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Notes
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Review
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Give God The Real Thing! (Part 1)
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Preparation - John 4:21-24
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Select the Passage - John 4:21-24
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Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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Worship God in spirit and truth!
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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God is spirit and not physical or material.
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Exodus 20:1-6
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And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
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Deuteronomy 4:10-19
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God must be worshipped in spirit.
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It's not about a building.
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It's not about a ritual.
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It's about your personal connection with God.
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God must be worshipped according to the truth.
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We must worship God based on how he has revealed himself.
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"I gave them the words you gave me . . ." - John 17:6-12
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"Your word is truth" - John 17:13-19
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Our lives should be consistent with the God we worship
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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Yes - Jeremiah predicted this - Jeremiah 31:31-34
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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If you don't worship God in spirit and truth:
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You're not a true worshipper!
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You're not the kind of worshipper God is looking for!
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea:
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Give God the real thing!
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Determine the Purpose of the Sermon (what listeners should do)
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Understand the meaning of true worship.
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Know the God they're worshipping.
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Worship the God they know!
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Outline the Sermon
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Standing Issues
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From a word Bishop gave me:
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Make sure people do something with God's message.
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Make it plain:
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Use accessible language.
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Use modern day parables based on every day occurrences:
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Sitting at a stop light
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Driving through a green light
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Approaching a yellow light
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Being cut off in traffic
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Going shopping
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Going to a mall
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Going to school; sitting in class
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Going to work; sitting in your office;
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Keep it simple.
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Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
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Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
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Introduction
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Welcome Cards -
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“I want to call your attention to the Welcome Card that you were given on your way into the auditorium”
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These cards do two things for us:
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They help us get to know our new visitors better.
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They also give anyone (visitors or members) a chance to express a need or to give us feedback.
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By filling it out you will help us to better serve you.
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We're going to provide time for you to complete the cards at the end of our service, but we encourage you to start filling them out now.
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Please use this card:
• if you’re a first time visitor or if you’ve never filled one out before,
• to tell us about a decision you made today,
• to ask us for more information, or to give us feedback.
Please include your contact information unless we already have it. At the end of service we’ll ask you to complete the card and then place it in the designated box or give it to someone from our staff on your way out.
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Transition - ?
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Read the Passage - John 4:21-24
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Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
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Exegetical Idea: Worship Got in spirit and truth!
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Homiletical Idea: Give God the real thing!
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Purpose of the Sermon (what listeners should do)
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Understand the meaning of true worship.
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Know the God they're worshipping.
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Worship the God they know!
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Understand the meaning of true worship.
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True worship comes from a desire to know God and connect with him.
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Not everyone actually wants to know God.
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Not everyone who "goest to the altar" really wants to know God.
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Some people do outrageous things and claim to be Christians.
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Real Christians know God. - Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 17:1-5
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Real Christians want to know God better. - Ephesians 1:15-21
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Real Christians want to connect with other believers. - Acts 2:42-47
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True worship acknowledges that God is spirit.
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Exodus 20:1-6
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And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
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Deuteronomy 4:10-19
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True worship is spiritual.
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It's not about a building.
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It's not about a ritual.
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It's about your personal connection with God.
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Individually
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Corporately
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True worship aligns with the truth: God's revelation of himself.
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We must worship God based on how he has revealed himself.
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"I gave them the words you gave me . . ." - John 17:6-12
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"Your word is truth" - John 17:13-19
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Our lives should be consistent with the God we worship
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Justice - Amos 5:20-24
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If you don't worship God in spirit and truth:
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You're not a true worshipper!
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You're not the kind of worshipper God is looking for!
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Know the God you're worshipping. (for next week)
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Worship the God you know! (for next week)
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Conclusion
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Give God The Real Thing! (Part 2)
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Preparation - John 17:1-8
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Select the Passage - John 17:1-8
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After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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Eternal life is knowing God through Jesus Christ.
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ.
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Jesus completed the work God gave him.
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Part of this completed work was revealing God to his disciples.
