Emmanuel Presbyterian Church

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord

Isaiah 6:1-13  (ESV)
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Make the heart of this people dull,
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
    without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
    and the land is a desolate waste,
12 and the Lord removes people far away,
    and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 And though a tenth remain in it,
    it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
    whose stump remains
    when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump.

Sermon Outline
God has made a way for us to turn to him and be healed.

1. Terrified

• v1 “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne”

• v3  said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts”

• v4  “the foundations of the thresholds shook… the house was filled with smoke”

• v5  “And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips’”

2. Purified

• v2 “Above him stood the seraphim”

• vv6-7  “a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth…”

• v10  “lest they… turn and be healed”

3. Magnified

• v8  “who will go for us?”

• v13  “The holy seed is its stump”

• v7 “your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for”

• v3 “the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Prayer of Confession
Our holy God, we are by nature an unclean people.  There is sin deep within us too painful to acknowledge.  There are many ways our hearts are hardened to you.  We admit impure thoughts and actions.  We would be lost apart from your mercy.  Forgive us.  We thank you that Jesus atoned for our sins to remove our guilt.  We pray for the sanctifying work of the Spirit to cleanse us from sin and produce holiness in us.  Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. How do you understand the word “holy”?  What does it mean?  Do you find holiness attractive and desirable?

2. What are your fears about God? 

3. What insecurities do you have that cause you to keep God at a distance?  Which are keeping you from engaging more deeply with Christians?

4. Can God forgive without someone doing something to make things right?  Why is atonement important for understanding how forgiveness is possible for us?

5. How does Jesus’ death on the cross remove the guilt of our sin?

6. Do you believe that if your faith is in Jesus God will not reject or judge you?  Why?

7. Why is sanctification important?  Why is it necessary to be cleansed from sin?

8. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in our sanctification?  How are sinners made holy?

9. What expectations do you have for growth and progress in holiness?  What will you need?

10. How does Jesus help people get through periods when they feel unworthy and hopeless?

Read Ahead

Isaiah Sermon Series

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord

Isaiah 5:1-7  (ESV)
1 Let me sing for my beloved
    my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
    on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,
    and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
    and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes,
    but it yielded wild grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
    and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard,
    that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
    why did it yield wild grapes?

5 And now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
    and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
    and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste;
    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
    that they rain no rain upon it.

7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
    is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
    are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
    but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness,
    but behold, an outcry!

Sermon Outline
Looking at ourselves from God’s perspective clarifies our need and helps us turn to God for life.

1. Where are you putting down roots?

• v4  What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? (vv1-2)

2. What do you observe being produced?

• v2  …but it yielded wild grapes

• v7  he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!

• v5  now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard

3. How can you change?

• v1  Let me sing for my beloved

Prayer of Confession
Our wise and patient Father, we appeal to you for mercy.  We are guilty of idolatry.  We have tried to get life, meaning and satisfaction in things that have produced bad fruit in our lives.  We have ignored the signs of how unhealthy we are.  We cannot claim to be righteous or just.  Forgive every sin.  We turn to you, the only source of life.  Please do not hand us over to our sinful desires to reap the rotten fruit of our selfish arrogance.  Nourish us with your love and grace so that the life of Christ is in us, producing fruit consistent with repentance.  Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. How can we gain God’s perspective?  How do we learn what God sees, wants, is doing, etc.?

2. What mistakes will we make when we judge everything based on our own experiences and personal understanding?  How are we prone to misunderstanding our lives and our world?  How are we prone to misunderstanding God?

3. What happens if we take for granted all that God has provided for us?

4. How do you try to find life in the world?  What do you seek after, devote yourself to, or are drawn to for fulfillment?

5. Why do we act in ways that harm others?

6. Why is it so hard to change bad behaviors?

7. How is union with Christ a way of understanding the whole of the Christian life?

8. Why is it crucial to receive the love of Christ on an on-going basis?  How can you remain aware of Christ’s love?

9. How can love for Christ shape the whole of your life?

Read Ahead

Isaiah Sermon Series

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord

Isaiah 2:1-5  (ESV)
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3     and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore.

5 O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
    in the light of the Lord.

Sermon Outline
What is God showing us that will completely change how we live?

• v1 “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw...”

• v2 “It shall come to pass in the latter days…”

1. Reimagining Greatness

• v2 “the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains”

2. Revisiting What Is Possible

• v3  “For out of Zion shall go forth… the word of the Lord…”

• vv2-3 “… many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord… that we may walk in his paths.”

• v4  “they shall beat their swords into plowshares… nation shall not lift up sword against nation...”

3. The End of the Path We Walk

• v5  “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

Prayer of Confession
Sovereign Lord: have mercy on us. We have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have magnified insignificant things, coveting and fighting over what is of little value. We have not trusted you because we have let our imaginations define what is possible. We have grasped weapons and ways that produce death. We confess our fears, resentment, pride, greed, and every other force for destruction within us. We long for real peace. Forgive us. Light the way before us and lead us forward. Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. Have you ever seen a picture and thought “I want to be there?”  Reflect on that experience.  What did you do, what could you have done, or what should you have done?

2. What are the biggest, most important things in your life?  What are you working towards?  What will you make sacrifices for?  What do you think will satisfy you if you attain it?

3. Why are the things Jesus talks about and directs us towards not attractive to most people (or are they)?

4. What promises of the Bible do you have the most trouble believing?  What seems most impossible?  Why do you have trouble with those things?

5. How can a picture of where things are headed help you make choices in the present?  What in the picture Isaiah presents of future days can make a difference in what you are doing now?

6. Is it ever too late to get yourself on the path of God?  What keeps you from going even if you have the sense that God is inviting?

7. Why is Jesus essential to making it possible for people to get to this place Isaiah is showing us? 

8. Do you think this future heavenly vision will inspire greater engagement with the world for those who believe it, or less engagement?  Why? 

9. In the current climate (what is happening in the world right now) what does it look like to walk with God?  What ways of Christ do we need to take hold of? 

10. How can the light of God shine from you into the world?  How can our church be more of a city on a hill?

Read Ahead

Isaiah Sermon Series

We encountered some technical difficulties. There are excised gaps of about a minute at 7:00 and 24:40. The full sermon is available in audio only below.

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord

Isaiah 1:1-20  (ESV)
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
    for the Lord has spoken:
“Children have I reared and brought up,
    but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its owner,
    and the donkey its master's crib,
but Israel does not know,
    my people do not understand.”

4 Ah, sinful nation,
    a people laden with iniquity,
offspring of evildoers,
    children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
    they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
    they are utterly estranged.

5 Why will you still be struck down?
    Why will you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
    and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,
    there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
    and raw wounds;
they are not pressed out or bound up
    or softened with oil.

7 Your country lies desolate;
    your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
    foreigners devour your land;
    it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
8 And the daughter of Zion is left
    like a booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
    like a besieged city.

9 If the Lord of hosts
    had not left us a few survivors,
we should have been like Sodom,
    and become like Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the Lord,
    you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!
11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
    says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
    or of lambs, or of goats.

12 “When you come to appear before me,
    who has required of you
    this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
    incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
    I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts
    my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
    I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17     learn to do good;
seek justice,
    correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
    plead the widow's cause.

18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
    you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
    you shall be eaten by the sword;
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Sermon Outline
We are invited into a long dialogue (v18) about wonderful and difficult things - what will make this conversation productive?

1. Come to know God

• v2 “children I have reared and brought up”

• v3 “the ox knows its owner… my people do not understand”

2. Humbly accept your need

• v10 “hear the word… Sodom… Gomorrah”

• v13 “I cannot endure iniquity and your solemn assembly”

• v15 “when you spread out your hands… your hands are full of blood”

3.  See what the Lord will do for you

• v18  “though your sins are like scarlet they shall become white as snow”

• vv19-20 “if… you shall eat… but if… you shall be eaten”

Prayer of Confession
Holy God, we are assembled before you and we confess our iniquity. We admit our ignorance and foolishness. You are our true Father, but we have exposed how little we know you. We act like the community of the corrupt, not the family of God. Forgive our religious hypocrisy. Forgive every harmful action. Apart from you, we are stuck in our sin. Thank you for the promise of cleansing and forgiveness. We marvel at your grace and generosity. We look to Jesus who shed his blood to cleanse the blood on our hands. Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. If you will be going through Isaiah with Emmanuel (or at some point on your own), what expectations do you have?  What will you encounter along the way?

