We are saved by grace through faith
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle B
Theme For The Day: We are saved by grace through faith. God provided the bronze serpent for the Israelites bitten by the fiery serpents (Numbers 21), that those who gazed on it might live. So too, the Father lifted up Jesus on the cross, that all who look to Him in faith might have eternal life.
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Numbers 21:4--9 (C)
The Israelites grow impatient as they wander in the wilderness surrounding the country of Edom and complain about God's provision for their needs. The text states that God sent poisonous snakes among the people as punishment. The people confess their sin and seek Yahweh's mercy. The Lord commands Moses to fashion a bronze snake and put it on a pole in the midst of the camp. If anyone was bitten, he could look to the bronze serpent and have his life spared. God does not remove the problem but provides a means of dealing with it.
Lesson 1: 2 Chronicles 36:14--17, 19--23 (RC); 2 Chronicles 36:14--23 (E)
The tragic account of how the apostasy of the Israelites led to their capture by the Babylonians and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. God sent Cyrus, the king of Persia, to enable the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 2:1--10 (C); Ephesians 2:4--10 (RC, E)
God loves us so much that he raised us to newness of life with Christ, even while we still are mired down in our sins. We are saved by grace (vv. 5, 8), which is taken hold of through faith. Salvation comes as a gift of God, never as the outcome of human achievement. Nevertheless, if we have been born anew, we will live new lives and realize the purpose for which we were created, good works (v. 10).
Gospel: John 3:14--21 (C, RC)
The passage constitutes a continuation of the account of Nicodemus' encounter with Jesus. The Lord relates the meaning of the new birth. Verse 14 connects to the story of the fiery serpents, contained in the First Lesson. As the bronze serpent was lifted up as an antidote for the deadly bite of the poisonous serpents, so Jesus would be lifted up (on the cross) that all who look on him in faith might have eternal life. John 3:16 is often referred to as the little gospel or the gospel in a nutshell. It reveals that God is not a deity of retribution but of love and grace. To really see the Christ of the cross leads to repentance and new life. However, condemnation and judgment can be brought down on our heads when we turn our backs to Jesus.
Gospel: John 6:4--15 (E)
(See Proper 12)
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 107:1--3, 17--22 (C) - "Bless the Lord...who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases..." (v. 3).
Psalm 122 (E)
Psalm 136 (RC)
Prayer Of The Day
God of mercy, you lifted up your Son, Jesus, on the cross, that all who believe in him might enjoy eternal life. By your Spirit, defang Satan's power to hurt and destroy; then, heal us body and soul. In Jesus' name. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Numbers 21:4--9
I don't deserve this! The Israelites, having just left behind a life of slavery in Egypt, grumbled and complained about the hardships of their journey to the promised land. Basically they were saying "I don't deserve this!" meaning that they deserved better than what God was delivering to them. Often we mutter the same complaint. "I don't deserve this, God!" "I've been a pretty good person!" "Scoundrels enjoy greater fortune than I." Have you ever noticed, however, when things are going well for us, when the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming, we don't ever exclaim: "I don't deserve these blessings, Lord!"
Seeing our past through rose--colored glasses. I know a couple of people who look back on their childhood as an idyllic time of endless joy. However, I was there and I know that there were some less than wonderful things that transpired in their lives. They are viewing their childhood through rose--colored glasses. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt; they had to work hard but all their needs were taken care of. There were few decisions that they had to make. Freedom meant struggle and hardship, a more adult mode of existence. They began to view their time of slavery positively. They had had plenty of good food and drink, in contrast to the Spartan fare they were now served, and so they complained (v. 5). They saw only the advantages of their former life, without its drawbacks. The sting of the serpents woke them out of their self--destructive nostalgia.
Take the serpents away (v. 7). The people viewed the sting of the serpents as a punishment for their grumbling against the Lord. They repented and requested Moses to pray to God for the removal of the snakes. Note that the Lord does not remove them. Instead he orders Moses to fashion a bronze serpent which would serve as an antidote for the snake bite. In the Genesis account of the Fall, the serpent serves as the instrument of temptation to sin. God does not remove the power of evil or the source of temptation but offers us an antidote for its potentially deadly bite. For the Jews it was the bronze serpent; for us Christians it is the crucified Christ. Referring to this story, Jesus exalts: "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14).
Lesson 2: Ephesians 2:4--10
Our God is rich (vv. 4, 7). Our God is rich in mercy, love and grace. God not only holds the universe in the palm of his hands but is rich in the qualities that make life worth living. Through faith we eternally draw on this treasure trove, willed to us through the death and resurrection of Christ.
