Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Last time we looked at chapter 6 and considered Jesus’ teaching on religious observances and hypocrisy how they come from idolatrous hearts.

This week we are still in the same chapter and now that we have considered the root causes of religious hypocrisy, today we are going to look at how we should pray, remembering that when it comes to prayer Jesus is primarily concerned with the conditions of our hearts.

The right to talk - Here was arguably the most powerful man in the world.

And yet this child had exclusive access.

Didn’t need to refer to the President , though he was, but Dad!

The Big Idea -

Understanding you’r relationship with God as your Father, through Christ Jesus will keep you from hypocritical pretentious prayer.

(Repeat) The God of is your Dad.

INTRODUCE PASSAGE

Context

Jesus has been addressing issues of the human heart that have lead to hypocrisy in prayer.

And so Jesus when giving instructions on how not to pray proceeds to give us a pattern of prayer that demonstrated how we should pray....

He mentions that the pagans have a tenancy to babble, they think they can manipulate the Gods with incantations ecs… And what is driving them are their needs.

Parallels With the prosperity gospel -The reason the prosperity gospel is so twisted wrong is that it says Im gonna do my magical incantation, so that I can serve my real God which is usually material in nature, Money sex and Power.

Your Father in Heaven knows what you need

Your Father in Heaven knows what you need

Structure

The First half points us God and the Second Half concerns our own needs.

BODY OF SERMON

OUR FATHER - throughout the Old testament, the motif of God as a “Heavenly Father” was frequent, In fact by Jesus day Adult Jews would often pray to God as “our Father using a word in Hebrew abimu

Acknowledge that in this world there are Good fathers and Bad Fathers but wether they are good or bad no human father is perfect.

The Scripture reveals that the God of the Bible is himself a Father, a father who is good and perfect in every-way and desires to be your Father, so much so that he moved heaven and earth to make it possible for you to be in a loving relationship with him.

- Cares For his children’s wellbeing

- Has compassion

- Loves.

A friend

A Good Father protects

Jer 31:

God is neither Anatomically Male

Now there is imagery used in the Old Testament where God is such an amazing Father that he is referred to as having Motherly like behaviour also,

MOTHER GOD - Now there is imagery used in the Old Testement where God is such an amazing Father that he is often referred to as having Motherly like behaviour.

Acknowledge Good and Bad Fathers

Whats a

And a question that some of you might be asking is” why do we not refer to God as Mother?

In fact the first female moderator of the Church of Scotland gave opening prayers addressing God as Mother God.

THE ANSWER - Because of Jesus.

Jesus who knew God more intimately more closely than anyone who has ever lived, that includes pastors, preachers, theologians of all shapes sizes and persuasions prayed to his Daddy, and in instructing his disciples to pray, invites them, you me to pray to his Daddy and our Daddy.

God is neither anatomically male nor female.

He is beyond the polarity of Sex, In fact one of the distinguishing marks of Genesis compared to the fraudulent creation accounts of surrounding nations is that Elohim (The most High God) later revealed to Moses as Yahweh, creates the sexes but nonetheless God desires us to relate to him as our Father.

He creates the sexes.

The only way that God might be refered to as having sex is when talking about the incarnation of the Son, whereby God takes on male anatomy in the person of the Son

The only way that God might be referred to as having sex is when talking about the incarnation of the Son, That is when God the Son takes on Human Flesh he takes on the Anatomy of a male.

One of my LST lecturers argued this point with me that Jesus came as a human to redeem humanity and his sex as a male was of little or no consequence.

Jesus saves humanity (male and female) as what the Bible refers to the second Adam, not the second Eve or the Second adam and Eve but the second Adam.

You see there is a common miss-understanding that the world fell when Eve ate the forbidden fruit and offered it to her Husband.

(The example of Frenchie) But you see the world did not fall when Eve took the fruit but when Adam took the fruit and ate.

Adam and Eve were both made equally in God’s image, Adam had headship, just as Christ has headship over the church.

We know this because one of the consequences of the Fall was that Eve would suddenly desire to rule over and dominate Adam.

Adam should have chased that snake right out of the Garden, challenged Eve over what she had done and lovingly led her before God.

You see a least eve was deceived by the serpent and used that as some measure of excuse, but Adam knew exactly what he was doing and worst of all tries to blame God!

Its your fault God because you gave me the woman.

Jesus comes anatomically as Male to do what Adam never did to perfectly image God, Live obediently and to lead his bride the church in loving obedience before God.

Men Love your Woman - Lay down your life for her as Christ loved the church, protect her from serpents that seek to harm her and destroy your relationship.

And Woman Love your husbands.

Objection - Patriarchal?

Backwards?

- Our society has benefited nothing from men following in the footsteps of Adam and abandoning their posts.

Objection - Patriarchal?

Backwards?

Just because god is referred to as a Mother hen does not give us the right to refer to him as Mother.

Jesus in speaking of his own love adopts the same language when weeping over Jerusalem, It does not follow that we then refer to Jesus as our Mother, would have been a bit weird if the deciple did that right.

Ok so God is a good father who passionately loves his Children Why have I laboured this point and given half the sermon over to it?

Well the Answer is that