2. What is the difference between knowing God and knowing about God?  How does one know God?

3. When you encounter parts of the Bible where God offers correction, what is your response?  What do you feel?  What do you think?

4. Why is God’s goodness and love for us foundational for walking with God?  What happens if we are not firm in those convictions?

5. Why is it so hard for people to receive correction? 

6. How does true faith produce life change? What are the dangers of going to church or engaging with God simply to have the feelings of guilt relieved?

7. Do you believe that life with God is inherently rewarding?  Do you believe that life apart from God is inherently dangerous?

8. What questions do you have for God in response to the revelation that God is holy and you need to trust Him and walk with Him?  What do you want to know?  What do you need to learn?  What kind of help will you require?  How will you listen or watch for answers?

Speaker: Rev. Tim Chang
Sermon Series: Reformation Sunday

1 Timothy 1:15-17  (ESV)
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Sermon Outline
How do we give God alone the glory?

1. We need to see ourselves more clearly

• v. 15-16: The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. [16] But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost…

2. We need to see God more clearly

• v. 15: The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world…

• v. 15: … Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…

• v. 16: But I received mercy…

3. We need to see the world more clearly

• v. 16: But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

• v. 17: To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
Heavenly Father, we confess that we do not always give you all the glory. Too often, we seek our own glory. We do not see ourselves as the foremost of all sinners because we believe we are not as terrible as we think we are. We need rescue from the bondage of comparison. By the power of your Spirit, help us to see ourselves more clearly that while we are sinners, we are your beloved children. Help us to see you more clearly that you sent Jesus to the world not to condemn, but to save us. And may we see the world more clearly where your perfect patience is displayed. Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. What connected with you from the sermon or the passage?

2. How is possible that the Apostle can refer to himself as the greatest sinner ever?

3. Why do we compare ourselves with others and how can this lead to exhaustion?

4. How is it good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners? How is this a helpful summary of Christianity?

5. What practice of beholding splendor do you need more of?

6. How can giving God alone the glory affects our witness to the world?

7. What do you sense God calling you to do from this passage?

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Sabbath

Matthew 11:25-12:14  (ESV)
25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Sermon Outline
What kind of life has the quality of genuine rest within it?

1. The Perfectionist Trap

• 12:2, 4, 12 “lawful”

• 12:7 “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice”

2. Discerning What Is Greater

• 12:3 “have you not read what David did”; 12:5 “or have you not read in the law…”

• 12:6 “I tell you something greater than the temple is here”

• 11:27 “no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son”

• 11:25 “you have hidden these things from the wise… and revealed them to little children”

3. Good Rest Given to Us

• 11:28 “come to me… I will give you rest”

• 12:11-12 “how much more value is a man than a sheep?”

• 12:12 “So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath”

• 11:29 “rest for your souls”

Prayer of Confession
Merciful Lord, we are weary people. We have exhausted ourselves keeping rules of our own making. We have neglected love and faithfulness, exposing how little we know you. Were it not for your goodness and mercy, we would collapse under our burden of guilt. Who is like you, so generous and gracious? It is through Christ, who gave himself for us, that we come appealing for forgiveness. With childlike faith, we come at your invitation seeking rest for our souls. Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. Are rules necessary?  Why or why not?

2. What can go wrong when you are focused on rules?

3. Why does Jesus heal people on the sabbath?  What is he showing us?

4. When we read about Jesus in the Gospels, what kinds of things shape what we notice, perceive, or understand?  What influences our interpretations and how we assess Jesus?

5. What are some implications of Jesus’ claim that no one can know God the Father except through him?

6. How does Jesus give rest to people?

7. Why is rest something that is received?  Why can’t we just make ourselves rest?

8. How does insight into the mercy of God bring rest to our souls? 

9. How is goodness a quality of the Christian life?  What practices would make the Lord’s day “good” for you?

10. What would help you experience church in a way that brings deeper rest to your soul?

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Sabbath

Leviticus 23:3, Colossians 2:16-19, Revelation 1:9-11  (ESV)
3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.

Colossians 2
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

Revelation 1
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Sermon Outline
We are nourished to grow when we connect with God each week by looking up to Christ.

