Sermon Tone Analysis

Text:  Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Title:  Our Two Great Challenges

 

Textual Theme, Goal, Need:

Theme:  Fear the Lord

Goal:  to encourage Israel to truly fear the Lord

Need:  Israel is on the journey from captivity to final reward and they need instruction in how to fear the Lord after they have been chosen for this journey.

Sermon Theme, Goal, Need:

Theme:  Fear the Lord

Goal: to encourage Christians to truly fear the Lord by loving God and neighbor.

Need:  Christians are on the journey of the relationship with God.

Textual Outline:

#.

Fear the Lord

#.

God Loves us

#.

God Loves others

#.

Fear the Lord.

Textual Notes:

 

 

Sermon Outline:

#.

Introduction:  we are all on the journey of faith.

#.

Great Commandment is to Fear God

#.

God of the universe chose us.

#.

God of all gods loves others

#.

Love because he first loved us.

#.

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

Sermon in Oral Style:

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

          Can you believe it is august already?

Its crazy how quickly the season went by.

Its crazy how quickly years go by.

This august will make it ten years since my parents left me out at Dordt College for the beginning of Freshman Orientation.

Not many people got a lot out of freshman orientation, but I know I did.

I probably couldn’t have told you were the faculty offices and classrooms were at.

But, I met my wife Angela on the first day of freshman orientation ten years ago this month.

Crazy how life flies by.

Pretty soon some of us here are going to be headed off to school somewhere again.

If you are headed away to college or university you will start getting back into classes again.

I always remember that being a very positive time.

You sit down in the class for the first time.

You find out who the professor is and who else is in the class.

Then they hand out the syllabus that explains how you can work for that 100% during the semester.

At least you have the chance to pretend like you are going to be able to shoot for that 100 this year.

The syllabus is the outline of the challenges and expectations for that class.

There are many ways that every human beings journey through life is like the journey through classes at school.

They both take work and fun.

In both you expect to be a better wiser person by the time you are finished.

One major difference between life’s journey and the going through classes at school comes if you have Jesus Christ in your life.

In the journey of faith you already have all the credits for graduating if you believe in Jesus Christ.

When you confess your faith in Christ, you already have the title behind your name.

You aren’t hopefully possibly working toward that title behind your name.

Joe Smith PhD.

With Christ, as you go through life you have the title when you begin your life.

Joe Smith.

Saved by the Blood of Christ.

But even though salvation comes through faith alone, there is still a course syllabus.

There are still studies to be done.

God still takes pleasure in seeing us succeed in doing the things he calls us to.

He still celebrates when we grow and change and become better people for his kingdom.

*Selection, Salvation, and then the syllabus*, that’s the order that God operates with.

We find it here in our passage also.

*Verse 15 reminds us that God selected Israel out of all other people in the world to be his people.

Then, because he selected them to be his people, he saves them and forgives them.*

* *

*          Just before the passage we read this morning, in chapter 9 its tells us about how God has rescued them from Egypt where they were a whole nation of slaves for the Egyptians.*

God took them out of the terrible place they were in and brought them into the desert, a journey of faith that would eventually bring them to the promised land.

Selection, then Salvation, then the journey of faith.

*Verse 12 starts off saying, “and now.”*

Some very important words.

“Okay… God has selected and saved us.

And now?

What do you expect from us?  What can we do to get ready for real life in the land with God?

 

          *That’s often the exact question that we are asking.

Okay.

I believe in God.

I believe Jesus Christ has saved me from my sin.

I was selected.

I have been saved.

And Now?*

 

          *Verse 12.  “12 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?[1]”*

What point is there in my life?

What has God put me here for?

What does he expect of me now that I know I owe him everything?

*Fear, walk, love, serve, and obey.

Five things are listed.*

They all are joined very closely with each other.

All extremely important.

*But one great thing about the Hebrew writing is the middle item is the focus of a whole list  * In our culture we start with a strong point and then end with the wham-bam finale.

Hebrews did it differently.

The middle point would be the highlight.

And all the rest would add more meaning to the middle idea.

*Fear, walk, love, serve, obey.

The middle is Love.

Love God.

It might be number 3 on the list, but it is at the very heart of the syllabus, the summary outline of what God’s purpose for his people are.

Love God.  **The first great challenge in the syllabus after salvation.

Love God.  *

 

That love ought to include not just an emotion… “oh God, you are so good I love you.

This love includes *Hebrew Fear* which, or awe and respect.

Love includes *walking in God’s ways*.

Making sure your daily walk is always the Christian walk.

Has your Christian sit and listen in Church translated into a Christian walk every single day, wherever you are, from work to the beach to the classroom to the summer cottages?

That is part of the love.

*Serve the Lord.*