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This revelation involved giving them God's words.
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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Yes - Jesus reveals the Father to us all - John 17:25-26
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“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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If you don't receive Jesus' revelation, you don't know God.
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea:
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Get to know the real God!
|
|
|
|
Determine the Purpose of the Sermon (what listeners should do)
|
|
|
|
Understand the meaning of true worship.
|
|
|
|
Know the God they're worshipping.
|
|
|
|
Worship the God they know! (later in series)
|
|
|
|
Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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|
|
|
Outline the Sermon
|
|
|
|
Standing Issues
|
|
|
|
From a word Bishop gave me:
|
|
|
|
Make sure people do something with God's message.
|
|
|
|
Make it plain:
|
|
|
|
Use accessible language.
|
|
|
|
Use modern day parables based on every day occurrences:
|
|
|
|
Sitting at a stop light
|
|
|
|
Driving through a green light
|
|
|
|
Approaching a yellow light
|
|
|
|
Being cut off in traffic
|
|
|
|
Going shopping
|
|
|
|
Going to a mall
|
|
|
|
Going to school; sitting in class
|
|
|
|
Going to work; sitting in your office;
|
|
|
|
Keep it simple.
|
|
|
|
Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
|
|
|
|
Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
|
|
|
|
Introduction
|
|
|
|
Welcome Cards -
|
|
|
|
“I want to call your attention to the Welcome Card that you were given on your way into the auditorium”
|
|
|
|
These cards do two things for us:
|
|
|
|
They help us get to know our new visitors better.
|
|
|
|
They also give anyone (visitors or members) a chance to express a need or to give us feedback.
|
|
|
|
By filling it out you will help us to better serve you.
|
|
|
|
We're going to provide time for you to complete the cards at the end of our service, but we encourage you to start filling them out now.
|
|
|
|
Please use this card:
• if you’re a first time visitor or if you’ve never filled one out before,
• to tell us about a decision you made today,
• to ask us for more information, or to give us feedback.
Please include your contact information unless we already have it. At the end of service we’ll ask you to complete the card and then place it in the designated box or give it to someone from our staff on your way out.
|
|
|
|
Transition
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|
|
Worship God in spirit and truth. - John 4:21-24
|
|
|
|
Read the Passage - John 17:1-8
|
|
|
|
|
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
|
|
|
|
Exegetical Idea: Eternal life is knowing God through Jesus Christ.
|
|
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|
Homiletical Idea: Get to know the real God!
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|
What does this mean?
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Tangent - What's God doing anyway?
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God's not trying to create a traditional earthly empire focused on external obedience.
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God is after character development.
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Two sons:
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Michael Jackson - obeyed, but feared his father
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Michael Jordan - admired and looked up to his father
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Story of little boy:
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"I may be sitting down on the outside, but I'm standing up on the inside!"
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Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ.
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|
|
|
Jesus completed the work God gave him.
|
|
|
|
Part of this completed work was revealing God to his disciples.
|
|
|
|
This revelation involved giving them God's words.
|
|
|
|
Is it True? Do I believe it?
|
|
|
|
Yes - Jesus reveals the Father to us all - John 17:25-26
|
|
|
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|
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
|
|
|
|
What difference does it make? So What?
|
|
|
|
If you don't receive Jesus' revelation, you don't know God.
|
|
|
|
Purpose of the Sermon (what listeners should do)
|
|
|
|
Understand the meaning of true worship.
|
|
|
|
Know the God they're worshipping.
|
|
|
|
Worship the God they know! (later in series)
|
|
|
|
Know the God you're worshipping.
|
|
|
|
True worship comes from a desire to know God and connect with him.
|
|
|
|
Receive God's revelation of himself.
|
|
|
|
Through his Word:
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"Your word is truth" - John 17:13-19
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The Lord proclaimed his name to Moses: Exodus 33:7 - 34:7
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Compassionate
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Gracious
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Slow to anger
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Abounding in love and faithfulness
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Maintaining love to thousands
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Forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin
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Punishing the guilty
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Punishing the children for the sins of the fathers . . .
