Thursday, October 22, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Matthew 5:4)
Outline: Matthew 5:4
- The meaning of mourning
- The promise of comfort
Summary: The Beatitudes are invitations from Jesus to experience more of God's blessing, joy, and favor in our lives (Matt. 5:3-12). Each Beatitude is a pointed description of Christian character, that is, what every Christian's character should be like. And these character qualities attract the blessing of God and, as we shall see, also enhance our witness in the world (Matt. 5:13-16). The second Beatitude ("Blessed are those who mourn") flows naturally from the first ("Blessed are the poor in spirit"), for it is only after we recognize our need for God that we will begin to feel as we ought to feel. Those who mourn are those who are grieved by what grieves God. This godly grief attracts the blessing of God, especially in the form of comfort (some comfort in this life and complete comfort in the life to come).
Discussion Questions:
- Review: Define "blessed." Beatitudes are invitations, invitations to what?
- What is the meaning of mourning? [Hint: look at it through a narrow lens and a broad lens].
- How do we learn to mourn? [Hint: Analogy: a child watching daddy's tears]
- Thought experiment: what are some things that grieve the heart of God?
- Reflect on this phrase: sometimes "weeping is our worship"
- Can you think of a godly person in your life who is often grieved by what grieves God?
- In what sense is the promise of comfort a present and a future reality?
- Look up these cross-references and consider the comfort that we get to experience in part now and in full later: Isa. 61:1-2; Jn. 16:20-21; Ps. 30:5; 126:5-6; 45:15; Rev. 21:4.
- Comfort is only promised to "those who mourn." How does the gospel make it possible to be one who mourns?
Application Questions:
- How often do you grieve over things that grieve the heart of God?
- What sins in your live should you be mourning over?
- When it comes to your response to the sins of others and the brokenness of society, are you more marked by frustration, irritability, impatience, a critical spirit, etc or by godly grief?
- What would it look like for you to mourn over the sins of others and the brokenness of society?
- What hinders you from grieving over things that grieve the heart of God?
- Why do you think "those who mourn" attract the blessing and favor of God?
Prayer points:
- Confess any of your ungodly responses to the sins of others and the brokenness of society.
- Mourn any sin in your own life.
- Praise God that He mourned our sin and sent His Son to die to pay the penalty for our sin
- Praise God that you have the very Spirit of the Man of Sorrows within you, that you now have the capacity to be grieved by what grieves God. This is a miracle of God's grace!
- Ask God to break your heart for what breaks His
- Ask God to grow your capacity for mourning
Monday, October 12, 2015
Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (Matthew 5:3)
Outline: Matthew 5:3
- What does Jesus mean by "poor in spirit"?
- Why does being "poor in spirit" bring true happiness?
Summary: The Beatitudes are invitations to experience more of God's blessing, joy, and favor in our lives (Matt. 5:3-12). Each Beatitude is a pointed description of Christian character, that is, what every Christian's character should be like. And these character qualities attract the blessing of God and, as we shall see, also enhance our witness in the world (Matt. 5:13-16). The first Beatitude ("Blessed are the poor in spirit") is intentionally placed first, for it is the key that opens all of the other doors of God's blessing. What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? Jesus points at material poverty as a picture of spiritual poverty. Generally speaking, the materially poor recognize their neediness, their weakness, their helplessness, the insufficiency of their resources and their need to rely on others to support them. Similarly, the child of God who attracts their heavenly Father's blessing is one who recognizes their neediness and continually and habitually relies on God. Such a person gets to taste kingdom joy in this life and will most certainly enjoy the fullness of that joy in the age to come.
Discussion Questions:
- What is the meaning of the term "blessed"?
- In what sense should we look at the Beatitudes as invitations? Invitations to what?
- Discuss this idea: "Each Beatitude describes what every Christian's character should be like."
- What is the meaning of "poor in spirit"? [Hint: it may be helpful to recall two analogies from the sermon (the poor beggar and the newborn infant)].
- Why do you think Jesus places this beatitude first? [Hint: try to recall the water sack analogy]
- What is the significance of Jesus emphasizing the present reality of the kingdom when he says blessed are...theirs is the kingdom of heaven?
Application Questions:
- Do you lack real joy in life? What ways do you see self-confidence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency present in your life? Ponder how self-reliance is a joy-killer in your life.
- What doors of blessing, joy, and favor would be opened to you if you were to regularly recognize your neediness and consciously rely on God?
- Why do you think being "poor in spirit" attracts the heart of God?
Prayer points:
- Confess your self-reliance to God and the pride that acts like you don't need Him.
- Thank Jesus for becoming a man, for perfectly relying on His Father, and for dying on the cross to erase the sins of arrogant and self-reliant people like us.
- Acknowledge how much you truly need Him.
- Pray that God would help you regularly see your utter need for him.
