Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
What grand plan have you had fizzle out and die?
I’m a master of plans that never make it into reality!
Ask Laura!
Every so often I will come up with some new scheme and try and convince people of how great it will be!
With great gusto we apply our efforts initially, and then somewhat less enthusiastically, then begrudgingly, and before you know it the whole idea is dead in the water.
In one case, literally.
I tried to start and aquaponics system, where i would breed fish in a tank and use the dirty water to fertilize veggie plants in a garden bed where the water would then be filtered for the fish.
(show picture)
It’s a fantastic idea.
I thought we’d start with a small system then expand to multiple systems, then before you know it we would be growing all our own fresh veggies and eating fresh fish every few nights!
I was excited!
So, I did research, then I pulled together the materials I needed.
Then I started building.
Got it all together.
Got a batch of fish.
Planted some plants and away we went.
But after the initial enthusiasm, the drive started to fade.
There was up keep.
Feeding the fish.
Testing the water.
Adding supplements.
Working out problems that arose.
The growth was soooo sloooow...
As the weeks went on, my grand plan became a burden.
Fish began to die.
Plants became stunted and anemic.
My grand plan fizzled out and died.
My fish died.
My plants eventually died.
Have you had any such plans come to a pitiful end?
Maybe it was that time you were going take on some DIY project like I did?
Or perhaps you planned to do something smaller, like clean the house?
Detail the car?
Did you have plans and hope and dreams that have come to nothing?
Planned to save that money for a house deposit, or pay off you credit card early?
What about your plans for your well being?
To loose that weight?
Or stop that nasty habit?
Plans to be consistent in disciplining the kids?
Plans to be a better friend?
To be a faithful spouse?
Plans to grow spiritually?
Fast?
Pray?
Meditate on Scripture?
Kill that sin in your life?
Bear spiritual fruit?
You and I know, we don’t have to look very far to see the absolute inability of people to follow through with our plans and hopes.
We suck at it.
We are as good at following through as the <Ford Racing Team at Bathurst>!
Every so often there’s a win, a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, but then we fail, again.
Church, there’s good news for us this morning.
There is hope.
There is something for us that will trump all our self improvement and moral betterment programs that fall flat.
There is something that will override our useless schemes to achieve the perfect lifestyle.
Before we get to that.
I have a question.
What is the chief end of man?
The question essentially is, what is our purpose?
What is the goal of our human existence?
What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?
The reformed Scots of old gave us a great answer; the goal of our life is to glorify God and find joy in him forever.
This answer comes off the back of the reformation, started 500 years ago, where people in the Western Church sought to get back to a biblical understanding of Christianity.
For the reformers, they went back to the Bible to uncover the Gospel.
We mentioned last week that the Five Solae are a summary of the themes of the Reformation.
The 5 Solae we are looking at over these few weeks encapsulate the outline of the Gospel that had been hidden and sidelined.
We saw that firstly, we have to see that the scripture alone is our earthly source for God’s Word, and from there the other Solae spring out in beautiful clarity.
As we move on to another Sola this week, we see the capstone, the end, the icing on the cake of the Solae, and the purpose of everything.
We are looking at Soli Deo Gloria; Glory to God Alone.
God’s Glory Alone, Soli Deo Gloria, is the answer to our purpose; our purpose as Christians, the purpose of life, the purpose of creation, the purpose of our Salvation.
You see, God’s grand plan that will not fail, is to bring Glory to Himself.
Unlike our plans that are short-lived or stunted, God’s plans have been brought about throughout history and will never fail.
His plans to bring glory to himself are illustrated in Scripture and in the World.
For the reformers, and for us, we want to see God alone receive Glory.
So let’s investigate three areas where God alone receives glory.
The three areas we will look at are
how God gets the glory from Creation,
how God gets the glory in Christ
how God gets the glory from Christian life.
Our investigation should make it clear to us that God Alone deserves and receives glory, and that our existence is part of that Grand Plan.
God’s Glory in Creation
When we start to ponder this idea; that the purpose of life, the universe and everything is to bring Glory to God, it’s not surprising to ask the question; “Is God self-centered?” or “Is God egotistic?”.
No one likes vain, boastful and opinionated people, so the idea that God is like that might be a little disturbing.
One of the ways to help you think about it is to think of an artist.
Artists set out to create something that is beautiful.
They try to create something that reflects themselves.
The artist creates something which tells a story, conveys emotion and flows out of themselves.
And when we look at a piece of artwork we can interrogate it to a certain extent to see it as a reflection of the artist and see the meaning conveyed there.
When it comes to God, he is the greatest artist.
He “who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them”(Ps 146:6).
He made absolutely everything, and we marvel at the wonder of a flower, the complexity of DNA, the vastness of the Cosmos and the beauty of a sunset.
The Bible tells us that the creation reveals God’s glory, and everyone can see it;
God is the artist who is partially understood by viewing his creative work.
If you look at enough Van Gogh, you eventually start to get a feel for the style of the man, his preferred way, you start to perceive the emotion of the man.
As it is with God; if you are in this world long enough, you will see the characteristics of God shining through; “namely, his eternal power and divine nature” (Ro 1:20).
The world reflects God’s Glory, even though it is broken and corrupted by sin, God’s attributes are illustrated.
You can look out that window and see something of God’s glory.
You can look into the face of a newborn baby and see something of God’s glory.
You can hear the swelling sound of women raising their voices in a harmony and know something of the Glory of God.
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