Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

come in wearing clothes that clash really bad....

come in wearing clothes that clash really bad....

I had a difficult time deciding what to wear today.

I love my zip up tie — it is convenient, and nice looking.

But I am really into the retro look, so I had to wear my classic brown pin-stripe jacket(though it is a little snug).

Then I got to thinking about how close to summer we are — what better way to celebrate than a Hawaiian shirt?

And, because I am patriotic and want to celebrate our military — camouflage pants say it all, don’t you think?

Finally, I thought I would wear these boots because things are getting really deep in here.

Seriously, what’s wrong with my outfit?

Each piece of clothing has value…can be legitimately worn, right?

What’s that?

They clash, you say?

You know, you might be right.

Honestly, I should have provided sunglasses and Pepto Bismol before I made my entrance.

Remove outer layer of clothing while continuing to talk

Sometimes things clash: clothes, food combinations, the Titans, husbands & wives, siblings, political parties, people with different belief systems.

Today’s message is “Covenant Clash: From Shadow to Reality, Part 1”

The author of Hebrews makes a powerful case for the fact that the Old Covenant (The Law) and the New Covenant clash — in a way…when you try to implement both at the same time, things don’t work — it gets confusing

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth....but not technology.

Gradually, things began to develop.

Here’s what we know: the old ways of doing things seemed sufficient at the time...but they couldn’t keep up with what we have today.

However, it would be foolish to think that i-phones were invented in one day, poof.

Communications technology must be traced all the way back to Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Samuel Morse (look it up).

(Old folks) “In my day we did things the right way.”

Whippersnappers, “Get with it gramps…keep up with the times.”

Often the reality is that the old ways were great…but they can’t keep up with the needs of today.

They did provide a foundation…a framework for what would come.

And the new ways are amazing — look at technology.

But i-phones didn’t just appear out of thin air…they must be traced all the way back to Alexander Graham Bell and Samuel Morse (look it up).

If you insisted on using old technology in the world we live in, it would clash with modern technology, — it’s obsolete.

It is the same with the Old and New Covenants.

One of the main themes of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is now our high priest.

Under the Old Covenant, the tribe of Levi made up the priesthood.

In the old system, Jesus wouldn’t qualify to be a priest because He was from the tribe of Judah.

The Levites were men that would die.

Jesus lives forever, our perfect high priest and Savior.

Hebrews 10:1

The author of Hebrews explains that Jesus meets our need because He is holy and pure…high and exalted.

He is not like the other priests — they had to offer sacrifices day after day..for their own sins and for the sins of the people.

But now Jesus is our priest — perfect and eternal.

Hebrews 8:

BIG IDEA

MAIN TEXT

MAIN TEXT

BIG IDEA

BIG IDEA

Through Jesus, the New Covenant opens the door to true freedom and joy through a personal relationship with God

How is New covenant better than the Old Covenant?

New Covenant…Better Promises

New Covenant…Better Promises

Exposition: The book of Hebrews was directed toward a mainly Jewish audience.

It was written a few years before the he destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. After this happened, the Old system of the Law discontinued — no more blood sacrifices or burnt offerings — remember, that system was only shadow of the New Covenant in Christ.

…better promises

A better covenant relationship

Christ, as the mediator of this new covenant, has provided a way for us to have a infinitely better relationship with God — it is beyond our human understanding

Why didn’t the old covenant work....why was it flawed?

It was not flawed…the peoples’ hearts were hard

The author then quotes God’s message from the prophet Jeremiah (31)

It wasn’t…it was the people (Isreal)

The author quotes God’s message from the prophet Jeremiah (31)

…better promises

A Solution for the incomplete nature of the Old Covenant

The old ceremonial laws and rituals were replaced by what Christ accomplished

Through His death, burial, resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit to His people

It wasn’t that God gave Moses bad commands on Mount Sinai…no, the people had bad hearts

The Old Covenant revealed God’s forgiveness and patience; it called for faith; it promised God’s love

What was the problem with the Old Covenant?

John Piper pointed out a few things about this

For the most part, these principles didn’t get into the peoples’ hearts

Their response was mainly external rather than internal

Obedience based on will-power instead of reliance on the Spirit

Ritualistic rather than personal

God had lessons he meant to teach in the Old Testament and they involved enduring generations of stubbornness and hard-heartedness until the time the new covenant should come.

But now it comes with Jesus Christ, the Mediator of a new covenant — John Piper

God had lessons he meant to teach in the Old Testament and they involved enduring generations of stubbornness and hard-heartedness until the time the new covenant should come.

But now it comes with Jesus Christ, the Mediator of a new covenant — John Piper

Look at the promises declared by God

Look at the promises declared by God

Hebr

Application

Are you trying to have a relationship with Christ based on your own will-power to be good enough?

That will never work…Jesus’ gave us a better way

The Cross, the resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit

Not based on your own achievements, sacrifices, or will-power, but based upon His grace and the New and complete Covenant He established

Not based on your own achievements, sacrifices, or will-power, but based upon His grace and the New and complete Covenant He established

The New Covenant is not only better than the Old Covenant, it is an unquestionable necessity.

To experience God’s mercy, grace, and love, it is essential.

New Covenant…A Necessity

Exposition: Even though the Old Covenant is obsolete (a shadow of the New), the author stops to recognize some of the beauty and holiness of it

He seems indeed to linger over the sacred treasures of the past…there was, he says, something majestic and attractive in the Mosaic ordinances of worship — Westcott

I think the best way to proceed with explaining the necessity of the New Covenant is to simply read what the author of Hebrews wrote

The New Covenant is a necessity because of...

The New Covenant is a necessity because of...

Restricted Access in the Old

The Annual Day of Atonement — on that day only, the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies

The presence of the Outer Tent was a visible reminder that there was an inner tent that they were not allowed to enter

The presence of the Outer Tent was a visible reminder that there was an inner tent that they were not allowed to enter

This was the Holy Spirit’s way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can’t just walk in on God (9:8)

Partial Cleansing in the Old