightning, wind, a gully washer! All the paint washed off the building and a booming voice was heard from the sky, “Repaint and thin no more!”
Jesus often asked people to repent and to stop their sinning. Sin is going against the values and principles that God (our King) has established. Apparently it would be a sin not to forgive someone who as done something bad to you.
If we don’t forgive, God won’t forgive us. Our response to God’s forgiveness is to be forgiving of others. Not just once, twice, seven times or 490 times, but always.
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples. Some of what he said is recorded in John 20:21-23. “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
God gave us the job to forgive sins – We go to others as God sent Jesus – to forgive their sins.
God gave us the power to forgive sins – God’s spirit is in us. Only God can forgive or not forgive.
God gave us the responsibility to forgive sins – There isn’t anyone God won’t forgive – there shouldn’t be anyone we won’t forgive, even though we have the power not to.
We need to forgive others. It’s the way God would have it.
How is your relationship with God? Have you forgiven anyone today? Your relationship with God depends on it.
May God's forgiveness be seen in your lives this week and always.
Monday, July 16, 2007
July 15, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
Forgive Us Our Sins – Scripture: 1 John 1:8 – 2:2
How is your relationship with God?
I told the children a story ….
When I was young I sneaked out and broke a cup from my mother’s favorite set of dishes. It was from a special set we used on holidays and formal dinners. I felt awful. I didn’t mean to do it. What should I do? I had a few options:
I could hide it and pretend that nothing happened. But surely it would eventually be found out. I would always think about it when I was around my Mom – not a good option.
I could try to fix it. But I wasn’t very good at fixing things and there were lots of little pieces. It would be noticed and It would always bother me when I was around my Mom – not a good option.
I could buy another one and cover up my misdeed. But where would a kid get enough $ for fine china, and it was an old piece that had been in the family for a long time. I wouldn’t have enough time or money to do this and my Mom would never trust me again – not a good option.
I could take the broken pieces to my mom and confess. This is probably the most difficult option; there would be consequences, but in the end I would feel better about it. At the end I could look my Mom in the face, hug her and feel her love for me – that’s the option for me.
How do we deal with things we do that we know God doesn’t like? We can go through the same list. The best way is to accept the responsibility, confess and accept the consequences. It’s the only way to have a good relationship with God.
1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he … will forgive us our sins.”
How do you think I felt when my Mother forgave me for breaking the cup? I was extremely relieved! I was glad it was over (including the punishment). And most of all my relationship with my Mom was restored.
That’s the way God wants us to feel all the time.
That’s why God sent Jesus.
The words “sins,” “trespasses,” or “debts” all come from the Old Testament system of making sacrifices. These offerings and sacrifices were made to cover a variety of sins in the OT penal code. These were performed on altars in high places and ultimately in front of the Temple in Jerusalem. Sin condemned a person to death. God allowed an animal or bird to die in place of the person.
The Jewish people in Jesus’ time believed that all sacrifices had to be made on the altar in front of the Temple. When John wrote the words of today’s scripture, the Temple and Altar had been destroyed. There was no altar, no sacrifice, no forgiveness – there was no hope for the Jews.
Some Jews and non-Jews in Jesus’ time began believing in a religious-philosophy called Gnosticism. The Gnostics believed that everything important and permanent existed in the spiritual realm, and that there was no connection between the two. They taught that our goal is to shed the physical to achieve the spiritual. Anything we do in the physical realm has no eternal consequence – a convenient belief. Their only hope was to escape the world we know.
What a hopeless world John lived in.
The Jews didn’t have a way to be forgiven and the Gnostics believed that anything we did wasn’t wrong.
Pop psychology today tries to pass the buck. It’s taught that the things we do are the fault of bad experiences as a child or mistreatment by parents, teachers or others. Many people claim, “It’s not my fault.”
John wrote:
(1:8) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
(1:10) If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
It was always a bad situation in my home when the kids wouldn’t own up to their mistakes. We needed to hear “I’m sorry,” so we could move on. There can be no reconciliation or restoration with that first step.