A done deal. Twice Paul makes the statement: "by grace you have been saved" (vv. 6, 8). Note the past tense. Our salvation is a done deal, accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ. The hand of faith merely reaches out to accept the gift of new life in Christ. "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling."
An analogy from the farm. To try and conceptualize the relationship of grace, faith and good works, let's consider a farm tractor. We might say that grace is the engine, the source of power. However, that power has to be channeled. That's the work of the transmission, which takes the power of the engine and transmits it to the wheels. Faith is the transmission that makes God's power and love available to us. A tractor generally pulls something behind it, a planter or disc, to accomplish good works. A tractor is not designed for the purpose of driving around but for accomplishing good works. So too, God created us anew in Christ Jesus for good works (v. 10).
Gospel: John 3:14--21
The enthronement of Christ (v. 14). For the synoptic gospels the enthronement of Christ as Lord and king occurs after the Ascension. For John the cross is Christ's throne, revealing his glory and power. Being lifted up on the cross is equivalent to being lifted up on a throne. John has a point. In the cross we view the surpassing greatness and majesty of our God.
Antitoxin. For the Jews in the wilderness the cure for snake bite was to look at a representation of the very creature which had the potential to harm. The serpent symbolizes both death and healing. God took the form that death took and transformed it into life. The cure for snake bite is detoxified venom, transformed to serve life rather than death. So too, the cross was the paramount instrument of death in Jesus' day, but God transformed it into the universal symbol of life. He drained death, symbolized by the cross, of its power to destroy. Jesus' death provides us with an antitoxin for sin.
God loves the whole world (v. 16). Radical groups like "The Aryan Nation" dare to assert that God loves only white people, preferably Nordic types. The Black Muslims assert that only black people are the apple of God's eye and the whites are Satan. Various Christian groups have had the audacity to claim that the Lord only listens to people in their group. For all of these groups and more, God is merely a projection of themselves. The God we know in Jesus Christ claims the whole world as his own. Broadcasting this good news provides the church's reason for being.
The test of true love (v. 16). "God so loved...that he gave...." How does one know that he or she is really loved? What marks love as authentic? The giving of self. God gave himself to us in Jesus Christ; he held nothing back. Such giving is costly and so many people in our culture have substituted things material for self. It's easier to give your kid ten bucks than to spare your time.
It's difficult to condemn someone you love (vv. 16--17). Susan Smith, the mother in North Carolina who put her kids into a car and then pushed it into a lake, was convicted by her neighbors of murder. However, they did not condemn her to death. It's hard to condemn someone you know and love, someone who is your neighbor. It's much easier to condemn a stranger, a fiend cloaked in anonymity. That's why executioners formerly wore hoods and why those condemned to death also were shrouded. The law of God pronounces the sentence of guilty upon us but God has also come to know us and love us in Jesus Christ. He offers us pardon and freedom from condemnation.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Numbers 21:4--9
Sermon Title: The Venom Of A Complaining Spirit
Sermon Angle: The wilderness wandering consumed forty years of painfully slow progress. The writer of Exodus states that it took so long because of the sin of the people; the Lord vowed that none of the generation that left Egypt would enter the promised land. Not even Moses was allowed to enter. Time and again the people complained and grumbled against the Lord. In our current text they complained about their Spartan diet. The text states that the serpents were sent to punish the people for their complaining spirit. Actually, the negative spirit of the people was more venomous than the snakes. Their accusations against God were poisoning their souls and their society. The snakes were sent not to kill but to heal, by bringing the people to repentance.
Outline:
1. The complaining spirit among the Jews was poisoning their souls.
2. Cite examples of the toxic effect of such a complaining spirit in our day.
3. God sent the serpents as agents of judgment to bring repentance.
4. The bronze serpent that God ordered was a sign of His healing presence.
5. When afflicted, they could look to the bronze serpent and be saved.
6. When we look in faith to the crucified Christ, we are saved from our sins, not the least of which is a complaining spirit (John 3:14).
Sermon Title: The Gift Of Judgment And Grace
Sermon Angle: You may have trouble seeing God's judgment as a gift but it is. Just think how horrible life would be if our actions were never judged wanting and if our sins were never punished. True judgment alerts us to the need for repentance and renewal, as it did in our text. However, judgment unmitigated by grace destroys rather than heals. The poisonous snakes were agents of God's judgment, while the bronze serpent was a visible demonstration of God's grace. Judgment and grace are not two separate realities but two sides of the same reality; both are gifts of God.
