While readying myself to launch a new series in the book of Romans, I am taking a few weeks preaching some material from a book by Wayne Mack, A Homework Manual for Biblical Living, vol. 2. The outline is called “God’s way of Bringing Up Children”. I am essentially stealing the outline, filling it out and personalizing it, and broadening the application to making disciples of any age, including raising children.
The first message in this mini-series was entitled “Pass It On“, taking its theme from the word ‘paideia’ in Eph 6.4 and its text as Dt 6. In this message I focussed on the “How?” of making disciples by answering: by personal integrity in instruction. Dt 6 calls on the nation Israel to love the Lord with all their hearts, and then to instruct their children. Thus the application for discipleship is first of all to be a disciple yourself. Make God the center of your life. While doing so, instruct diligently [while walking, sitting, lying down and rising, i.e., as a natural outflow of every aspect of your life], with a wary eye cast on your surroundings and your attitude lest you stumble in your own discipleship, and to instruct patiently, as your sons come to you with many questions. To sum up this ‘how’ of discipleship, it means to instruct by personal spiritual integrity, by diligent public expression, and by purposeful preparation. [Come to think of it, that last sentence would have made a good outline. If you check my outline linked above, you will see that I was aiming for that outline, but didn’t quite express it that way.]
In our afternoon service, we celebrated our monthly communion service. I preached the second message in a new communion series (begun last month) from Leviticus. I didn’t post a link to last month’s message: An Acceptable Sacrifice, so there it is. This month, our message came from the same chapter, with the title: An Offering Made by Fire. I emphasized four ideas from the burnt offering with this message: Finding acceptance of offering and offeror [peace with God under God’s terms]; Propitiating God’s wrath with an offering of a ‘sweet savour’ [found in the complete destruction of the offering]; Atoning for the sins of the worshipper by the payment of a ransom; and Substituting the victim for the person of the worshipper, making fellowship with God possible.
There are many instructive ideas for our fellowship with God to be found in the Law. It is well worth study and contemplation. It can be very sobering, as we consider the full implications of bloody sacrifice.
Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
Bro. Don, these 2 sermons on Leviticus were excellent. They opened up the OT sacrificial system a little more to me. Thanks for posting them. Looking forward to the next one.