John wrote:
(1:9) If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(2:1) If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
What’s the worst thing your children could do, that you wouldn’t forgive them? I hope you can’t think of anything.
We are God’s children. I confess, “I did it,” and I take the blame.
We have one speaks in our defense – more than that, he paid the price for our sins on the cross.
Long ago Jesus said, “Punish me for the bad things Steve does.”
He used your name too.
Jesus didn’t take the blame, but he took the punishment.
We need to take the mess we’ve made (our broken cup) to God. Maybe he won’t fix it or replace it, but we’ll be forgiven. We can count on that.
That’s the way God wants all of us to feel all the time.
How is your relationship with God?
How is your relationship with God?
I told the children a story ….
When I was young I sneaked out and broke a cup from my mother’s favorite set of dishes. It was from a special set we used on holidays and formal dinners. I felt awful. I didn’t mean to do it. What should I do? I had a few options:
I could hide it and pretend that nothing happened. But surely it would eventually be found out. I would always think about it when I was around my Mom – not a good option.
I could try to fix it. But I wasn’t very good at fixing things and there were lots of little pieces. It would be noticed and It would always bother me when I was around my Mom – not a good option.
I could buy another one and cover up my misdeed. But where would a kid get enough $ for fine china, and it was an old piece that had been in the family for a long time. I wouldn’t have enough time or money to do this and my Mom would never trust me again – not a good option.
I could take the broken pieces to my mom and confess. This is probably the most difficult option; there would be consequences, but in the end I would feel better about it. At the end I could look my Mom in the face, hug her and feel her love for me – that’s the option for me.
How do we deal with things we do that we know God doesn’t like? We can go through the same list. The best way is to accept the responsibility, confess and accept the consequences. It’s the only way to have a good relationship with God.
1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he … will forgive us our sins.”
How do you think I felt when my Mother forgave me for breaking the cup? I was extremely relieved! I was glad it was over (including the punishment). And most of all my relationship with my Mom was restored.
That’s the way God wants us to feel all the time.
That’s why God sent Jesus.
The words “sins,” “trespasses,” or “debts” all come from the Old Testament system of making sacrifices. These offerings and sacrifices were made to cover a variety of sins in the OT penal code. These were performed on altars in high places and ultimately in front of the Temple in Jerusalem. Sin condemned a person to death. God allowed an animal or bird to die in place of the person.
The Jewish people in Jesus’ time believed that all sacrifices had to be made on the altar in front of the Temple. When John wrote the words of today’s scripture, the Temple and Altar had been destroyed. There was no altar, no sacrifice, no forgiveness – there was no hope for the Jews.
Some Jews and non-Jews in Jesus’ time began believing in a religious-philosophy called Gnosticism. The Gnostics believed that everything important and permanent existed in the spiritual realm, and that there was no connection between the two. They taught that our goal is to shed the physical to achieve the spiritual. Anything we do in the physical realm has no eternal consequence – a convenient belief. Their only hope was to escape the world we know.
What a hopeless world John lived in.
The Jews didn’t have a way to be forgiven and the Gnostics believed that anything we did wasn’t wrong.
Pop psychology today tries to pass the buck. It’s taught that the things we do are the fault of bad experiences as a child or mistreatment by parents, teachers or others. Many people claim, “It’s not my fault.”
John wrote:
(1:8) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
(1:10) If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
It was always a bad situation in my home when the kids wouldn’t own up to their mistakes. We needed to hear “I’m sorry,” so we could move on. There can be no reconciliation or restoration with that first step.
John wrote:
(1:9) If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(2:1) If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
What’s the worst thing your children could do, that you wouldn’t forgive them? I hope you can’t think of anything.
We are God’s children. I confess, “I did it,” and I take the blame.
We have one speaks in our defense – more than that, he paid the price for our sins on the cross.
Long ago Jesus said, “Punish me for the bad things Steve does.”
He used your name too.
Jesus didn’t take the blame, but he took the punishment.
