CALL TO WORSHIP
OPENING PRAYER
WELCOME and THANKS
- Special welcome, if any
- Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent (for those who pay attention to the Christian Worship Calendar), so we are now into the fourth week of Easter Preparation, the season of examination and repentance.
- The theme for this week is God’s provision of salvation.
- The selected passages are Psalm 107:1-3,17-22; Numbers 21:4-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21
- In our call to worship Psalm, the psalmist recounts how God had saved the people of Israel from their great distress.
- In the Book of Numbers, the Lord had Moses fashion a bronze serpent on a pole. When the snake-bitten Israelites looked upon it, they lived.
- In Ephesians, we find that we have been freely saved by God.
- And in the John’s gospel, we learn that just as Moses lifted up that bronze serpent, so Jesus was lifted up that we may believe in him and have eternal life.
FIRST READING
Psalm 107:1-3,17-22;
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, 3 and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
17 Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. 18 Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. 20 He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
22 Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.
OPENING SONGS
SECOND READING
Numbers 21:4-9;
Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
SERMONETTE
The Sacred Irony
Greg Williams
A memory scripture from my youth is a familiar verse to many. In fact, it’s a gold standard for kids memorizing scripture in Sunday Schools and Vacation Bible School.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
This verse is one of the anthem cries of our faith, especially in the evangelical protestant tradition. We are saved by grace, not by good works or good nature or good attitudes, or whatever plea we make on our own behalf. Salvation is the gift of God.
But look at the next verse:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
Did Paul just do a 180° here? He was talking about how salvation is the gift of grace, not works, and then in the next breath, he’s talking about how God has prepared good works for us beforehand to adopt as our lifestyle. Is this a contradiction?
Not at all. It is important to know that Paul isn’t talking about “good works” as some way to merit God’s favor or “earn” our way into heaven. And there is no discussion in this passage of somehow keeping God happy. The verses before make it clear that our identity in Christ is sealed and delivered.
Paul is talking about life, and by “life” I mean real life, full life, spirit-filled life, which the New Testament writers called “zoe.” This is eternal life, and it begins today, right now, in Christ. It also deepens and broadens as we experience Christ by joining him in his work in the world — the “good works” that Paul is talking about. This is the key.
The best life is knowing Christ and walking with him — participating with him in his good works. This is the sacred irony of freedom through obedience; experiencing fullness by giving everything back to him.
Jesus saved us, but he doesn’t just wait for us to meet him after death. He leads us, by the Spirit, to serving and loving and giving and we meet him every day and join him in the daily good works he has prepared for us.
THIRD READING
Ephesians 2:1-10
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the [a]course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
OFFERING
OFFERTORY SONG
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should [a]not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
SERMON
God Sent His Son … So What?
John 3:14-21 (NRSVUE)
INTRODUCTION
A. What would you say is the most popular verse in the Bible?
B. It’s probably John 3:16. It’s in the papers … on the radio … on TV … at sports events … on billboards … on people’s skins.
C. Despite its popularity, however, few people are aware of the context … and that is kinda sad … because the context can really help one to appreciate the passage even more.
D. The context of John 3:16 is important because it helps us appreciate NOT only the love of God, BUT the overall message that John is trying to convey about Jesus.
SPS — To look at what the context of John 3:16 tells us about John’s message.
- The title of today’s message is GOD SENT HIS SON — SO WHAT?
- … and the keynote passage for today is John 3:14-21.
Before we look at our keynote passage, however, I think it’s only fair that we start at verse 1 of John chapter 3 …
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
As you can see, that most popular verse is part of a conversation between Jesus and an official named Nicodemus … and that oft-quoted statement by Jesus comes right after He reminded Nicodemus of an event that took place while the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness.
Let’s back up … and go to where our text for today begins — in verse 14 …
John 3:14-21 NKJV
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
- Which serpent did Moses lift up? See Numbers 21:4-9
- Why did Jesus have to be lifted up?
- What do you think it means for Jesus to be lifted up?
- Why is He likened to the bronze serpent?
- Why did the bronze serpent have to be lifted up?
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
- What did God do?
- Why did He do it?
- Is there another word that could be used for condemn?
- krino = judge/decide
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
- What causes the condemnation?
- How does the condemnaion come about?
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
- What is the condemnation?
- Why do some love darkness rather than light?
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
- What are the two types of person mentioned in vv.20-21?
- What is the “evil” in v.20 contrasted with, in v.21?
- Why do you think He didn’t use “good” as the contrast for evil?
CONCLUSION
A. What, for you, is the MAIN TAKEAWAY?
B. For me, there is SO much to take away (esp. if you drill down, verse by verse)
C. However, as I zoom out — to see the big picture — three things become clear to me …
- What God did
- WHY He did it
- How we need to respond
D. So, here’s how I see it …
- What God did … He sent His Son (put another way, He became one of us)
- Why did He do that? … Because He loved us … even when we didn’t love Him
- How should we respond? … BELIEVE IN Jesus Christ … that 1) He is who He says He is
E. So … what is the MAIN takeaway?
- For me … God loves us, unconditionally … and has done everything to show us just how much …
- and our only reasonable response is to receive Jesus Christ as the precious GIFT that He is … and we do that by believing in Jesus.
- The sooner we believe in Jesus, the sooner we can start experiencing the eternal life that God wants to give us …
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- John 17:1-3 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
- SO WHAT … that God sent His Son?
- The answer = GOD WANTS US TO GET TO KNOW HIM … That is eternal life.
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SONG OF RESPONSE
CLOSING PRAYER
BENEDICTION