The mystery of the divine presence
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle B
Theme For The Day: The mystery of the divine presence. As Isaiah witnesses the heavenly scene, the God of holy terror shows his forgiving face. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born from above to see and enter into the mysteries of the kingdom of God.
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Isaiah 6:1-8 (C)
The story of Isaiah's call by God in the temple, 742 B.C., probably while he was officiating at worship. As Isaiah is viewing the Ark of the Covenant, enshrined in the Most Holy Place, he sees the Lord in all of his majestic glory on his throne, attended by the heavenly creatures. The wings of the seraphim sat on top of the covenant box and was considered the throne of God. The cherubim call out to one another "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts..." (v. 4), giving special emphasis to the holiness of God. Isaiah cringes in dread as he realizes that he does not deserve to be in the presence of the Almighty. He cries out: "Woe is me! For I am lost..." The Lord sends a seraphim with a coal from the altar to touch and purify his lips. His sin is taken away. Then the Lord asks for a messenger. Isaiah volunteers, "Here am I, send me."
Lesson 1: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 (RC)
Lesson 1: Exodus 3:1-6 (E)
Lesson 2: Romans 8:12-17 (C, E); Romans 8:14-17 (RC)
Paul contrasts the concepts of flesh and spirit. The flesh refers to the dominion of sin to which all humans are subject apart from the Spirit of God. Paul states that if we live according to the flesh we will die (spiritually), but if we permit the Spirit to put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh we will live. The children of God have been adopted into God's family and made co-heirs with Christ. Through the Spirit we are privileged to cry out to God as "Abba Father," Daddy Father, provided we are willing to endure suffering for his sake.
Gospel: John 3:1-17 (C); John 3:1-16 (E)
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Jesus under the cloak of darkness to seek spiritual truth. He recognizes Jesus as a teacher from God. Jesus seems to anticipate his question even before he has a chance to utter it. "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above (again)" (v. 3). This teacher of his people does not understand; he takes Jesus' words literally. "How can a man be born when he is old?" (v. 4). Jesus responds that a person must be born of water (baptism) and the Holy Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. In the final part of this text (vv. 16-17) Jesus reveals that the way to be born of the Spirit is to believe in God's Son. He is the Father's love gift for the redemption of the world.
Gospel: Matthew 28:16-21 (RC)
Just prior to this lection, the risen Christ orders his disciples to meet him at a certain mountain in Galilee. They worship him but some have doubts. Christ announces that God has given him all authority. He commands them to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The task seems overpowering but Christ promises to be with them always.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 29 (C) -- "Worship the Lord in holy splendor..." (v. 2b).
Psalm 32 (RC)
Psalm 93 (E)
Prayer Of The Day
Awesome God, you remain enthroned in mystery and majesty, yet you have stooped to show your face in the person of your Son, Jesus Christ, and you have brought us into your holy presence through the guidance of your gentle Spirit. Make us bold to witness to the tri-fold truth of your redeeming presence, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Isaiah 6:1-8
Our God is awesome. Isaiah encountered God during worship in all his awesome glory. In our era, when God is portrayed by George Burns and we attend church in jeans, we seldom experience God as awesome. God has become our buddy. Like Rodney Dangerfield, God might be saying: "I just don't get no respect." To really see God is to behold him high and lifted up. To really appreciate God's standing beside us in Jesus, we have to recognize that this God still lofts over us.
Thrice holy (v. 3). The one seraph called out to the other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." My understanding has it that the Hebrew language repeats the word for added emphasis. However, we might take the expression to refer to a reality of which Isaiah was not aware, namely that God is thrice holy: holy Father-Creator; holy Son-Savior, and Holy Spirit-sanctifier. However we experience God, whatever we name him, he remains set apart and sovereign.