We need to take the mess we’ve made (our broken cup) to God. Maybe he won’t fix it or replace it, but we’ll be forgiven. We can count on that.
That’s the way God wants all of us to feel all the time.
How is your relationship with God?
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
July 1, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
True Freedom – Scripture: John 8:31-36
Freedom is a common term for those of us who live in the USA. It has meant many different things throughout history. Most of us think in terms of political freedom.
Jesus lived in a world that new little about freedom. The Jewish people of his day (God’s chosen ones) reacted in different ways to political oppression.
Some became Zealots and planned a violent revolution to overthrow the Roman oppressors.
Some became Sadducees and used the system for personal gain and wealth.
Some became Essenes and removed themselves from society to form separate communities.
Some became Pharisees and lived in a tension between this present world and God’s promised world. The Pharisees reacted to the situation by emphasizing a legalistic system with many strict rules for living as citizens of God’s Kingdom in a foreign land and under the control of a competing kingdom.
Jesus never really talked about political freedom … he was aligned with the Pharisees, but promoted a different way of living in this world as citizens of God’s Kingdom.
CONTEXT OF TODAYS SCRIPTURE
Jesus often found himself at the center of controversy. In today’s Scripture passage he is in dialog with Jewish believers. Jesus is in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2). He went secretly (John 7:10), most likely because there were folks out to kill him (John 7:19). At the beginning of chapter 8, the Jews were about to kill a woman caught in adultery and Jesus stopped them. He set her free from the death penalty. She was set free, but Jesus told her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)
After this, Jesus entered into another round of dialog with the Jewish leaders. Some believed him.
ARE YOU FREE?
There’s a lot of talk about freedom this week. Are you free?
I asked the children if any of them had slaves at their house. None of them did. We talked about what a slave is and concluded that they were not free in many ways. I showed the kids a large, old key. It reminds me that sometimes slaves were locked up because they wanted to get free. The key opened the lock to set them free; it reminds me of Jesus. Jesus is the key to true freedom. Jesus sets us free from our sins.
FOLLOWING JESUS DEMANDS DOING WHAT HE SAYS
There’s a difference between believing Jesus and believing in Jesus. We need to be careful that we don’t just have a head faith (believing about Jesus). We need to have a heart faith as well (believing in Jesus).
Jesus told those who believed him, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (verse 31) They needed to move from believing Jesus’ words, to following Jesus. They needed to be, as James put it, doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).
A true disciple will understand and do their master’s bidding. That sounds a lot like slavery! Does following Jesus mean we trade one form of slavery for another?
Being a disciple of Jesus is different from following anything else. In verse 32 Jesus tells us, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus speaks the truth and is the truth.
BEING A SLAVE OF JESUS MEANS BEING SET FREE
Jesus was speaking about spiritual freedom, something much more important than political freedom. But the Jews were thinking in political terms. They replied, “We’ve never been slaves to anyone.”
They had forgotten about a few moments in their history: slaves in Egypt, oppressions at the time of the Judges, the exile in Babylon, and the present Roman domination of their land and people.
God had, time and time again, freed them from political slavery. It was the basis of their formation as God’s people. God freed them from slavery in Egypt.
Jesus wants them to know that slavery is much deeper than political or human control of other human beings – it’s deeply spiritual. And until the spiritual bondage is taken care of, nobody will truly be free.
FREEDOM CAME BEFORE THE LAW
The Pharisees emphasized obedience to the law. They came close to becoming slaves to the Law. The Apostle Paul spoke about this in a number of his letters.
In the history of Israel, it’s interesting to note that freedom (liberation from Egypt) came before the law (Mt. Sinai). Slaves can’t fully understand the rules.
Jesus wanted the Pharisees to know that they needed to be truly free before they could fully understand the meaning of God’s rules.
SLAVES TO SIN
The Jews claimed they were never slaves, but Jesus tells them they were, and that they are – the worst kind of slavery, the slavery that has eternal consequences – slavery to sin!
Verse 34 – “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
We understand the relationship between a slave and the master.
