Sermon 1 notes are missing, I will upload when I find them.
Who Do You Say That I Am, Sermon 2 (Church) Football Gestures, Chest bump, Fist pump, Back slap, Head butt, Finger point, Help up · In High School Scrimmage I let my attitude slip. I ran over a guy and then stood over him taunting. My coach and also FCA leader yelled Next thing I knew I was on my back with him helping me up by the face mask. I still remember the veins in his neck and the spray with each syllable as he kindly explained to me that I was more than just a football player. I was a Christian and that should permeate everything I do even on the football field I am so grateful for that lesson. To this day it has left a mark on me to the core. Today I want to look at some statistics that have done the same thing to me. “God’s marvelous Church has become culturally irrelevant and even distant from its prime purpose of knowing Him, growing in Him, and worshipping Him by making disciples! This is evidenced by what is going on in our culture and in our church. Most of the statistics tell us that nearly 50% of Americans have no church home. In the 1980s, membership in the church had dropped almost 10%; then, in the 1990s, it worsened by another 12% drop.” General· Every year more than 4000 churches close their doors compared to just over 1000 new church starts!· There were about 4,500 new churches started between 1990 and 2000, with a twenty year average of nearly 1000 a year.· Every year, 2.7 million church members are leaving the church as hurting and wounded victims—of some kind of abuse, disillusionment, or just plain neglect!· From 1990 to 2000, the combined membership of all Protestant denominations in the USA declined by almost 5 million members (9.5 percent), while the US population increased by 24 million (11 percent).· At the turn of the last century (1900), there was a ratio of 27 churches per 10,000 people, as compared to the close of this century (2000) where we have 11 churches per 10,000 people in America!· The United States now ranks third (3rd) following China and India in the number of people who are not professing Christians.· The U.S. is 7th on the list of nations RECEIVING missionaries from other countries.· Half of all churches in the US did not add any new members to their ranks in the last two years.Attendance· 22% of Americans “frequently” attended church in 1992, including Orthodox, Evangelical, or Protestant. (The reason why the other research is variant is due to how they ask the questions. I sought frequency over just attending. I deem frequency as at least 2 times a month as opposed to two to three times a year indicated by other statistical research.)· 20.5% of Americans “frequently” attended church in 1995· 19% of Americans “frequently” attended church in 1999· 18.0% of Americans “frequently” attended in church in 2002Consider these facts: 290 million people in the US 65% or 188 million have no vital church connection. Those that do attend According to Billy Graham, about 75% of all those who consider themselves Christians and regularly go to church are really not Christians. · biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. born again Christians=one defined by those who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior. (%19 believe that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today)The Youngest Adult Generation· The current study found that less than one-half of one percent of adults in the Mosaic generation – i.e., those aged 18 to 23 – have a biblical worldview, compared to about (11%) one out of every nine older adults.· 3% of 16 - to 29-year-old non-Christians express favorable views of evangelicals. This means that today’s young non-Christians are eight times less likely to experience positive associations toward evangelicals than were non-Christians of the Boomer generation (25%).So What?Matthew 16The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. . . . 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Who Do You Say That I Am, Sermon 3 (Pharisees & Sadducees)
Matthew 16 The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees 5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven Original Word~ zume Transliterated Word~ Zume dzoo'-may Definition~leaven metaph. of inveterate mental and moral corruption, viewed in its tendency to infect others of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” root meaning of the word "Pharisee" is uncertain. It is probably related to the Hebrew root prs[v;r'P], meaning "separate" or "detach." From whom did the Pharisees separate? From those, especially priests or clerics, who interpreted the Law differently than they? From the common people of the land ( John 7:49 )? From Gentiles or Jews who embraced the Hellenistic culture? From certain political groups? All these groups of people the Pharisees would have been determined to avoid in their resolution to separate themselves from any type of impurity proscribed by the levitical law or, more specifically, their strict interpretation of it. Pharisees maintained a simple lifestyle (Ant18.1.3 [12]), were affectionate and harmonious in their dealings with others (War 2.8.14 [166]), especially respectful to their elders (Ant18.13 [12]), and quite influential throughout the land of Israel (Ant13.10.5 [288]; 17.2.4 [41-45]; 18.1.3 [15]) although at the time of Herod they numbered only about six thousand (Ant17.2.4 [42]). Josephus mentions their belief in both fate (divine sovereignty) and the human will (War2.8.14 [163], Ant18.1.3 [13]) and in immortality of both good and evil persons (War 2.8.14 [16];Ant17.1.3 [14]). Some Pharisees refused to take oaths (Ant17.2.4 [42]). Of particular importance are Josephus's statements that the Pharisees adhered to "the laws of which the Deity approves" (Ant17.2.4 [41]) and that they "are considered the most accurate interpreters of the laws" (War2.8.14 [162]). Pharisees "follow the guidance of that which their doctrine has selected and transmitted as good, attaching the chief importance to the observance of those commandments which it has seen fit to dictate to them" (Ant18.1.3 [12]) and they "passed on to the people certain regulations handed down by former generations and not recorded in the Laws of Moses" . The Pharisees developed their own body of interpretations, expansions, and applications of the Law that they came to regard as of divine origin (Mishnah,Aboth, 1:1). This was to assist in understanding and keeping the Law, often added regulations ("fences" or "hedges") were designed to prevent even coming close to breaking the Law. A knowledge of the opinions and practices of the Pharisees at the time of Christ is of great importance for entering deeply into the genius of the Christian religion. A cursory perusal of the Gospels is sufficient to show that Christs teaching was in some respects thoroughly antagonistic to theirs. He denounced them in the bitterest language; see ( Matthew 15:7 Matthew 15:8 ; Matthew 23:5 Matthew 23:13 Matthew 23:14 Matthew 23:15Matthew 23:23 ; Mark 7:6 ; Luke 11:42-44 ) and compare ( Mark 7:1-5 ; 11:29 ; Mark 12:19 Mark 12:20 ; Luke 6:28 Luke 6:37-42 ) To understand the Pharisees is by contrast an aid toward understanding the spirit of uncorrupted Christianity.
