Sermon Tone Analysis

Session One: Receive the Gospel

So the first step of discipleship is to “receive the gospel” …this is the starting point for any disciple of Jesus.

What are various words or phrases people use for “becoming a Christian?”

What we’re talking about here is becoming a Christian (slide/question) … “conversion, accepting Christ, getting saved…” lots of ways we refer to this, but at the heart of it is our response to Jesus and what he’s done!

It is receiving the gospel.

Paul, one of the early church leaders wrote a to a church in the city of Corinth (modern day Greece) and he said…

… looking back on the events of Jesus’ life says, “I want to remind you of this gospel that you received”—this is where I’m getting this action step of receiving the gospel—the good news is something to receive it’s the beginning point.

Paul makes it very clear that the good news is about Jesus and how he died for our sins, according to the scriptures—Hebrew Bible—and was raised!

And all of our leaders and over 500 other men and women saw him before he ascended into heaven… Paul says.

So they’ve received this gospel.

But what we after in this first session is to show you more of what that looked like.

So it’s clear in all of our minds what it means for us to receive the gospel.

So… To begin a life of discipleship… a person must begin with receiving the gospel.

We’re going to begin by looking at Jesus and how he spoke of this beginning point?

We’re going to begin by looking at Jesus and how he spoke of this beginning point?

We’re going to begin by looking at Jesus and how he spoke of this beginning point?

Read .

So Jesus came announcing the gospel… verbal message!

And he says 3 things about it, these are the first words of Jesus in Mark’s account.

Remember we’re considering what does Jesus say about this beginning point of discipleship… Jesus says two things have happened… and then gives us a response!

The time is fulfilled.

Read your Bible... leaning forward.

and the kingdom of God is at hand;

Another way to say this, “God is real… and life with him is good… so some come and get in on it!”

Another way to say this… God is real… and life with him is good… so some come and get in on it!

…repent and believe in the gospel...

repent and believe in the gospel...

The time is fulfilled… What time?

What needs to be fulfilled?

Well… all of the passages in the Hebrew Bible saying that a savior is coming.

So the waiting is over!

You ever wait for something for a long time and then the waiting is over?

There’s a relief… good news… no more waiting!

So a part of the gospel, is understanding that Jesus is coming to fulfill a longing in God’s people.

He came as a fulfillment of hope.

BTW, the scriptures are a book of hope.

A good principle to remember in your Bible reading is, “Read the Bible leaning forward.”

So time is fulfilled… what else?

and the kingdom of God is at hand; …”the kingdom of God,” what does that mean?

A kingdom is a territory with people in that territory/land who are ruled by a King.

This Kingdom is God’s.

Jesus is announcing that it is “at hand” / literally comes near/draws near (perfect tense).

This is how he starts off his ministry talking about the good news.

And this is a relief for anyone hearing the message feeling the weight of life… Anyone feeling oppressed, depressed, or stressed.

In other words… relief is at hand.

A just ruler is here!

There’s a new king on the block… a new order for life is here!

God’s rescue operation for the world has been enacted… evil will be confronted… and there is an open invitation to all to live under God’s rule and follow Jesus.

Another way to say this… God is real… and life with him is good… so some come and get in on it!

The time is fulfilled… What time?

What needs to be fulfilled?

Well… all of the passages in the Hebrew Bible saying that a savior is coming.

So the waiting is over!

You ever wait for something for a long time and then the waiting is over?

There’s a relief… good news… no more waiting!

So a part of the gospel, is understanding that Jesus is coming to fulfill a longing in God’s people.

He came as a fulfillment to hope.

BTW, the scriptures are a book of hope.

A good principle to remember in your Bible reading is, “Read the Bible leaning forward.”

So time is fulfilled… what else?and the kingdom of God is at hand; …”the kingdom of God,” what does that mean?

A kingdom is territory with people in that territory/land who are ruled by a King.

This Kingdom is God’s.

Jesus is announcing that it is “at hand” / literally comes near/draws near (perfect tense).

This is how he starts off his ministry talking about the good news.

And this is a relief for anyone hearing the message feeling the weight of life… Anyone feeling oppressed, depressed, or stressed.

In other words… relief is at hand.

A just ruler is here!

There’s a new king on the block… a new order for life is here!

God’s rescue operation for the world has been enacted… evil will be confronted… and there is an open invitation to all to live under God’s rule and follow Jesus.

Another way to say this… God is real… and life with him is good… so some come and get in on it!

repent and believe in the gospel… This is our response to the announcement.

First, we repent.

Repentance is turning from self/sin to God.

It isn’t just confessing sin/admitting wrong.

It’s changing directions.

Forget what you think you know about God and life.

Repentance is radical.

It registers on life’s richter scale of change/shakes things up.

It isn’t simply adding a little religion/morality to your life.

It’s being so overwhelmed by this news of God’s kingdom at hand… that a change is produced.

We turn away from living life just for ourselves… and we put our faith in this gospel.

We believe in it.

We believe it is real.

God is doing something new and Jesus is the one leading this movement.

We decide… “yea I’m in!”

And this movement of the gospel has spread around the globe from Jerusalem all the way to Bremerton, Wa… and if you came here this am thinking you were just coming to church… that’s true but you are coming to so much more… you’ve come to participate in the kingdom of God… this gathering/us together as a people/are a dwelling place for God according to … we are an expression of the Kingdom… a visible demonstration to all of Bremerton that the Kingdom of God has come… Welcome to the Kingdom!

It’s here.

Fellow believers in Jesus… you are a part of so much more than you realize.

So these are the things Jesus begins with.

A look back/time is fulfilled.

A present reality change/Kingdom of God is at hand… And he calls people to respond to repent and trust in the good news.

God is real!

So Jesus announced the good news in this way… and people began joining him… eventually after his death and resurrection others joined as well.

Many received the gospel.

But what did it did look like?

Today when we think about a person becoming a Christian we have certain narratives in mind/stories.

Dramatic conversion story… the person who grew up in a Christian home… or perhaps someone who was at a church service and went forward.

But, what did it look like in NT times for people to receive the gospel and become disciples?When I first became a Christian I went to a church that emphasized a similar experience… they basically said to receive the gospel/become a christian you have to come down the aisle in a church service and pray a special prayer and then you were now, “saved.”

But as I read the Bible and talked to others I realized… this look a lot of different ways.

So I want to show you 5 types of conversion stories… different ways people received the gospel… try to think about how you may relate to these…The “Not Yet” Believer - This is someone who is going about their business… not really interested in Jesus… the things of God… but the Lord interrupts their lives.