Slaves do what they are told, against their will, they submit without questioning, they receive minimal care, enough to increase their master’s wealth, decisions are made for them, and they never reach their potential. You can think more about this type of relationship.
When Mennonites first came to live in America, many people had slaves. Mennonites were the first to speak out against slavery (published “A Minute Against Slavery” in February of 1688). They did things differently, because they believed that God wanted them to live differently – as Jesus taught and lived.
As a master controls the slave, sin controls those who give in to sinful desires. It’s a difficult cycle to break. Just think how many repeat offenders there are in our penal system. If you go to jail, you have a good chance of going back. That’s because you have not been truly set free.
SLAVES TO JESUS
We have a different relationship to Jesus. Our understanding of a slave is very different than the kind of relationship we have with Jesus.
We give our lives to Jesus because and we obey because we want to. We’re not forced to. We obey because we understand that the law is good for us. We make decisions based on our relationship to Jesus. We can reach our potential because Jesus is our Lord.
I’d rather be that kind of slave. That’s the kind of relationship Jesus wants to have with us. Jesus is the head of the church (and our lives) in a way that truly frees us. It’s not the way we understand slavery at all.
THE SON CAN SET YOU FREE
Who sets slaves free? The master or his descendents have that power. Nobody else can. The master has full decision making power over the slaves. Only the master can set you free.
Jesus said (v.36), “if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Who can set you free from the sin in your lives? Not the preacher, not the elders, not the Sunday School teacher. Nobody but Jesus. Jesus is the Key to true freedom.
SIN WANTS TO CONTROL YOU, BUT JESUS KEEPS YOU FREE
Jesus told the Jews who believed him (verse 37), “You are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.” They wanted to kill Jesus, just like they wanted to kill the woman caught in adultery. Jesus was innocent; killing was against the 10 commandments. All of this shows that sin was still in control of their lives. They were still slaves to sin. Jesus wants them to be free.
How about you? Who (or what) is in control of your life? Jesus wants you to be free. Know Jesus – He is truth! You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
We closed our worship with the chorus “I’m So Glad Jesus Set Me Free.” I hope you are able to sing those words.
Freedom is a common term for those of us who live in the USA. It has meant many different things throughout history. Most of us think in terms of political freedom.
Jesus lived in a world that new little about freedom. The Jewish people of his day (God’s chosen ones) reacted in different ways to political oppression.
Some became Zealots and planned a violent revolution to overthrow the Roman oppressors.
Some became Sadducees and used the system for personal gain and wealth.
Some became Essenes and removed themselves from society to form separate communities.
Some became Pharisees and lived in a tension between this present world and God’s promised world. The Pharisees reacted to the situation by emphasizing a legalistic system with many strict rules for living as citizens of God’s Kingdom in a foreign land and under the control of a competing kingdom.
Jesus never really talked about political freedom … he was aligned with the Pharisees, but promoted a different way of living in this world as citizens of God’s Kingdom.
CONTEXT OF TODAYS SCRIPTURE
Jesus often found himself at the center of controversy. In today’s Scripture passage he is in dialog with Jewish believers. Jesus is in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2). He went secretly (John 7:10), most likely because there were folks out to kill him (John 7:19). At the beginning of chapter 8, the Jews were about to kill a woman caught in adultery and Jesus stopped them. He set her free from the death penalty. She was set free, but Jesus told her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)
After this, Jesus entered into another round of dialog with the Jewish leaders. Some believed him.
ARE YOU FREE?
There’s a lot of talk about freedom this week. Are you free?
I asked the children if any of them had slaves at their house. None of them did. We talked about what a slave is and concluded that they were not free in many ways. I showed the kids a large, old key. It reminds me that sometimes slaves were locked up because they wanted to get free. The key opened the lock to set them free; it reminds me of Jesus. Jesus is the key to true freedom. Jesus sets us free from our sins.
FOLLOWING JESUS DEMANDS DOING WHAT HE SAYS
There’s a difference between believing Jesus and believing in Jesus. We need to be careful that we don’t just have a head faith (believing about Jesus). We need to have a heart faith as well (believing in Jesus).
