24 April 2011 (Easter Sunday)
I. Introduction
-- turn in your Bibles to Genesis 6:9-22
9 This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[a] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[b] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[c] high all around.[d] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
-- I know that today is Easter Sunday, but when I was praying about what I might bring to you this Sunday, I kept thinking of this picture of Noah and the Ark
-- this is a puzzle that Kim put together several years ago -- it took her quite a while because there is a lot of detail in the puzzle -- but once she got it done, we glued it together and then put it in this frame and it’s been hanging on the wall ever since
-- I really like this picture because it reminds me of God’s grace and the salvation that He has given us through Jesus
-- I don’t know if you’ve ever considered that or not
-- I imagine that everyone here grew up knowing the story of Noah and the Ark -- as you remember, Noah lived in a very wicked and corrupt society -- not that different from what our society is like today
-- in Genesis 6:5 we read about Noah’s day -- it says in this verse that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time -- man was rotten to the core and not getting any better
-- and when God looked down on all of the sin and wickedness and evil that was going on, He was grieved in His heart and decided to cleanse the world from all that wickedness
-- but there was one man who was different -- one man who lived differently from everyone else -- and that was Noah
-- look back at verse 9 with me
9 This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
-- while the rest of the world was filled with wickedness and evil, Noah walked with God -- He was a righteous man and blameless in all that he did -- and so God decided that He would deliver Noah and his family from the judgment to come
-- so, God comes to Noah and tells Noah what He is planning to do -- skip down to verse 17
17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
-- God told Noah that a great flood was coming to cleanse the world of sin and evil -- but that He was going to protect him and his family and the animals that God would send to him
-- He told Noah to build an ark -- a great boat -- and He gave very specific details on how the ark was to be built -- He told Noah exactly how long and how high and how wide it was to built -- He told him what type of wood to use and how the ark was to be coated with pitch, inside and out, to keep the water from getting in
-- God told Noah to make three levels in the ark -- with one door in the side and a roof to keep the rain out
-- and He told him to get started, because the flood was coming -- and so Noah started work
-- it took him about 100 years to build the ark -- and all that time, the people watched -- they watched as the animals came to Noah and as Noah loaded them on the ark -- and they watched as Noah finally entered the ark with his family and the door was shut
-- seven days later, the rain started to fall -- and kept falling for 40 days and 40 nights -- the waters rose until they covered the highest points on earth and everything and everyone who was not in the ark perished
-- but Noah and his family and the animals inside were saved
-- however, the flood didn’t solve the original problem -- even though God had sent the flood to cleanse the world of wickedness and sin, when Noah and his family came out of the ark, sin came out with them and entered the world once again
-- and this is the reason that I really like this puzzle that Kim did -- look at it again -- look real close at it -- do notice anything about this picture? -- there’s a piece missing -- it’s not complete -- but that’s such a perfect picture of what is going on in the story of sin and mankind
-- Noah’s salvation wasn’t complete -- it was missing a piece
-- the ark saved Noah and his family from the immediate danger of the flood, but it didn’t finish the job -- it couldn’t finish the job -- of saving Noah from his own sins and his own sin nature
-- you see, from the moment that Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world and turned them and all of their descendants into sinners
-- we aren’t sinners because we sin -- we sin because we are sinners -- it’s who we are -- it’s part of our nature -- and because we are sinners, we sin -- we disobey God -- we do things and think things that are wrong and don’t do the good things that we should do
-- sin made a hole in our heart -- and because of sin, all of us have a piece missing in our lives
-- if you think about it, a lot of what we do is nothing more than trying to find that missing piece
-- that’s why some people spend all their time chasing material things and wealth and looks and power and prestige -- they’re doing everything they can to fill that hole in their heart -- to find that missing piece -- and they think that if they’re rich enough or they have enough stuff or if they’re attractive enough or powerful enough -- that they will be satisfied -- but they never are
-- I remember reading a story one time about Howard Hughes -- he tried it all in his life -- he was an aviator -- an engineer -- an industrialist -- he produced and directed films -- he was a philanthropist -- at one time, he was the richest man in the world -- but he never was satisfied
-- someone once asked him just how much he needed in order to be happy -- he said, “Just a little more -- just a little more”
-- that’s the problem with trying to fill that hole in our heart with things or with power or pleasure -- it just won’t work -- nothing will fit -- and we’ll always find ourselves needing just a little bit more to make us happy
-- other people try to find that missing piece through religion -- through doing good works or by going to church
-- if you think about it, religion is really nothing more than man’s attempt to make his own way to heaven -- but that won’t work, because there’s nothing that we can do in our own power that will fill that missing piece and save us from the judgment to come
-- the Bible says that all our good works are like filthy rags compared to God’s goodness -- and that we can do nothing of any lasting value apart from Him
-- I know what it feels like to run through life trying to find that missing piece because I’ve been there and I’ve done that -- when I was younger, I thought I had it all figured out -- I thought I knew how to make things right with God
-- I grew up in church -- we weren't real regular church goers, but I grew up going to Sunday School -- worship service -- I knew who God was and who Jesus was -- and when I was 12 years old I marched down the aisle to get baptized and join the church -- not because of any spiritual decision I had made -- not because I had accepted God's offer of a relationship with Him through Jesus -- but simply because it was time -- everyone in our church got baptized and joined the church when they were around 12 years old -- it's what you did -- it was expected of you
-- but, you know, nothing really changed in my life -- I stayed right there in my comfort zone at my church and nothing changed -- I still sat in the same pew -- I still sang the same songs -- the only thing that was different was that my name was now on the church roll
-- on the surface, I looked like a Christian -- it looked like I had it all together with God -- I was doing all the right things and saying all the right words -- part of the problem was that my faith had never really been tested -- I was getting by just going to church because at that time in my life, I had never really needed God -- I never had gone through any real crises -- anything that came up, I was able to handle on my own -- and if I couldn't do it, then my family and my friends stepped up
-- but then something happened -- when I graduated from ABAC, I transferred to the University of Florida and moved to Gainesville -- and for the first time in my life, I was put out of my comfort zone
-- I was alone in a big city --- in a big school -- working full-time and trying to go to a college I was unprepared for -- I had moved away from my family and my friends -- and for the first time in my life, I didn't have any real friends -- I felt alone -- I felt empty -- I felt kind of like something was missing -- like I had a big hole in my heart that needed to be filled
-- so, I tried to fill that hole with other things -- growing up, I didn't drink -- I never drank a drop until after I graduated from high school -- but when I got to Gainesville, I started drinking just to fit in with everyone else
-- I desperately wanted friends -- I needed company -- and so I started hanging out with guys after work, drinking in the parking lot and going to bars with them to chase women -- I started hitting all the frat parties and doing everything I could to fill that hole -- to stop feeling so alone and unloved -- but the drinking and the partying didn't work
-- so, I moved on to other things -- when I wasn't working, I was in the woods -- I spent all my time hunting and fishing -- even though I had moved down to Gainesville to go to school, I would skip school and go hunting -- I was majoring in wildlife biology -- in my mind, I thought I was just working on my degree -- made sense to me -- but when I got my grades that semester, I found out my professors didn't agree
-- you see, I thought if I was busy enough -- if I drank enough -- if I partied enough -- if I had enough hobbies -- that that empty feeling would go away -- but it didn't work -- nothing worked -- I might be happy for a while -- I might have fun for a while -- but in the middle of the night, after the party ended -- after I came home from a day of hunting and fishing -- I still felt empty -- I still felt alone -- I still felt like something was missing
-- I needed a change -- I needed to find my missing part -- so, I came home and went back to ABAC and got a degree in wildlife technology and took a job on Ossabaw Island off the coast of Savannah -- I thought it was just the place for me -- if I couldn’t find that missing piece, then I would go to a place where I could hide and just get away from the world and not worry about it anymore -- but God knew where I was and He knew what I needed, so He met me there
-- One day -- just right out of the blue -- a coworker there on that island asked me a question that changed my life -- he said, "Do you know God?" -- I told him "Yeah, I go to church" -- I was lying and he knew it -- I was living out there on that island that didn't have a church -- he knew better -- he knew I wasn't going to church -- but he didn't say anything about that
-- instead he said, "I didn't ask you if you went to church -- I asked you if you knew God -- Have you asked Jesus to forgive your sins? -- have you accepted God's offer of love? -- are you in a personal relationship with Him?"
