Sermon Tone Analysis

Sacrifice He doesn’t desire

Obedience to the Law

The Pharisees and the scribes were trying to control God through obedience to the Law and they were trying to subordinate God’s people by their ability to dictate how God wanted His lay obeyed.

False Piety

At the very outset of the treatise Luther takes issue with the prevalent understanding of good works.

This understanding regarded good works as those prescribed by the church and voluntarily assumed by the faithful: fasting, pilgrimages, fixed prayer recitation, going to mass, etc.

Such a concept established a false dichotomy of works.

It led quite easily to the idea that there is a distinction in works in God’s sight, by which certain works are superior or religious and therefore more acceptable to God, whereas others are inferior or secular and therefore less acceptable.

To this Luther says unequivocally that there are no good works save those which God has commanded; that the first and most precious good work is faith in Christ; that in this faith one work is like another because there is no distinction between them; and that this faith is the source from which all truly good works issue.

Luther is dealing with the Catholic Church pre-Vatican I When the idea of pious works and church doctrine were more relevant for salvation than anything.

The direct problem being they were trying to impress the Pope rather than Jesus.

ONE Man

Dancing with Josie

I don’t want you to think that somehow you have the ability to hold on to your faith in Jesus, no more than you have the ability to keep to all the promises you made to your spouse at your wedding.

Rather, think of it like this.

When I was dating Brittany I told her I had this idea that I was raised on, I would watch my parents in the evening, mom might be getting dinner ready or doing something in the kitchen or vise versa and the other would come take there hand and they would dance in the kitchen.

It looked like love to me....

I told Brittany thats what I wanted and she wrote me a song about it.

Im telling you that because its embarrassing, & you should ask her to play it for you.

Now, Brittany has never been one to be a romantic or into that mushy stuff, but lately there has been a new lady who has taken great interest in dancing in the kitchen with me.

My 7 year old, Jocelyn.

@ Oktoberfest I taught her the two step and she has asked multiple times since to dance with me.

I put my arm around her and she put her arm around me and we begin to two-step.

She hangs her head, staring at her feet trying to stay together, and I hold on.

We move around the room, back and forth, sometimes she trips or stumbles, and I hold on.

Then she is ready to make a show of it, and she leaves my arms and starts spinning away twirling and whirling and when she’s dizzy and tired I guide her back to me because through all her adventures I hold on.

Thats how this journey is with Jesus, we dance on his shoes, he teaches us the steps, we twirl and whirl - but he always holds on.