Appleton Gospel Church

Praying Like Jesus: Prayer is simply talking with God. But more than that, prayer is an opportunity to spend precious time in communion with and awareness of God’s presence. Jesus was constantly praying and taught his disciples how to pray. Want to learn how to pray like Jesus? Listen here. Recorded on August 28, 2022, on Matthew 6:5-15, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series “The Unexpected Way,” from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique; it’s different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus, which means that all year, we’ll basically be answering the question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” For the past two months, we’ve been working through a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount in a sermon series called, The Unexpected Way. And we’ve said that the teaching of Jesus leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. But it’s a different way from the other philosophies or religions of the world; it’s counterintuitive, it’s the unexpected way. Last week, we started a new section of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus turns his attention to religious works and the potential trap of these things. He teaches that there’s a way to be religious without it having anything to do with God, and he gives three examples in giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting. Last week we started this section by considering how serving the poor can really turn into serving ourselves if we’re not careful. Today, our focus is on Jesus’ example of prayer. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Matthew 6:5. Instead of reading the whole passage first, we’ll read and unpack this in two parts. So part one:

Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV), “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Let’s pause here. Now, I’m not going to spend as much time on this section because this is very similar to our passage from last week. Last week, I said that Mt 6:1 was really the thesis statement for this section of teaching. There, Jesus said, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.” This is a warning for us not to try and do good works, religious works even, in order to be seen by others. Giving to the needy was the first example of this kind of twisted religious behavior, and now here he moves on to prayer. But again, just like last week, I don’t believe Jesus is saying we should never pray publicly. And I don’t believe Jesus is saying we should never spend long hours, at times, in prayer, which would presumably use many words. First, we must remember the example of Jesus. On a number of occasions, Jesus prayed both publicly and often at great length. And second, remember the context. If verse 1 is the thesis, then this teaching is just another example of doing a religious work, that is, prayer, for self-serving,

Serving Those in Need: You can't read the Bible and miss God's heart for the poor. It's no surprise then that the way of Jesus would include the responsibility to give to and serve those in need. However, Jesus warns his disciples that there's a way of doing good works, even religious works, which is spiritually dangerous for those who are trying to help. How can we meet needs with both wisdom and generosity without falling into this trap? Listen here. Recorded on August 21, 2022, on Matthew 6:1-4, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique; it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus, which means that all year, we’ll basically be answering the question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” For the past two months, we’ve been working through a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount in a sermon series called, The Unexpected Way. And we’ve said that the teaching of Jesus leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic, but it’s a different way from the other philosophies or religions of the world. It’s counterintuitive, it sometimes seems upside-down. It’s the unexpected way. For the past few weeks, we’ve considered a number of examples of Jesus for how the moral law goes way deeper than what it allows or prohibits. It goes all the way down to the heart level and has underlying principles for how God intends for us to live. And it’s been hard teaching! This is serious stuff. But it’s so good. In each case, we saw both a beautiful vision for the type of people and society that we would enjoy if we actually lived like this, but also our desperate need for God because of how often we fail to live like this. Today, and for the next few weeks, Jesus turns the focus from morality and what it truly means to do right and wrong to religion or religious practice. Today, we’ll consider the giving of alms (charity) or more simply, serving those in need. Almost every culture and religion says this is a good idea, and it is! But Jesus gives us some unique insight into how this can become a trap for us if we aren’t careful. In fact, there’s a way to be religious without it having anything to do with God. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Matthew 6:1. We’ll read through this and unpack it together.

Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV), “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

So again, for the past month or so, we’ve seen again and again that being righteous or being a good person is much harder than it first seems. And this is because God wants us to follow his way whole-heartedly, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It turns out this is true for not only the way we treat other people, as we saw in our commitment to value/love them,

Loving Your Enemy: Interacting with people is hard, even with those you are closest to. Nearly everyone would agree that you should be loving and kind towards others, but this is often applied only to those who are like us or fall within our group. But what about those who are different than us, those with a different nationality, belief system, or political dogma? Jesus teaches that we should love not only those who are annoying, inconvenient, or who hurt our pride but those who are actively opposed to us as well... those we classify as our enemies. Recorded on August 14, 2022, on Matthew 5:38-48, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique; it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus, which means that all year, we’ll basically be answering the question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” To start, we’ve been working through a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount in a sermon series called, The Unexpected Way. And we’ve said that the teaching of Jesus leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic which is not at all what we’d expect. The way of Jesus is a different way from the other philosophies or religions of the world. But, if it’s actually put into practice, the way of Jesus leads to a life of love/joy/peace. For the past few weeks, Jesus has been teaching us what it really means to be a good person, for us to really live the life that God intended for human beings to live. And let me just take a quick survey today, do we think this has been easy teaching or hard teaching? Very hard teaching. Today, we have one more example from Jesus of the type of righteousness that he requires of his disciples, and it’s maybe the hardest one yet. Are you ready for this? Are you sure? If you have a Bible/app, please open it to Matthew 5:38. We’ll read through this and unpack it together.