Outline:
1. In this text we see both God's judgment and grace.
2. Actually, judgment and grace are inoperable.
- Judgment points to the need to repent.
- Grace gives us the courage and strength to actually repent.
3. God's judgment may sting, but it is intended to lead us to life in the Lord.
Luther Murrow, a member of a snake handling cult in the region of Grasshopper, Tennessee, was bitten by a rattler during one of their services. He went about his business, unfazed by the attack, but the snake died shortly thereafter.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 2:4--10
Sermon Title: Bad News For Legalists
Sermon Angle: The gospel spells bad news for legalists. Legalists like rules, rules which they and other legalists have constructed. By these rules they judge themselves innocent and all those who don't live by their rules as guilty. The gospel of Christ says that we are saved by grace, not by the keeping of the rules. Salvation is a gift of God (vv. 8, 9). Yes, the gospel is bad news for all legalists because it would permit them to take pride in their spiritual and moral achievements.
Outline:
1. The gospel is bad news for all legalists and hypocrites.
- It won't permit them to take credit for their own salvation.
2. The gospel is wonderful news for all sinners who know their need of grace.
3. Grace is what saves us and faith is the conduit that delivers God's grace into our lives.
4. Accept, celebrate and pass on God's gift of grace.
__________
As I was driving to the hospital recently, I was listening to Chuck Swindoll preach about the legalism of the scribes and Pharisees. He cited some of the seemingly ridiculous rules, such as regulations concerning work on the Sabbath. You couldn't lift anything in the ordinary way because that was work but whatever you could lift on the top of the hand, with the ears, elbows or knees, was not considered work and was permitted. (By the way, how do you lift something with your ears?) Swindoll also shared how he encountered a woman who had heard him preach on legalism. She related that her husband had been the pastor of a very legalistic church and that she and her mate were the foremost of legalists. If you belonged to their church, you couldn't go to movies, you couldn't go dancing, women had to dress a certain way - you get the picture. One day their children announced that they were dropping out of the church. They couldn't countenance the sham and hypocrisy of that kind of religion. This cut the parents to the heart but they listened. They came to confess that their children were right. The congregation didn't want to change its legalistic way and so the pastor resigned his call and went into another line of work. The couple joined a church that preached and practiced the gospel of grace, which has made all the difference in the world.
__________
Gospel: John 3:14--21
Sermon Title: Lift High The Cross: An Exercise That Builds The Body of Christ
Sermon Angle: God allowed Jesus to be lifted up on the cross that all the world might see the love and grace of God and be saved. Our calling as the church is to lift up the crucified and risen Savior, that the world might experience the love of God. We do not lift up the Crucified One to save ourselves (we are saved by grace) but that others might see and accept the gift of the gospel.
Outline:
1. God's salvation is not hidden. God lifts up his salvation for all to see and be saved (the bronze serpent on the pole and Jesus on the cross) (v. 14).
2. For John the cross lifts up Jesus' glory and power.
3. The cross offers eternal life to all who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
4. We must lift up the cross that others might see and accept God's salvation.
Sermon Title: No Condemnation In Christ
Sermon Angle: God's purpose is to save the world, not condemn it (vv. 17--18). Why then was Christ pictured in ancient and medieval art as an implacable judge? Could it be that the church literally wanted to scare the hell out of people? It seems that for quite some time the church lost contact with the grace of God and reverted to legalism. The law condemns and kills but God's mercy in Jesus Christ gives us life. There is condemnation for those who refuse to come to God's light, but it is self--condemnation, not the will of God in Christ.
Outline:
1. The world is quick to judge and condemn us.
2. God sent his Son to save us, not condemn us (v. 17).
3. Since God shows us his grace, we should withhold our judgment of others.
4. When the venom of guilt and sin strikes, look up to the Christ of the cross.
__________
Michelangelo's famed fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome has recently been restored to some semblance of its original apocalyptic glory. When the original was unveiled on October 31, 1531, Pope Paul III sank to his knees and implored his Creator: "Lord, charge me not with my sins when thou shalt come on the day of Judgment." Apparently the writhing swirl of the damned plunging into the Abyss had its intended effect. Even the expressions of those who are not plummeting into the fire convey uncertainty, with the possible exception of the Virgin Mary. This was not the message that the church of that time wanted to convey. Michelangelo's vision of the Last Judgment leaves everyone and everything hanging, including the artist. In his final confession, at the age of 89, the great artist repined: "I regret that I have not done more for the salvation of my soul."