Sinking in sin (v. 5). After Isaiah was caught up in the heavenly scene, he felt himself sinking in sin, he felt doomed. "Woe is me! I am lost! I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips..." Yet the confession had barely left his lips when the Lord ordered a seraph to touch Isaiah's lips with a hot coal, symbol of God's purifying forgiveness. Just as Jesus lifted up a terrified Peter sinking in the waves of Lake Galilee, so God reached down to Isaiah to raise him up.
Rising to serve (v. 8). After the Lord purged Isaiah of his sin he was ready to rise from his knees that he might go out to serve the Lord. "Who shall we send?" "Here am I, send me!" Voluntary service is always a sign of one who has encountered the forgiving grace of God.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:12-17
Which spirit moves you? There are two spirits that can move us. The spirit of slavery to sin (v. 15) and the Spirit of God. God's Spirit empowers us to put to death our sinful human nature. This Spirit is the Spirit of adoption into God's family (v. 15), which frees us from fear.
The witness within (v. 16). God's Spirit witnesses to our spirit that we are children of God. If a voice within us convinces us that we are no good, it comes from Satan. The Christian's internal witness, the witness within, steadies our heart with the assurance that we are God's beloved children through Christ.
Who are God's children? (vv. 16-17). Paul states that we are children of God through adoption. Through faith in God's Son, we are accounted to be brothers in Christ. Our Gospel Lesson relates that we are God's children through being born again, a birth of water and the Spirit. Both passages affirm that we are not God's children merely through natural birth. Not every person is a child of God.
Gospel: John 3:1-17
From a distance. Nicodemus was attracted to Jesus. It's likely that he was a disciple of Jesus, but from a distance. You see, Nicodemus was an important man of eminent position. He was called to uphold the traditions of the past. He would lose face if his comrades knew of his affinity for this radical named Jesus. Nicodemus chose the cloak of darkness to talk to Jesus up close and personal, while at the same time keeping his distance. Nicodemus might be aptly termed an admirer of Jesus but he certainly wasn't a disciple, not yet anyway. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus from a distance.
The teacher flunked. As an elder, Nicodemus was a teacher of the Jewish religion. Yet he addressed Jesus as Rabbi (teacher) and came to him to discover the secret of his miraculous powers (v. 2). The lesson that Jesus attempted to teach him did not penetrate his heart and mind. He did not see how a person could be born again. The eminent teacher could not comprehend the spiritual basics. He flunked out.
You cannot see until you are born (v. 3). Before we were born, the world certainly existed but we could not see it or enter it. Birth precedes sight. Jesus states that a person cannot see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above (again). Unless we come alive spiritually, we cannot see the kingdom of God. The kingdom is there but the spiritually unborn cannot perceive it. The twice-born can see the kingdom of God even before they die.
Look up and live (vv. 14-15). The Israelites grumbled against God as they wandered through the wilderness and were punished by lethal snakes. God provided an antidote, however: the bronze serpent on a pole. Whoever would look at the bronze serpent after being bitten would be saved. Jesus proclaims that whoever looks up in faith to the Son, lifted up on the cross, will not only be saved but be granted the gift of eternal life.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Isaiah 6:1-8
Sermon Title: Holy Smoke
Sermon Angle: Isaiah was in the area of the temple where he could view the altar of incense with its plumes of sweet smoke rising to the heavens, carrying the prayers of the people. Smoke, holy smoke, is one of the most vivid biblical symbols for God. Recall that the Israelites were led by a pillar of cloud (smoke) by day and a pillar of fire by night. The smoke both conceals and reveals the God of mystery and might. Suddenly Isaiah is caught up in a vision where he sees beyond the holy smoke, where he catches sight of the great God himself. The prophet senses imminent doom because he knows that a sinful man does not deserve to stand in the presence of the Almighty. Yet Isaiah is not swept away by God's wrath but rather his grace and forgiveness. Holy smoke represents the mystery of God. On this Trinity Sunday we celebrate the truth that we are able to see beyond the holy smoke because Christ has brought us into the very presence of God. We see that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Outline:
1. God revealed himself to Israel through cloud and smoke.
2. The cloud or smoke both represents and conceals God.
3. In Isaiah's worship God parted the holy smoke, enabling him to see God himself.
4. Jesus Christ reveals the God behind the smoke.
5. By being born again (Gospel Lesson) we can come into the presence of God.
Sermon Title: When God Invades Our Worship
Sermon Angle: Much that we call worship is routine. We recite our hymns, our prayers, our litanies but often feel little sense of transcendence. We offer our worship to God but don't really expect to encounter God personally. However, sometimes during a prayer, a song, a sermon or a sacrament, the great God breaks into our worship with an awesome awareness of his presence and grace. We experience the reality behind the symbols of our faith. Isaiah had such an experience of God breaking through the tradition of worship and bringing the prophet into the very presence of the Lord. We cannot expect such dramatic encounters all the time, but we can expect God to break through worship as usual if we continue to assemble together. When God breaks through we will experience God's holiness and our sinfulness, but also God's gracious forgiveness. When God breaks through we will encounter a sense of God's call.
Outline:
1. How often does God break through the routine of your worship?
2. Often we go through the motions with little expectancy.
3. Suddenly God breaks through and brings us into his presence, as he did Isaiah.
4. When God invades our worship, we come to see ourselves, our God and our mission.
5. When God invades our worship, it can never be church as usual.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:12-17
Sermon Title: Blessed Assurance
Sermon Angle: Most of us experience periods of doubt when we question our identity as God's children. After all, we walk by faith, not by sight. How do we know we are God's beloved children, that we are saved? Paul answers, "When we cry, Abba! Father! It is the Spirit of God bearing witness to our spirit that we are children of God" (v. 16). The very fact that we cry out to God as Father indicates that we have the Spirit and that we are co-heirs with Christ. That Spirit inhabited our hearts when we were baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Outline:
1. How do we know we are God's children?
2. Answer: through the Holy Spirit.
3. That Spirit was given to us in baptism and witnesses to our Spirit that we are indeed God's dear children.
Sermon Title: Not The Spirit Of Slavery But Of Sonship
Sermon Angle: Some of the Corinthian Christians were being sucked back into their own sinful ways (the flesh). Like the Israelites that Moses led through the wilderness, they were tempted to re-submit themselves to the yoke of slavery. Paul reasons: "You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into sin, but the spirit of adoption (sonship)" (v. 15). No, I do not exclude half the human race by using the term Son, because what I am referring to is the Spirit of God's Son, Jesus Christ. We have received the Spirit of the Son, which has nothing to do with sexuality and everything to do with love, grace and assurance of our special relationship with God. Apart from God, we remain slaves of sin, self and fear. God gives his own the Spirit of his Son, not of slavery. Praise the Lord!
Outline:
1. Some of the Corinthians, having been freed from sin's yoke, were ready to go back under bondage.
2. Those whose lives are led by the Spirit of God (obedience, love) are children of God (v. 14).
3. We have received the Spirit of the Son, not of slavery (v. 15).
4. Live according to the Spirit in which you were baptized.
Gospel: John 3:1-17
Sermon Title: Believing The Impossible
Sermon Angle: Nicodemus began his conversation with Jesus by commenting on how impressed he was with Jesus' miracles. Jesus counters that what's really important is that a person be born again. Nicodemus appears to misunderstand. "How can anyone be born again after having grown old?" A person might have the impression that this business of being born again or anew was foreign to Nicodemus. This is probably not so. Nicodemus was a learned religious leader and he knew that the prophets spoke of God giving his children a new heart (Jeremiah 31:31), similar to rebirth. Also, he must have been familiar with the mystery religions and their rituals of dying and rising with their gods so as to be reborn. What Nicodemus is questioning is the possibility of being born anew. He might have been saying that spiritual rebirth is about as possible as an old man entering into his mother's womb for a second time. The child of God dares to believe that it is possible to be born again, that a person can be so thoroughly transformed that she is like a new person. The child of God dares to believe the seemingly impossible.
