Sermon for September 2nd, 2012
Contents
Deuteronomy 30:11-20
11 Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. 12It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ 13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ 14No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
15 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
2 Timothy 3:14-17
14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Romans 10:14-17
14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ 16But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ 17So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
We Proclaim God's Word, Part I
Several weeks ago, when we began this series on the "Heart of Worship," I said that Jesus Christ, God's Living Word, is at the heart of our worship service, and found throughout each of the four sections our service is divided into. For the past two weeks, we looked at the things we do as we "Gather in God's Name," and for the next two Sundays, we'll look at what we do in the section labeled "We Proclaim and Hear God's Word."
We Proclaim and Hear God's Word. Simple, right? Lynette and I read some verses from the Bible, and you hear them. Done. Finished. We can all go home early today. Before you make a bee-line for the doors, however, let's look a little more closely. We Proclaim and Hear God's Word. Let's start with the first word: We. Now I realize that the vast majority of this section in the worship service is taken up by yours truly. But the "we" modifies two verbs--proclaim and hear. It's not "he" proclaims and "we" hear, but rather "we" proclaim and "we" hear. That means that others must share in the task of proclaiming, and also that I--or anyone who is preaching--must also take care to listen and hear, as well as preach. One place this happens is in the Children's time. Have you ever noticed that it's one of the most interactive parts of the entire worship service? I do my best to share the day's scriptural text with them in a way that they can appreciate, but through their questions, their answers, and even their random comments, they are sharing with me, and with us as well. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says that unless we become like little children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. In the children's time, our children help us to see the world through the eyes of a child, and in doing so, they truly are proclaiming the word of God to all of us as much as I am to them (and sometimes more).
The choir is a big part of that "We"
