To know Jesus is to know grace because Jesus was 1) Full of Grace and Truth, 2) The Giver of Grace Upon Grace, and 3) The Revealer of Who God Really Is. In this lesson, the listener should understand that grace comes from and through Jesus Christ because he is the incarnation of grace itself. I hope that with this sermon I can help us be a more gracious people.
Mary magnifies the Lord for 1) Choosing Her to Serve as a Mother, 2) Showing Mercy to Those who Fear the Lord, and 3) Helping His Servant Israel. The hearer should understand that God uses those who fear Him for the greatest service. Each person should understand that God’s choice of Mary to be the mother of Jesus demonstrated God’s purposes, not man’s.
Where would we be without mothers?! They are to be honored and cherished as we seek to live according to God’s holy command. Jesus loved His mother and cherished her so much that while he was writhing in pain on the cross, He mustered the strength to ask the apostle John to take care of her after His death. He believed in the fifth commandment, honor your father and mother, and did not let His pain prevent Him from doing that.
The subject of forgiveness is a great and wonderful study in the Bible. All mankind stands in need of God's forgiveness and the only way through which mankind can have forgiveness is through the blood of Christ (Matthew 26:28). We contact that blood when we are baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-11) and we are continually cleansed by that blood as we walk in the light (1 John 1:7). The forgiveness that God extends to man is conditional upon being washed in the blood of the lamb. This means that we must come to God for forgiveness, and after baptism, when we sin, we confess our sin to God and ask Him for forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
The metaphors of the Bible show us that God speaks to us in terms that we can understand. We understand the relationship between a father and daughter. In doing so, we learn a little more about God and who He is. The Bible uses this type of accommodative language frequently—language that uses examples that we can understand so God may teach us. This is one of the reasons why Jesus spoke in parables. God makes every effort on his part to try to communicate with us in ways that we can understand.
The bride is blessed with the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit 1) Inspired the Gospel which the Bride Believed, 2) Indwells the Bride, and 3) Seals the Bride and Guarantees Her Inheritance. Each Christian should understand how they are blessed by the Holy Spirit. Each Christian should desire to be blessed by the Holy Spirit.
There is something much worse than being a super-spreader of a virus: being a super-spreader of sin. One spreads sin by committing sin and teaching others to do so (Deuteronomy 20:18). Others see the sin and want to commit sin too (Galatians 5:9).
Without God, 1) No Morality, 2) No Knowledge, 3) No Confidence, 4) No Hope. Each person should understand what is lacking without God from Psalm 14.
To pursue treasure, we must have a 1) Place, 2) Map, 3) Leader. Each person should understand where our treasure is, how to get it, and who to follow.
In Psalm 11:3, David reiterates a question his advisers were asking him, “If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” This psalm was written prior to Absalom’s rebellion while he was building power. David’s advisors were worried that Absalom was eroding David’s popularity and support among the people. They were right! David’s responded in Psalm 11:4-5, “The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.”
This lesson set forth the fundamental things we must do to be faithful, namely 1) Attend the services; 2) study the Bible; 3) imitate the Christ. It is my aim to impress upon each person the church’s need for him or her to be faithful by doing these three things!
The consequences of salvation by faith and not by works of law is: 1) Great Sorrow, 2) The True Children of God, 3) God is still Righteous, 4) Faith is the Path to Righteousness. Each person will come to understand that salvation is by faith, not “the law of righteousness.” Righteousness by faith saves, but “the law of righteousness” cannot save.
Like the coffee bean, we may need to crack and be boiled a few times before we are ready to serve. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David all cracked, but God used their cracks to brew up some amazing service. For the Christian, God will send trials his way too. When we undergo these tests, our hard heartedness is cracked and broken so that God may live deeper in our lives. Christians are boiled through fiery trials that test our faith (1 Peter 4:12).
All of these prophecies being fulfilled in this one scene was a proclamation to everyone that Jesus was the Messiah. There were many who welcomed Him as such as He rode into Jerusalem.
A prophecy could be any word from God, but we have come to understand the word specifically as applying to events in the future. The prophets of the Bible often prophesied of current events often calling attention to the sins of the people and telling them to repent. Nathan prophesied to David that he had murdered Uriah so that he could commit adultery with Bathsheba, an event that was in the past (2 Samuel 12).
The Bride is blessed with a great inheritance and having that inheritance means 1) Hope, 2) Security, 3) Rest, and 4) Home. Each Christian should understand that only the bride has the blessings afforded to her and hope of eternal inheritance. Each person should understand the great blessing of inheritance that the Christian has.
The Gospel is simple. God gave his word in an easy-to-understand way so that everyone could do it. Paul wrote, “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Ephesians 3:3,4). If we read what Paul wrote, we can understand what he understood. Why do not more people understand and obey the gospel if it is so simple? Pride blinds them against the simple truth! God made it simple “That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:29).
God has always demanded holiness of those who would approach Him. The reason is clear--He is holy. Thus, those who would come into His presence and have fellowship with Him must be holy (Heb. 12:14; Rev. 21:27; 1 John 1:6-10). The apostle Peter penned these words: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15-16).
The song “This is My Father’s World” teaches us that 1) God is the Creator, 2) God is Glorified, and 3) God is in Control. Each person will be able to explain what the song teaches about God.
You will not follow a crowd to do evil because 1) The crowd does not define what is right and wrong, 2) Evil is always wrong no matter how many people do it, 3) Running with the crowd will change you into who they want you to be. Each person should understand why it is important to avoid following a crowd to do evil and to help each Christian develop integrity so that he will stand for what is right.