The fundamental principle of the Pharisees, common to them with all orthodox modern Jews, is that by the side of the written law regarded as a summary of the principles and general laws of the Hebrew people there was on oral law to complete and to explain the written law, given to Moses on Mount Sinai and transmitted by him by word of mouth. The first portion of the Talmud, called the Mishna or "second law," contains this oral law. It is a digest of the Jewish traditions and a compendium of the whole ritual law, and it came at length to be esteemed far above the sacred text. While it was the aim of Jesus to call men to the law of God itself as the supreme guide of life, the Pharisees, upon the Pretence of maintaining it intact, multiplied minute precepts and distinctions to such an extent that the whole life of the Israelite was hemmed in and burdened on every side by instructions so numerous and trifling that the law was almost if not wholly lost sight of. must have converted Gods gracious ordinance of the Sabbaths rest into a burden and a pain. leading aim of the Redeemer to teach men that true piety consisted not in forms, but in substance, not in outward observances, but in an inward spirit. the whole spirit of their religion was summed up not in confession of sin and in humility, but in a proud self righteousness at variance with any true conception of mans relation to either God or his fellow creatures. the Sadducees were literal in handling the Old Testament Law and resisted the "new" ideas and traditions of the Pharisees. Politically and socially, they were open to rapprochement with Hellenistic (Greek) culture and the Roman political system. The Sadducees were essentially secularists, a result of their exclusion of God ("Fate") from human affairs and their conviction that humans can expect nothing beyond this life. In general it seems the Sadducees supported those interpretations and procedures that enhanced the prestige, power, and financial benefit of the priestly temple cult and the aristocracy. The Sadducees were inseparably bound to the external political, social, and especially the temple-centered institutions of Judaism. 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 1) When did Jesus mention bread? a) They had their needs in mind b) In their minds Jesus was meant to meet their needs 2) Who knows the needs a) They thought that they knew their needs b) Jesus knew their real needs 3) Jesus met their needs a) Real b) And what they thought 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son ofthe living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Who Do You Say That I Am, Sermon 4 (Peter Declares His Plan)
Matthew 16
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection 21 From that time From what time 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. 21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. Jesus' plan was to submit unto death Romans 5 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Wait that's not the plan Jesus. You are forgetting some stuff Jesus. That is not how this is supposed to go! That's not what we signed up for! Here is our plan isn't it better. The New Testament, of course, reveals the Jewish messianic expectation that the apostles, and, presumably the biggest number of common Jews had, which is for a conquering Son of David. Like Peter said, "Are you now going to restore the kingdom" (Acts 1:6). Here, even at the end, the apostles were still expecting Jesus to restore political power to the Jews. Clearly, Judas expected Jesus to be a conquering king. He hoped to manipulate Jesus into rebelling against Rome when he had him arrested. Jesus did not fit who they expected the Messiah to be. In fact, most of what Jesus did ran contrary to their view of a Messiah. Jesus perfectly fulfilled all 300 Old Testament predictions! The odds of any other person fulfilling even 8 of those predictions are 1 in 100quadrillion The tractate Sanhedrin states (The Jewish Lawbook) "The Jews are destined to eat [their fill] in the days of the Messiah", "The world was created only...for the sake of the Messiah." and "All the prophets prophesied [all the good things] only in respect of the Messianic era." It also provides exegesis of scriptural verses which illustrate the events that will occur at that time. For example, resurrection of the dead, "Then [Moses] will sing...", from which is derived that "then" (in the Messianic Era) Moses will arise and once again sing as he did at the time of the Exodus. The Messianic Age is described as follows by Maimonides (Maimonides acknowledged as one of the foremost rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish history.) : And at that time there will be no hunger or war, no jealousy or rivalry. For the good will be plentiful, and all delicacies available as dust. The entire occupation of the world will be only to know God... the people Israel will be of great wisdom; they will perceive the esoteric truths and comprehend their Creator's wisdom as is the capacity of man. As it is written (Isaiah 11:9): "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea." " Maimonides describes the identity of the Messiah in the following terms: And if a king shall arise from among the House of David, studying Torah and occupied with commandments like his father David, according to the written and oral Torah, and he will impel all of Israel to follow it and to strengthen breaches in its observance, and will fight Hashem's [God's] wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. If he succeeded and built the Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the dispersed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together, as it is stated: "For then I shall turn for the nations a clear tongue, so that they will all procalim the Name of the Lord, and to worship Him with a united resolve (Zephaniah 3:9)." 23 But he (Jesus) turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! Okay that's a little strong right You are a hindrance to me. Original Word skandalon Transliterated Word Skandalon skan'-dal-on Definition 1. the movable stick or trigger of a trap, a trap stick, a trap, snare, any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall, (a stumbling block, occasion of stumbling) i.e. a rock which is a cause of stumbling, 2. fig. applied to Jesus Christ, whose person and career were so contrary to the expectations of the Jews concerning the Messiah, that they rejected him and by their obstinacy made shipwreck of their salvation 3. any person or thing by which one is (entrapped) drawn into error or sin For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, Plans of God but on the things of man.” Plans of man When we opt for our own Christ we are a stumbling block We are to speed up the real Christ.
Who Do You Say That I Am, Sermon 5 (What do we do from here?)
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me,
let him deny himself and
take up his cross and
follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Don’t die a natural death! Die serving 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole worldandforfeits his soul?
Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come
with his angels
in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly,
I say
to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