Outline:
1. Jesus states that being born again is absolutely necessary (v. 3).
2. Nicodemus questions whether being born again is possible (v. 4).
3. We are born again by water and the Spirit (v. 5).
4. We demonstrate that we are twice-born by lives of obedience. (Lesson 2)
Sermon Title: Going Beyond Understanding To Being
Sermon Angle: Nicodemus was on an intellectual trip. Religion was a matter of understanding and then doing God's will. Jesus is really telling Nicodemus that faith is not, at its source, understanding; rather, faith is a state of being that one enters through being born again. Jesus equates spiritual birth to the wind (v. 8), which is mysterious. You can feel it but you can't see it and you don't know its source or its end. Of course, the words wind and spirit derive from the same word (pnuema). So the words of Jesus have a double meaning. Salvation does not result from the degree of knowledge but the state of being. Christianity is not about understanding a theology as much as it is entering into a new life.
Outline:
1. Nicodemus approached religion intellectually.
2. He thought to engage Jesus in dialogue about the source of his authority (v. 1).
3. Jesus told him he could enter the kingdom only through becoming a new creature.
4. Christianity moves beyond understanding to being.
Sermon Title: There's No Ladder To Heaven
Sermon Angle: Jesus informs Nicodemus: "No one has ascended into heaven but the Son of Man who has descended from heaven" (v. 13). People have tried ascending into heaven for centuries. They have attempted it through leading ascetic lives and renouncing the world, as Martin Luther did. Many have attempted to ascend through the ladder of ritual. Still more have sought to rise up through attaining special knowledge. None of these ladders are effective. Only those who trust the One raised up on the cross will ascend. We rise up through God's grace and love (v. 16).
Outline:
1. The ancients had their towers to reach the deities (Tower Of Babel).
2. We moderns continue to try to climb various ladders to heaven. (Describe.)
3. Jesus said that no one has ascended into heaven (v. 13).
4. God so loved the world that he gave his Son, so that all who believe would have eternal life (v. 16).
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Isaiah 6:1-8 (C)
The story of Isaiah's call by God in the temple, 742 B.C., probably while he was officiating at worship. As Isaiah is viewing the Ark of the Covenant, enshrined in the Most Holy Place, he sees the Lord in all of his majestic glory on his throne, attended by the heavenly creatures. The wings of the seraphim sat on top of the covenant box and was considered the throne of God. The cherubim call out to one another "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts..." (v. 4), giving special emphasis to the holiness of God. Isaiah cringes in dread as he realizes that he does not deserve to be in the presence of the Almighty. He cries out: "Woe is me! For I am lost..." The Lord sends a seraphim with a coal from the altar to touch and purify his lips. His sin is taken away. Then the Lord asks for a messenger. Isaiah volunteers, "Here am I, send me."
Lesson 1: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 (RC)
Lesson 1: Exodus 3:1-6 (E)
Lesson 2: Romans 8:12-17 (C, E); Romans 8:14-17 (RC)
Paul contrasts the concepts of flesh and spirit. The flesh refers to the dominion of sin to which all humans are subject apart from the Spirit of God. Paul states that if we live according to the flesh we will die (spiritually), but if we permit the Spirit to put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh we will live. The children of God have been adopted into God's family and made co-heirs with Christ. Through the Spirit we are privileged to cry out to God as "Abba Father," Daddy Father, provided we are willing to endure suffering for his sake.
Gospel: John 3:1-17 (C); John 3:1-16 (E)
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Jesus under the cloak of darkness to seek spiritual truth. He recognizes Jesus as a teacher from God. Jesus seems to anticipate his question even before he has a chance to utter it. "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above (again)" (v. 3). This teacher of his people does not understand; he takes Jesus' words literally. "How can a man be born when he is old?" (v. 4). Jesus responds that a person must be born of water (baptism) and the Holy Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. In the final part of this text (vv. 16-17) Jesus reveals that the way to be born of the Spirit is to believe in God's Son. He is the Father's love gift for the redemption of the world.
