Sermon Outline

1. Illustration: us vs. them

2. Not easy for Jews to accept Jesus

a. Paul, the former persecutor of Christians – change evident in Gal 3:28

b. Mat 9:10-11

c. Luke 15:1

d. Luke 7:37-38

3. Problem with text

a. Some Christians take this and use it to universalize God

i. God is for all – so all religions lead to God

b. Want to embrace all cultures, all religions

c. Problem with univeralism – denial of particularity

i. Want to get rid of Christian traditions – old and outdated; boring; no relevance – point is just to find that relationship with God, right?

4. Solution to text

a. Gentiles here did not keep their own religion

i. Absorbed and changed Jewish traditions

ii. Gentiles were changed

b. Traditions/culture of church – always changing, never static

c. We are part of a story – connectional to other Christians today and connectional to past and future

d. Other religions