Work Matters:  Warnings

Colossians 2:6-15

 

Alive in Christ

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

 

SERMON NOTES

1. Walking in Him

    

    a. Rooted and built up

    

    b. Prayer

2. Warnings against captivity

    a. Human origins

    b. Spiritual origins

3. Whole salvation for the whole of life

    a. Vaccine not an antibiotic

    b. Triumphant not defeated

GOSPEL GLASSES

 

QUOTES TO PONDER

 

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” - Matthew 7:15

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” - 2 Timothy 4:3-4

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.” C.S. Lewis

“Daily bewail our sin and daily adore our Savior.” - John Stott

Work Matters:  Whatever You Do

Colossians 3:23-24

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

 

SERMON NOTES

 

1.      One Part Do  (Colossians 3:23)

         "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men"

2.      One Part Rest  (Colossians 3:24a)

         "knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward"

3.      Whole of Christ (Colossians 3:24b)

         "You are serving the Lord Christ"

 

Work Matters:  Proclaim Him

Colossians 1:28

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

SERMON NOTES

1.      Christ is the gospel message.

         a.      He is our message.

         b.      My work

2.      Christ is the gospel goal.

           a.  Where He goes, we go

        b.  Your work

3.  Christ is the gospel hope.

       a.      Christ in you

       b.      Christ's work

 

Beauty In Following

John 21:15-19

 

Jesus and Peter

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

 SERMON NOTES

 

1.  Beauty in Following the Word.

2.  Beauty in Following through people.

3.  Beauty in Following through forgiveness.

Quotes to Ponder 

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." - Ephesians 5:1-2

 

"It is only because he became like us that we can become like him." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

"Jesus cannot be just liked. His claims make us either kill him or crown him." - Timothy Keller  

 

"You cannot be Christ’s servant if you are not willing to follow him, cross and all. What do you crave? A crown? Then it must be a crown of thorns if you are to be like him. Do you want to be lifted up? So you shall, but it will be upon a cross." - Charles Spurgeon

 

Beauty in Resurrection

John 20:1-8

 

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'a]">[a] head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;

 

SERMON NOTES

 

1.  Resurrection beauty in the STRUGGLE

2.  Ressurection beauty in the LIGHT

3.  Resurrection in RESPONSE

 

Beauty in Kingship

John 12:12-16

 

1. A picture - Palm Branches

2. A Word - Hosanna! 

3. A Response -  Behold the beauty of the King

 

a. Fear not

b. Behold your king

Quotes to Ponder “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve….You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” - Martin Luther King, Jr “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” - Joshua 24:17 “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” - Luke 22:25–26

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8

BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD

PSALM 27:4

 

1. Why do we need God's _______________?

2. What is _______________?

     1. It is _______________.

     2. It is _______________.

     3. It brings _______________ and _______________.

3. How does the _______________ of God change our lives?

QUOTES TO PONDER

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you." - Song of Songs 4:7

"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;” - 1 Chronicles 16:29

“I’ve said many times that there are three dimensions of the Christian life that the Scriptures are concerned about—the good, the true, and the beautiful.” - R.C. Sproul

The Parable of the Tenants

Mark 12:1-12

 

1. God made us to be fruitful. (Vs. 1-2)

2. God will always be faithful. (Vs. 2-8)

3. God unites through the Cornerstone. (Vs. 9-12)

Quotes to Ponder

“We are called to be fruitful - not successful, not productive, not accomplished. Success comes from strength, stress, and human effort. Fruitfulness comes from vulnerability and the admission of our own weakness.” - Henri Nouwen

“There are periods that we forget that in the pursuit of fruit, that if we just abide in Him, then fruitfulness is a guarantee.” - Francis Chan

“And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.” - Hosea 2:20

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;” - Hebrews 10:23

““as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." - Romans 9:33

The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds

Matt. 13:24-30; 36-42

 

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weedsa]">[a] among the wheat and went away.26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.27 And the servantsb]">[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” 

Parables make abstract concrete (Matt. 24-30)

The kingdom of God is ordinary and real

Three parts to the parable

Work of the farmer

Work of the enemy

Patience of the farmer

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Parables reveal truths about this world (Matt.13:36-43)

The sower is Christ (vs. 36-37)

The enemy is the devil (vs. 39a)

The field is the world (vs. 38a)

The good seed is believers (vs. 38b)

The weeds are unbelievers (vs.38c)

The harvest is the end of the age (vs. 39b)

The reapers are angels (vs. 39c-41)

The granary is heaven (vs. 43)

The furnace is hell (vs. 42)

Parables need to be applied

There are two kingdoms in this world vying for power

Discern the differences between the two crops and which one you belong to

Work is God’s kingdom way for bringing hope into this world

 

Quotes to Ponder

 

“Believers themselves are the point of continuity between creation and the new creation.” -  David VanDrunen

 

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu

“Hope is patience with the lamp lit.” - Tertullian

 

“Our duty is found in the revealed will of God in the Scriptures. Our trust must be in the sovereign will of God as He works in the ordinary circumstances of our daily lives for our good and His glory.” - Jerry Bridges

“Patience is necessary, and one cannot reap immediately where one has sown.” - Soren Kierkegaard

The Parable of the Mustard Seed – The Word changes us

Mark 4:30-32

30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

SERMON NOTES

Big Idea:  Christ’s salvation is a kingdom which is entered into by faith.

The Story of God’s salvation in Christ.

Tree of Life (Gen. 2:9)

The Mustard Seed Tree (Mark 4:30-32)

The Tree of Life (Rev. 22:2)

The Kingdom of God is salvation.

Not about you but about the world.

It’s about God.

How does the Kingdom work?

                                                  i.     The measure you use (Mark 4:24-25)

                                                 ii.     The way up is to go down.

Entering into the Kingdom

Through the preaching of the Word

Through faith (Romans 10:1-17)

Gospel Challenge

Go down first and think about representing Jesus by serving.

Listen to the Word

Quotes to Ponder

““The Gospel of Mark tells a mysterious story enveloped in apocalyptic urgency, a story that focuses relentlessly on the cross and ends on a note of hushed, enigmatic hope. Many of the key images in this mysterious narrative are drawn from Israel’s Scriptures; indeed, a reader who fails to discern the significance of these images can hardly grasp Mark’s message.” – Richard Hays, Reading Backwards

 

“The principle runs through all life from top to bottom.  Give up yourself, and you will find your real self.  Lose your life and you will save it.  Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end:  submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life.  Keep back nothing.  Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours.  Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.  Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay.  But look for Christ and you will find Him , and with Him everything else thrown in.” – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity