Sermon Central
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Humanity In Focus
Contributed by Chris Appleby on Mar 3, 2006 (message contributor)
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1. All Things Good
Contributed on Mar 3, 2006
To be human means to be made in God’s image, to reflect his character, his goodness, his creativity, his love. It means to relate with others and with God at a personal level. It means to bear the responsibility for his creation, for tending it and caring
What does it mean to be human? Is there any reason for thinking that human life might be more valuable than, say, that of dolphins or whales? Why are we here? How did we get here? Where did we come from? These are the sorts of questions that scientists and philosophers have been arguing about for ...read more
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2. The Enigma Of Humanity
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
Humanity is at the same time insignificant and the pinnacle of God’s work of creation
The danger with a series of sermons on the theology of humanity, the danger of thinking about who we are, what we’re here for, what it means to be human, is that it could, very easily, turn into just another exercise in humanism. We could spend our time thinking about all the great things human ...read more
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3. A Realistic Humanism
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
Our chief purpose in being human is to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. How can we do that after the fall? Through God’s power, through God’s Holy Spirit, given to all who have faith in Jesus Christ.
What is it that God desires of us as men and women? Why has he made us in his image? What’s our reason for being here? There are probably a number of answers that someone might give to those questions. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks: "What is the chief end of man?", then gives the answer: ...read more
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4. A Look In The Mirror
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
Humanity has failed to live up to God’s standards but Jesus provides the way by which we can be saved
If you were to read the first few chapters of Genesis and then stop, you could very easily get depressed couldn’t you? The picture is a very bleak one. Adam and Eve have totally blown it. They had everything. Their home was literally a paradise. They were in direct communication with God. Yet, ...read more
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5. Humanity Reborn
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
Humanity dies with Adam and Eve but God’s plan is to bring us back to life through his own Son who renews creation.
By Tim Johnson Introduction When you think of great rescue missions, what do you think of? My mind jumps to the extraordinary rescue of two yachtsmen, Tony Bullimore & Thierry Dubois, from the Southern Ocean off Antarctica in 1997. Both had been competing in a solo around the world race when a ...read more
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6. A New Beginning Needed
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
God gives us his Holy Spirit to enable us to be renewed and begin life again as children of God.
A Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, came to see Jesus by night. We’re not told why he came. His opening statement might indicate a curiosity about who Jesus really is. But then, it might also be simply the opening statement that precedes some sort of accusation or put down. "We know that you are a ...read more
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7. True Reconciliation
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
We’re on a mission from God. The motivation for our mission is the fear of the Lord and the love of Christ. The message of our mission is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The magnificence of our mission is that God has made us his
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone about something really important and you’ve been interrupted? Perhaps the phone has rung, or someone has come into the room with something that just can’t wait and the conversation is stopped dead in its tracks. What do you do? Well if it’s me, I ...read more
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8. A Glorious Future
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
This present world is broken and wearing out, but God has a glorious future prepared for those who love him.
What lies in your future? How are you going to live in-between? If you had known me 3 years ago, you would have never guessed that I was going to become a youth minister!! If you had known me 10 years ago, you would have never guessed that I was going to wait soooo long to get married!!! And ...read more
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9. The Always Appropriate Prayer
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
Sin is our greatest problem as human beings. Only confessing our sin to God and asking for forgiveness will help us.
What is the greatest problem we face as human beings today? Greenhouse gases and climate change? Terrorism? Civil wars? Overpopulation? The ever-increasing gap between rich and poor? The world-wide epidemic of HIV/AIDS? On a more personal level, perhaps it’s the breakdown in relationships between ...read more
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10. True Personhood
Contributed on Oct 28, 2006
God wants us to bear fruit that will last. We can do that by remaining connected to Jesus, the true vine.
What does it mean to be human? That’s the question we’ve been asking since the beginning of February when we began this series on humanity. What is the nature of true personhood? How can we best fulfill God’s desire for us his creatures, us his people? We’ve seen how God made men and women in his ...read more