Sermon Tone Analysis

What you’re looking at is an example of an ancient papyrus letter.

It’s similar to what the Apostle Paul used when writing his NT letters.

Papyrus was the writing material of the ancient world.

It was made from the papyrus reed.

Missionaries like Paul would’ve carried God’s Word around like this in those days.

As you can see this one is well travelled.

It’s old.

What you’re looking at is an example of an ancient papyrus letter.

It’s similar to what the Apostle Paul used when writing his NT leters.

Papyrus was the writing material of the ancient world.

It was made from the papyrus reed.

So missionaries like Paul would’ve carried God’s Word around like this in those days.

As you can see it’s well travelled.

The oldest known complete copy of this part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians can be seen at a museum in Ireland and dates back to between 180-200 AD.

Just imagine the price something like this would fetch at an auction.

It’s priceless, really.

You couldn’t even buy this if you wanted to because the museum wouldn’t give it up.

Papyrus is an ancient form of paper made from the papyrus reed, that was cut, laid out and pressed flat.

Then you’d write on it with ink.

Papyrus is an ancient form of paper made from the papyrus reed, that was cut, laid out and pressed flat.

Then you’d write on it with ink.

Today the oldest known complete copies of Paul’s letter are a part of Papyrus 46 (P46 for short).

Being the oldest complete copy of Paul’s letter, you can just imagine how much it’s worth.

It’s priceless today.

You couldn’t buy it because the museum would never give it up.

Today the oldest known complete copies of Paul’s letter are a part of Papyrus 46 (P46 for short).

Being the oldest complete copy of Paul’s letter, you can just imagine how much it’s worth.

It’s priceless today.

You couldn’t buy it because the museum would never give it up.

Of course, what really makes Paul’s letters priceless, isn’t the papyrus they are written on, or how old they are, but the message that’s inside.

That’s really priceless.

The psalmist said, () “[The Words] from your mouth are more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”

And why that message is such a great treasure the way God is so eager for you to hear it is the subject of the sermon today.

Artifacts like this remind me that the books of the Bible are really travelers through time.

God the Holy Spirit oursaw all of this, insuring that his Word remained the eternal blessing that it is for us still today, missing none of its original thoughts and content.

The Spirit also oversaw the painstaking efforts at hand copying as well as the inspiration of the scriptures.

The oldest known complete copies of Paul’s letters are a part of Papyrus 46 (P46 for short).

They are copies that date back to between 180-200 AD.

Being the oldest complete copies of Paul’s letters, you can just imagine the price this would fetch at an auction.

It’s priceless, really.

You couldn’t even buy it if you wanted to because the museum where its kept would never give it up.

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;

Of course, what really makes Paul’s letters priceless, isn’t the papyrus they are written on, or how old they are, but the message inside is what is really priceless.

The law from your mouth is more precious to me thanthousands of pieces of silver and gold.

God’s Word is a treasure and on the basis of Paul’s words to the Corinthians today I would encourage you to “Treasure the Treasure” God gives to you in the Bible.

1.) See how eager he is for us to hear it, and 2.) Praise him for the great blessings he brings us through it.

Today the oldest surviving copies of Paul’s letters date back to 180-200 AD.

Known as Papyrus 46 (P46 for short), it is oldest complete copy of Paul’s letters.

Of course, it’s permanently housed in museums in Ireland and a couple other places.

Praise God that he affords us time to hear to his Word.

See how eager how he for us to do that.

Now, if a missionary would’ve drop a papyrus letter like this back in the day it was originally written, it wouldn’t fetch anywhere near the price it would today.

That’s because materially speaking, if you got to hold on to one of Paul’s letters when he wrote them, what made them priceless, was not the papyrus itself

urse, they are permanently housed in a museum in Ireland and a couple other places.

P46, dating to about 180–200 A.D., is the earliest known collection of Paul’s letters (of the 208 pages in the original, only 172 survive, 112 in the Chester Beatty Library and 60 in the library of the University of Michigan)

Apparently, the portable codex best suited the needs of early Christian missionaries trying to spread the gospel.

known to scholars as Papyrus 46, is believed to be the oldest known surviving copy of the Letters of St. Paul.

Out of the 104 page collection, 30 leaves reside here in Ann Arbor, 56 leaves reside at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin and 18 are lost.

Talk about the treasure of the scriptures literally found in clay jars...Dead Sea scrolls!

Remote hidden treasures such as waterfalls are gifts from the Lord and give us a possible glimpse of what beautiful things we have to look forward to seeing when God creates the new heavens and earth.

At 17,000 fragments, the university’s papyrus collection is the largest in North America— and one of the five largest collections in the world, according to university officials.

Or,

Or, talk about the treasure of the scriptures literally found in clay jars...Dead Sea scrolls!

https://answersingenesis.org/wild-brothers/missionary-blog/2017/05/16/hidden-treasure/

Talk about the treasure of the scriptures literally found in clay jars...Dead Sea scrolls!

Or, talk about the treasure of the scriptures literally found in clay jars...Dead Sea scrolls!

Praise God that he affords us time for hearing his Word.

See how eager He is to have us hear his Word.

See how eager He is to have us hear his Word.

First, consider the great lengths God went to bring his Word to his people.

Paul said, (v.5,8-11)

“....we preach...Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake…(v.8)

we are hard pressed on every side…(v.9)

persecuted...struck down…(v.11)

given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.”

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake…we are hard pressed on every side… ...persecuted...abandoned; struck down...we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Listen to the lengths he went as God’s servant.

(v.5,8-11) “....we preach...Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake…(v.8)

we are hard pressed on every side…(v.9)

persecuted...struck down…(v.11)

given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.”

We are hard pressed on every side,but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

The reason Paul went through all this he said, was because he was “your servant for Jesus’ sake.”

That’s why he does what he does, “for Jesus’ sake.”

I serve Jesus to make him known to you.

And what great things he was willing to go through to do this!

Starting out, I guarantee you Paul had no idea what he was in for.

In fact, from Acts 16ff we see that Paul had a rather small itinerary in mind when founded this congregation on his second journey.

He didn’t even intend to make it this far at all (to Macedonia where Corinth was)—he was going to stay on familiar turf in Asia Minor and just make a loop around like the first journey, re-visiting the churches he previously founded, and then head into Asia Minor.

But the Spirit of the Lord wouldn’t let him turn either to the right or left.

Instead, the Spirit drove him on to Troas (where he received a vision of a man from Macedonia saying, “Come over and help us,”).

That required Paul to rent a vessel in which he could set sail to Macedonia and the city of Philippi.

There we know Paul was arrested and severely flogged and jailed.

With the angel’s help he miraculously escaped from prison (after baptizing the jailor and his family).

From there it was on to Thessalonica where the Jews caused a riot.

Paul escaped under cover of night from there to Berea.