1. Head

• Col 2:19 “…holding fast to the head…”

• Col 2:18 “… puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind…”

2. Substance

• Col 2:17 “these are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ”

• Col 2:16 “let no one pass judgment on you… with regard to… sabbath”

3. Lord

• Rev 1:10 “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Lev 23:3 “a holy convocation”)

• Col 2:16, 18 “let no one pass judgment on you”, “let no one disqualify you”

Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, you are above all.  We humble ourselves, admitting our need of forgiveness.  We have been puffed up, thinking we are fine apart from you.  We have been prideful, striving to earn what we could never attain.  We have sought life in the shadowy things but not in the substance, Jesus Christ.  Our restless souls are mired in the mess we have made because of the sinful thoughts and actions that spring from our corrupt hearts.  We are setting our minds above, to where Christ is seated, to remember your mercy and ask again for forgiveness.  Bring rest to our weary souls, and nourish us for the growth that comes from you alone.  Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. What nourishes your soul?  As you look back, what has helped you grow?

2. Why is Jesus described as a “head”?  What is it about a head that is important for us to understand?

3. What practices can you prioritize on the first day of the week to help you put your mind in connection with the mind of Christ?  What can you do to help you see what Jesus wants you to see?

4. What can go wrong if you are chasing mystical experiences?

5. How can keeping a sabbath day become burdensome?

6. What can we learn from Jesus being presented as the “substance”, with all that was before him being shadow?

7. What is significant about Christians gathering weekly on the day Jesus was raised? 

8. How is the gospel a help for anyone trying to keep the discipline of a day of rest?  What challenges will come up as you try to keep this practice and why is God’s grace important for working through them?  What kind of rest is possible when you are working the gospel into your life (what weighs on you that can be lifted as you gain the mind of Christ and his grace)?

About 3 minutes are missing at minute 18:09 due to technical difficulties. The missing minutes are available in the audio recording.

Speaker: Rev. Tim Chang
Sermon Series: Sabbath

Luke 13:10-17  (ESV)
1 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

Sermon Outline
Why do we need the Sabbath?

1. We need the Sabbath to notice things we would otherwise not notice 

• v. 10: Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.

• v. 12: When Jesus saw her, he called her over

2. We need the Sabbath to remind ourselves that we are not God 

• v. 12: When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.

• v. 14: But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. 

• v. 14: But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

3. We need the Sabbath to give us hope

• v. 15: “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

• Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

• John 16:33: I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, you have given us the Sabbath as a gift to rest, to see the world and ourselves more rightly, and to hope for the restoration of all things.  But instead of receiving the Sabbath as a gift, we receive it as a threat.  We do not want to slow down and acknowledge the broken things of the world.  We do not want to admit our limits and inabilities.  Jesus, help us to receive and follow the Sabbath as a gift and as your mercy to us.  Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. What connected with you from the sermon or the passage?

2. Describe the challenges you face to follow and observe the Sabbath.

3. If the Sabbath allows us to see and notice the broken things around us, what specific things is Jesus inviting you to see?

4. In what ways do you find Jesus threatening? Are there any particular teachings that you find difficult to embrace and follow?

5. The Sabbath reminds us that we are not God. How do you see this as a threat? How might you see this as God’s mercy?

6. Have there been times when you felt nearer to Jesus when you acknowledged your limits and inabilities?

7. The Sabbath points us to a greater hope that is coming. What are you trusting Jesus for in recent times? How does the Sabbath help you to hope well?

8. What do you sense God calling you to do from this passage?

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Sabbath

Amos 8:1-14 (ESV)
1 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,

“The end has come upon my people Israel;
    I will never again pass by them.
3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,”
declares the Lord God.
“So many dead bodies!”
“They are thrown everywhere!”
“Silence!”

4 Hear this, you who trample on the needy
    and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5 saying, “When will the new moon be over,
    that we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
    that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great
    and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6 that we may buy the poor for silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals
    and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
“Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
8 Shall not the land tremble on this account,
    and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
    and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”

9 “And on that day,” declares the Lord God,
    “I will make the sun go down at noon
    and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning
    and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on every waist
    and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son
    and the end of it like a bitter day.

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
    “when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
    but of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
    and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,
    but they shall not find it.

13 “In that day the lovely virgins and the young men
    shall faint for thirst.
14 Those who swear by the Guilt of Samaria,
    and say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’
and, ‘As the Way of Beersheba lives,’
    they shall fall, and never rise again.”