-- I didn't know what to say -- No one had ever asked me that before -- not my family -- not my friends -- not even the people in the church I grew up in
-- I thought I was a Christian simply because I had gone to church my whole life -- I thought I was a Christian because I had marched down that aisle and got baptized and joined the church when I was 12 years old -- it didn't matter that I wasn't going to church right then -- my parents were still going -- and I had to gone to church in the past and my name was on the roll and that made me a Christian
-- and at that moment, I realized what had been missing in my life -- I knew why that hole was there -- I knew why I had been feeling so lost and so empty and so alone -- I knew why all of the partying and hunting and working and everything else didn’t work to fill that hole
-- it’s because I had been looking for the wrong thing -- and all of a sudden I knew what was missing in my life
-- Jesus was what was missing -- Jesus was the missing piece
-- if you would, please turn over to Ephesians 2 and let’s finish up there
-- look down at verse 1
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
-- dead in our transgressions and sins -- separated from God and bound up in wickedness and sin in our inner parts -- all of us -- every single one of us
-- that’s why it says in Romans 3:23 it says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God -- that’s who we were -- that’s how we lived
-- just like the people in Noah’s day before the flood came -- just going through life following our own desires and the cravings of our own sinful hearts -- knowing that something wasn’t right and chasing after whatever we thought might fill that missing piece in our heart
-- verse 4
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
-- just like God provided the ark to deliver Noah and his family from the flood, God’s grace sent Jesus to deliver us from our sins
-- the Bible tells us in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life
-- God sent Jesus to earth to die on the cross in our place -- to pay the price for our sins -- and to fill that hole that sin had created in our hearts and in our spirits
-- and just like there was only one ark and only one door in that ark and you had to enter in through that door to be saved, there is only one Jesus -- only one Son of God -- and only one way to be forgiven of your sins
-- in John 14:6 Jesus said, “I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life -- No one comes to the Father apart from Me”
-- Jesus is THE way -- and everyone who enters in must come through Jesus -- His promise is that everyone who believes in Him will be delivered from their sin and receive eternal life -- but you have to come through Jesus because He is the missing piece in your life
-- verse 6
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
-- after Jesus died on the cross in our place, He rose from the dead on the third day -- on Easter morning -- to prove His victory over sin and death
-- and when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we rise with Him to new life -- we are a new creation and receive a new heart with no missing pieces
-- you can sum it all up there with verses 8 and 9 -- it is by grace you have been saved -- through faith -- and this not of yourself
-- it is a gift of God -- it’s not something that we can earn -- it’s not something that we get because we go to church or because our parents are Christians or because we live in America -- it’s not something that we deserve -- it’s not something that we can obtain through our works or by doing good things
-- it is a gift -- freely given by the Father to us -- that’s why we call it grace
-- and once you believe -- once you repent your sins and trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection -- then that hole is filled -- the missing piece is put in place -- and your life begins anew
-- and that is what makes today so special -- that is why we have gathered together today -- we are here to celebrate the risen Savior -- the God who has conquered sin and death -- who has filled that hole in our hearts -- and given us new life with Him
-- so, as we close in prayer, let us join together in praise and in thankfulness that we have found the missing piece and that the salvation that began with Noah is finally complete
-- [give altar call]
-- let us pray
Showing posts with label sermon; Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sermon; Easter. Show all posts
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Saturday, April 10, 2010
SERMON: THE CURSE OF THE CHEESE TOUCH
Easter Sunday Worship
4 April 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Romans 3
Romans 3:23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
-- one of the most popular series of books over the past several years has been the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" -- this story has just been made into a movie that is currently playing at theaters in town
-- the various stories in the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series are actually comprised of the journal entries of a middle-school student named Greg Heffley -- the first book opens as Greg is getting ready to start middle school -- even though his older brother tells him that he is not likely to survive past the first day, Greg is determined not only to survive, but to position himself at the top of the popularity food chain -- so, Greg does everything he can to try to keep from moving down the popularity ladder
-- however, out of everything that he does to improve his social standing, nothing is more important than avoiding the terrible Cheese Touch -- an invisible disease that infects a person when they touch this moldy piece of cheese that has been sitting on the basketball court since spring
-- the Cheese Touch is social suicide -- Greg records in his journal that a kid named Abe Hall got the Cheese touch in April, and nobody would even come near him for the rest of the year. -- once you have the Cheese Touch, your social life is over -- it is the closest thing to death for a middle school kid
-- there's only one way to get rid of the Cheese Touch -- you have to touch another kid and pass it on to them -- so, when someone catches the Cheese Touch, they go out and try to pass it on to someone else
-- there's only one way to prevent yourself from catching the Cheese Touch and that is to keep your fingers crossed when someone touches you -- for that reason, Greg taped his fingers together his first year in school so that they stayed crossed the whole time and he could never get infected
-- now, you might be sitting there this morning and thinking, "Why in the world is he talking about a kid's book on Easter morning?" -- but, when you think about it, the story of the Cheese Touch in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid is really what Easter is all about
-- not that we catch some invisible disease that causes us to get cooties and causes our social standing to fall -- no, it's something much more worse than that
-- we catch an invisible disease that causes us to die
-- let me explain -- if you remember the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, then you probably remember that they were living in Paradise on earth -- they had the best of everything -- everything was new -- everything was perfect -- everything was good -- they were living in the lap of luxury and were even personal friends with God Himself -- God would come down from heaven and walk with them in the garden in the cool of the day
-- Adam and Eve had it made -- God had given them everything and put them in charge of His garden -- and there was only one rule -- God told them that they could eat of the fruit of any of the trees in the garden except one -- they couldn't eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
-- but that tree was just like that piece of moldy cheese on the basketball court in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid -- they just couldn't leave it alone -- they just had to go and look at it -- they could have gone anywhere else in the whole garden -- anywhere else in the whole world, for that matter, but on that one day -- that one fateful day -- the serpent met them at the tree -- and he spoke seductive words to Eve
-- he convinced her that it wouldn't be wrong to disobey God just this one time -- that it was actually a good thing, because if she ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil -- she would be just like God -- she would know things just like he did, and how could that be wrong?
