Sermon Tone Analysis

Series Review

Peter = learning on the go; college education is good, but without the hands on education it’s next to useless.

(ex.

college roommate / student teaching practicum) A book will not give you an attitude; a book will not throw you off your lesson plan; question you; a book will not help you while you’re in the moment; you can’t ask a book to explain itself, to clarify something you’ve just said; a book won’t challenge you if you misunderstand it; (Jesus, best example of discipling others, also training model) ; Peter is undergoing this type of education - he is learning; this series is about Peter’ education;

Sermon Introduction

Corrie ten Boom was a Christian who lived during the Holocaust experience - helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II.

She was imprisoned for her actions.

She was once asked if it was difficult for her to remain humble.

Her reply was simple.

“When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments on the road, and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was for him?”

Corrie ten Boom was once asked if it was difficult for her to remain humble.

Her reply was simple.

“When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments on the road, and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was for him?”

She deserved credit and admiration for her courage and for her suffering, but she was quick to deflect it back on to Jesus.

Jesus, was God in the flesh.

He willingly took on human flesh to live among us.

Being God in the flesh he was all powerful, and could easily demonstrate the brightness of his glory, but most of the time he kept this veiled, with a few exceptions.

(Healing, Exorcisms, on the Mountain, Resurrection, Ascension).

Here in this story we see his humility at an all time low:

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This is a learning experience for the disciples.

On the surface it looks like a shocking lesson on humility, but remember what I say about Jesus.

If you read him once and think you understand him....(read him again) I’m not trying to say that the Bible is too hard to understand, but that Jesus’ words are rich with meaning, and if we don’t stop and reflect, examine and reexamine, then we miss out.

When I preach, that’s what I’m trying to do.

So what are the disciples learning here?

What is Peter learning?

What can we learn?

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Before we even get to the part about Jesus’ baffling act of service, we read at the beginning about Christ’s enduring love.

Learning from His Love

I love you (with a variety of emotions).

The love takes on various meanings, and that’s fine.

But love can be misunderstood.

I remember standing in a long line at the pharmacy, and the couple in front of me were “in love.”

How do I know that?

Because they kept saying it over and over again.

Couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

I remember thinking, “This is a long line.”

I also remember thinking, “Boy are they in for a surprise.”

This is why I don’t watch romantic movies.

I’m busy, so I’m not going to devote 2 hours of my time to watch a romantic relationship develop at a rapid and unhealthy pace.

At weddings I almost always read from , which reminds us how hard love is.

One phrase that always sticks out - sometimes I emphasize it at weddings, is when Paul writes, “Love endures all things.”

I wonder how many of you use that word when you are celebrating your anniversary.

It’s true - for better and for worse.

Peter learns, and we learn from Jesus that love endures alot.

Jesus is washing the feet of people who have frustrated him, expressed inappropriate attitudes about God, and being the Son of God Jesus is making himself vulnerable to a group of men who will desert him when times get tough.

He even washes the feet of the man who will turn in him in to the authorities who want to kill him.

He loved them to the end.

Love endureth all things.

Jesus loved them to the end.

He loves us to the end.

We can all learn from that.

We see this love in Jesus labor.

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Learning from His Labor

Learning from His Labor

One of the fearful moments as a pastor is looking out in the congregation and seeing your boss - our district superintendent.

Yes, pastors primary concern is delivering the Word, but you also hope you have put together an awesome sermon that Sunday.

Every once in a while a retired African American pastor visits the traditional service, and I am deeply honored by that.

I have a deep respect for our retired African American clergy.

They’ve faced prejudice and hatred that I likely never will.

That experience has made them strong leaders, and when they share their experiences, I listen carefully.

I learn from their labor.

It inspires me, it teaches me.

It sets the standard for me.

One of the fearful moments as a pastor is looking out in the congregation and seeing your boss - our district superintendent.

Yes, pastors primary concern is delivering the Word, but you also hope you have put together an awesome sermon that Sunday.

Every once in a while a retired African American pastor visits the traditional service, and I am deeply honored by that.

I have sat down with retired A

Jesus faced extreme hatred and cruelty, and we should pay close attention to that.

How he responded.

How he turned adversity into teaching moments for Peter, his followers and for us.

When we’re looking for the messages that Jesus teaches us through is works, we have to be careful not to skim over the stories.

“Read it again.”

When we read about Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, there are often multiple meanings.

I think the easy lesson to learn is a lesson in humility.

Humility

I was at Annual Conference one year and I had the opportunity to her a sermon by a former pastor, who was now a professor at a prominent seminary.

When he moved to the area he began attending a United Methodist Church and he wanted to become a member.

The associate pastor left a message at his home phone and invited him to a new member class.

The seminary professor was put off by this.

He wanted to say to this young pastor, “I became a pastor while you were in elementary school, I train men and women to be pastors, and now you want me to come to your class?

He ignored the phone call, and every week the young associate left a message.

Out of the blue God spoke to this veteran pastor in a way that was very clear: “You are going to take this class.”

He took the class, and he learned a powerful lesson in humility.

There was no task to menial for Jesus.

He takes humility about as low as you can go.

He washes feet.

History tells us that this was reserved for slaves.

(chores?)

They gave this job to slaves because no one wanted to do it.

Watching Bible movies can sometimes give us an idea of the culture in which Jesus lived.

But by watching these movies you might make the assumption that Jesus had indoor plumbing.

Where do you think they did with their waste?

A lot of it got thrown out in the streets.

Your feet were not just dusty, they were nasty.

Peter knows this, is repulsed when he sees his Lord and Teacher washing his feet.

There’s a book titled “A Call to Mercy,” and it’s about Mother Theresa who was a missionary and a nun who worked among the destitute in Calcutta, India.

There’s one paragraph that typifies the kind of work she dedicated herself to: The author saw her pick up a man who had deteriorated to the point that his skin had stuck to the street.