Sunday, April 21, 2013

Get right with God

If I gave you a page from a book and asked you to tear it into little pieces, could you do it?
Would it be easy?
Now what if I asked you to put the pieces back together?
Can you do it? 
Not quite so easy, right?
 Would you have torn it up if you knew I was gonna ask you to put it back together again?
Does this scenario sound familiar?
How can it be compared to our lives and the people in them...our relationships and repairing the brokenness we have sometimes caused in them?
What do you think causes this kind of brokenness in our relationships?  SIN.
Just like in putting that picture back together, fixing a relationship is difficult and requires commitment.
Can you damage your relationship with God?
Absolutely.  In sin, we can lose our closeness with him.  You know that warm fuzzy feeling you have when you are on track and going to church, praying, doing the right thing, just on fire for Jesus but then you may slip a little and just a little more and miss a Sunday or two, decide not to help that friend that really needs you, you eventually stop talking to God and that fuzzy feeling fades....
Guess what...You just tore up your page.
But with our relationship with God it can always be repaired...though it may be damaged, we can not lose our salvation.  In this world of passing the blame, we are taught that nothing is our fault and to get out of our mistakes all we have to do is just blame someone else.  In reality, we all sin and it causes problems in our relationships and it takes more than "I'm Sorry" to fix it.  As kids when we do something wrong we are fussed at and told "GO SAY I'M SORRY!" and we do.  But do we ever fully grasp it or is it just a knee jerk reaction to make it all better and move on?
When we sin we have to own up to it...we have to acknowledge our guilt.  Do you take sin seriously?

Do you acknowledge it so you can repent or do you deny it?
If you deny it does it make you any less guilty?
There are two kinds of sin.
Sin of commission - Choosing to do something you know God has said not to do
Sin of omission - not doing something you know God said you should do.
When you sin you feel guilt.  Acknowledging this guilt is not just admitting it but also accepting the wrongness of the sin and consequences of that sin.
How do you feel when you sin?
Emotionally, physically?  Spiritually?
So what makes you feel this way? The Holy Spirit...for our won good to realize our sin and seek forgiveness.
Romans 3:23 - Everyone sins for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

So we must "get right with God"
Ho do we do this today?
In the days of Jesus it is written in Leviticus 5:5, 14-16 that an animal sacrifice was made.  This is not needed today since Jesus going to the cross for us was the ultimate sacrifices and all our sins were payed. 
So confess your sins.  Agree with God that you messed up and you know what you did was wrong.
Repent - turn away from sin and avoid the sin again.
Now just getting right with God isn't enough.  We have to make amends with others.  When we sin against someone God expects us to make it right with the person we have wronged. 
Read Leviticus 6:1-7  Notice how God is offended in this passage.
Returning to holiness involves dealing with sin.  You must recognize you have sinned and seek restoration with God and people you have sinned against.
is there anything you need to do this week to make amends with someone?

Sunday, April 7, 2013

WWJD?

Why is it significant that Jesus rose from the dead?
Jesus' victory over death enables us to experience redemption and transformation.
Read John 20:1-10
Do you  believe that Jesus rose from the dead?
Do you think it is important to have evidence to support your beliefs?  The bible provides evidence of Jesus' resurrection.
What happened Friday?
Jesus died on the cross at mid afternoon.  The Jewish Sabbath began at sundown and his body was wrapped in linen and placed in the tomb.
What about Saturday?
Jewish Sabbath was observed and ended at sundown.
On Sunday the women returned to the tomb at sunrise.  Do you know whey they returned Sunday?
*Background on Jewish burial in First-Century Israel:  warm temp and belief that a dead body was ceremonially unclean resulted in the dead being buried without delay, usually same day.  To leave a body unburied or unattended after death was dishonorable.  After death the family would anoint the body with aromatic oils and spices and wrap the body in linens.

Once we recognize and believe that Jesus is risen, everything changes.  You don't have to understand everything about Jesus before you can believe in him we can't recognize who Jesus is until we hear his voice.  He is not found by human effort alone; he reveals himself to us.
Read John 20:11-18
John 20 is a key chapter in the Gospel.  In the previous chapter, Jesus received scourging, was crucified, and died.  Joseph of Arimathea requested that Pilate release the body to him, and he laid the body in the tomb.  The approaching Sabbath did not allow time to complete the work o preparing the body for burial, since Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and lasted until sundown on Saturday, therefore, Sunday morning provided the first opportunity for anyone to finish the task.  The disciples did not expect the tomb to be empty.  Each disciple had to come to a realization in his own heart of what had happened on Sunday morning and why the body of Jesus was nowhere to be found. 
The resurrection meant Christ was Lord of both life and death.
Do you own your faith?  Some people aren't very concerned about living holy lives.  God expects true holiness of his people.
What does it mean to be holy?
Holiness is being set apart for a relationship with God.
God declared that those people who faithfully kept his covenant would be his special possession, kingdom of priests, and holy nation.
Read Exodus 19:1-6. 
As Christ believers, we are set apart by God to glorify him and to show others the way to him.
God instructed the people to consecrate themselves in preparation to meet God and to set boundaries so as not to approach the holy mountain casually or irreverently.
Read 19:10-14
I am going to name (4) lives, church, social, home and school life.  Are they the same or separate?
As true believers they are intertwined and cannot be separated.
God in a display of his awesome power met his people on mount Sinai.
Read Exodus 19:16-19
We should approach God with the realization that he is Almighty, all-knowing, and all-powerful.  When we worship him, whether by ourselves or with other believers, we need to realize that he is incredible, incomprehensible, and completely in control.
Remember that God's grace does not excuse us from holy dis-obedience; instead it sets the stage for our obedience.  Determine to accept your role as part of God;s holy priesthood.  Understand that we always must approach God on his terms, now our own.  Understand where God puts boundaries and mark those boundaries in your own life to avoid the unholy and to embrace the holy.  Before worship, practice the discipline of confession and repentance, preparing to met holy God.  Come to church with the expectation that you will meet the holy God.  God's character has not changed.