-- so she ate of the fruit -- and her eyes were opened -- and she realized that she had disobeyed God -- she was now cursed -- not with the curse of the Cheese Touch -- but with something worse -- Eve had introduced sin into the world
-- and, just like in the Diary of the Wimpy Kid, Eve evidently thought she could get of her curse by passing it on to Adam -- so, she handed Adam the fruit and he ate it, too -- but instead of getting rid of the curse, all Eve did was infect Adam -- so that now both of them were infected and they would pass this curse on to all of their children and their descendants
-- because of Adam and Eve's sin, we are all born sinners -- you know, a lot of people think that we become sinners when we sin -- when we disobey God -- but that's not right
-- we are sinners because we are born that way -- we sin because we are sinners -- in other words, we sin and disobey God because of the curse that is hidden deep in our very being -- as that verse in Romans 3:23 said, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
-- "All" have sinned -- each and every one of us -- there is not a person in this room -- there is not a person in this world -- who has not broken one of God's laws -- who has not disobeyed Him and who has not sinned against Him -- in fact, each of us could honestly rephrase verse 23 and say, "I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
-- so, what does that mean? -- what's the consequence of sinning against God? -- what's the consequence of disobeying Him? -- flip over to Romans 6:23 and let's look at the first part of that verse
Romans 6:23a. For the wages of sin is death
-- that's what God told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden -- He said that if they were to disobey Him and eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then they would surely die
-- now, we know that all people die -- everyone who ever lived has died -- I'm going to die -- you're going to die -- 150 years from now, every person in this room will have experienced physical death -- but that's not what God is talking about -- God was talking about spiritual death -- God was talking about paying a penalty for breaking His law
-- spiritual death is separation from God -- Isaiah 59:2 says, "your iniquities -- your sins -- have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you" -- Adam and Eve's sin caused them to be cast out of the Garden of Eden -- out of God's presence -- and into a world cursed through their actions -- our sin puts a barrier between us and God and casts us out of God's presence
-- to be separated from God is to be separated from life -- to be separated from God is to be separated from love -- it's like when you cut a flower and put it in a vase -- it looks good for a while, but in reality, it's dead because it has been cut off from it's life source -- that's what spiritual death is like
-- but there more consequences to our sin than just that -- we have to pay the consequences of our sins here on earth -- there is always a price to sin -- for one moment of indulgence, we amass a fortune in debt that has to be paid
-- all we have to do is look around us or to look at the news to see the consequences of sin in our lives -- broken homes -- hurting families -- addictions to alcohol and drugs -- crime -- violence -- despair -- the signs of sin are all around us -- and it exacts a heavy price on our bodies and soul
-- Josh McDowell put it this way -- "We are guilty of bringing the contamination of sin into God's perfect universe -- of causing pain and ruin to God's creation and to our selves -- God in His perfect justice and holiness cannot be called good if He allows sin to remain in His universe -- Therefore, we, the agents of sin, are under the doom of His perfect judgment -- We are guilty and we deserve condemnation -- That is our dilemma"
-- because we sinned, we broke God's law -- because we sinned, we face God's justice -- because we sin, we are guilty and deserve His punishment -- and that punishment is death and eternal separation from God
-- look back at verse 23 again
Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-- the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, put a little three-letter word in that sentence that makes all the difference -- that word is "but"
-- yes, the wages of sin are death -- BUT -- the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
-- you see, because we are all sinners, we have to pay the price -- we have to be punished -- and that punishment is death -- but God didn't want us to die -- He wanted us to live with Him forever
-- but because God is holy and just, He couldn't just wipe away our sins -- He couldn't just pretend they didn't happen -- because His law was broken, someone had to pay the price -- someone had to take the punishment -- and God knew that we couldn't do it because we were sinners
-- it would have to be someone else -- someone holy -- someone perfect -- someone who had never sinned who could take our punishment for us -- who would take our place and give up their own life so that we might live -- Paul tells us here that someone was Jesus
-- God sent His own Son to earth to take our place -- to die for us on the cross and to pay the penalty for our sins -- so that we might live forever with Him
-- let me share with you a little story that kind of explains what God did for us -- there was this teacher who was trying to make a point in his class about salvation and Jesus' death on the cross -- so he picked out this star athlete in the class -- a kid named Steve -- and asked him if he would mind helping with a little demonstration -- but, to do so, Steve would have to do pushups in front of the whole class
-- Steve said it wasn't a problem since he usually did 200 pushups every day -- the teacher said he needed him to do 300 in sets of 10 -- and Steve said he would try
-- the next day, Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room -- When class started, the teacher pulled out a big box of donuts -- Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts -- these were like Krispy Kreme good -- the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and extra frosting
-- the teacher went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?" -- Cynthia said, "Yes." -- the teacher then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" -- Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten -- when Steve got done, the teacher put a donut on Cynthia's desk and then went to the next student in the row
-- "Joe, do you want a donut?" -- Joe said, "Yes." -- the teacher asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" -- Steve did ten push-ups -- Joe got a donut.
-- And so it went, all the way down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut -- the teacher went to the second row, same thing -- until he came to Scott -- the teacher asked Scott, "do you want a donut?" -- Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups for them?" -- the teacher said, "No, Steve has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well then, I don't want one" -- the teacher then turned to Steve and said, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"
-- Steve started to do ten pushups, but Scott cried out, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" -- the teacher said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts -- Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And when Steve got done with the ten pushups, the teacher put a donut on Scott's desk.
-- Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. -- He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down -- the teacher started down the third row, but now the students were beginning to get a little angry because the teacher was forcing Steve to do these pushups so that they could have a donut
-- more and more students began to say "No" to the teacher and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks -- Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut -- There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face -- and his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
-- the teacher went on to the next person and the next and the next -- Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time -- He was taking a lot more time to complete each set -- as the teacher was finishing up on the last row, Steve's arms really began to shake with each pushup as he struggled to lift himself against the force of gravity -- Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.
-- The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular -- the teacher went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?" -- Linda said, very sadly, "No thank you." -- the teacher asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" -- Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda.
-- Then the teacher turned to the last girl, Susan. -- "Susan, do you want a donut?" -- Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked the teacher, "can I help him?" -- the teacher, with tears in his own eyes, said, "No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"
-- As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
-- the teacher turned to the room and said. "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, took our place on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins that we couldn't pay -- and when He had done everything that was required of Him -- when He had shed His blood and given His body to pay the price for the forgiveness of our sins, He collapsed on the cross and died -- And like some of those in this room, many of us refuse to accept His sacrifice and leave His gift of salvation on the cross just like all of the uneaten donuts on our desks"
-- so, how do we receive this gift of God? -- how do we receive this sacrifice of Jesus? -- flip over to Romans 10
9. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
11. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
12. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
13. for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
-- that's all it takes -- confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved
-- the Bible calls this "justification" -- it's a fancy theological word that just means that the penalty has been paid -- that the punishment has been received and that justice has been served -- another way to think of justification is to think of it as being "just as if I never sinned" because Jesus died for me
-- when Jesus died on that cross at Calvary on that first Good Friday over 2000 years ago, He paid the price for all your sins -- 1 Peter 1:18-19 says that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ -- He shed His blood to cover all our sins -- I don't know if you've ever thought about that before or not, but here's what Jesus did for us on that Friday so long ago
-- when they placed that cruel crown of thorns on His head and the blood flowed down over His ears, He forgave you for everything that you had heard that you shouldn't have
-- when the blood flowed down His head and into His eyes, He forgave you for everything that you saw that you shouldn't have
-- when He was beaten and His mouth filled with blood, it took away all the things that you ever said but shouldn't have
-- when His hands and feet were nailed to that cross, His blood covered all the sins from all the things that you ever did with your hands and for all the wrong places that you ever went
-- When they pierced His side with their spear and His blood flowed out, it covered all the sins for the things we ever took inside our body
-- and when the blood flowed from His beaten and scourged back, it covered all the sins for every time we ever turned our back on Him and denied Him as our Lord and Savior
-- Jesus' blood covered all our sins -- every single one -- the Bible tells us that all of our sins were nailed to the cross in Jesus that day, and that the penalty was paid for them when Jesus died in our place
-- but Jesus did more than just die for us -- He also rose from the dead on the third day -- on that first Easter morning -- by rising from the dead, Jesus gave us new life -- He made us new creations and took away our old curse from the Garden of Eden and replaced it with His righteousness and His holiness
