Sermon Tone Analysis

Pastor Thomas leading worship

Foster care and Adoption Initiative coming this fall

Great series by Pastor Tim last month

This has been a year of speaking about Jesus

The Humanity of Jesus, The Gifts of Jesus, The Ministries of Jesus, The Miracle of Jesus

And now we begin a new series called Jesus BC

I’d like to recommend the book “Who Ate Lunch with Abraham” by Asher Intrater

Luke 2:21 (NLT)

Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus (Yeshua), the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.

I know you have heard a million messages about the circumcision of Jesus

One of the important things that happens here is that Jesus is given his name

The name that was given to them by the angel when Mary was pregnant

Someone sent me a video that they had seen on tik tok where they were pointing out that Jesus is not even his name and that it’s a name that was just invented by Christians

His name given to him by the angel and then confirmed at his circumcision was Yeshua or Yehoshua.

This is a Hebrew name.

If you were to translate the Hebrew name directly into English we would likely call him Joshua

But Yeshua was translated to Greek first and certain letters and sounds don’t translate from Hebrew to Greek, so it was translated as Lesous which in English is translated as Jesus

The name Joshua and Jesus are essentially the same

I had a struggle with my name earlier this year.

I turned 40 and it rocked me.

I was not ready to turn 40.

I have a whole list of reasons but here’s the weirdest one.

I started thinking about it and I decided I might have an early expiration date.

Not just me, all Josh’s out there in the world.

Why?

Because I started thinking about it and I couldn’t think of one old Josh.

Think about it, have you ever heard anyone say “Grandpa Josh”?

Nope.

It’s never happened.

So I started thinking that Josh’s don’t live long enough for me to know an old Josh.

Then my friend George showed me this app where you can see how many people were named Joshua and you could see that before 1978 there were hardly any people named Joshua but from 1978 – 1986, every Christian family in America named their son Joshua.

I went to a small private school and my graduating class had 32 students in it.

15 of those students were male.

How many were named Joshua?

3! I went to that school from Kindergarten to 12th grade and I was never the only Josh in my class

So now I know that I share a name with Jesus and that the Josh’s took over around the time that I was born so pretty soon every old dude that you know will be named Joshua.

So the name Yeshua is important for us to note and also the fact that Jesus was circumcised.

Yeshua was a Jew and he abided by the Jewish practices and that began with his circumcision.

Now, let’s talk about covenants.

There was a covenant made between God and Adam and Eve.

God would fulfill his portion of the covenant by giving them the land of the garden and this creation and man was supposed to steward and rule over the land in the right way and they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but they broke the covenant by eating of the tree.

Then God made a covenant with Noah and he continued to make covenants with mankind in order to bring his Lordship back to the earth and to mankind.

Today we will look at the covenant he made with Abraham.

We are going to read a lot today from the TLV Bible.

Genesis 15:1 (TLV)

After these things the word of Adonai came to Abram in a vision saying, “Do not fear, Abram.

I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Genesis 15:2 (TLV)

But Abram said, “My Lord Adonai, what will You give me, since I am living without children, and the heir of my household is Eliezer of Damascus?”

Genesis 15:3 (TLV)

Then Abram said, “Look!

You have given me no seed, so a house-born servant is my heir.”

Genesis 15:4 (TLV)

Then behold, the word of Adonai came to him saying, “This one will not be your heir, but in fact, one who will come from your own body will be your heir.”

Genesis 15:5 (TLV)

He took him outside and said, “Look up now, at the sky, and count the stars—if you are able to count them.”

Then He said to him, “So shall your seed be.”

Genesis 15:6 (TLV)

Then he believed in Adonai and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:7 (TLV)

Then He said to him, “I am Adonai who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans, in order to give you this land to inherit it.”

Genesis 15:8 (TLV)

So he said, “My Lord Adonai, how will I know that I will inherit it?”

Genesis 15:9 (TLV)

Then He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old young cow, a three year old she-goat, a three year old ram, a turtle-dove and a young bird.”

Genesis 15:10 (TLV)

So he brought all these to Him and cut them in half, and put each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.

Genesis 15:17 (TLV)

When the sun set and it became dark, behold, there was a smoking oven and a fiery torch that passed between these pieces.

Genesis 15:18 (TLV)

On that day Adonai cut a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River”

In a covenant in the day of Abraham, there was always blood and the cutting of flesh.

In this type of covenant, the animals were split in two and the two parties that were entering into the covenant would walk through the animal parts and then they would part ways to walk around the outside of the animal parts and then meet back together in the middle of the sacrifice

This stood as a sign for the covenant that was made, and it held each party to the covenant

In this covenant however, Abraham (then called Abram) had fallen asleep, and he sees that instead of him and God walking through the cut pieces, it is a smoking oven and a fiery torch.

God walks through the pieces and Abram does not.

Yet it says that on that day God (Adonai) cut covenant with Abram.

What sign will Abram have of this covenant?

Genesis 17:1 (TLV)

When Abram was 99 years old, Adonai appeared to Abram, and He said to him, “I am El Shaddai.

Continually walk before Me and you will be blameless.

Genesis 17:2 (TLV)

My heart’s desire is to make My covenant between Me and you, and then I will multiply you exceedingly much.”

Genesis 17:3 (TLV)

Abram fell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying,

Genesis 17:4 (TLV)

“For My part, because My covenant is with you, you will be the father of a multitude of nations.

Genesis 17:5 (TLV)

No longer will your name be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, because I make you the father of a multitude of nations.

Genesis 17:9 (TLV)

God also said to Abraham, “As for you, My covenant you must keep, you and your seed after you throughout their generations.

Genesis 17:10 (TLV)

This is My covenant that you must keep between Me and you and your seed after you: all your males must be circumcised.

Genesis 17:11 (TLV)

You must be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this will become a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

The sign of the covenant for the humans that entered the covenant was the sign of circumcision

They were to keep this covenant and if they did then God would be their king yet again and they would be blessed under his rulership in a similar way to how Adam and Eve were blessed living under his rulership before the fall.

So, the question is, who cut covenant with Abraham?

God? Well yes but it’s not that simple.

Let’s look at it closer