- Pray that God would help you regularly turn away from self and to look to him for help.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
The Sermon on the Mount: An Introduction (Matthew 5:1-2; 7:28-29)
1.
Authority Anticipated (5:1-2)
2.
Authority Experienced (7:28-29)
Summary: After his baptism and
victory over temptations in the wilderness, Jesus chose his first disciples and
began his public ministry (Matt. 3-4).
Jesus started teaching, preaching, and healing with the result that his
“fame spread” and “great crowds followed him” from virtually every surrounding
region (4:25). As the crowds drew near to the mountain, Jesus saw them and took
his seat on the mountain (5:1).
And with an air of solemnity and anticipation, the God-Man began to
teach (5:2). By the end of the
sermon, the crowds were astonished, awestruck by the message, but more than
that, by the Messenger himself
(7:28-29). Why? Because Jesus taught with a unique, yes even
a heavenly authority. Jesus
taught with an unmatched confidence and clarity, a level of dignity and depth that
left a deep impression on the hearts of his hearers.
Discussion Questions:
- Describe the context in general and where the crowds come from in particular (cf. 4:25).
- Who is Jesus teaching and where do you see this in the text (hint: there are two groups)?
- How did the crowds respond to Jesus’ sermon (7:28)? Why that response? (7:29)?
- What does this teach us about the uniqueness of Jesus?
Application Questions:
- How should what you learned about Jesus’ authority effect the way you think about and respond to the teaching on the Sermon on the Mount in the weeks and months ahead?
- How have you been responding to the authority of God’s Word as of late?
- Applying the gospel: How should the truth that Jesus alone has authority to forgive sin affect the way we deal with our failures, shame, and guilt?
- Has Jesus’ authority made you bolder in talking to others about the things of God? How can a renewed understanding of Jesus’ authority help you grow in boldness?
Prayer Points:
- Praise Jesus that he alone has authority to forgive your sins and that he has done so!
- Confess to God any failures to honor Jesus’ authority in your life.
- Ask God to help you be regularly astonished by and submissive to his Word.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Saved for the Salvation of Others! (Acts 26:14-18)
Visit fbcpierz.org/sermons to listen to this sermon.
Outline: Acts 26:14-18
- Jesus saved Paul (vv.14-15, cf. 26:4-11 & 9:1-22)
- Jesus sent Paul (vv.16-18)
Summary: Paul is standing before King Agrippa and is
expected to give a defense, a defense against the Jews who want to see him put
to death. Paul responds by sharing
his testimony, that is, by bearing witness to who he was (26:4-12) and then what
Christ did (vv.13-18). In
essence, Paul is saying: “Jesus saved
me and Jesus has sent me.” For Paul, to be saved was to be
sent. To have his eyes opened was
to be part of opening the eyes of others.
Paul was on trial because he proclaimed the name of the One who opened his
eyes—Jesus Christ.
Discussion
Questions:
- What was Paul like before he came to know Christ? (26:4-12; cf. 9:1-2)
- For the back-story, READ 9: 1-18 (cf. 26:13-15). How was Paul converted?
- What role did Ananias play? Does this teach us anything about how Jesus saves people?
- What did Paul do almost immediately after he was saved?
- Why do you think Paul grew strong in the wake of his conversionActs 9:22?
- What was Paul being sent to do?
- What is the relationship between being saved and being sent?
- How would you respond to someone who says, “Oh, but that is the great and godly apostle Paul…surely this kind of witness is not expected of me”? (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1; Isa. 42:1-7; Matt. 11:4-6)
Application
Questions:
- What is your testimony? Who were you and what did Jesus do to bring you to himself?
- Are you actively sharing your faith with others? If not, what may be holding you back?
- “To be saved is to be sent.” Do you believe this? On a scale of 1-10—1 being barely applied and 10 being greatly applied—at what level do you live like this is true?
- When we fall short of sharing our faith at the level that we should, how would Jesus have us apply the gospel to our hearts?
- Confess to God any failures to live like one who has been sent to open they eyes of unbelievers. Receive forgiveness from Jesus, the only perfect Witness (1 John 1:9).
- Ask God to provide clear opportunities for you to share about Jesus and to give the courage needed to stand strong and bold and loving in those moments.
- Pray that God would fuse the idea of being saved together with the idea of being sent so that witnesses would become a more natural part of your life.
- Pray that God will help you to teach others that being saved and being sent always belong together, for to be a disciple is to be a disciple maker.
- Thank God for the gospel and how he opened our eyes in salvation, bringing us from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Nearness to God
Visit fbcpierz.org/sermons to listen to this sermon.