-- that is what the cross is all about -- that is what Easter is all about -- it's about life -- it's about redeeming the curse -- it's about receiving this free gift of God that we have in Jesus
-- as the Scriptures tell us, this gift is for all of us -- all we have to do is receive it -- so, right now, as we close our service, I want to invite you to do just that
-- if you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior before -- if you have never asked Him to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart and to be your Lord and Savior -- then I want to invite you to do so right now -- this morning -- before you leave -- you'll have that opportunity as I close in prayer and as the last hymn is played
-- if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior before -- then I want to invite you to rededicate your life to Him again this morning -- Easter is about new life and about rising again -- all of us -- even those of us who have been Christians for years -- all of us sin and fall short of God's glory time and time again -- and we all have need to come again to the cross -- to ask Jesus to forgive us and to cleanse us from our sins -- so that we might rise in new life with Him and live as the people He has called us to be
-- if that is your situation, then I invite you to pray with me as we close and to make that change in your life right now
-- I'm going to pray now, and as the last hymn is played, if any of you would like to come forward to make a decision or just to pray at the altar, I would encourage you to do so
-- let us pray
4 April 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Romans 3
Romans 3:23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
-- one of the most popular series of books over the past several years has been the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" -- this story has just been made into a movie that is currently playing at theaters in town
-- the various stories in the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series are actually comprised of the journal entries of a middle-school student named Greg Heffley -- the first book opens as Greg is getting ready to start middle school -- even though his older brother tells him that he is not likely to survive past the first day, Greg is determined not only to survive, but to position himself at the top of the popularity food chain -- so, Greg does everything he can to try to keep from moving down the popularity ladder
-- however, out of everything that he does to improve his social standing, nothing is more important than avoiding the terrible Cheese Touch -- an invisible disease that infects a person when they touch this moldy piece of cheese that has been sitting on the basketball court since spring
-- the Cheese Touch is social suicide -- Greg records in his journal that a kid named Abe Hall got the Cheese touch in April, and nobody would even come near him for the rest of the year. -- once you have the Cheese Touch, your social life is over -- it is the closest thing to death for a middle school kid
-- there's only one way to get rid of the Cheese Touch -- you have to touch another kid and pass it on to them -- so, when someone catches the Cheese Touch, they go out and try to pass it on to someone else
-- there's only one way to prevent yourself from catching the Cheese Touch and that is to keep your fingers crossed when someone touches you -- for that reason, Greg taped his fingers together his first year in school so that they stayed crossed the whole time and he could never get infected
-- now, you might be sitting there this morning and thinking, "Why in the world is he talking about a kid's book on Easter morning?" -- but, when you think about it, the story of the Cheese Touch in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid is really what Easter is all about
-- not that we catch some invisible disease that causes us to get cooties and causes our social standing to fall -- no, it's something much more worse than that
-- we catch an invisible disease that causes us to die
-- let me explain -- if you remember the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, then you probably remember that they were living in Paradise on earth -- they had the best of everything -- everything was new -- everything was perfect -- everything was good -- they were living in the lap of luxury and were even personal friends with God Himself -- God would come down from heaven and walk with them in the garden in the cool of the day
-- Adam and Eve had it made -- God had given them everything and put them in charge of His garden -- and there was only one rule -- God told them that they could eat of the fruit of any of the trees in the garden except one -- they couldn't eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
-- but that tree was just like that piece of moldy cheese on the basketball court in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid -- they just couldn't leave it alone -- they just had to go and look at it -- they could have gone anywhere else in the whole garden -- anywhere else in the whole world, for that matter, but on that one day -- that one fateful day -- the serpent met them at the tree -- and he spoke seductive words to Eve
-- he convinced her that it wouldn't be wrong to disobey God just this one time -- that it was actually a good thing, because if she ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil -- she would be just like God -- she would know things just like he did, and how could that be wrong?
-- so she ate of the fruit -- and her eyes were opened -- and she realized that she had disobeyed God -- she was now cursed -- not with the curse of the Cheese Touch -- but with something worse -- Eve had introduced sin into the world
-- and, just like in the Diary of the Wimpy Kid, Eve evidently thought she could get of her curse by passing it on to Adam -- so, she handed Adam the fruit and he ate it, too -- but instead of getting rid of the curse, all Eve did was infect Adam -- so that now both of them were infected and they would pass this curse on to all of their children and their descendants
-- because of Adam and Eve's sin, we are all born sinners -- you know, a lot of people think that we become sinners when we sin -- when we disobey God -- but that's not right
-- we are sinners because we are born that way -- we sin because we are sinners -- in other words, we sin and disobey God because of the curse that is hidden deep in our very being -- as that verse in Romans 3:23 said, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
-- "All" have sinned -- each and every one of us -- there is not a person in this room -- there is not a person in this world -- who has not broken one of God's laws -- who has not disobeyed Him and who has not sinned against Him -- in fact, each of us could honestly rephrase verse 23 and say, "I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
-- so, what does that mean? -- what's the consequence of sinning against God? -- what's the consequence of disobeying Him? -- flip over to Romans 6:23 and let's look at the first part of that verse
Romans 6:23a. For the wages of sin is death
-- that's what God told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden -- He said that if they were to disobey Him and eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then they would surely die
-- now, we know that all people die -- everyone who ever lived has died -- I'm going to die -- you're going to die -- 150 years from now, every person in this room will have experienced physical death -- but that's not what God is talking about -- God was talking about spiritual death -- God was talking about paying a penalty for breaking His law
-- spiritual death is separation from God -- Isaiah 59:2 says, "your iniquities -- your sins -- have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you" -- Adam and Eve's sin caused them to be cast out of the Garden of Eden -- out of God's presence -- and into a world cursed through their actions -- our sin puts a barrier between us and God and casts us out of God's presence
-- to be separated from God is to be separated from life -- to be separated from God is to be separated from love -- it's like when you cut a flower and put it in a vase -- it looks good for a while, but in reality, it's dead because it has been cut off from it's life source -- that's what spiritual death is like
-- but there more consequences to our sin than just that -- we have to pay the consequences of our sins here on earth -- there is always a price to sin -- for one moment of indulgence, we amass a fortune in debt that has to be paid
-- all we have to do is look around us or to look at the news to see the consequences of sin in our lives -- broken homes -- hurting families -- addictions to alcohol and drugs -- crime -- violence -- despair -- the signs of sin are all around us -- and it exacts a heavy price on our bodies and soul
-- Josh McDowell put it this way -- "We are guilty of bringing the contamination of sin into God's perfect universe -- of causing pain and ruin to God's creation and to our selves -- God in His perfect justice and holiness cannot be called good if He allows sin to remain in His universe -- Therefore, we, the agents of sin, are under the doom of His perfect judgment -- We are guilty and we deserve condemnation -- That is our dilemma"
-- because we sinned, we broke God's law -- because we sinned, we face God's justice -- because we sin, we are guilty and deserve His punishment -- and that punishment is death and eternal separation from God
-- look back at verse 23 again
Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-- the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, put a little three-letter word in that sentence that makes all the difference -- that word is "but"
-- yes, the wages of sin are death -- BUT -- the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
-- you see, because we are all sinners, we have to pay the price -- we have to be punished -- and that punishment is death -- but God didn't want us to die -- He wanted us to live with Him forever
-- but because God is holy and just, He couldn't just wipe away our sins -- He couldn't just pretend they didn't happen -- because His law was broken, someone had to pay the price -- someone had to take the punishment -- and God knew that we couldn't do it because we were sinners
-- it would have to be someone else -- someone holy -- someone perfect -- someone who had never sinned who could take our punishment for us -- who would take our place and give up their own life so that we might live -- Paul tells us here that someone was Jesus
-- God sent His own Son to earth to take our place -- to die for us on the cross and to pay the penalty for our sins -- so that we might live forever with Him
-- let me share with you a little story that kind of explains what God did for us -- there was this teacher who was trying to make a point in his class about salvation and Jesus' death on the cross -- so he picked out this star athlete in the class -- a kid named Steve -- and asked him if he would mind helping with a little demonstration -- but, to do so, Steve would have to do pushups in front of the whole class
-- Steve said it wasn't a problem since he usually did 200 pushups every day -- the teacher said he needed him to do 300 in sets of 10 -- and Steve said he would try
-- the next day, Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room -- When class started, the teacher pulled out a big box of donuts -- Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts -- these were like Krispy Kreme good -- the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and extra frosting
-- the teacher went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?" -- Cynthia said, "Yes." -- the teacher then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" -- Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten -- when Steve got done, the teacher put a donut on Cynthia's desk and then went to the next student in the row
-- "Joe, do you want a donut?" -- Joe said, "Yes." -- the teacher asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" -- Steve did ten push-ups -- Joe got a donut.
