Sermon Tone Analysis

Sermon delivered by Pastor Finn on Sunday, August 11, 2019 PENT 9 Text: “Let the Word of Christ Dwell Among Us”

Text: “Let the Word of Christ Dwell Among Us”

Reader’s Digest records an interesting conversation between three frustrated pastors.

Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat infestation problems.

“I got so mad,” said one, “I took a shotgun and fired at them.

It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats.”

“I tried trapping them alive,” said the second.

“Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them but they beat me back to the church.”

“I haven’t had any more problems,” said the third.

“What did you do?” asked the others, amazed.

“I simply baptized and confirmed them,” he replied.

“I haven’t seen them since.”

(Reader’s Digest, July, 1994, p. 64)

Reader’s Digest records an interesting conversation between three frustrated pastors.

Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat infestation problems.

“I got so mad,” said one, “I took a shotgun and fired at them.

It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats.”

“I tried trapping them alive,” said the second.

“Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them but they beat me back to the church.”

“I haven’t had any more problems,” said the third.

“What did you do?” asked the others, amazed.

“I simply baptized and confirmed them,” he replied.

“I haven’t seen them since.”

(Reader’s Digest, July, 1994, p. 64)

Of course, the underlying point of that joke really isn’t a joke at all.

Members of ours that slip away from the church concern us greatly, especially when that member is a member of your own family.

What’s the answer to that?

Paul writes, () “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

Why should you listen today?

This is really the key to the congregation’s overall health, and your faith life as the family of God.

If you care about your congregation and want it to thrive along with the people in it, the people that matter t you and to God, then Paul says, here’s the key: Let the Word of Christ Dwell Among Us Richly.

Elders, I’d like you to especially tune into this: This verse really fits in well with the goal of your ministry to God’s people; it’s the same as

Paul’s stated goal in the first chapter of this letter: () “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present every mature in Christ.”

There’s a simple outline for the elder’s work, together with the pastor—look at the simple law/gospel outline of the Christian message.

- Warn God’s people about sin

- Teach and proclaim Christ as our Savior from sin.

That fits nicely with what Paul tells us today: “Let the Word of Christ dwell among you richly.”

What that might look like in your life.

What steps will you take to make that happen?

What that might look like in your life, and what steps you might take to make that happen…that the word of Christ might dwell among you richly.

Rich in the sense of a fullness, plenteous--lots of it!

I think of that person who loves antiques so that everywhere you look in their home you’re surrounded by a fullness of antiques.

Or you bake a desert and you serve it to someone and they taste it a say, “Oh, isn’t that rich!” Or you think of the woman anointing Jesus with perfume and the scent of it filling the entire room.

Let the Word of Christ dwell among you richly, Paul says, with a fullness, plenteous.

that the word of Christ might dwell among you richly.

Rich in the sense of a fullness, plenteous--lots of it!

I think of that person who loves antiques so that everywhere you look in their home you’re surrounded by a fullness of antiques.

Or you bake a desert and you serve it to someone and they taste it a say, “Oh, isn’t that rich!” Or you think of the woman anointing Jesus with perfume and the scent of it filling the entire room.

Let the Word of Christ dwell among you richly, Paul says, with a fullness, plenteous.

Let’s start with our motive for opening up a Bible in the first place.

() “This the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word.”

The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way: () “The word of God is alive and active.

Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

I guess the obvious first reason to do that is that it’s God’s.

And the second reason: it’s God’s Word.

Paul says, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.”

Christ Jesus came in person to reveal His Father’s love to the world.

Christ is God.

When you pick up the Holy Bible it’s His Word, which makes it more than just a book.

Elsewhere God says,

KEY POINT - The Bible’s unlike any other book because it’s God’s living and active Word.

When you open it up, you’re not just going to be studying it—it’s going to be studying you!

Through the written and spoken Word of God his Spirit is at work in us deep down on the inside.

He gets me looking at my inner thoughts and feelings about things I’m going through, as well as my thoughts and actions toward others.

The picture of the Word at work here is of a sword penetrating joints and marrow and separating soul and spirit—if that sounds a little painful at first, it is.

When God cuts me open to expose all my sickness and sin and stupidity, it does hurt!

Since all of us have a sinful nature we can expect that reading the Bible is going to hurt sometimes as his law does its work in us.

But the goal is always good—when we let the Word of Christ dwell among us richly God’s goal is always to get us to Jesus! Keep that in mind—the real goal of all Bible study isn’t just to get information; it’s for transformation—whether it’s the message about Christ in a sermon, or in Bible class, or in the articles and guided Bible studies in your “Forward in Christ” magazine, or “Meditations,” or our church newsletter—the goal in all of it is the same—to get us to Christ!

So let the Word of Christ dwell among you richly in different ways--not just to study it, but to get studied by it, to be led daily to repentance for sins and to hold firmly to Christ and the forgiveness he earned for us on the cross.

ANOTHER KEY POINT - Notice how Paul tells us to hear and study the Word of Christ together, as a group—“Let the message of Christ dwell among you.”

Just me and Jesus is good sometimes, but the Bible was written to the gathering of God’s people.

Letters were written to entire churches.

Letters like James and the epistles of Peter and John were meant to be circulated among the churches, and then read and studied together with their called shepherd and elders of those churches and the heads of families.

Again, the writer to the Hebrews said, () “Don’t give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

50 years ago 42% of Americans went to church on a weekly basis.

Now that number is down below 20%.

Many who call themselves Christians say, “I don’t need church.

I do just fine on my own; it’s just me and Jesus.

I got a Bible and I read it and that’s just it.”

God wants us to be connected to the ministry of his Word at a church where we can teach and admonish one another in the faith.

The word that Paul uses here for “admonish” means literally to lay something on someone’s mind.

The goal is loving correction—it’s about a change in attitude and your course of action in life.

You can’t help your fellow Christians out like that or be helped by them if you’re separated from the congregation.

One of the things our church constitution states is that as a member you willing place yourself under the authority of the public ministry of the Word here and God’s servants here like your Pastor and the elders.

Later, he says - () “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.

Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

So, if an elder or the Pastor calls on you or a loved one of yours, don’t think of it as trouble calling and knocking at your door—think of them as being just like Jesus who cares for your soul and is reaching out to you because they want you help you in your faith and be there for you in all things in a way that matters eternally.

Okay, so what will things look like in our life as the message of Christ is dwelling among us richly?

Paul writes (SEE )

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved”--First things first--Christ’s Word dwells among us richly and we get daily reminders of that--“chosen people, holy and dearly loved”—what more do we need in life than that?

“Holy” (because God forgives you of your sins) “dearly loved” (by God) and “chosen” (to belong to Him together in Christ Jesus).

Everything flows from that! (Still in v.12) “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience...” (v.13)

We live in a world where every day it becomes more and more obvious that it could use more of these virtues.

Paul says, “Clothe yourselves” with these things.

God gives us things like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience—they aren’t virtues that we work to accomplish—you work at them—but God works them in you first as we remember our Baptism and who we are as forgiven children of God and then simply be like that—it’s the power of Christ at work in you as you remember Christ for you.

(vv.13-14) “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

“Bear with each other...Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

See the order there.