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Numbers 21:4--9 (C)
The Israelites grow impatient as they wander in the wilderness surrounding the country of Edom and complain about God's provision for their needs. The text states that God sent poisonous snakes among the people as punishment. The people confess their sin and seek Yahweh's mercy. The Lord commands Moses to fashion a bronze snake and put it on a pole in the midst of the camp. If anyone was bitten, he could look to the bronze serpent and have his life spared. God does not remove the problem but provides a means of dealing with it.
Lesson 1: 2 Chronicles 36:14--17, 19--23 (RC); 2 Chronicles 36:14--23 (E)
The tragic account of how the apostasy of the Israelites led to their capture by the Babylonians and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. God sent Cyrus, the king of Persia, to enable the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 2:1--10 (C); Ephesians 2:4--10 (RC, E)
God loves us so much that he raised us to newness of life with Christ, even while we still are mired down in our sins. We are saved by grace (vv. 5, 8), which is taken hold of through faith. Salvation comes as a gift of God, never as the outcome of human achievement. Nevertheless, if we have been born anew, we will live new lives and realize the purpose for which we were created, good works (v. 10).
Gospel: John 3:14--21 (C, RC)
The passage constitutes a continuation of the account of Nicodemus' encounter with Jesus. The Lord relates the meaning of the new birth. Verse 14 connects to the story of the fiery serpents, contained in the First Lesson. As the bronze serpent was lifted up as an antidote for the deadly bite of the poisonous serpents, so Jesus would be lifted up (on the cross) that all who look on him in faith might have eternal life. John 3:16 is often referred to as the little gospel or the gospel in a nutshell. It reveals that God is not a deity of retribution but of love and grace. To really see the Christ of the cross leads to repentance and new life. However, condemnation and judgment can be brought down on our heads when we turn our backs to Jesus.
Gospel: John 6:4--15 (E)
(See Proper 12)
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 107:1--3, 17--22 (C) - "Bless the Lord...who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases..." (v. 3).
Psalm 122 (E)
Psalm 136 (RC)
Prayer Of The Day
God of mercy, you lifted up your Son, Jesus, on the cross, that all who believe in him might enjoy eternal life. By your Spirit, defang Satan's power to hurt and destroy; then, heal us body and soul. In Jesus' name. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Numbers 21:4--9
I don't deserve this! The Israelites, having just left behind a life of slavery in Egypt, grumbled and complained about the hardships of their journey to the promised land. Basically they were saying "I don't deserve this!" meaning that they deserved better than what God was delivering to them. Often we mutter the same complaint. "I don't deserve this, God!" "I've been a pretty good person!" "Scoundrels enjoy greater fortune than I." Have you ever noticed, however, when things are going well for us, when the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming, we don't ever exclaim: "I don't deserve these blessings, Lord!"
Seeing our past through rose--colored glasses. I know a couple of people who look back on their childhood as an idyllic time of endless joy. However, I was there and I know that there were some less than wonderful things that transpired in their lives. They are viewing their childhood through rose--colored glasses. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt; they had to work hard but all their needs were taken care of. There were few decisions that they had to make. Freedom meant struggle and hardship, a more adult mode of existence. They began to view their time of slavery positively. They had had plenty of good food and drink, in contrast to the Spartan fare they were now served, and so they complained (v. 5). They saw only the advantages of their former life, without its drawbacks. The sting of the serpents woke them out of their self--destructive nostalgia.
Take the serpents away (v. 7). The people viewed the sting of the serpents as a punishment for their grumbling against the Lord. They repented and requested Moses to pray to God for the removal of the snakes. Note that the Lord does not remove them. Instead he orders Moses to fashion a bronze serpent which would serve as an antidote for the snake bite. In the Genesis account of the Fall, the serpent serves as the instrument of temptation to sin. God does not remove the power of evil or the source of temptation but offers us an antidote for its potentially deadly bite. For the Jews it was the bronze serpent; for us Christians it is the crucified Christ. Referring to this story, Jesus exalts: "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14).
Lesson 2: Ephesians 2:4--10
Our God is rich (vv. 4, 7). Our God is rich in mercy, love and grace. God not only holds the universe in the palm of his hands but is rich in the qualities that make life worth living. Through faith we eternally draw on this treasure trove, willed to us through the death and resurrection of Christ.