Gospel: Matthew 28:16-21 (RC)
Just prior to this lection, the risen Christ orders his disciples to meet him at a certain mountain in Galilee. They worship him but some have doubts. Christ announces that God has given him all authority. He commands them to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The task seems overpowering but Christ promises to be with them always.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 29 (C) -- "Worship the Lord in holy splendor..." (v. 2b).
Psalm 32 (RC)
Psalm 93 (E)
Prayer Of The Day
Awesome God, you remain enthroned in mystery and majesty, yet you have stooped to show your face in the person of your Son, Jesus Christ, and you have brought us into your holy presence through the guidance of your gentle Spirit. Make us bold to witness to the tri-fold truth of your redeeming presence, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Isaiah 6:1-8
Our God is awesome. Isaiah encountered God during worship in all his awesome glory. In our era, when God is portrayed by George Burns and we attend church in jeans, we seldom experience God as awesome. God has become our buddy. Like Rodney Dangerfield, God might be saying: "I just don't get no respect." To really see God is to behold him high and lifted up. To really appreciate God's standing beside us in Jesus, we have to recognize that this God still lofts over us.
Thrice holy (v. 3). The one seraph called out to the other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." My understanding has it that the Hebrew language repeats the word for added emphasis. However, we might take the expression to refer to a reality of which Isaiah was not aware, namely that God is thrice holy: holy Father-Creator; holy Son-Savior, and Holy Spirit-sanctifier. However we experience God, whatever we name him, he remains set apart and sovereign.
Sinking in sin (v. 5). After Isaiah was caught up in the heavenly scene, he felt himself sinking in sin, he felt doomed. "Woe is me! I am lost! I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips..." Yet the confession had barely left his lips when the Lord ordered a seraph to touch Isaiah's lips with a hot coal, symbol of God's purifying forgiveness. Just as Jesus lifted up a terrified Peter sinking in the waves of Lake Galilee, so God reached down to Isaiah to raise him up.
Rising to serve (v. 8). After the Lord purged Isaiah of his sin he was ready to rise from his knees that he might go out to serve the Lord. "Who shall we send?" "Here am I, send me!" Voluntary service is always a sign of one who has encountered the forgiving grace of God.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:12-17
Which spirit moves you? There are two spirits that can move us. The spirit of slavery to sin (v. 15) and the Spirit of God. God's Spirit empowers us to put to death our sinful human nature. This Spirit is the Spirit of adoption into God's family (v. 15), which frees us from fear.
The witness within (v. 16). God's Spirit witnesses to our spirit that we are children of God. If a voice within us convinces us that we are no good, it comes from Satan. The Christian's internal witness, the witness within, steadies our heart with the assurance that we are God's beloved children through Christ.
Who are God's children? (vv. 16-17). Paul states that we are children of God through adoption. Through faith in God's Son, we are accounted to be brothers in Christ. Our Gospel Lesson relates that we are God's children through being born again, a birth of water and the Spirit. Both passages affirm that we are not God's children merely through natural birth. Not every person is a child of God.
Gospel: John 3:1-17
From a distance. Nicodemus was attracted to Jesus. It's likely that he was a disciple of Jesus, but from a distance. You see, Nicodemus was an important man of eminent position. He was called to uphold the traditions of the past. He would lose face if his comrades knew of his affinity for this radical named Jesus. Nicodemus chose the cloak of darkness to talk to Jesus up close and personal, while at the same time keeping his distance. Nicodemus might be aptly termed an admirer of Jesus but he certainly wasn't a disciple, not yet anyway. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus from a distance.
The teacher flunked. As an elder, Nicodemus was a teacher of the Jewish religion. Yet he addressed Jesus as Rabbi (teacher) and came to him to discover the secret of his miraculous powers (v. 2). The lesson that Jesus attempted to teach him did not penetrate his heart and mind. He did not see how a person could be born again. The eminent teacher could not comprehend the spiritual basics. He flunked out.