Sermon Outline
Is sabbath an opportunity or is it limiting?

 1. End of Relationship

• vv1-2  “a basket of summer fruit” “the end has come…”

• v5  “when will the sabbath be over?”

• v3 “the songs of the temple... wailing”

• v2 “never again pass by them”

• v11 “famine of the word of God”

 2. End of Corruption

• v5 “make the ephah small and shekel great, deal deceitfully with false balances”

• v4  “bring the poor to an end” (v6 “buy the poor”)

3. End of Misery

• v12  “seek and not find”

• v9  “I will make the sun go down at noon”

• v10 “…make it like the mourning for an only son”

• v13  “young men… faint for thirst”

• v14  “your god… shall fall… and never rise”

Prayer of Confession
Our Father, like children we depend on you for all things. We admit our sin. We have looked to you for what you can give us, failing to appreciate you, the giver. We have looked to the world thinking it can give us something better. We have experienced your ways as burdensome; we have resented your protective restraints. In greed, we have crossed lines for personal gain, causing damage and dishonoring others. We have ignored your word. We have misunderstood your patience. Through Christ, cleanse us from all sin. Open our ears to hear your gospel of grace so that everything in our lives is renewed and aligned with you. Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. Do you look forward to Sunday?  What is your favorite part of the day?

2. What kinds of things will you miss church for?  How do you decide (what priorities do you have and how do you weigh them)?

3. Are you eager for your work week to end (most weeks)?  Why?  Do you have a time you are committed to each week where you will not do any work?

4. What would be your response to a prophet announcing a “famine of God’s word”?  How would this effect you?  What would you be concerned about? 

5. Where do you see greed at work in your life?  How does greed effect you?

6. Why does greed within us prohibit connecting deeply with God?

7. Is there any area of your life where you are cheating, manipulating, fudging the truth or taking advantage of others?  Why?  What are you gaining?

8. How can God’s generosity change your heart?  What is so striking about Jesus giving himself so sacrificially for us?

9. Since you can now seek and find, what are you doing to seek God?

10. How can you make the most of a day for worship?  What things can you do?  What should you not do on that one day?

11. How can a day of worship refresh you for the work of the other 6 days?

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Sabbath

Exodus 16:13-30 (ESV)
13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

Sermon Outline
Why should we prepare for a day to feed our souls?

1.  Bodies with Appetites

• v15 “what is it?” “it is the bread the Lord has given you”

• vv16-21 “…whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack” (v18)

• v23 “… bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil… all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning“

2.  Souls that Hunger

• v26  “on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none”

• v12 “then you shall know…”

3.  Food that Gives Life

• John 6:58 “whoever feeds on this bread will live forever”

• v23 “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord”

• v30 “so the people rested on the seventh day”

Prayer of Confession
Heavenly Father, you give life and all we need for life.  We confess how little of our daily dependence we understand, and how little of your provision we recognize.  We struggle with disordered appetites.  We grumble against you while we reap the consequences of own foolishness.  We have been calloused to the troubles we have caused others.  We have muted our spiritual hunger.  Rest in you has been a low priority.  Forgive every sin.  We remember Jesus, the true bread who came down from heaven; who gave his body for our bodies; who will raise up all who have received his grace.  Nourish our souls as we remember Jesus with faith.  Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. Do you ever prepare for a day off?   For vacation?  If so, how?  If not, why not?

2. What role does food preparation play in your life?  How much time is spent in attaining the means to acquire it, prepare it, consume it?  

3. What appetite do you have that is stronger or takes precedence over your appetite to eat?  What do you desire most?

4. How do you struggle with contentment?  What in your life do you feel you never have enough of? 

5. Do you have a hunger for God?  Is there a desire for more of God?  How do you know?

6. If you had a full 24 hour period to focus only on loving God and loving people – on cultivating your soul – what would you do?  What would you find difficult to do?

7. How does Jesus, the person, nourish our souls?  What does it mean to “eat his body”?  How are we to understand what he means in his call to trust him for eternal life, and to come alive and grow spiritually?

8. What can you do to free up time on Sundays for more intentional life with God?

9. What is an enjoyable thing you do to connect with God?  How can you find a time every Sunday to do it?