Sermon Tone Analysis
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Come Praise & Glorify
WELCOME
Good morning family!
Happy New Year! . . .
Anybody broken one of their resolutions yet?
Whether you make New Year’s resolutions or not, most of us still find ourselves at the beginning of a new year looking and hoping to change . . .
something . . .
anything . . .
why?
Even on your best days you are not who you should be.
You are not who you want to be.
You are not who you hope to be.
As we begin a new year, let’s look inward at things we need to change about ourselves.
But for every look inward, let’s take ten looks upward, to the One who never changes.
Hear the Word of the Lord from Psalm 136...
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever.”
(Psalm 136:1-3)
We have no idea what the headlines of 2022 will be.
But we who are in Christ already know the most important news there is, the news that will be just as true as it was in 2021. . .
His love endures forever.
If you don’t know that love, our prayer is today you receive it by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon in Matthew 5:17-18.
Turn there now.
While you’re turning, 3 quick announcements:
1) A word about PBC.
We are Disciples.
A disciple is a follower of Jesus, and a local church is a greenhouse where disciples grow
One way we help one another grow is by reminding each other what we believe
We do that through catechisms, short questions and answers about our beliefs
Last two years we’ve done a catechism called the New City Catechism
This year we’re starting something new.
2) Prayer Stations
Beginning at 4 PM there will be a few interactive prayer stations setup in the building.
Pray as a couple, as a family, with a few close friends, or by yourself
Stations will be open from 4-7.
No Tabletalk tonight but the fellowship hall will be open for those who want to spend time together before/after prayer time
3) Refugee Ministry Interest Meeting, January 9 at 4 PM
Trying to determine what level of involvement is best for our church
If you have any interest in serving in a ministry to refugees, please attend or let us know at the blue flag if you’re not able
Now look in your Bibles at Matthew 5:17 as Tasha Tollison comes to read for us.
Scripture Reading (Matthew 5:17-18)
Prayer of Praise (God is Unchanging), Tasha Tollison
My Jesus I Love Thee
All Praise to Him
Prayer of Confession (Pride), Jason Wells
Come Thou Fount
PBC CATECHISM #1
What do we believe about God?
We believe God exists eternally in Trinity.
PASTORAL PRAYER
SERMON
Do Christians pick and choose what parts of the Bible we want to obey?
Are we hypocrites for following some parts and ignoring others?
If Christians insist on clinging to traditional views of sex, gender, and marriage because the Bible says so. . .
what about all the other things the Bible says, particularly in the Old Testament, that Christians seem to ignore?
On July 2, 2021, a popular TikTok performer named Summer Luk posted a video challenging this perceived Christian hypocrisy.
Here’s what was said, edited slightly for content:
“. . .
Your religion also says that eating bacon is a sin (Lev.
11:7).
How come you ignore that?
Your religion also says eating lobster is a sin (Lev.
11:9).
Cutting the sides of your hair is a sin (Lev.
19:27).
Wearing clothes made out of mixed fabrics is a sin (Lev.
19:19).
Getting a tattoo is a sin (Lev.
19:28).
A man trimming the edges of his beard is a sin (Lev.
19:27).
It says that a woman is not to hold any position of authority and is to be quiet (1 Tim.
2:12).
That if a woman is not a virgin on her wedding night she is to be stoned to death (Deut.
22:20).
And that planting two different kinds of seeds in the same field is a sin (Lev.
19:19).
But that’s too hard for you, so you’ve decided that God didn’t mean any of that, he only meant the being gay part.
Listen, if you’re going to spread hatred towards others by quoting the Bible at them, make sure that you first follow the entire thing.
Or shut the entire [****] up.” [1]
If you know your Bible well, you may have noticed that nearly all of Summer’s objections come from the law of Moses in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
And Summer is not the only one who feels this way about Christians and the law of Moses.
That video went on to receive nearly a half million likes.
It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that the most common objections to Christianity you’ll hear in our world today are related to the law of Moses.
Perhaps even more troubling is Summer’s claim to have been raised in a conservative Christian home before leaving a well-known Bible college in California and coming out as a trans woman.
This is a young person who likely grew up hearing the Bible taught and preached.
Yet Summer either was never taught or simply refused to believe what Christians believe about the Old Testament law.
Rightly understanding the Old Testament law is no secondary issue.
It is crucial in defending the faith, evangelizing the lost, discipling the next generation, and holding fast to the truth we have received.
And no one is better equipped to help is think rightly about the law of Moses than Jesus Himself.
Turn to Matthew 5:17
Sermon on the Mount
Jesus is preaching to His disciples about how to live righteously on this earth as citizens of the kingdom of heaven.
To do that, we need to understand how kingdom citizens should relate to the Old testament law.
And no one is better equipped to help is think rightly about the law of Moses than Jesus Himself.
Matthew 5:17-18—“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
If you had thirty seconds to talk with Summer Luk or someone with similar objections, you might simply tell them that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament law.
And because Jesus has fulfilled the law, Christians don’t relate to the law in the same way that Old Testament saints did.
But how did Jesus fulfill the law?
That’s the question, with God’s help, I hope to answer in today’s sermon.
Four Ways Jesus Has Fulfilled the Law:
1) Jesus Obeyed the DEMANDS of the Law
Before we talk about what Jesus did, let’s make sure we all understand what Jesus means by “law”
When we talk about the law today, we’re talking about the law of Moses
Sometimes called the Mosaic Law or just the Law
After God rescued His people from Egypt, He brought them Mount Sinai where He literally laid down the law
Rescued people live differently, and the Israelites were to be no exception
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