Sermon Tone Analysis

Happy new year!

A new decade brings a time for us to do a lot of reflecting.

If you are new to Unity Baptist Church, each year we try to create a theme for the year that we use as an umbrella over our teaching to point us in the right direction and keep us focused.

Because we know that we are on a journey, and as we make our way in that journey, we know we have a purpose.

And that purpose is clearly declared in scripture; for the redeemed, God is working to conform us into the image of Christ.

In other words, we're on a journey of transformation.

So as we work with the Holy Spirit, we try to do things intentionally by having such things as this theme: "Following in the Shadow of Our Savior".

And you say, "Wait, I thought we were going to start a new series?"

Well, we are, and it is called "The Heart of Prayer," but this series is going to be just a little bit different.

This is the first of four messages and we're not going to get to the subject of prayer till the very end, then it will all tie together.

I want to take just a moment to promote our theme for the year.

This is the first Sunday, the first gathering of corporate worship in a new year and a new decade.

You may have taken stock in your journey thus far and done some evaluating to see where you are in your journey of transformation.

Or maybe you haven't and maybe this is going to serve more as a prod for you rather than an affirmation.

This is a time of year that we often approach with good intentions, a sort of "fresh start".

Some of you may decide that you're going to lose some weight this year by eating less cookies or M&M's.

But I would like to give you some encouragement (in the form of a booklet) as you develop your new year resolutions.

For those of you that are close to me, you know, I really appreciate Jonathan Edwards.

He has been named as one of the greatest theologians ever produced in America.

When he was in his twenties, he had such a love for the Lord and such a desire to live intentionally and righteously for the glory of the Lord that he established some resolutions that he would live by.

We've got copies of those resolutions in little booklets available for purchase.

The booklet title is "Jonathan Edwards Resolutions: And Advice to Young Converts.

Don't let the title fool you, this is good for any believer.

If you want to get your spiritual perspective, and your direction for the year, lined up while getting a little bit of accountability from saints of old, I would recommend this little read for you.

On today's listening guide you will see our verse to contemplate.

If you're new to Unity, this particular verse to contemplate is a verse we use for our whole series to let it give us direction in the series.

Something that we can contemplate, chew on, or even memorize.

And I'd like for us to read this verse out loud from Galatians 4:6 right now and we'll come back to it at the end of our message this morning as well.

"God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts crying, Abba father."

What a wonderful declaration!

As we talk about the heart of prayer we have to start here.

And so, I've entitled this message today "Following in the Shadow of our Savior" because if anybody demonstrated a heart for prayer and a heart of prayer, it was Jesus.

And in this particular section of today's text: Luke 9:57-62 we're going to be looking at three individuals that approached Jesus (well, two approached Jesus and Jesus calls out one).

I want to go ahead and give you a heads up as we read this, you may be thinking, "What does this got to do with prayer?"

In fact, we need to ask this prodding question, "What is the connection between followship and a heart of prayer?

Because all this year, should the Lord tarry, we're going to have this constant thread of followship or following in the shadow of our savior as our theme.

And when I say "in the shadow of Christ", I mean getting up close to Him and staying close to Him.

That starts with having a heart of prayer.

So let's read together and then we're going to make three observations that I believe we can see in our text.

And then I want you to reflect on them as we start this new year together.

(06:11)

Luke chapter nine verse 57 as they were going along the road, someone said to him, Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go.

And Jesus said to him, the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.

And he, Jesus said to another follow me, but he said, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.

But he said to him, allow the dead to bury their own dead.

For as for you go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.

Another also said, I will follow you Lord, but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home.

But Jesus said to him, no one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.

(07:17)

Pray with me.

(07:19)

Father, we thank you for the gift of your word.

John wrote in his gospel that this word is not just what we see as text on the page, but the word was in the beginning, the word was with God and the word is God.

And the word literally took on human flesh and dwelt among us so that we may know you, father, that we may see, that we may touch, that we may hear from those who have seen and heard and touched the teaching of our savior Jesus firsthand.

(08:24)

So this morning we come to you from the gospel of Luke and pray Holy Spirit as you inspired Luke, that you will do a similar work and openour eyes and our ears and find our hearts receptive to the truth that Jesus laid out for his first followers.