Matthew 5:38-48 (NIV), “38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’  39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor  and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Again, just like the last three weeks, Jesus shows us that the OT Law has underlying principles that go way beyond what the Law allows or prohibits. But these underlying principles, rooted in God’s character, are how God intends for human beings to actually live. In this case, how we are to respond, not just to people who like us or are like us,

Let Me Be Honest: People today have a complicated relationship with the truth. We feel that certain things are universally true but may actually be preferences or opinions. Other times we bend the truth to get out of commitments. Still other times we know that the information presented or shared online isn't true. All these things undermine our ability to trust one another. The way of Jesus calls us to not only speak truthfully, even when it's costly, but also to be men and women of our word. Recorded on August 7, 2022, on Matthew 5:33-37, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique; it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus, which means basically all year, we’ll be answering the big question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” To start, we’ve been working through a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount in a sermon series called, The Unexpected Way. The teaching of Jesus leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic which is totally unique. The way of Jesus is a different way from the other philosophies or religions in history and, if it’s actually put into practice, leads to a life of love/joy/peace. For the past few weeks, Jesus has been teaching us that the heart of God goes way beyond the Law because the Law is rooted in the goodness/wisdom/love of who God is. In our ability to value other people or in our faithful love in marriage, again and again, Jesus refuses to shrink the requirements of the moral law. Instead, he raises the bar far higher than we would expect. Today, we have another example of this high standard relating to our commitment to speak the truth and be men and women of our word. Is this not such a needed teaching for our world today? Before we jump into this, let’s think about the world we live in. We live in a culture that doesn’t believe in truth, at least not in the absolute/universal sense. Whether you look at our politics/education/art/media, if you pay attention to the stories we tell or read the news, it’s clear we’re becoming more and more secular. A secular life doesn’t have a view of God. It could be you don’t believe in God, or perhaps you do believe in God but it doesn’t have any impact on your life. And if there is no God who is transcendent over all, then there is no objective truth that is over all. So what are we left with? We’re left with only facts and opinions. We’re left with scientific facts that may very well be replaced, and often are replaced, by further scientific inquiry. What is a fact today may not be a fact tomorrow. Also, there’s a well-documented history of confirmation bias. Of course, this is a problem for everyone, but also in science, of only looking for evidence that supports our existing beliefs. Stories of confirmation bias undermine our ability to trust the facts. Now I am certainly not anti-science, but many people have the feeling that so-called facts change, that what is presented as true will change over time. Beyond facts, in a secular society, everything else is just an opinion. With no God, with no objective truth, there can be no higher law, no objective right and wrong, no real good or real evil. Of course, no one actually lives like this is fully true. Even the most secular people still believe that cops ought to come if their house if it’s being robbed,

How to Stay Married: If people matter so much to God, it only makes sense that God would care about how we treat one another in marriage. But this is a broken world. And sometimes, the most difficult people to love is the person you promised to love no matter what. So how do we do this? How do we stay married (if we’re married) or think about marriage if, one day, we might get married? And how does this relate to being single? Recorded on July 31, 2022, on Matthew 5:27-32, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique; it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus, which means basically all year, we’ll be answering the big question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” To start, we’ve been working through a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount in a sermon series called, The Unexpected Way. The teaching of Jesus leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. But this way of life is really unique. The way of Jesus is just a radically different way from every other philosophy or religion in the world. Last week, we considered the value of human life and the key Biblical principle that people matter to God. And we saw that if people matter to God, then of course people should matter to us as well. But if this is how God cares for us, then the way we think about others and the way we treat others would really matter to God. Jesus dramatically raises the bar for us, saying that how we treat other people actually matters more to God than even our worship of him. We said that this was the first of six examples that Jesus gives about what it really means to be a good person. Today, we’ll consider the second and third examples of Jesus in the area of marriage and divorce. And this is only a logical extension of the principle from last week. If people matter so much to God, it only makes sense that God would care a great deal about how we treat one another in marriage. But this is a broken world. And sometimes, the most difficult people to love are the people you promised to love no matter what (for better/worse, for richer/poorer, in sickness/health). So how do we do this? How do we, as followers of Jesus, stay married (if we’re married) or at least think about marriage if, one day, we might get married? And how does this relate to being single? There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s jump in. If you have a Bible/app, please open it to Matthew 5:27.