-- And so it went, all the way down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut -- the teacher went to the second row, same thing -- until he came to Scott -- the teacher asked Scott, "do you want a donut?" -- Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups for them?" -- the teacher said, "No, Steve has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well then, I don't want one" -- the teacher then turned to Steve and said, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"
-- Steve started to do ten pushups, but Scott cried out, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" -- the teacher said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts -- Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And when Steve got done with the ten pushups, the teacher put a donut on Scott's desk.
-- Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. -- He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down -- the teacher started down the third row, but now the students were beginning to get a little angry because the teacher was forcing Steve to do these pushups so that they could have a donut
-- more and more students began to say "No" to the teacher and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks -- Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut -- There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face -- and his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
-- the teacher went on to the next person and the next and the next -- Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time -- He was taking a lot more time to complete each set -- as the teacher was finishing up on the last row, Steve's arms really began to shake with each pushup as he struggled to lift himself against the force of gravity -- Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.
-- The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular -- the teacher went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?" -- Linda said, very sadly, "No thank you." -- the teacher asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" -- Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda.
-- Then the teacher turned to the last girl, Susan. -- "Susan, do you want a donut?" -- Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked the teacher, "can I help him?" -- the teacher, with tears in his own eyes, said, "No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"
-- As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
-- the teacher turned to the room and said. "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, took our place on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins that we couldn't pay -- and when He had done everything that was required of Him -- when He had shed His blood and given His body to pay the price for the forgiveness of our sins, He collapsed on the cross and died -- And like some of those in this room, many of us refuse to accept His sacrifice and leave His gift of salvation on the cross just like all of the uneaten donuts on our desks"
-- so, how do we receive this gift of God? -- how do we receive this sacrifice of Jesus? -- flip over to Romans 10
9. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
11. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
12. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
13. for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
-- that's all it takes -- confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved
-- the Bible calls this "justification" -- it's a fancy theological word that just means that the penalty has been paid -- that the punishment has been received and that justice has been served -- another way to think of justification is to think of it as being "just as if I never sinned" because Jesus died for me
-- when Jesus died on that cross at Calvary on that first Good Friday over 2000 years ago, He paid the price for all your sins -- 1 Peter 1:18-19 says that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ -- He shed His blood to cover all our sins -- I don't know if you've ever thought about that before or not, but here's what Jesus did for us on that Friday so long ago
-- when they placed that cruel crown of thorns on His head and the blood flowed down over His ears, He forgave you for everything that you had heard that you shouldn't have
-- when the blood flowed down His head and into His eyes, He forgave you for everything that you saw that you shouldn't have
-- when He was beaten and His mouth filled with blood, it took away all the things that you ever said but shouldn't have
-- when His hands and feet were nailed to that cross, His blood covered all the sins from all the things that you ever did with your hands and for all the wrong places that you ever went
-- When they pierced His side with their spear and His blood flowed out, it covered all the sins for the things we ever took inside our body
-- and when the blood flowed from His beaten and scourged back, it covered all the sins for every time we ever turned our back on Him and denied Him as our Lord and Savior
-- Jesus' blood covered all our sins -- every single one -- the Bible tells us that all of our sins were nailed to the cross in Jesus that day, and that the penalty was paid for them when Jesus died in our place
-- but Jesus did more than just die for us -- He also rose from the dead on the third day -- on that first Easter morning -- by rising from the dead, Jesus gave us new life -- He made us new creations and took away our old curse from the Garden of Eden and replaced it with His righteousness and His holiness
-- that is what the cross is all about -- that is what Easter is all about -- it's about life -- it's about redeeming the curse -- it's about receiving this free gift of God that we have in Jesus
-- as the Scriptures tell us, this gift is for all of us -- all we have to do is receive it -- so, right now, as we close our service, I want to invite you to do just that
-- if you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior before -- if you have never asked Him to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart and to be your Lord and Savior -- then I want to invite you to do so right now -- this morning -- before you leave -- you'll have that opportunity as I close in prayer and as the last hymn is played
-- if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior before -- then I want to invite you to rededicate your life to Him again this morning -- Easter is about new life and about rising again -- all of us -- even those of us who have been Christians for years -- all of us sin and fall short of God's glory time and time again -- and we all have need to come again to the cross -- to ask Jesus to forgive us and to cleanse us from our sins -- so that we might rise in new life with Him and live as the people He has called us to be
-- if that is your situation, then I invite you to pray with me as we close and to make that change in your life right now
-- I'm going to pray now, and as the last hymn is played, if any of you would like to come forward to make a decision or just to pray at the altar, I would encourage you to do so
-- let us pray
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
SERMON: THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
Easter Sunday -- 8 April 2007
[Note: This sermon was prepared with an entirely different style of presentation than I normally use. My intent here was to prepare a message for seekers -- for the unchurched and the marginal Christians who usually attend in greater numbers on Easter Sunday. As such, I wrote this sermon as a narrative story, hoping to engage these people and reach past the defenses they usually put up when I go up to preach. There's just something about a preacher standing behind a pulpit that makes a non-Christian uncomfortable and sends them seeking distractions elsewhere. Unfortunately, we had no outside visitors in either worship service, and only a handful of unchurched/marginal family members who showed up for the second worship service. However, on a brighter note, the four pre-teens in our first service all came forward to receive Christ, so that makes it all worth it!]