Jesus told those who believed him, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (verse 31) They needed to move from believing Jesus’ words, to following Jesus. They needed to be, as James put it, doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).
A true disciple will understand and do their master’s bidding. That sounds a lot like slavery! Does following Jesus mean we trade one form of slavery for another?
Being a disciple of Jesus is different from following anything else. In verse 32 Jesus tells us, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus speaks the truth and is the truth.
BEING A SLAVE OF JESUS MEANS BEING SET FREE
Jesus was speaking about spiritual freedom, something much more important than political freedom. But the Jews were thinking in political terms. They replied, “We’ve never been slaves to anyone.”
They had forgotten about a few moments in their history: slaves in Egypt, oppressions at the time of the Judges, the exile in Babylon, and the present Roman domination of their land and people.
God had, time and time again, freed them from political slavery. It was the basis of their formation as God’s people. God freed them from slavery in Egypt.
Jesus wants them to know that slavery is much deeper than political or human control of other human beings – it’s deeply spiritual. And until the spiritual bondage is taken care of, nobody will truly be free.
FREEDOM CAME BEFORE THE LAW
The Pharisees emphasized obedience to the law. They came close to becoming slaves to the Law. The Apostle Paul spoke about this in a number of his letters.
In the history of Israel, it’s interesting to note that freedom (liberation from Egypt) came before the law (Mt. Sinai). Slaves can’t fully understand the rules.
Jesus wanted the Pharisees to know that they needed to be truly free before they could fully understand the meaning of God’s rules.
SLAVES TO SIN
The Jews claimed they were never slaves, but Jesus tells them they were, and that they are – the worst kind of slavery, the slavery that has eternal consequences – slavery to sin!
Verse 34 – “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
We understand the relationship between a slave and the master.
Slaves do what they are told, against their will, they submit without questioning, they receive minimal care, enough to increase their master’s wealth, decisions are made for them, and they never reach their potential. You can think more about this type of relationship.
When Mennonites first came to live in America, many people had slaves. Mennonites were the first to speak out against slavery (published “A Minute Against Slavery” in February of 1688). They did things differently, because they believed that God wanted them to live differently – as Jesus taught and lived.
As a master controls the slave, sin controls those who give in to sinful desires. It’s a difficult cycle to break. Just think how many repeat offenders there are in our penal system. If you go to jail, you have a good chance of going back. That’s because you have not been truly set free.
SLAVES TO JESUS
We have a different relationship to Jesus. Our understanding of a slave is very different than the kind of relationship we have with Jesus.
We give our lives to Jesus because and we obey because we want to. We’re not forced to. We obey because we understand that the law is good for us. We make decisions based on our relationship to Jesus. We can reach our potential because Jesus is our Lord.
I’d rather be that kind of slave. That’s the kind of relationship Jesus wants to have with us. Jesus is the head of the church (and our lives) in a way that truly frees us. It’s not the way we understand slavery at all.
THE SON CAN SET YOU FREE
Who sets slaves free? The master or his descendents have that power. Nobody else can. The master has full decision making power over the slaves. Only the master can set you free.
Jesus said (v.36), “if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Who can set you free from the sin in your lives? Not the preacher, not the elders, not the Sunday School teacher. Nobody but Jesus. Jesus is the Key to true freedom.
SIN WANTS TO CONTROL YOU, BUT JESUS KEEPS YOU FREE
Jesus told the Jews who believed him (verse 37), “You are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.” They wanted to kill Jesus, just like they wanted to kill the woman caught in adultery. Jesus was innocent; killing was against the 10 commandments. All of this shows that sin was still in control of their lives. They were still slaves to sin. Jesus wants them to be free.
How about you? Who (or what) is in control of your life? Jesus wants you to be free. Know Jesus – He is truth! You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
We closed our worship with the chorus “I’m So Glad Jesus Set Me Free.” I hope you are able to sing those words.
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