Matthew 5:27-32 (NIV), “27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. 31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’  32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Again, just like last week,

People Matter to God: What kind of person, family, or society does God want? What would the world, or our lives, look like if they truly reflected the Kingdom of Heaven? We'll consider four examples from the Sermon on the Mount. First, we would have a much higher value for human life. Why? Because people matter to God. All people. For followers of Jesus, this has huge implications for our attitude toward and treatment of others. Recorded on July 24, 2022, on Matthew 5:21-26, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique; it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

This month, we started our new annual theme for our preaching ministry, which is Learning the way of Jesus. The whole year, we’ll be answering this big question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” And we’ve said that the answer is rooted in learning a new way of life, which is the way of Jesus. To start, we’ve been working through a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount in a sermon series called, The Unexpected Way. The way of Jesus is just a radically different way from every other philosophy or religion — and it’s not at all what you’d expect. But the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. And this ancient ethic, if actually practiced, can bring a life of love/joy/peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way. Last week, we considered what it means to be a good person, and we saw that only the goodness/righteousness of Christ leads to our salvation. Not one of us has earned our way into the kingdom of heaven. But then, for the Christian, if the gospel is true, we’re called to live our lives in a way that is good/right/true. So, what do you think this type of life looks like? Today, and for the next few weeks, we’ll consider six examples of this type of life; or six examples of how life should work in God’s kingdom. First up, Jesus teaches on the value of human life, but Jesus goes far beyond anything we’d expect. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Matthew 5:21. We’ll read through this first and then unpack it together.

Matthew 5:21-26 (NIV), “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

As I mentioned, this is the first of six examples of the righteousness required by God; in other words, this is what it takes to actually be a good person.

Being a Good Person: Many people think that being a Christian is synonymous with being a good person. But Jesus teaches that we will not enter Heaven unless our righteousness exceeds the best, most righteous people we know. How, then, can we achieve the righteousness required by God to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Recorded on July 17, 2022, on Matthew 5, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique, it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

For the past few weeks, we’ve been working on our new annual theme for our preaching ministry, which is Learning the way of Jesus. So, for the next year (and really for the rest of our lives), we’ll be asking the question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” And we’ve said that the answer is rooted in learning a new way of life, the way of Jesus. To kick off this new theme, we started our first sermon series exploring a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount. And we’re calling this series The Unexpected Way because the way of Jesus is radically different from every other philosophy or religion, every other way, and it’s not at all what we’d expect. The reason is that the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way. So far, we’ve considered how to have a life of blessing and also how Christians should relate to the world. Today, we’ll be considering what it means to be a good person. I think many people in our culture think that being a Christian means simply being a decent, kind, helpful human being — being a good person. But what does it mean to be a good person when “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”? If the gospel is true, what does it mean to be a good person? As is so often the case, the way of Jesus is not at all what we’d expect. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Matthew 5:17.

Matthew 5:17–20 (NIV), “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Ok, so this short passage has a lot of stuff to unpack. Let’s start again with v. 17.

Matthew 5:17 (NIV), “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Let’s pause here. There are so many things to say about this one short verse, but today I’ll just give you three. First, “do not think.” Jesus wants to make sure his disciples have the right way of thinking. Thinking about what? About why Jesus came,

Being Salt and Light: How should Christians relate to the world? Should we avoid it altogether, or live fully immersed in it, looking no different than the culture around us? In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes his followers as the salt and the light of the world- two things that are useless if kept separate from the world around them, but are also capable of bringing incredible change to it. Recorded on July 10, 2022, on Matthew 5, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique, it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