A done deal. Twice Paul makes the statement: "by grace you have been saved" (vv. 6, 8). Note the past tense. Our salvation is a done deal, accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ. The hand of faith merely reaches out to accept the gift of new life in Christ. "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling."
An analogy from the farm. To try and conceptualize the relationship of grace, faith and good works, let's consider a farm tractor. We might say that grace is the engine, the source of power. However, that power has to be channeled. That's the work of the transmission, which takes the power of the engine and transmits it to the wheels. Faith is the transmission that makes God's power and love available to us. A tractor generally pulls something behind it, a planter or disc, to accomplish good works. A tractor is not designed for the purpose of driving around but for accomplishing good works. So too, God created us anew in Christ Jesus for good works (v. 10).
Gospel: John 3:14--21
The enthronement of Christ (v. 14). For the synoptic gospels the enthronement of Christ as Lord and king occurs after the Ascension. For John the cross is Christ's throne, revealing his glory and power. Being lifted up on the cross is equivalent to being lifted up on a throne. John has a point. In the cross we view the surpassing greatness and majesty of our God.
Antitoxin. For the Jews in the wilderness the cure for snake bite was to look at a representation of the very creature which had the potential to harm. The serpent symbolizes both death and healing. God took the form that death took and transformed it into life. The cure for snake bite is detoxified venom, transformed to serve life rather than death. So too, the cross was the paramount instrument of death in Jesus' day, but God transformed it into the universal symbol of life. He drained death, symbolized by the cross, of its power to destroy. Jesus' death provides us with an antitoxin for sin.
God loves the whole world (v. 16). Radical groups like "The Aryan Nation" dare to assert that God loves only white people, preferably Nordic types. The Black Muslims assert that only black people are the apple of God's eye and the whites are Satan. Various Christian groups have had the audacity to claim that the Lord only listens to people in their group. For all of these groups and more, God is merely a projection of themselves. The God we know in Jesus Christ claims the whole world as his own. Broadcasting this good news provides the church's reason for being.
The test of true love (v. 16). "God so loved...that he gave...." How does one know that he or she is really loved? What marks love as authentic? The giving of self. God gave himself to us in Jesus Christ; he held nothing back. Such giving is costly and so many people in our culture have substituted things material for self. It's easier to give your kid ten bucks than to spare your time.
It's difficult to condemn someone you love (vv. 16--17). Susan Smith, the mother in North Carolina who put her kids into a car and then pushed it into a lake, was convicted by her neighbors of murder. However, they did not condemn her to death. It's hard to condemn someone you know and love, someone who is your neighbor. It's much easier to condemn a stranger, a fiend cloaked in anonymity. That's why executioners formerly wore hoods and why those condemned to death also were shrouded. The law of God pronounces the sentence of guilty upon us but God has also come to know us and love us in Jesus Christ. He offers us pardon and freedom from condemnation.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Numbers 21:4--9
Sermon Title: The Venom Of A Complaining Spirit
Sermon Angle: The wilderness wandering consumed forty years of painfully slow progress. The writer of Exodus states that it took so long because of the sin of the people; the Lord vowed that none of the generation that left Egypt would enter the promised land. Not even Moses was allowed to enter. Time and again the people complained and grumbled against the Lord. In our current text they complained about their Spartan diet. The text states that the serpents were sent to punish the people for their complaining spirit. Actually, the negative spirit of the people was more venomous than the snakes. Their accusations against God were poisoning their souls and their society. The snakes were sent not to kill but to heal, by bringing the people to repentance.
Outline:
1. The complaining spirit among the Jews was poisoning their souls.
2. Cite examples of the toxic effect of such a complaining spirit in our day.
3. God sent the serpents as agents of judgment to bring repentance.
4. The bronze serpent that God ordered was a sign of His healing presence.
5. When afflicted, they could look to the bronze serpent and be saved.
6. When we look in faith to the crucified Christ, we are saved from our sins, not the least of which is a complaining spirit (John 3:14).
Sermon Title: The Gift Of Judgment And Grace
Sermon Angle: You may have trouble seeing God's judgment as a gift but it is. Just think how horrible life would be if our actions were never judged wanting and if our sins were never punished. True judgment alerts us to the need for repentance and renewal, as it did in our text. However, judgment unmitigated by grace destroys rather than heals. The poisonous snakes were agents of God's judgment, while the bronze serpent was a visible demonstration of God's grace. Judgment and grace are not two separate realities but two sides of the same reality; both are gifts of God.
