In our first of several sermons on the clash between the Pharisees and Jesus, Matthew 12 shows us the god and idol of the religious, the heart of the religious, and the attitudes and actions of the religious. Religion here means the opposite of grace -- salvation through works. The religious, from evil hearts, worship Satan as their god using the idol of rules. As a result it is no surprise that their actions (especially their words) and attitudes are evil. They look for a way to accuse Jesus, they are judgmental, compare themselves to others defensively, and defensively assert their own righteousness instead of resting in Christ's righteousness. The religious way to avoid Jesus is to attempt to avoid sin. But the only way of salvation is Jesus Christ.

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Labels: christ, grace, heart, idolatry, idols, judge, Matthew, Pharisees, sacrifices, satan, worship

See previous description.

Click here to listen to the sermon at Shepard Memorial.

Labels: burnt offerings, grain offerings, heart, joshua, peace offerings, sacrifices, serve, shema, soul, witness, worship

Joshua 22 reminds the people of Israel that no matter where they go they need to return to the place God has chosen and serve Him. How? First, they were to observe all that Moses commanded with all their heart and soul. Second, in particular this means they were to serve at Shiloh. Thus the theme is that they are to offer their burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings in loving service of the LORD their God with all their heart and soul at Shiloh. Applying this text to the generations after AD 70 (the destruction of Jerusalem prophesied by Jesus) takes some study. For Judaism this study is Torah and Talmud study, and especially reading the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4 especially). This application of the text is appropriate because of many points of contact between Deuteronomy 6:4ff and Joshua 22. But the verse has a different meaning for Christians. The difference is Jesus Christ. Jesus is LORD. And His work of death on the cross, resurrection to glory, and sending the Spirit on Pentecost changes the purpose of this text for us to observing all that the LORD Jesus Christ commanded and serving sacrifices of praise in the congregation, which is the tabernacle of God. May we all testify and witness to our faith in Him in the congregation. Amen.

Click here or title in order to listen to the sermon at Peter Creek.

Labels: burnt offerings, grain offerings, heart, joshua, peace offerings, sacrifices, serve, shema, soul, witness, worship