1. Praise (Ps. 34:1-3)
2. Deliverance through Prayer (Ps. 34:4-7)
3. Fear of the Lord (Ps. 34:8-14)
4. Nearness to God (Ps. 34:15-18)
5. Redemption through Christ (Ps. 34:19-22)
Summary:
David, who penned Psalm 34, wrote this Psalm not on the throne as King David,
but as a hunted man, running for his life. David feigned insanity as a madman, as
he escaped from Abimelech (1 Samuel 21:11-15). Psalm 34 points to Christ, as
verse 22 says, “the Lord redeems the life of His servants, none of those who take
refuge in Him will be condemned,” and displaying God’s redemptive favor to the
righteous. Verse 22 is the thrust behind why the psalmist is filled with praise.
Deliverance through prayer produces the fruits of fear of the Lord and ultimately
nearness to God. Psalm 34 is both a song of praise and an exhortation on how
the righteous should live.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do you think that David command us to bless the Lord at all times? Why does he command us to do this together?
- What are the 3 sequences of prayer?
- What is fear of the Lord?
- What might a portrait of fear of the Lord look like in your life?
- Why is there a correlation between fear of the Lord and nearness to God?
- Why is there no condemnation for those take refuge in Him?
- Do you clearly understand the gospel?
- Which team are you on? Righteous or unrighteous (enemy of God)? Articulate from the text several ways that God shows His favor on the righteous.
- Is your heart filled with praise at all times? If not, can you identify what is lacking in your prayer life, fear of the Lord, or nearness to God? How can you strengthen what is lacking in these areas?
- Praise God that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
- Praise God that Jesus is our intercessor that delivers us through prayer, becoming one of us so that we can enjoy nearness to God, modeling for us what fear of the Lord should look like, perfectly obeying the Fathers will.
- Ask God to give us a heart that pursues holiness and hatred toward sin.
- Ask God for courageous, trusting faith and confidence that He will hear and answer us in our time of need.
- Ask God that we would grow in our fear of the Lord and nearness to God.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Forgiveness: Christian Compassion in the Courtroom of God
Visit fbcpierz.org/sermons to listen to this sermon.
Three Steps to Forgiving Other Believers
1. Live Daily in the Courtroom of God (Zech. 3:1)
2. See the Imputed Righteousness of Christ on Believers (Zech. 3:2-5)
3. Live Gospel Cycles (Zech. 3:6-10)
Summary:
During the return from exile, around 520 BC, a vision of a heavenly courtroom and three prophecies are given to the prophet Zechariah. This vision is of Joshua the high priest standing with filthy garments before the angel of the LORD and with Satan at his right hand accusing him. The LORD disregards Satan's accusations, though they are accusations of true guilt, and instead takes off his filthy clothes, representing his sin, and puts clean garments on him, representing purity, innocence, and righteousness. The LORD then gives three promises connected to the vision of Joshua: 1) that he will send his servant the Branch, who is Jesus, 2) he will remove all iniquity from the land in a single day, which was the day Jesus died, and 3) because the sin is removed, every one of his people will be at peace with one another.
Discussion Questions:
- What is Satan's role in the courtroom? What's his goal in tempting people?
- Define imputed righteousness (See 2 Cor. 5:21). If I were to look at a brother or sister in Christ as if they were fully righteous before God, what would they look like? WHO would they look like?
- What ultimate reality are clothes a mere shadow of? How do clothes remind us of God's mercy?
- What is a Gospel Cycle? Why is it called that? What are the five stages in the cycle and how does each stage correspond to the story of the Bible?
Application Questions:
- Am I harboring any bitterness toward a brother or sister in Christ? Am I siding with Satan in the heavenly courtroom in any way when I think about that person or talk to them?
- Do I avoid conflict or do I often start it/engage it? What do I need to do (or not do) to make sure I do a full gospel cycle with other believers?
- Have I been praying for the other saint when I get in conflict with them? How can I integrate prayer into conflict? How can I grow in confidence that prayer is powerful?
Prayer Points:
- Praise God that He has freely taken away your sin and given you Christ's glorious righteousness!
- Praise God that God will complete the work he started in the believers around you to perfectly sanctify them (Phil. 1:6)!
- Ask God to prompt you to pray when you get in a conflict or start to think about someone you're in conflict with.
- Ask God to bring the conflict through a whole gospel cycle in order to strengthen the relationship and glorify God.
- Don’t belittle prayer, when conflict strikes, first picture your brother with Christ’s righteousness, shining as bright as the sun, and pray, “Lord, get them there soon! Sanctify them through this, I want to see them glorified! Help me be patient with them, God! I praise you that you began a good work in them and you will surely complete it! Forgive me for being unforgiving.”
Worship:
"Not What My Hands" by Aaron Keyes:
"Oh How Good It Is" by Keith and Kristyn Getty:
(Providentially the first song on my Spotify playlist when I went for a jog Sunday morning before preaching! God is so encouraging!)
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