Sermon Tone Analysis

Core - 2

How to Be a Christian

Introduction

Everything in life can boil down to its core content.

We intuitively understand that there is a core essence to all things.

This is why we have the phrase that we use when we want to understand the basics of a message…”boil it down for me.”

Recently some online folks decided to quite literally boil down Coco-Cola and Coke Zero to their basic essence, so that they could show the difference between the two.

Here are the results.

[video clip of Coke boiling]

It is always helpful to know what is at the core of something.

I grew up in a baseball family.

My brother and I spent our free time playing the sport and we both played from age 4 up into college.

My high school program was always a formidable contender for the state tournaments.

Our Freshman season was spent focused on offense.

Our Sophomore season was spent focused on defense.

That way, by the time we made it to Varsity, we were well-rounded players.

I had a light-bulb moment during my sophomore year as we focused on defense.

Nobody likes defense.

Everybody likes to play offense.

Glory is found at the plate, not catching fly balls.

But Coach Hein helped us boil down baseball to its essence.

What is baseball?

It is a game of outs.

Not a game of runs or hits, because only one can win a game.

It’s a game of outs…first one to 27 wins.

I have forever viewed the game differently.

TS - It is always helpful to know what is at the core of something.

Our faith is no different.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

When you strip away all the moving parts and boil Christianity down to its core, what remains?

Last week we started this series called Core with How to Become a Christian.

Today we conclude the series with How to Be a Christian.

Jesus showed us the core of our faith when he taught what is known as the Great Commandment.

- 28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate.

He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel!

The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.

30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’

31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

No other commandment is greater than these.”

At the core of Christianity, there is this dual focus…Love God and Love People.

For our purposes today, we will boil down the faith of Christianity to these two ideas: Allegiance to Jesus and Alliance with Others.

Let’s spend the rest of our time together looking at each of those.

ALLEGIANCE TO JESUS

This past May, fast-food giant Burger King launched an online ad campaign in Belgium in preparation for its new presence in the country.

To get the promotion going, they set up a mock vote on their website [pic - bk website] allowing users to “vote” for their rightful king…their actual King Philippe, or Burger King.

“Two Kings.

One Crown.

Who will rule?”

[pic - two kings] If you chose to vote for King Philippe, it pops up a window that says, “Are you sure?

He won’t make you fries.”

Very clever.

Just one problem…the actual King of Belgium was not amused.

The royal family reached out to Burger King to have the ad pulled, and it was.

BK was right…there is only one crown, and it’s already being worn by the King.

From the very beginning moment of our faith, the church has grasped that the core of Christianity is this…there is only one King and his name is Jesus.

In , Jesus has already risen from the dead and meets personally with his closest followers.

He gives them their instructions on taking the Gospel to the world, then he ascends into Heaven.

In , about 50 days after that first Easter, about 120 Christians were meeting together during a Jewish festival known as Pentecost.

On that day the Holy Spirit falls from Heaven onto these believers.

A large crowd has gathered around these Christians from all parts of the world.

God enables these early Christian leaders to participate in a great miracle…they are divinely enabled to speak in languages they don’t personally know so they can share the Gospel with the international crowd that is present.

Peter stands up to preach that day.

Here is part of his sermon…

- 22 “People of Israel, listen!

God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.

23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed.

With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.

24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.

Peter focuses on the work of Jesus, his death, burial, and resurrection.

He went to the cross and was killed, but God raised him from the dead.

So this is the message of the Gospel…death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

And because of this great work of Jesus on our behalf, Peter lands at his main point declaring the identity of Jesus:

- 36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

So because of the work of Jesus, he is declared to be Lord and Messiah.

Lord means King.

Messiah (Christ) refers back to his saving work, the promised deliverer for God’s people.

So because of Jesus’ work on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead, he is both Savior and King.

Therefore, the faith of Christianity completely revolves around Christ.

He is the Savior.

He is the Lord.

So as we looked last week at How to Become a Christian, it makes perfect sense then that to become a Christian we believe the good news of Jesus.

If Jesus is the Savior and the King, how could someone be saved if they didn’t believe that?

It makes perfect sense that we repent of sins and turn to Jesus.

He is the King.

It makes sense we confess Jesus as Lord…because that’s what he is.

There isn’t an option but to agree.

It makes sense to be immersed into Christ, to unite our lives with Jesus…he is the Savior and King…what other option is there for salvation?

In his book titled The 100, astrophysicist Michael Hart asks a provocative question: Who are the 100 most influential people in history?

Of all the human beings who have ever lived, who has had the deepest impact on our lives today?

His list includes prominent historical figures like Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology.

It also includes Louis Pasteur who ushered us into the realm of modern medicine.

But the primary question remains…what did he do with Jesus?

Well, Jesus ranked a respectable #3 on the list.

Hart ranked Jesus just behind Islam founder, Muhammed, and Sir Isaac Newton.

Ironic side-note…Isaac Newton was a devout Christian and would be horrified to see he outranked Jesus.

This is the issue right here that every single person has to address: what do I do with Jesus?

For the Christian, there isn’t a choice in the matter.

Being a Christian simply means that Jesus gets ranked as #1.

No debate, no resistance.