Sermon Tone Analysis

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 118

Scripture Reading: Psalm 62:5-8

COMMUNION:

As we move on to our time of communion, I would like to share a thought I was reading the other day about what we call the sacraments.

Just so we are clear there are two things that The Lord Jesus has given to the church that we are to do that we call sacraments.

those tow are Baptism and The Lord’s Supper.

Baptism, just so you know was given to the church most explicity in a text that we have read every week for the past 32 Sundays, Matthew 28:19

Communion there are a few places we could go, one we will read later, the text we go to every communion Sunday in 1 Corinthians 11, but also in Luke 22:19

So what these to have in common is that they are both instituted by Jesus, but there are some important differences.

Baptism is a once for the rest of your life sort of thing whereas communion we repeat over and over again for the nourishment of our souls.

The question that I would like to ask is WHY?

While there are a few good answers we could give, here’s the point I read, and what I would like to share.

It is because these sacraments are sacraments of a different type of Love.

Baptism is, in some sense, a sacrament of Our Love towards God.

Shortly this is why we believe in Believers baptism.

But baptism is a declaration that, as the song Goes, i have decided to follow Jesus.

While it is true that God uses it to strengthen us, yes, The power of Baptism originates not in me, but in God, the proclamation is of my love for the triune God in whose name we are baptized, The father, the son and the Holy Spirt.

Communion, on the other hand is a sacrament of God’s love.

In seeing the body and blood of Christ we see the great love that God had for s.

We see the fullness of God’s love that those the father calls the son saves and the Sprit seals.

Thus the sacrament communicates God’s love.

Communion shows us the great love that causes the father to send his only son. the son to willingly offer himself and the spirit to teach our heart these things.

The love starts at God here and comes down to us.

Which lead me to some contemplating on why we need one once and one over and over again.

and this is because, as we have talked about for the last two sermons, our love is fickle, it wanes, we struggle with doubt, we are imperfect.

God’s love, on the other hand, is constant, and always available.

Whereas even my love must be sanctified and made better, for I am so fallen and miserable that I cannot seem to love God the way I should, his love is, in a real sense, that thing by which we move and have our being, it sustains us.

It is by his grace and love that we are hear today, it is only thorough his grace and love that we will be here tomorrow.

So we need communion over and over again, because we need God’s love at all times and in everything.

So today as we prepare our hearts for communion, I would like to encourage you, relish the greatness of God’s love that we celebrate here as we come to the table.

his body was broken that we may find healing, he has been good to us.

The cup in the new covenant in his blood, by which we are washed clean, all our sins are removed from us and we now walk in the righteousness of christ!

SO before we even pass the elements out, we are going to start with a time of prayer and reflection, repentance and even worship.

Paul, in first Corinthians warns the Corinthian church that

So what is a worthy manner, it is humble admission that we need him, it is peace with one another (See Matthew 5) it is peace with God.

It is remembering that as 1 John says: .

SO lets begin with a time of silent prayer, repentance and reflection.

FINISH COMMUNION!

Sermon

Good Morning Church!

I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord.

Well I need to begin by going back to last week.

And I need to apologize.

When I was a youth pastor I used to tell my kids, if I say something wrong, The proudest day of my life will be when you correct me.

Well last week that was put to the test.

Over the course of One point dealing with Sodom I said two regrettable things.

And I would like to credit Zach and Dali for letting me know.

One, I said that Lot bargained with God, that was just a brain fog said the wrong name, just so you know it was Abraham. the other one is in my opinion worse.

I said that the argument went 10,5,1 but it didn’t.

It went 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10.

While my point does not change (the point was, if you are a city you REALLY don’t want to be compared to Sodom) i was wrong.

Why would I say that misspeaking some numbers is worse than saying the wrong name?

It is because I know my heart.

You know how long it takes me when writing a sermon to check a cross reference?

Max 10 seconds.

I write my sermons in my bible software and so it would involve a click a typing of genesis 18 and enter.

But i decided that I would not just double check the story of Sodom and Gomorrah because, I know that one.

And so in doing so did not just do something I endeavor to never do, which is what David Helm calls “going above the line of Scripture” but worse: I invented a whole new line.

But with that out of the way we can now turn our attention to our text for today, Matthew 11:25-30, Matthew 11:25 to the end of the chapter.

It is also the end of the John the Baptist interlude after the missions discourse.

And this morning we will begin by reading our text.

These are the words of the Lord for us this morning, Lets open with a word of Prayer

PRAY.

I am pretty sure most of us have heard this text once or twice in our lives.

The most popular Christian book of the last year was based Jesus description of himself in this text.

this is a familiar and beloved passage.

And If I would ask you: what is it all about?

you would probably answer: Rest, for that is how it is most often taught, and the thing that quite frankly our soul need the most and so what resonates within us.

Furthermore, if you were to ask the ESV translators, what is this about, I know they would say “rest” because that is what they have titled this passage by summarizing verse 28: “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”

But here is a time when the CSB gets it closer with “The son gives knowledge and rest” and don’t tell anyone I said this, the NIV actually I think nails it with: “The Father revealed in the Son.”

This passage is about something much bigger than just the rest we get in christ, though that is certainly here.

I have called this portion “The great reward” and let me let context explain.

If we remember back two weeks ago, John the Baptist and his doubt were front and center.

And Jesus said, I am the messiah, my actions, and just WHO I AM vindicate that fact, he who has an ear let him hear.

But then he switched, Jesus talked about the ministry of John the Baptist to the unbelieving world all around.

He showed the weight of their unbelief ans they could not hear, they could not see, and tragically they refused to believe.

So Jesus culminates THAT thought with the woes to the cities. because they will not believe, there are going to have a rough time come judgement.

But there is a thought, what about people like John the Baptist, what about those who WILL believe, either the disciples who endure, or those that gladly accept their message as they go to the world.

and THAT is what Jesus will focus on here, it is more than just rest, though it is certainly rest, it is larger than that because this is the reward for faith.

And so this morning I would like to break up this text to see three thoughts that Jesus give us here that are nourishment for your souls.

The way that we will approach this text this morning is by seeing what we gain from faith, belief, and I would say from some specific Knowledge that Jesus will give us, and then what that particular knowledge gains us.

So lets just dive in, the first is to see that to have UNDERSTANDING YOU MUST KNOW YOUR PLACE

To have UNDERSTANDING know YOUR PLACE

We open this section with a prayer.

Specifically a prayer of thanksgiving.

Matthew 11:25-26

Jesus is thankful, but thankful for what?

He is thankful for i would argue verse 26 specifically God’s gracious will.

But what is God’s gracious will?

this is where it gets incredible.

God’s will was to hide “these things” - we will come back to that - but he hides these things from the wise and understanding.

But those very same things are revealed to the little children.

SO this is where the idea of “your place” comes in.

note in just this short two verses two important distinctions are made.

The first distinction is between the creator and the creature.

God is the “Lord of heaven and earth.

h rules and reigns.

he has a gracious will and also, implied here, is that he has a sovereign will.

The first distinction, and where we had better learn our place is in this sort of cosmic scale.

It is a juxtaposition, on one had God - He is the “Lord of heaven and earth”, the one who hides, the one who reveals, the one whose perfect sovereign will reigns supreme.