-- this morning, I want to do something a little different -- rather than preaching a traditional Easter message -- please sit back and listen as I share with you a little tale that has been called, "The Greatest Story Ever Told"
-- Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a magical kingdom ruled by a benevolent King -- a place where evil was never known -- where there was only peace and love and perfection -- where storms were unknown and the light always shined
-- and in this kingdom, there was an enchanted garden -- the king had made it for his son's bride -- you see, in those days, kings still selected the bride for their sons -- and what a bride she was -- perfect in all her ways -- beautiful beyond compare -- pure and innocent in her heart -- the apple of his eye
-- during the cool of the day, the king would walk with his son's bride -- and they would enjoy each other's company as the king told her of the wedding to come -- of the great banquet that he had in store for her -- of the life she would live with them in the palace -- until that time, of couse, she had to stay in the garden, because there could be no whisper of impropriety between the bride and his son
-- the garden itself was filled with every flower imaginable -- roses and petunias and daffodils -- periwinkles and poppies and tulips, just to name a few -- with trees of every size and shape -- and above all, there were the animals -- big and small -- wide and tall -- mammals and birds and reptiles of all kinds lived in this garden with the bride in total peace -- the lions would lay down with the lambs -- and none who lived there even considered doing an act of violence
-- but the most remarkable thing about this garden was its centerpiece -- for you see, in the center of the garden the king had placed his wedding gift for the young couple -- off limits, of course, until the wedding -- but every day the bride wandered by just to sneak a peek and to dream of what would be
-- but outside the walls of the garden was a different place -- it was filled with darkness, and evil stalked the land -- rather than flowers, there were thorns -- rather than whispers of love, there were curses of hate -- rather than the promise of the future, there was hopelessness and despair
-- the ruler of the land outside the garden was wicked beyond belief -- he was cruel and merciless and hated all the things of life -- but he was not always that way -- once he too had lived in the magical kingdom with the good and wise king -- in fact, he was the king's right hand man -- his trusted confidant -- beautiful and talented beyond belief -- and he would charm the king's whole court with his beauty and with his songs
-- but over time, he became jealous of the king -- his pride got the best of him -- and asked himself, "Why shouldn't I be king instead?" -- so, he tried a coup -- he tried to overthrow the king -- he gathered some followers and attacked the king on his throne -- but the king's warriors fought back -- and won -- and cast the villian and all of his followers out into the darkness of the world outside the gates of the kingdom
-- hatred festered in his heart -- wicked schemes filled his mind -- plans to kill and steal and destroy were hatched -- he watched as the king walked in the garden with his son's bride -- he listened as they shared words of love and joy -- and the hatred in his heart grew deeper and deeper -- if he could not be king, then he would take away the very thing that made the king happy
-- a plan was hatched -- and he bided his time -- waiting and watching for the most opportune moment -- one day, he snuck in over the walls, disguised so none would recognize him -- he waited for the bride to come into the center of the garden, to look at the wedding gifts there -- and then he approached her, whispering poisoned lies and encouraging her to go ahead and take the gift -- it was going to be her's soon, anyway -- surely the king wouldn't mind -- it would make her royalty just like him
-- and the bride did just what the evil ruler suggested -- she took the gift and exchanged if for her innocence and purity -- as she took it, she realized it was a trap -- she had disobeyed the king, and in the process, had exchanged her loyalty to another -- her heart was broken -- and she fled in shame
-- when the king came to the garden, he couldn't find the bride -- he walked through the trees -- down the paths through the flowers that lined the way -- calling for her -- calling her name -- but she didn't answer -- finally, he caught a glimpse of her -- and he knew in an instant what had happened -- she had sold herself to another -- she had committed adultery and now belonged to the evil ruler -- and was no longer fit to be his son's bride
-- in sadness, he told her she had to go -- and she walked out of the garden never to return -- but as he watched her walk away, the heart of the king was broken -- justice had demanded that he do what he did -- the law demanded that she be punished for her crime -- but he swore to himself that he would rescue her from the grip of his enemy and make her worthy of his son once again
-- for years and years the bride lived in the dark world outside the garden -- things were hard there -- life was hard -- no longer were her days filled with love and joy and peace -- hatred and envy and strife became a way of life -- murder and evil stalked the land she now lived in -- wars and rumors of wars caught her attention -- but she couldn't leave -- she was trapped in bondage to the evil ruler -- and he continued to take from her the life of joy and love that she so desperately craved
-- there were times when she cried out with her heart to the king -- when she sought him and did everything she could think of to get back to the magical kingdom -- she thought that maybe if she was sorry enough for what she had done -- if she lived a good life and did more good things than bad -- then the king would take her back -- but, try as she might, she could never find her way back to the path that led to the garden
-- over time, she forgot why she was doing the things she was doing -- she even forgot what it was like to live in the garden -- it became a distant memory to her -- she forgot the feel of the dew under her feet -- the fragrance of the flowers -- the coolness of the trees -- she even forgot the sound of the king's voice -- of his sweet words of love -- of his promise that he would come and save her from her fate
-- oh, every now and then, she would spy a flower -- bravely splashing the darkness with color and with life -- every now and then she would watch a bird, flying freely over the canopy of the forest -- and her heart would leap -- and her mind would remember -- and she would hope -- for only the briefest of a moment -- that her prince would come -- that he would vanquish her captor and bring her home again -- and it would seem that she caught the king's voice on the wind -- but then the moment was gone -- and life went on -- and nothing ever changed
-- but the king never forgot -- he never forgot his son's bride -- he never forgot the love he had for her -- he sent messengers to the evil land -- to tell her that he still loved her and was coming for her -- that he would make a way for her to be reconciled to him and his son -- but these messengers were intercepted and killed by the enemy -- and their message died with them
-- the king wrote letters to her -- to remind her of his love -- to remind her of his promises -- some of these found their way to the bride -- but as time went on and her king did not come -- as the pages became yellow and brittle with age -- the bride began to doubt his words and tried to make the best of her life as it now was
-- finally, the king did the only thing he could do -- he sent the prince himself -- the king's only son -- the heir to the kingdom -- to wage war against the enemy on the enemy's own turf -- to destroy the power of this wicked ruler once and for all -- and to win back the heart of his bride
-- if the bride failed to listen to the messengers -- if she couldn't hear his words of love through his letters -- then maybe she would believe in his son when he came to claim his bride
-- the son was a daring young prince -- strong in character -- strong in life -- and while there was nothing about his appearance and bearing that would catch the world's attention -- no beauty or majesty -- when the prince passed through the gates to the kingdom of the evil ruler, everyone noticed his passing -- there was something about him that was different
-- and as he made his way through the darkness of the world, it seemed to brighten a little as he passed -- he did what he could to help those caught in the enemy's grasp -- he never failed to share a kind word with all those he met -- to feed those who were hungry -- to take care of those who were sick
-- you see, the prince brought something with him to this land that it was missing -- a pure and holy love -- and as he passed through the land, he shared with the people there the message and the promise of the magical kingdom -- of the garden of paradise that was there -- and he told them they could come and live there -- if they would just follow him
-- his passing did not go unnoticed, though -- the evil ruler heard of his good works -- of his words of love -- of his promise of a new life in a better place -- of his quest to bring his bride home again
-- so the evil ruler hatched an evil plan -- he laid a trap for the noble prince -- having him betrayed by one of his closest followers and turned over to the authorities -- the evil ruler bound him with chains -- he beat and whipped him and punished him severely for daring to speak life and love into the kingdom
-- and finally, when his body could bear no more, the evil ruler had the noble prince bound to a tree -- to die a slow and painful death in the presence of his very own bride
-- but there was one thing the evil ruler didn't count upon -- the power of love was greater than any power the evil ruler possessed -- and while he hung there -- nailed to that tree and suffering the most painful death imaginable -- the young prince looked down on his bride -- and said those words that penetrated her very heart -- "I love you -- I love you and I want you to know that death is not the end for a love as great as ours -- trust me -- believe in me -- and we will be together forever" -- and then he died