Outline:
1. In this text we see both God's judgment and grace.
2. Actually, judgment and grace are inoperable.
- Judgment points to the need to repent.
- Grace gives us the courage and strength to actually repent.
3. God's judgment may sting, but it is intended to lead us to life in the Lord.
Luther Murrow, a member of a snake handling cult in the region of Grasshopper, Tennessee, was bitten by a rattler during one of their services. He went about his business, unfazed by the attack, but the snake died shortly thereafter.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 2:4--10
Sermon Title: Bad News For Legalists
Sermon Angle: The gospel spells bad news for legalists. Legalists like rules, rules which they and other legalists have constructed. By these rules they judge themselves innocent and all those who don't live by their rules as guilty. The gospel of Christ says that we are saved by grace, not by the keeping of the rules. Salvation is a gift of God (vv. 8, 9). Yes, the gospel is bad news for all legalists because it would permit them to take pride in their spiritual and moral achievements.
Outline:
1. The gospel is bad news for all legalists and hypocrites.
- It won't permit them to take credit for their own salvation.
2. The gospel is wonderful news for all sinners who know their need of grace.
3. Grace is what saves us and faith is the conduit that delivers God's grace into our lives.
4. Accept, celebrate and pass on God's gift of grace.
__________
As I was driving to the hospital recently, I was listening to Chuck Swindoll preach about the legalism of the scribes and Pharisees. He cited some of the seemingly ridiculous rules, such as regulations concerning work on the Sabbath. You couldn't lift anything in the ordinary way because that was work but whatever you could lift on the top of the hand, with the ears, elbows or knees, was not considered work and was permitted. (By the way, how do you lift something with your ears?) Swindoll also shared how he encountered a woman who had heard him preach on legalism. She related that her husband had been the pastor of a very legalistic church and that she and her mate were the foremost of legalists. If you belonged to their church, you couldn't go to movies, you couldn't go dancing, women had to dress a certain way - you get the picture. One day their children announced that they were dropping out of the church. They couldn't countenance the sham and hypocrisy of that kind of religion. This cut the parents to the heart but they listened. They came to confess that their children were right. The congregation didn't want to change its legalistic way and so the pastor resigned his call and went into another line of work. The couple joined a church that preached and practiced the gospel of grace, which has made all the difference in the world.
__________
Gospel: John 3:14--21
Sermon Title: Lift High The Cross: An Exercise That Builds The Body of Christ
Sermon Angle: God allowed Jesus to be lifted up on the cross that all the world might see the love and grace of God and be saved. Our calling as the church is to lift up the crucified and risen Savior, that the world might experience the love of God. We do not lift up the Crucified One to save ourselves (we are saved by grace) but that others might see and accept the gift of the gospel.
Outline:
1. God's salvation is not hidden. God lifts up his salvation for all to see and be saved (the bronze serpent on the pole and Jesus on the cross) (v. 14).
2. For John the cross lifts up Jesus' glory and power.
3. The cross offers eternal life to all who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
4. We must lift up the cross that others might see and accept God's salvation.
Sermon Title: No Condemnation In Christ
Sermon Angle: God's purpose is to save the world, not condemn it (vv. 17--18). Why then was Christ pictured in ancient and medieval art as an implacable judge? Could it be that the church literally wanted to scare the hell out of people? It seems that for quite some time the church lost contact with the grace of God and reverted to legalism. The law condemns and kills but God's mercy in Jesus Christ gives us life. There is condemnation for those who refuse to come to God's light, but it is self--condemnation, not the will of God in Christ.
Outline:
1. The world is quick to judge and condemn us.
2. God sent his Son to save us, not condemn us (v. 17).
3. Since God shows us his grace, we should withhold our judgment of others.
4. When the venom of guilt and sin strikes, look up to the Christ of the cross.
__________
Michelangelo's famed fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome has recently been restored to some semblance of its original apocalyptic glory. When the original was unveiled on October 31, 1531, Pope Paul III sank to his knees and implored his Creator: "Lord, charge me not with my sins when thou shalt come on the day of Judgment." Apparently the writhing swirl of the damned plunging into the Abyss had its intended effect. Even the expressions of those who are not plummeting into the fire convey uncertainty, with the possible exception of the Virgin Mary. This was not the message that the church of that time wanted to convey. Michelangelo's vision of the Last Judgment leaves everyone and everything hanging, including the artist. In his final confession, at the age of 89, the great artist repined: "I regret that I have not done more for the salvation of my soul."