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Rely on what God has said about himself
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Discuss with God what he has said about himself
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Pick a Bible passage and talk to God about it.
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Through Jesus
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Jesus reveals the Father: John 17:1-8; John 17:25-26
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Jesus is the exact representation of the Father: Hebrews 1:1-4
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Ask God questions
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Ask for the resources you need - Moses did!
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Mara: bitter water turned sweet - Exodus 15:22-25
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Manna and quail - Exodus 16
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Massah and Maribah: water to drink - Exodus 17:1-7
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Victory over the Amalekites: Exodus 17:8-13
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Ask for the revelation you need - Moses did!
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Ask for a deeper relationship - Moses did!
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Connecting with God will transform you! - Exodus 34:27-35
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Worship the God you know! (for next week)
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Conclusion
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What will you do today to know God better?
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What Bible passage will you study to understand God better?
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What Bible passage will you talk to God about?
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How much time will you spend in God's presence today?
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How much time will you spend in God's presence tomorrow?
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How much time will you spend in God's presence this week?
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New Material
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Preparation
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Expository Preaching
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Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through the preacher, applies to the hearers.
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Select the Passage
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Study the Passage
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|
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|
NIV
|
|
|
|
Hebrew Study Bible
|
|
|
|
KJV
|
|
|
|
The Message
|
|
|
|
NASB
|
|
|
|
RSV
|
|
|
|
Discover the Exegetical Idea
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Subject
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Tools: How, Who, What, When, Where, Why
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Complement
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
|
|
|
|
Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
|
|
|
|
Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
|
|
|
|
Formulate the Homiletical Idea
|
|
|
|
Determine the Purpose of the Sermon
|
|
|
|
Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
|
|
|
|
Make it plain
|
|
|
|
Use accessible language and modern parables.
|
|
|
|
Make sure people do something with God's message.
|
|
|
|
Keep it simple.
|
|
|
|
Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
|
|
|
|
Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
|
|
|
|
Outline the Sermon
|
|
|
|
Misc
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General
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Use examples that appeal to men.
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Make the Life Church Basic Training project-oriented - give everyone a ministry project.
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http://home.regent.edu/ruthven/2Worlds.htm
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You learn a lot about a person's spiritual maturity by how they respond to a rebuke.
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Always impart faith along with with the purpose of the sermon - Heb 4:2
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Develop a confession of faith regarding talking to God
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I can talk to God and he talks to me.
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I don't have to know how God is guiding me. I just need to trust his Word that he is guiding me.
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Not many fathers - 1Cor 4:6-17
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Fathers must influence.
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In search of a father.
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Don’t waste discipleship opportunities.
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Give people a way to demonstrate their hunger (as a qualification for discipleship).
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Faith comes by hearing - Romans 10:17
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What we must do at Life Church:
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Make it easy for people to connect to us.
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Make it easy for people to stay with us.
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Make it easy for people to grow with us.
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Make it easy for people to serve with us.
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Vision
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Key words: revolutionary, movement, life, vitality, love, power, transformation, river, families, networks, communities, world
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Our vision is based on the vision of the River of Life found in Ezekiel 47:1-12 and Revelation 22:1-2. It is a vision of a revolutionary movement:
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whose people relate to God on his own terms by following his Son, Jesus christ,
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whose people are known far and wide for living fruitful lives that nourish and heal their families, networks, and communities,
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that seeks and welcomes unchurched people who have been transformed by God's life and power into new followers of Jesus.
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Mission
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Our mission is to develop mature followers of Jesus Christ who love God with everything they've got, genuinely love their neighbors, and take the lead in expanding God's Kingdom in the world around them.
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Prep congregation for unchurched
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This Day In Black History: . . .