And for those of us today who seek to follow you closely, may our time with you and your word minister to your children and encourage them in this new season we call a new year, this start of a new decade.

Only you know what's ahead, but what we know is that we are satisfied in you and we strive to follow after you.

Speaker 1: (09:16)

Father I also pray for our neighbors that may be here this morning or watching this word later, that they may be encouraged to see their greatest need.

If they don't know Jesus as their savior, today I pray they would see their sin for what it is; they would see your love by sending your son that they, indeed, may know today they have a savior who is Christ the Lord, and may they repent of that sin and receive him as their Lord and savior.

Father, use this day together for your glory and use our time in your word to grow your children.

We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

(10:03)

[This is] probably one of the hardest sections of the teachings of Christ to process, especially some of the things he says about "let the dead bury the dead".

But this morning, as we try to tackle these things, keep in mind that Jesus is teaching.

He's not just responding to a certain circumstance.

There is no one that has ever walked the face of the earth that has been more intentional in everything that he said and did than Jesus.

We can see that because of the intent of his coming, which is revealed in this account of his interactions.

(10:46)

The first thing I want us to observe, #1 "To follow Jesus, is to trust in the father's care and provision."

(10:57)

Verse 57 says, "and they were going along the road and someone said," Now, we ask ourselves, Well, who's this someone?"

Well, in Matthew's gospel, he records this same event, but he describes, or rather, he identifies this person that came to Jesus.

He was a scribe, he was one of the religious workers in the temple who literally had the task of copying God's word and interpreting God's word because of their familiarity in their work.

It was one who was well taken care of because of this high responsibility.

(11:38)

So this person is coming to Jesus and saying, "I will follow you."

And Jesus is making a declaration to him, a declaration in verse 58 that communicates this message: To follow Christ, we've got to trust in the father's care and provision.

For the scribe, he trusted in his ability and his office to take care of his needs, and they were well taken care of.

But Jesus goes on to say in verse 58, "if you follow me, the foxes have holes, the birds have nests but (notice he says "the son of man" again.

Jesus is identifying as a human God in the flesh, God man as a man, the son of man) has nowhere to lay his head."

(12:28)

You say, "Now, what is Jesus teaching this guy?"

He says, "Listen, if you want to follow me, you've got to trust God to take care of you."

And as we start this new year, as we talked about already in many Sunday gatherings and Bible studies before, and even as we declared in the songs this morning, we are a people who, through the way we live and the way we process life, preach a message that says either God is faithful to take care of his kids or he is not.

Jesus says, if we're going to follow him, we've got to walk as he walked.

We've got to follow him closely and live as he lived, in total dependence upon the father.

(13:16)

Now again, don't misunderstand.

I don't think the teaching is telling us we need to sell everything we've got and follow Christ and just trust him every day to provide you meal and shelter and clothing.

No, I think there's a principle here that we are to live a life of faith.

Faith in who God is!

Speaker 1: (13:39)

You say, "Well, that's the challenge that sometimes I struggle with thinking 'Is God faithful?'"

We need to remember that was part of what Jesus came to address.

John chapter one verse 18, it says that "no one has seen God at any time.

The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the father.

He has explained him."

Now John is writing his gospel after literally following Christ, so he's writing with an account of understanding and knowledge that he's seen with his own eyes.

He has literally lived the kind of life of care and trust in the father because he's followed Jesus and Jesus has shown the faithfulness, the faithfulness of God the father, though Jesus as the son of God, the son of man, he had no home to go to.

He had no place to lay his head.

(14:38)

The Bible givesthis to us time and time again.

God provided for Jesus' toll tax.

We never see where Jesus is hungry.

As a matter of fact, in this particular chapter, God is feeding the 5,000 with just a few fish and few loaves of bread.

Again, demonstrating that God is able to take care of us.

What I'm sharing with you, Unity, is that we have a brand new opportunity this year to show the world that, in spite of what's going on (and a lot seems to be going on), God is faithful to take care of us and we trust him.

We put our faith and our trust in him because we're not like the "unbelievers" as Jesus described those who worry and show anxiety over their lives.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter six verse 31 through 33 "Do not worry then saying, what will we eat?