The blog of Sterling Franklin (DJ Sterf), servant of Jesus Christ.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Christmas EveČ

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

I'm chilling here in NC, though not literally since it's mid-60s. Chicago never has weather like this! Planting a church in Wilmington or Richmond would be a warm decision, though whether it's the right decision or not is unclear right now.

I just finished writing a sermon on Psalm 23 & John 10:10-18 on the LORD being our shepherd, and even so, Jesus being our Good Shepherd who lays His life down for His sheep. The reason He came to earth was very much in line with His death for us (see also Matthew 1:21).

A few weeks ago, I went through the Sermon on the Mount to see how much was instructional vs. observational. Here are some things I took from the Sermon on the Mount, not comprehensive by any means, but definitely somewhat exhaustive:


Direct Instructions from the Sermon on the Mount:

- Rejoice when you are persecuted for righteousness' sake (Matthew 5:12)
- Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:16)
- Make relationships right before God before giving a gift to God (Matthew 5:24).
- Come to peace quickly in situations of disagreement, especially with your adversary (Matthew 5:25)
- Get rid of offenses of the flesh and body (Matthew 5:29-30)
- Do not swear oaths (Matthew 5:34)
- Let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no' (Matthew 5:37)
- Do not return evil for evil, but rather do much good (Matthew 5:39-42)
- Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44)
- Bless those who curse you (Matthew 5:44)
- Do good to those who hate you (Matthew 5:44)
- Pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44)
- Be complete in your love/perfect (Matthew 5:48)
- Do not do your alms like the Pharisees, but rather do them in a spirit of humility (Matthew 6:1-4)
- Pray authentically and in humility (Matthew 6:5-6)
- Do not pray using vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7-8)
- Pray according to the model in the 'Lord's Prayer' (Matthew 6:9-13)
- Fast in humility, not in hypocrisy (Matthew 6:16-18)
- Lay up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21)
- Trust God to provide for life matters (Matthew 6:25-32)
- Seek God's Kingdom first and He will provide for your needs (Matthew 6:33)
- Do not worry about the future/tomorrow (Matthew 6:34)
- Do not condemn or judge hypocritically (Matthew 7:1-5)
- Do not cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6)
- Ask in prayer persistently (Matthew 7:7-8)
- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12)
- Enter in the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14)
- Beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15-20)

Implicit Applications from the Sermon on the Mount:

- Be poor in spirit -- you will be heaven-bound (Matthew 5:3)
- Mourn -- you will be comforted (Matthew 5:4)
- Be meek -- you will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5)
- Hunger and thirst after righteousness -- you will be filled (Matthew 5:6)
- Be merciful -- you will obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7)
- Be pure in heart -- you will see God (Matthew 5:8)
- Be peacemakers -- you will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9)
- Endure persecution -- you will inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10)
- Be persecuted only for righteousness' sake (Matthew 5:10)
- Be sure that slander against you is actually false (Matthew 5:11)
- Follow Jesus and you will be persecuted and reviled (Matthew 5:11)
- Be glad in persecution since the faithful of the past were also persecuted (Matthew 5:12, cf. Hebrews 11)
- Christians need to be and are the salt of the earth -- useful and not good for nothing (Matthew 5:13)
- Christians need to be and are the light of the world, shining forth God's light (Matthew 5:14)
- The light of Jesus should be evident to all through the Christian's life (Matthew 5:14)
- Jesus came to fulfill the Law -- not to destroy it (Matthew 5:17)
- The Law of the Lord will be fulfilled completely before the end comes (Matthew 5:18)
- Keep the Lord's commandments and teach obedience concerning them to others (Matthew 5:19)
- Do not be self-righteous as the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20)
- Do not be angry at your brother without cause (Matthew 5:22)
- Anger harbored is murder in the heart (Matthew 5:22)
- Be wise in disputes (Matthew 5:25-26)
- Do not lust after a woman in your heart (Matthew 5:28)
- Lust harbored is adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28)
- Get rid of sin and sinful vices at all costs (Matthew 5:29-30)
- Fornication is the only reason in a marriage in which divorce is a valid possibility (Matthew 5:32)
- Keep heart matters intentionally focused between you and God, not you and others who see you (Matthew 6:1-8)
- The volume of words does not determine the direction of God's ear (Matthew 6:7)
- The Lord knows all of our needs even before we speak them (Matthew 6:8)
- Our Father is in Heaven (Matthew 6:9)
- Our Father is Holy/Hallowed (Matthew 6:9)
- The Lord's will is done in Heaven (Matthew 6:10)
- We should desire God's will to be done on earth (Matthew 6:10)
- The Lord provides for our material needs (Matthew 6:11)
- We should request forgiveness (Matthew 6:12)
- We should forgive others (Matthew 6:12)
- We should ask the Lord for deliverance from temptation and evil (Matthew 6:13)
- The Lord is King: mighty and glorious and eternal (Matthew 6:13)
- The Lord forgives us openly once we forgive others (Matthew 6:14-15)
- Be full of light (Matthew 6:22)
- Be pure (Matthew 6:22-23)
- Serve God, not money/mammon (Matthew 6:24)
- You cannot serve God and money/mammon (Matthew 6:24)
- The Lord cares for even the most minute parts of His Creation (Matthew 6:26, 28, 30)
- Do not seek what the world seeks -- trust in God (Matthew 6:32)
- Persistent and Faithful Prayer works (Matthew 7:7-8)
- God gives the best gifts -- they are always good (Matthew 7:9-11)
- The broad way leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13)
- The narrow way leads to life (Matthew 7:14)
- False prophets are as ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15)
- Test prophets' fruit in ministry (Matthew 7:16-18)
- False prophets will be punished (Matthew 7:19)
- Not all who claim to be Christians actually are in God's sight (Matthew 7:21)
- Do God's Will (Matthew 7:21)
- Don't just be a hearer, but also a doer of the Word (Matthew 7:24-25, cf. James 1:22)
- Don't be foolish and neglect the Word (Matthew 7:26-27)

Post-Sermon Response of the People

- Jesus had REAL authority (Matthew 7:29)
- Jesus was not common in his teaching, as the scribes (Matthew 7:29)
- Thus, people were astonished (Matthew 7:28)

God bless you, and Merry Christmas EveČ!

Labels: , , , ,