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Music
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Everything Is On The One - Parliament/Funkadelic
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Keep Their Heads Ringing - Dr. Dre
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Today Was A Good Day - Ice Cube
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My Mind Playin' Tricks On Me - Getto Boys
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Cosmic Slop - Funkadelic
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Let Me Clear My Throat - DJ Kool Feat. Biz Markie & Doug E. Fresh
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Specific
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Teach men what to do with their strength. Pimp or Papa?
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Structure the service to fight consumerism. Make sure that everyone has a way to contribute to the service (i.e. setting up, cleaning up, etc.)
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Prayer Teaching:
I’ve got so much to do today - I need to pray (Martin Luther?)
We need God’s help in our day to day lives:
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“Luck” management
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Character management
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I need God’s Word to live.
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Start every day with a Word from God. - Matthew 4:4
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Give God The Real Thing! (Part 3)
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Raw Material
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Give saints a list of helpful passages to meditate on. (This should not be on “autopilot”, but rather so that they can successfully continue their connection with the Father).
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Prayer Obstacles - what do I do about these?
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Anxiety - restless thoughts
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Meditate on suitable passages: 1John 4:4; Phil 4:6-7; 1Pet 5:7
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PRAY EARLY!!!
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Write a blog entry on James Ryles’ definition of grace.
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The empowering presence of God that enables you to be who he has called you to be and to do what he has called you to do
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Preparation - 2Corinthians 3
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Select the Passage - 2Corinthians 3
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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We are under a new covenant that gives life and whose glory doesn't fade.
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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God has made us servants of this new Covenant.
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The old covenant:
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is of the "letter"
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brings death
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has a glory that fades
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The new covenant:
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is of "the Spirit"
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brings life
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has a glory that doesn't fade
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The Spirit brings freedom.
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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Hebrews 8
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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Moses exposed his face to God but hid it from the people.
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We expose our faces to God and to one another.
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Unbelievers can't see that the glory of the old covenant is fading.
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Believers go from glory to glory, so they don't have to hide.
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You have to spend time with God to get the glow.
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Some of us need help connecting with God, but we wear a mask so no one will know.
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea:
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Give God The Real Thing - Take The Mask Off!
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Determine the Purpose of the Sermon (what listeners should do)
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Understand the meaning of true worship.
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Know the God they're worshipping.
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Worship the God they know! (later in series)
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Outline the Sermon
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Standing Issues
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From a word Bishop gave me:
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Make sure people do something with God's message.
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Make it plain:
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Use accessible language.
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Use modern day parables based on every day occurrences:
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Sitting at a stop light
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Driving through a green light
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Approaching a yellow light
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Being cut off in traffic
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Going shopping
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Going to a mall
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Going to school; sitting in class
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Going to work; sitting in your office;
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Keep it simple.
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Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
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Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
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Introduction
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Welcome Cards -
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“I want to call your attention to the Welcome Card that you were given on your way into the auditorium”
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These cards do two things for us:
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They help us get to know our new visitors better.
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They also give anyone (visitors or members) a chance to express a need or to give us feedback.
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By filling it out you will help us to better serve you.
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We're going to provide time for you to complete the cards at the end of our service, but we encourage you to start filling them out now.
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Please use this card:
• if you’re a first time visitor or if you’ve never filled one out before,
• to tell us about a decision you made today,
• to ask us for more information, or to give us feedback.
Please include your contact information unless we already have it. At the end of service we’ll ask you to complete the card and then place it in the designated box or give it to someone from our staff on your way out.
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Transition
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Read the Passage - 2Corinthians 3
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Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
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Exegetical Idea:
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We are under a new covenant that gives life and whose glory doesn't fade.
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Homiletical Idea: Give God The Real Thing - Take The Mask Off!
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What does this mean?
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God has made us servants of this new Covenant.
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The old covenant:
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is of the "letter"
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brings death
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has a glory that fades
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The new covenant:
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is of "the Spirit"
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brings life
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has a glory that doesn't fade
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The Spirit brings freedom.
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Is it True? Do I believe it?
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Hebrews 8
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What difference does it make? So What?
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Moses exposed his face to God but hid it from the people.
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We expose our faces to God and to one another.
