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Mar 10, 2019

The Law in Christ

Passage: Matthew 5:17-20

Speaker: Craig Lotz

Series: Sermon on the Mount

Category: Grace Brevard

All of humanity has a sense of right and wrong; a “law” on our hearts. We strive to meet this law and yet (whether we admit it or not) we don’t really keep it, and definitely not perfectly. But there is One who embodied the Law with perfection, died and rose again to to remove the weight of it and now gives us a new impetus (gratitude) and power (the Sprit) for embracing it’s beauty and purpose.  

ORDer of Worship

PRELUDE: Love & Friendship 

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 19:7-11

LEADER: 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

ALL: 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

READING: Jeremiah 31:33 ESV

LEADER: 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:

ALL: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

MUSIC:

  • Overwhelmed
  • I Believe (The Creed)
  • Rock of Ages
  • No Longer Slaves
  • Band: Guitar & Vocals - Randy Johnson, Vocals - Emily Jones, Annette Lotz, Keys - Don Briola

PRAYER: Prayer: Truth In Jesus (adapted from The valley of Vision)       

LEADER:  Life-Giving God, we approach You as Father and friend. Our exceeding joy, strength of heart, and portion forever.

ALL:  You are the Sustainer of Life. Ordainer of providence. And sender of Christ.

LEADER:  May thy Word illuminate in us all that is dark, comfort us in all that is wretched, accomplish in us all that is good and glorify in us the finished work of Your Son.

ALL:  Holy Spirit, work in us the beauty and truths of Jesus.

MESSAGE:  The Law In Christ

CENTRAL TEXT: Matthew 5:17-20

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Illustrations: 

RESPONSE: Romans 8:1-4

LEADER: 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

ALL: 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

BENEDICTION: 2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV

LEADER: For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

ALL: Amen

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

  • Exodus 20:1-17
  • Proverbs 14:12
  • Luke 24:27
  • John 5:39;46
  • John 10:10-11
  • John 14:15-16,25-26
  • Romans 2:1-3
  • Romans 5:12-14,17-18
  • Romans 8:1-4
  • Romans 10:4
  • Romans 13:8-10
  • Galatians 3:13
  • Galatians 3:23-26
  • Hebrews 9:12,15,22

MEDIA:

3.10.19 Album

DISCUSSIONS QUESTIONS (GRACE): 

  • In your everyday life, are you more of a law-keeper or law-breaker?
  • From 1-100, how much of a rule-breaker are you? (1 being total breaker, 100 being total keeper)
  • How do you feel about people that are worse law-breakers than you?
  • How do you often see Christianity as being about morality (behavior)?
  • Legalism ← vs. →  Licentiousness
  • The FULL LAW has been broken by us (in our behavior and our hearts), but Jesus has FULLY paid the price of our treason. What does that mean about how the Lord “views you” now? Is God happy with you? Disappointed? Angry?
  • Does your behavior impact your Righteousness?
  • Or does your righteousness that Jesus has given you influence your behavior?
  • The FULL LAW has been FULFILLED in Jesus, and his law-keeping record has been fully given to us. So why “SHOULD” we still obey? (or should we?)
  • Love God and Others -- Not SO THAT (God will love me and I’ll get “blessed”) but BECAUSE OF (Jesus has fulfilled and given me his record). How does this sit with you?
  • Is your obedience to God motivated by fear or love?
  • If you see God’s Law as being infinitely high and pure, then what does that say about the level of my need AND the level of Jesus’ sacrifice?
  • If I think that following God’s Law is somewhat achievable on my part, what does that say about Jesus’ sacrifice?
  • Our relationship with God and His Law goes from “Compliance with the Law” to “Communion with the Law-Keeper.” What does that look like?
  • Does it then matter what we do?
  • How can being fully loved by God influence how and why we love him and others?
  • What is the Role of the Spirit in Helping us pursue this new relationship (in Christ) with the Law?

QUOTES:

  • “These then are the two points I want to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it.” - C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
  • When you say there's too much evil in this world you assume there's good. When you assume there's good, you assume there's such a thing as a moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil. But if you assume a moral law, you must posit a moral Law Giver, but that's Who you're trying to disprove and not prove. Because if there's no moral Law Giver, there's no moral law. If there's no moral law, there's no good. If there's no good, there's no evil.” - Ravi Zacharias
  • “The more you understand the magnitude of God’s grace, the more accurate will be your view of the depth of your unrighteousness; and the more you understand the depth of your unrighteousness, the more you will appreciate the magnitude of God’s gift of grace.” - Paul David Tripp (New Morning Mercies)
  • “The only people who get better are people who know that, if they never get better, God will love them anyway.” - Steve Brown (A Scandalous Freedom)
  • “You ought to live your life with such freedom and joy that uptight Christians will doubt your salvation.” - Steve Brown (A Scandalous Freedom)
  • “Religion stresses holiness over grace. Irreligion stresses freedom over holiness. Christianity is freedom through Grace that leads to holiness” - Timothy J. Keller
  • “When we think we can win God’s approval through our moral performance and obedience becomes a crushing burden, then we are ‘under law.’ But when we learn that Christ has fulfilled the law for us and that now we who believe in him are secure in God’s love, then we naturally want to delight, resemble, and know the One who has done this.” - Timothy J. Keller  

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