-- the evil ruler rejoiced at the death of his enemy -- the threat to his kingdom was gone -- the threat to take the prince's bride from him was gone -- he watched as the prince's body was buried in a cold dark tomb -- and as the stone rolled over the opening, he left to celebrate his victory
-- but, as I said, the power of love is the greatest force known to man -- known to this universe -- known to all creation -- it was love that had caused the king to create that garden for the bride -- it was love that had sent the prince to rescue her when she was in bondage to the evil ruler -- and it was love that reached across the veil of death -- reviving the prince and restoring him to full health -- causing his lungs to breathe again and his heart to beat again and for his body to rise in newness of life
-- three days after his death, as his bride made her way to the tomb to visit the body of her prince, she found the stone rolled away and the rays of the morning sun illuminating an empty tomb -- and as she turned to face the sun -- not sure of what had happened -- she saw him standing there -- full of life and full of love -- with his hand outstretched to her -- beckoning her to come
-- and off they went together -- hand in hand -- to the glorious land -- to the magical kingdom and the enchanted garden -- to live together forever in paradise -- the prince and his bride -- the king and his son
-- The End
-- as I told you in the beginning, this is the greatest story ever told -- for it is not a fairy tale -- it is not a story invented to capture the imaginations of our children -- it is a true story -- and it is a story that you are in the middle of
-- you see, this is the story about us -- the Bible tells us that we are the bride -- we were created to be the bride of Christ -- to marry Him and to spend eternity with Him in His palace
-- but we have this problem -- we are not pure and spotless brides -- we are born in sin and filled with sin -- as the Bible says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
-- we can't live with God as His bride if we are not holy and pure -- and there is nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy for Him -- we can't do enough good things to make up for the sins in our lives -- we can't be good enough -- we can't be holy enough -- we can't go to church enough -- to make ourselves sinless again
-- the Bible tells us that we are in bondage to sin -- held captive by sin and by death and by the evil one -- and the only way that we can be made clean again -- the only way that our chains can be broken and we can become the true bride of Christ again -- is for our sins to be totally erased and for our sin debt to be paid in full
-- you see, when you sin against God -- when you break His law -- you have to be punished -- you have to pay the price -- but the price of sin is death -- and a dead bride cannot marry a king
-- so God sent Jesus to earth to pay the price of our sins for us -- to take our punishment Himself -- to bear all of our sins and to pay the price on the cross of Calvary so that we might not die but live forever
-- as it says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life"
-- God sent Jesus to rescue us from the evil one -- to rescue us from our sin and from the penalty of death -- and so Jesus died on the cross in our place
-- but, on the third day, He rose again to prove that He had conquered sin and death and to prove that He had won for us eternal life
-- and if we want to live with Him -- if we want to leave this dark, fallen world that we are in and go to be with Him in His glorious kingdom, then all we have to do is believe and trust in Him
-- to believe that Jesus is God -- to believe that He died on the cross for our sins and rose on the third day -- to believe that He has forgiven us for our sins through His very own blood -- and to ask Him to forgive us for our sins and to give us eternal life
-- as it says in Romans 10:9-10, "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -- For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
-- I'm going to close now in prayer -- and I want to invite you to respond to God's word as you feel led -- as the last hymn is played, the altar is open -- and anyone who wishes to come can come and I'll be glad to pray with you
-- if you don't want to come -- if you don't feel ready yet -- if you still have questions or you just want to talk -- let me know after the service -- or give me a call or drop me an e-mail -- my contact information is on the back -- and I'd be more than happy to meet with you anytime
-- let's pray
Easter Sunday -- 8 April 2007
[Note: This sermon was prepared with an entirely different style of presentation than I normally use. My intent here was to prepare a message for seekers -- for the unchurched and the marginal Christians who usually attend in greater numbers on Easter Sunday. As such, I wrote this sermon as a narrative story, hoping to engage these people and reach past the defenses they usually put up when I go up to preach. There's just something about a preacher standing behind a pulpit that makes a non-Christian uncomfortable and sends them seeking distractions elsewhere. Unfortunately, we had no outside visitors in either worship service, and only a handful of unchurched/marginal family members who showed up for the second worship service. However, on a brighter note, the four pre-teens in our first service all came forward to receive Christ, so that makes it all worth it!]
-- this morning, I want to do something a little different -- rather than preaching a traditional Easter message -- please sit back and listen as I share with you a little tale that has been called, "The Greatest Story Ever Told"
-- Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a magical kingdom ruled by a benevolent King -- a place where evil was never known -- where there was only peace and love and perfection -- where storms were unknown and the light always shined
-- and in this kingdom, there was an enchanted garden -- the king had made it for his son's bride -- you see, in those days, kings still selected the bride for their sons -- and what a bride she was -- perfect in all her ways -- beautiful beyond compare -- pure and innocent in her heart -- the apple of his eye
-- during the cool of the day, the king would walk with his son's bride -- and they would enjoy each other's company as the king told her of the wedding to come -- of the great banquet that he had in store for her -- of the life she would live with them in the palace -- until that time, of couse, she had to stay in the garden, because there could be no whisper of impropriety between the bride and his son
-- the garden itself was filled with every flower imaginable -- roses and petunias and daffodils -- periwinkles and poppies and tulips, just to name a few -- with trees of every size and shape -- and above all, there were the animals -- big and small -- wide and tall -- mammals and birds and reptiles of all kinds lived in this garden with the bride in total peace -- the lions would lay down with the lambs -- and none who lived there even considered doing an act of violence
-- but the most remarkable thing about this garden was its centerpiece -- for you see, in the center of the garden the king had placed his wedding gift for the young couple -- off limits, of course, until the wedding -- but every day the bride wandered by just to sneak a peek and to dream of what would be
-- but outside the walls of the garden was a different place -- it was filled with darkness, and evil stalked the land -- rather than flowers, there were thorns -- rather than whispers of love, there were curses of hate -- rather than the promise of the future, there was hopelessness and despair
-- the ruler of the land outside the garden was wicked beyond belief -- he was cruel and merciless and hated all the things of life -- but he was not always that way -- once he too had lived in the magical kingdom with the good and wise king -- in fact, he was the king's right hand man -- his trusted confidant -- beautiful and talented beyond belief -- and he would charm the king's whole court with his beauty and with his songs
-- but over time, he became jealous of the king -- his pride got the best of him -- and asked himself, "Why shouldn't I be king instead?" -- so, he tried a coup -- he tried to overthrow the king -- he gathered some followers and attacked the king on his throne -- but the king's warriors fought back -- and won -- and cast the villian and all of his followers out into the darkness of the world outside the gates of the kingdom
-- hatred festered in his heart -- wicked schemes filled his mind -- plans to kill and steal and destroy were hatched -- he watched as the king walked in the garden with his son's bride -- he listened as they shared words of love and joy -- and the hatred in his heart grew deeper and deeper -- if he could not be king, then he would take away the very thing that made the king happy
-- a plan was hatched -- and he bided his time -- waiting and watching for the most opportune moment -- one day, he snuck in over the walls, disguised so none would recognize him -- he waited for the bride to come into the center of the garden, to look at the wedding gifts there -- and then he approached her, whispering poisoned lies and encouraging her to go ahead and take the gift -- it was going to be her's soon, anyway -- surely the king wouldn't mind -- it would make her royalty just like him
-- and the bride did just what the evil ruler suggested -- she took the gift and exchanged if for her innocence and purity -- as she took it, she realized it was a trap -- she had disobeyed the king, and in the process, had exchanged her loyalty to another -- her heart was broken -- and she fled in shame
-- when the king came to the garden, he couldn't find the bride -- he walked through the trees -- down the paths through the flowers that lined the way -- calling for her -- calling her name -- but she didn't answer -- finally, he caught a glimpse of her -- and he knew in an instant what had happened -- she had sold herself to another -- she had committed adultery and now belonged to the evil ruler -- and was no longer fit to be his son's bride
-- in sadness, he told her she had to go -- and she walked out of the garden never to return -- but as he watched her walk away, the heart of the king was broken -- justice had demanded that he do what he did -- the law demanded that she be punished for her crime -- but he swore to himself that he would rescue her from the grip of his enemy and make her worthy of his son once again
-- for years and years the bride lived in the dark world outside the garden -- things were hard there -- life was hard -- no longer were her days filled with love and joy and peace -- hatred and envy and strife became a way of life -- murder and evil stalked the land she now lived in -- wars and rumors of wars caught her attention -- but she couldn't leave -- she was trapped in bondage to the evil ruler -- and he continued to take from her the life of joy and love that she so desperately craved
-- there were times when she cried out with her heart to the king -- when she sought him and did everything she could think of to get back to the magical kingdom -- she thought that maybe if she was sorry enough for what she had done -- if she lived a good life and did more good things than bad -- then the king would take her back -- but, try as she might, she could never find her way back to the path that led to the garden
-- over time, she forgot why she was doing the things she was doing -- she even forgot what it was like to live in the garden -- it became a distant memory to her -- she forgot the feel of the dew under her feet -- the fragrance of the flowers -- the coolness of the trees -- she even forgot the sound of the king's voice -- of his sweet words of love -- of his promise that he would come and save her from her fate
-- oh, every now and then, she would spy a flower -- bravely splashing the darkness with color and with life -- every now and then she would watch a bird, flying freely over the canopy of the forest -- and her heart would leap -- and her mind would remember -- and she would hope -- for only the briefest of a moment -- that her prince would come -- that he would vanquish her captor and bring her home again -- and it would seem that she caught the king's voice on the wind -- but then the moment was gone -- and life went on -- and nothing ever changed
-- but the king never forgot -- he never forgot his son's bride -- he never forgot the love he had for her -- he sent messengers to the evil land -- to tell her that he still loved her and was coming for her -- that he would make a way for her to be reconciled to him and his son -- but these messengers were intercepted and killed by the enemy -- and their message died with them
-- the king wrote letters to her -- to remind her of his love -- to remind her of his promises -- some of these found their way to the bride -- but as time went on and her king did not come -- as the pages became yellow and brittle with age -- the bride began to doubt his words and tried to make the best of her life as it now was
-- finally, the king did the only thing he could do -- he sent the prince himself -- the king's only son -- the heir to the kingdom -- to wage war against the enemy on the enemy's own turf -- to destroy the power of this wicked ruler once and for all -- and to win back the heart of his bride
-- if the bride failed to listen to the messengers -- if she couldn't hear his words of love through his letters -- then maybe she would believe in his son when he came to claim his bride
-- the son was a daring young prince -- strong in character -- strong in life -- and while there was nothing about his appearance and bearing that would catch the world's attention -- no beauty or majesty -- when the prince passed through the gates to the kingdom of the evil ruler, everyone noticed his passing -- there was something about him that was different
-- and as he made his way through the darkness of the world, it seemed to brighten a little as he passed -- he did what he could to help those caught in the enemy's grasp -- he never failed to share a kind word with all those he met -- to feed those who were hungry -- to take care of those who were sick
-- you see, the prince brought something with him to this land that it was missing -- a pure and holy love -- and as he passed through the land, he shared with the people there the message and the promise of the magical kingdom -- of the garden of paradise that was there -- and he told them they could come and live there -- if they would just follow him
-- his passing did not go unnoticed, though -- the evil ruler heard of his good works -- of his words of love -- of his promise of a new life in a better place -- of his quest to bring his bride home again
-- so the evil ruler hatched an evil plan -- he laid a trap for the noble prince -- having him betrayed by one of his closest followers and turned over to the authorities -- the evil ruler bound him with chains -- he beat and whipped him and punished him severely for daring to speak life and love into the kingdom
-- and finally, when his body could bear no more, the evil ruler had the noble prince bound to a tree -- to die a slow and painful death in the presence of his very own bride
-- but there was one thing the evil ruler didn't count upon -- the power of love was greater than any power the evil ruler possessed -- and while he hung there -- nailed to that tree and suffering the most painful death imaginable -- the young prince looked down on his bride -- and said those words that penetrated her very heart -- "I love you -- I love you and I want you to know that death is not the end for a love as great as ours -- trust me -- believe in me -- and we will be together forever" -- and then he died
-- the evil ruler rejoiced at the death of his enemy -- the threat to his kingdom was gone -- the threat to take the prince's bride from him was gone -- he watched as the prince's body was buried in a cold dark tomb -- and as the stone rolled over the opening, he left to celebrate his victory
-- but, as I said, the power of love is the greatest force known to man -- known to this universe -- known to all creation -- it was love that had caused the king to create that garden for the bride -- it was love that had sent the prince to rescue her when she was in bondage to the evil ruler -- and it was love that reached across the veil of death -- reviving the prince and restoring him to full health -- causing his lungs to breathe again and his heart to beat again and for his body to rise in newness of life
-- three days after his death, as his bride made her way to the tomb to visit the body of her prince, she found the stone rolled away and the rays of the morning sun illuminating an empty tomb -- and as she turned to face the sun -- not sure of what had happened -- she saw him standing there -- full of life and full of love -- with his hand outstretched to her -- beckoning her to come
-- and off they went together -- hand in hand -- to the glorious land -- to the magical kingdom and the enchanted garden -- to live together forever in paradise -- the prince and his bride -- the king and his son
-- The End
-- as I told you in the beginning, this is the greatest story ever told -- for it is not a fairy tale -- it is not a story invented to capture the imaginations of our children -- it is a true story -- and it is a story that you are in the middle of
-- you see, this is the story about us -- the Bible tells us that we are the bride -- we were created to be the bride of Christ -- to marry Him and to spend eternity with Him in His palace
-- but we have this problem -- we are not pure and spotless brides -- we are born in sin and filled with sin -- as the Bible says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
-- we can't live with God as His bride if we are not holy and pure -- and there is nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy for Him -- we can't do enough good things to make up for the sins in our lives -- we can't be good enough -- we can't be holy enough -- we can't go to church enough -- to make ourselves sinless again
-- the Bible tells us that we are in bondage to sin -- held captive by sin and by death and by the evil one -- and the only way that we can be made clean again -- the only way that our chains can be broken and we can become the true bride of Christ again -- is for our sins to be totally erased and for our sin debt to be paid in full
-- you see, when you sin against God -- when you break His law -- you have to be punished -- you have to pay the price -- but the price of sin is death -- and a dead bride cannot marry a king
-- so God sent Jesus to earth to pay the price of our sins for us -- to take our punishment Himself -- to bear all of our sins and to pay the price on the cross of Calvary so that we might not die but live forever
-- as it says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life"
-- God sent Jesus to rescue us from the evil one -- to rescue us from our sin and from the penalty of death -- and so Jesus died on the cross in our place
-- but, on the third day, He rose again to prove that He had conquered sin and death and to prove that He had won for us eternal life
-- and if we want to live with Him -- if we want to leave this dark, fallen world that we are in and go to be with Him in His glorious kingdom, then all we have to do is believe and trust in Him
-- to believe that Jesus is God -- to believe that He died on the cross for our sins and rose on the third day -- to believe that He has forgiven us for our sins through His very own blood -- and to ask Him to forgive us for our sins and to give us eternal life
-- as it says in Romans 10:9-10, "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -- For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
-- I'm going to close now in prayer -- and I want to invite you to respond to God's word as you feel led -- as the last hymn is played, the altar is open -- and anyone who wishes to come can come and I'll be glad to pray with you
-- if you don't want to come -- if you don't feel ready yet -- if you still have questions or you just want to talk -- let me know after the service -- or give me a call or drop me an e-mail -- my contact information is on the back -- and I'd be more than happy to meet with you anytime
-- let's pray
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)