Last week, we started the new annual theme for our preaching ministry of Learning the way of Jesus. And we said that for the next year, basically, we’ll be seeking to answer the question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” And we said that the answer is rooted in learning a new way of life, the way of Jesus. Before anyone was called a Christian, they were called followers of The Way because they followed the way of Jesus. To kick off this new theme, we started our first sermon series exploring a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount. And we’re calling this series The Unexpected Way because what we’ll see in this series is that the way of Jesus is radically different from every other philosophy or religion that has ever existed. It’s not at all what we’d expect. And the reason is because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way. Last week, we started this series by considering the passage known as the Beatitudes which showed us 8 unexpected blessings in the way of Jesus. These blessings reveal just how different the values of the kingdom of God are compared to the ways of the world. If you missed that message, you can always go back and watch or listen online. Today, we’ll seek to answer the big question, “How should Christians relate to the world?” For 2000 years, Christians have wrestled with how close or how far away they should be from people who are not trying to follow the way of Jesus and the various systems/organizations they create/maintain. At one extreme end, some Christians have thought we must completely withdraw/separate from the world. Do not engage, don’t try to change things, just try and find a place where you can practice your faith in peace. Why? Because the world is evil and will corrupt you if you aren’t careful. How should we relate to the world? Avoid it! On the other extreme, other Christians have thought that there’s virtually no difference between Christians and non-Christians and that the ways of the world, including our cultural values/ideas/practices, are totally acceptable and good. Of course, not everything is perfect, but just think of all the things in the world which are good and beautiful or are just cool. Don’t you want to be part of that? How should we relate to the world? Accept it! But do either of these extremes line up with the teaching of Jesus? If the gospel is true, how should Christians relate to the world? Avoidance? Acceptance? Something else? As is so often the case, the way of Jesus is not at all what we’d expect. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Matthew 5:13.

Learning the (Unexpected) Way of Jesus: Before anyone was known as a Christian, Jesus' early followers were called "The Way." Why? Because they followed the way of Jesus, which is radically different from every other philosophy or religion throughout the history of time. Today, we look at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, which shows eight unexpected ways to live that result in a life of blessing. Recorded on July 3, 2022, on Matthew 5, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique, it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

So today is the first sermon in our brand new annual theme of Learning the way of Jesus. For the last two years, we’ve focused primarily on the story of who God is, what God has done, and what God is doing through his Son and Spirit. This story is what Christians call the gospel. For the next year, we’ll be asking the question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” As Christians, we never graduate from the gospel, but if the gospel is true, then it has huge implications for the rest of our lives. So if the gospel is true, how then should we live? Well, the answer is rooted in learning a new way of life, which is the way of Jesus. Before anyone was called a Christian, they were known as The Way, because they followed the way of Jesus. And that’s what every sermon series in this annual theme will be about, learning the way of Jesus. Because if the gospel is true, and Jesus is truly the Lord and Savior of our lives, if Jesus is truly the Son of God who died on the cross and rose from the dead, then we must at least listen to him. But if Jesus isn’t who he claimed to be, if the gospel isn’t true, then none of this matters. We’ll start our first sermon series called The Unexpected Way, by exploring a very famous teaching of Jesus which is known as the Sermon on the Mount. What we’ll see in this series is that the way of Jesus is radically different from every other philosophy or religion that has ever existed. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way. However, when you dig into the way of Jesus, you find something surprising. At every turn, it’s not what you would expect. It’s truly The Unexpected Way. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Matthew 5:1.

Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV), “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad,

Sovereign Over Salvation: It's hard to understand the mercy and salvation God offers to those who are far from him, even while enjoying the mercy we have received. In Jonah 4, we see that God doesn't offer salvation because people are righteous, but because he cares about them. Will we join God in proclaiming good news which saves the lives that matter to God? Or will we run from it, like Jonah? Recorded on June 26, 2022, on Jonah 4, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our "Sovereign to Save" sermon series from the book of Jonah in the Bible. Jonah's story is well-known both in and outside the church for his encounter with the great fish. But Jonah is really about the incredible heart of a sovereign God to save even his enemies.

Sermon Transcript

Today is the last sermon in our annual theme of The Greatness of God. Over the past year, I hope your view of God has grown to the point where God is high and lifted up in your mind, imagination, and experience in life. When we see God in this way, we’re able to live in light of reality (which is always the best way to live), but also, so many other things, which often make us angry or afraid, are seen in the right perspective and our lives gain more stability/peace/hope. Well, today we’re coming to the end of Jonah’s story. And we’ve said, the basic story of Jonah is well-known in and outside the church. But when you dig into what it actually says, you find it’s not really a story about a whale or even about Jonah. But rather, Jonah is about a God who is sovereign, with divine power/authority over all. So far, we’ve seen that God is sovereign over his creation, over life and death, over the times when we’re struggling in the deep, and last week, that God is sovereign over the nations, including both Israel and Assyria, both Jonah and the people of Nineveh. Today, we’ll wrap up this story by seeing that the reason that the sovereignty of God is good news is because our God is sovereign to save. He uses all of his divine power/authority to bring about salvation. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Jonah 4.

Jonah 4:1-11 (NIV), “1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” 10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

If you haven’t been with us, let me give you a quick recap. About 2,800 years ago,