You cannot see until you are born (v. 3). Before we were born, the world certainly existed but we could not see it or enter it. Birth precedes sight. Jesus states that a person cannot see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above (again). Unless we come alive spiritually, we cannot see the kingdom of God. The kingdom is there but the spiritually unborn cannot perceive it. The twice-born can see the kingdom of God even before they die.
Look up and live (vv. 14-15). The Israelites grumbled against God as they wandered through the wilderness and were punished by lethal snakes. God provided an antidote, however: the bronze serpent on a pole. Whoever would look at the bronze serpent after being bitten would be saved. Jesus proclaims that whoever looks up in faith to the Son, lifted up on the cross, will not only be saved but be granted the gift of eternal life.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Isaiah 6:1-8
Sermon Title: Holy Smoke
Sermon Angle: Isaiah was in the area of the temple where he could view the altar of incense with its plumes of sweet smoke rising to the heavens, carrying the prayers of the people. Smoke, holy smoke, is one of the most vivid biblical symbols for God. Recall that the Israelites were led by a pillar of cloud (smoke) by day and a pillar of fire by night. The smoke both conceals and reveals the God of mystery and might. Suddenly Isaiah is caught up in a vision where he sees beyond the holy smoke, where he catches sight of the great God himself. The prophet senses imminent doom because he knows that a sinful man does not deserve to stand in the presence of the Almighty. Yet Isaiah is not swept away by God's wrath but rather his grace and forgiveness. Holy smoke represents the mystery of God. On this Trinity Sunday we celebrate the truth that we are able to see beyond the holy smoke because Christ has brought us into the very presence of God. We see that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Outline:
1. God revealed himself to Israel through cloud and smoke.
2. The cloud or smoke both represents and conceals God.
3. In Isaiah's worship God parted the holy smoke, enabling him to see God himself.
4. Jesus Christ reveals the God behind the smoke.
5. By being born again (Gospel Lesson) we can come into the presence of God.
Sermon Title: When God Invades Our Worship
Sermon Angle: Much that we call worship is routine. We recite our hymns, our prayers, our litanies but often feel little sense of transcendence. We offer our worship to God but don't really expect to encounter God personally. However, sometimes during a prayer, a song, a sermon or a sacrament, the great God breaks into our worship with an awesome awareness of his presence and grace. We experience the reality behind the symbols of our faith. Isaiah had such an experience of God breaking through the tradition of worship and bringing the prophet into the very presence of the Lord. We cannot expect such dramatic encounters all the time, but we can expect God to break through worship as usual if we continue to assemble together. When God breaks through we will experience God's holiness and our sinfulness, but also God's gracious forgiveness. When God breaks through we will encounter a sense of God's call.
Outline:
1. How often does God break through the routine of your worship?
2. Often we go through the motions with little expectancy.
3. Suddenly God breaks through and brings us into his presence, as he did Isaiah.
4. When God invades our worship, we come to see ourselves, our God and our mission.
5. When God invades our worship, it can never be church as usual.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:12-17
Sermon Title: Blessed Assurance
Sermon Angle: Most of us experience periods of doubt when we question our identity as God's children. After all, we walk by faith, not by sight. How do we know we are God's beloved children, that we are saved? Paul answers, "When we cry, Abba! Father! It is the Spirit of God bearing witness to our spirit that we are children of God" (v. 16). The very fact that we cry out to God as Father indicates that we have the Spirit and that we are co-heirs with Christ. That Spirit inhabited our hearts when we were baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Outline:
