Sermon Tone Analysis

Opening

We as Christians dedicate ourselves to the celebration, worship and service of Christ Jesus.

Those who do not know who Christ is, may wonder at how the Church understands who Christ is.

At Christmas to the outsider, it would seem we celebrate a baby who was born into poverty.

At what is commonly called Easter, Christ is a man celebrated for being crucified and coming back to life.

One of the reasons many of us call Easter “Resurrection Day”, is to combat against the hijacking of one of the Churches most sacred celebrations, by a cotton tailed bunny, colored eggs, pastel candy and a complete loss of the historical planetary impact of the Life, Death and Resurrection of CHRIST.

Because the world, the frailty of human flesh, and Satan do not want the truth about who Christ is to be understood.

We live in the age of information technology.

Think about that.

I remember may years ago flipping through the 100+ Cable channels as asking myself, where is the one channel which broadcasts the truth about Christ the one who upholds all things by the word of HIS POWER 24/7?

In the 21st century your choices are limited to a channel which might at best occasionally have a pastor or minister proclaiming God’s word, and more often than not, exposure to a form of religion devoid of Christ altogether, proclaimed by Men and Women who in the name of Christ, truth and personal happiness, change the truth of God into a lie.

Today, if you are seeking truth and trying to learn who Christ is, you might turn on a CNN special and learn about the highly implausible skeptically reported story of a man who, healed the sick, raised the dead, and walked on water.

Your other options are asking your smart device or Google “who is Jesus Christ” and surfing through the more than 400 Million hits for the and answer hoping to find the right answer.

Maybe Wikipedia has it right…RIGHT!?!

Beloved our text this morning is about the nature of Christ.

The Truth, Life, Celebration, Exaltation, and Superiority of who Christ is.

They are words designed to introduce us to the privilege of being called a child of God.

“The Eternal Promise of the Christ” is not found ONLY at his birth, or ONLY at his Crucifixion, or ONLY at his Resurrection, but is expressed in the everlasting promise of our living eternal Prophet, Priest and King Christ Jesus.

This morning we gather to celebrate the LIVING CHRIST, the HOLY TRINITY, the declaration of the FATHER, the power of the Holy Spirit, the LIVING WORD OF GOD.

We do this with the proclamation of God Word, through supplication and prayer, through fellowship, songs which glorify the LORD, praise which honors the KING, festive meals, and the giving of gifts.

The title of our message “CHRIST: One Superior Gift” is designed to provoke you.

I want you to look at the Holiday season as it approaches as a season where the true meaning of thankfulness is reflected in the understanding, and dedicating yourself as the servant of the King, living, possessing, using, sharing, speaking of and remembering each and every day, that everything you are, everything you will ever become, all your possessions, every penny you will ever earn, save, spend or give, are yours because of God.

Because of him, and through him and to him are all things (Rom 20:3).

Christ is One in authority, uniqueness, and superiority.

And he is the greatest gift given to humanity for the glory of God.

The followers of Christ in the New Testament () gave of what they had to ensure everyone had what they needed.

The Magi brought gifts to Christ as a child and worshiped him (), and it is noted in and , that parents give good gifts to their children in caring for them.

We learn from the gift of Christ how to give sacrificially.

In the Old Testament there are a several places where the offerings, sacrifices and service commanded by God are referred to as gifts or holy gifts.

They presented commanded, but they are considered gifts to the Lord (; ; , ; ).

These holy gifts, offerings and sacrifices are echoed in the New Testament in the epistle to the Hebrews where Christ’s is pictured as the One Superior Gift, the perfect sacrifice come to replace temporary and imperfect gifts commanded in the Old Testament, and to restore to His people the fullness of Worship through Christ’s perfect sacrificial gift of himself to the benefit of all who repent of their sins, seek Him with all their being and live a life of sacrificial giving as taught throughout the Epistles 13 chapters.

In this message we reflect upon “The Eternal Promise of the Christ” as the “One Superior Gift” echoed in the Law and the Prophets, and fulfilled in the gift of Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection.