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Unbelievers can't see that the glory of the old covenant is fading.
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Believers go from glory to glory, so they don't have to hide.
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You have to spend time with God to get the glow.
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Some of us need help connecting with God, but we wear a mask so no one will know.
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea:
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Give God The Real Thing - Take The Mask Off!
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Purpose of the Sermon (what listeners should do)
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Understand the meaning of true worship.
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Know the God they're worshipping.
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Worship the God they know! (later in series)
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Know the God you're worshipping.
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Let go of the old covenant:
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Trying to earn God's favor by obeying rules.
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Avoiding God because you're life isn't together yet.
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Embrace the new covenant:
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Coming to God just as you are.
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Trusting God to transform your life.
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Exercise your new covenant rights - spend quality time with God!
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Worship the God you know! (later in series)
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Conclusion
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Are you a letter from Christ?
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How much time does God get to write on your heart?
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Altar Call / Welcome Cards / Communion ?
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Welcome Cards - refer to script
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We're almost ready to close this portion of our service, but first we want to give you a chance to respond to what you've heard.
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Earlier in the service we mentioned the welcome cards and we encouraged you to begin filling them out.
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Right now we want you to complete your welcome card. We especially want you to use this card if:
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if you’re a first time visitor
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if you’ve never filled one out before,
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if you want to tell us about a decision you made today,
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if you want to ask us for more information, or to give us feedback.
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Please be sure to include your up to date contact information unless we already have it.
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MC & Worship Team continue with tithes, offerings, and worship
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Benediction - Numbers 6:24-26
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“‘“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’
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Men's Prayer
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Life Group Material
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Life Group Word Material
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These are sample discussion questions / topics. Your life group leaders may choose to adjust these questions, substitute new ones, or spend the Word section of the meeting in a different way altogether.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
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Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
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Discussion Questions / Topics:
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The LORD proclaimed his name and many of his attributes to Moses (e.g. compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, etc.). How do you rely on those attributes when you approach God in prayer?
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2Corinthians 3 (Key Passage)
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Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
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Discussion Questions / Topics:
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Being in God's presence changed Moses. Has spending time with God changed you? Discuss.
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What do you think would happen if you spent more time in prayer?
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Moses didn't want people to see that the glory on his face was fading. Can you relate to this? Discuss.
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Many of the Jews of Paul's day were unable to see that the glory of the old covenant had faded. How about you? Are you relating to God in more of an old covenant way or a new covenant way?
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Paul wrote ". . . we are very bold . . .". Are you bold enough to take "the veil" (i.e. the mask) off?
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Life Group Witnessing Activities
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Key Passage - John 4:21-24
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Activities
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Spend some time worshipping God together.
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Scriptures For 07/25/2010 Life Church Sermon
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
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John 4:21-24 (read John 4:1-42 for context)
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Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
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Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
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Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant — the Ten Commandments.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.
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2Corinthians 3 (Key Passage)
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Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
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After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
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The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.
Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Here, for your convenience, are the Bible passages that we will be using in today's sermon at Life Church. We use the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible so that you can read it in modern English. You may have been accustomed to reading or hearing the King James Version of the Bible, which uses older English (with words like "thee" , "thou", "thine", "believeth", etc.). If so, don't be alarmed - the passages below are really from the Bible even though they are in modern English.
The Bible was originally written in three ancient languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. None of the people in the Bible, and none of the people who God used to write it spoke English. In fact, English did not even exist as a language when the Bible was written. The King James Version, first published in 1611, was a translation of the Bible from it's original languages into the every day English that people used back then - almost 400 years ago! They didn't just speak that way in church - they spoke that way with everyone. English has certainly changed a lot since then! Since you probably don't speak Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, you're going to have to read the Bible in translated form. At Life Church we believe that since you're going to read an English translation of the Bible you might as well use an up to date one - written in the English you speak every day. God wants you to understand his Word so that you can put it into practice!
Life Church Web Site: http://www.lifechurchboston.org/
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