1. How do we know we are God's children?
2. Answer: through the Holy Spirit.
3. That Spirit was given to us in baptism and witnesses to our Spirit that we are indeed God's dear children.
Sermon Title: Not The Spirit Of Slavery But Of Sonship
Sermon Angle: Some of the Corinthian Christians were being sucked back into their own sinful ways (the flesh). Like the Israelites that Moses led through the wilderness, they were tempted to re-submit themselves to the yoke of slavery. Paul reasons: "You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into sin, but the spirit of adoption (sonship)" (v. 15). No, I do not exclude half the human race by using the term Son, because what I am referring to is the Spirit of God's Son, Jesus Christ. We have received the Spirit of the Son, which has nothing to do with sexuality and everything to do with love, grace and assurance of our special relationship with God. Apart from God, we remain slaves of sin, self and fear. God gives his own the Spirit of his Son, not of slavery. Praise the Lord!
Outline:
1. Some of the Corinthians, having been freed from sin's yoke, were ready to go back under bondage.
2. Those whose lives are led by the Spirit of God (obedience, love) are children of God (v. 14).
3. We have received the Spirit of the Son, not of slavery (v. 15).
4. Live according to the Spirit in which you were baptized.
Gospel: John 3:1-17
Sermon Title: Believing The Impossible
Sermon Angle: Nicodemus began his conversation with Jesus by commenting on how impressed he was with Jesus' miracles. Jesus counters that what's really important is that a person be born again. Nicodemus appears to misunderstand. "How can anyone be born again after having grown old?" A person might have the impression that this business of being born again or anew was foreign to Nicodemus. This is probably not so. Nicodemus was a learned religious leader and he knew that the prophets spoke of God giving his children a new heart (Jeremiah 31:31), similar to rebirth. Also, he must have been familiar with the mystery religions and their rituals of dying and rising with their gods so as to be reborn. What Nicodemus is questioning is the possibility of being born anew. He might have been saying that spiritual rebirth is about as possible as an old man entering into his mother's womb for a second time. The child of God dares to believe that it is possible to be born again, that a person can be so thoroughly transformed that she is like a new person. The child of God dares to believe the seemingly impossible.
Outline:
1. Jesus states that being born again is absolutely necessary (v. 3).
2. Nicodemus questions whether being born again is possible (v. 4).
3. We are born again by water and the Spirit (v. 5).
4. We demonstrate that we are twice-born by lives of obedience. (Lesson 2)
Sermon Title: Going Beyond Understanding To Being
Sermon Angle: Nicodemus was on an intellectual trip. Religion was a matter of understanding and then doing God's will. Jesus is really telling Nicodemus that faith is not, at its source, understanding; rather, faith is a state of being that one enters through being born again. Jesus equates spiritual birth to the wind (v. 8), which is mysterious. You can feel it but you can't see it and you don't know its source or its end. Of course, the words wind and spirit derive from the same word (pnuema). So the words of Jesus have a double meaning. Salvation does not result from the degree of knowledge but the state of being. Christianity is not about understanding a theology as much as it is entering into a new life.
Outline:
1. Nicodemus approached religion intellectually.
2. He thought to engage Jesus in dialogue about the source of his authority (v. 1).
3. Jesus told him he could enter the kingdom only through becoming a new creature.
4. Christianity moves beyond understanding to being.
Sermon Title: There's No Ladder To Heaven
Sermon Angle: Jesus informs Nicodemus: "No one has ascended into heaven but the Son of Man who has descended from heaven" (v. 13). People have tried ascending into heaven for centuries. They have attempted it through leading ascetic lives and renouncing the world, as Martin Luther did. Many have attempted to ascend through the ladder of ritual. Still more have sought to rise up through attaining special knowledge. None of these ladders are effective. Only those who trust the One raised up on the cross will ascend. We rise up through God's grace and love (v. 16).
Outline:
1. The ancients had their towers to reach the deities (Tower Of Babel).
2. We moderns continue to try to climb various ladders to heaven. (Describe.)
3. Jesus said that no one has ascended into heaven (v. 13).
4. God so loved the world that he gave his Son, so that all who believe would have eternal life (v. 16).