Everything the Lord has presented to us in his Word, through the Law and the Prophets, is given as a gift to testify of Christ, to lead us to him as our only propitiation, that is the “One Superior Sacrificial Gift”, which could take away the sins of the world, Christ the Lamb of God (; ; ).

says the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable, that is God does not repent or change his mind, having presented them to his people, on the contrary it was for the joy that was set before him () Christ willingly offered himself on behalf of those who are his beloved people, if you know him as your Lord, God and King, then you are a recipient of the greatest gift in the history of Creation.

If you do not understand what you are hearing, if you sense a lack of relationship with Christ in your life, either because you are unsure, or because of some hidden sin in your life, then please take the time to speak to one of the Elders this morning, or come speak to me after the service, but whatever you do, DO NOT forsake that call which you are hearing in your heart.

Knowing CHRIST as the Lord is essential, he was born lived and died to bless you with the greatest gift of all, the forgiveness of sins making you holy, thereby granting you the ability to enter into the presence of God Almighty as one of his precious children forever more.

No longer are you condemned for the sin which you commit from day to day but embrace the Love of Christ as the One and only constant in your life, the author and finisher of your faith.

1.

The Superiority of Christ

(, ; ; )

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,

Christ who is the focus of Chapter 1 in Hebrews, also forms an outline for the whole letter.

The book of Hebrews is written to a group of BELIEVERS, most likely they, as the title of the book suggests, we made up of Jewish descendants (the Hebrews), but the epistle also speaks to all classes of men women and children as the Living Word of God ().

The epistle presents Christ from its opening words as superior:

Christ who is the focus of Chapter 1 in Hebrews, also forms an outline for the whole letter.

The book of Hebrews is written to a group of BELIEVERS, most likely they, as the title of the book suggests, and presents Christ from its opening words as the one messiah who is SUPERIOR:

SUPERIOR To the prophets, who spoke and taught of him (vv.1-3)

(NKJV)

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

To the prophets, who spoke and taught of him (vv.1-3).

Christ who is the focus of Chapter 1 in Hebrews, also forms an outline for the whole letter.

The book of Hebrews is written to a group of Jewish believers, and presents Christ from its opening words as the one messiah who is superior:

(NKJV)

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things were created through Him and for Him.

17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things were created through Him and for Him.

17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things were created through Him and for Him.

17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

· SUPERIOR To the Angels who are his ministering spirit to those who inherit salvation (v.14)

For angels refuse worship (, ), command the worship of God and Christ alone, and are ministers of the Lord, for the service of those who are heirs of salvation.

· SUPERIOR To Moses considered the great prophets in the Old Testament ()

SUPERIOR To the Angels who are his ministering spirit to those who inherit salvation (v.14)

For angels refuse worship (, ), command the worship of God and Christ alone, and are ministers of the Lord, for the service of those who are heirs of salvation.

To the prophets, who spoke and taught of him (vv.1-3)

SUPERIOR To Moses considered the great prophets in the Old Testament ()

(NKJV)

3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.

4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

SUPERIOR To the Priests under the old covenant (4:14 – 10:13)

(NKJV)

3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.

4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

SUPERIOR To the Priests under the old covenant (4:14 – 8:13)

· Christ knows your sorrows, your joys, your tiredness, and hunger.

Christ knows your sorrows, your joys, your tiredness, and hunger.

· Christ is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey and follow him.

(NKJV)

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Christ is the author of true salvation to all who obey and follow him.

· Christ is a Priest after the order of Melchizedek, who worships the God of Heaven and earth.

(See also )

CHRIST CAME LIVED AND DIED TO BRING THESE GIFTS TO HIS PEOPLE.

HE IS THE ONE SUPERIOR GIFT THROUGH WHOM AND FOR WHOM ALL THING WERE MADE.

THAT INCLUDES YOU BELOVED.

Christ is the one true Priest-King after the order of Melchisedec, who worships the God of Heaven and earth.

(See also )

(See also )

CHRIST CAME LIVED AND DIED TO BRING THESE GIFTS TO HIS PEOPLE.

HE IS THE ONE SUPERIOR GIFT THROUGH WHOM AND FOR WHOM ALL THING WERE MADE.

THAT INCLUDES YOU BELOVED.

FOR IN THE FORM OF EVERY HUMAN LIFE THE IMAGE OF GOD IS PRESENT.