My brother-in-law was a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds - he’s famous for two things: He was #2 on the all-time sports injury list behind the guy who sprained his eyelids blinking and for creating an international incident while going through customs – He’s a good ole boy from Texas who never crossed an international boundary before he came back from playing the Montreal Expos. They asked him if he had anything to declare. He said, "I’m proud to be an American!" They yelled at him in French for a couple hours and let him go when they confirmed his identity but a little instruction would have helped him a ton.
Lack of understanding - Need explanation - Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch
A little bit of information makes a person dangerous – a little bit of Biblical information makes a person dangerous too
Nobody calls a pastor when they need their car worked on
Nobody calls a mechanic when they have need to have surgery
But people will get theological advice from almost anybody
Miners were trapped in West Virginia – rescued – one guy asked the other if he needed to be baptized - surrounded by water but tells the guy no instead of baptizing him
The Bible is the most widely distributed book in the world
Unfortunately, it’s probably not the most widely read – maybe just should be read more
Read your Bible – put one in every bathroom in your house – seminary prof
I’ve found that people try to make the Bible say things that it doesn’t
For instance, some try to gel creation with evolution – saying God created everything but it may have taken him longer than just six days because in 2 Peter it says, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day”
In its context it is easy to see that God wasn’t talking about how he tells time but how patient and loving He is
Why do people do this? They haven’t read it - they’ve heard someone say a verse or a saying enough and they haven’t studied it or found out if it is really in the Bible or not
Do you believe that the people you hang out with influence your choices and behavior?
Do you believe that what you watch on TV or the books your read influence your choices or behavior?
Garbage in, garbage out
Do you want to make the right choices and act in a certain way – hang around people who will influence them for good – read a different book, learn about what it actually says – go to church, read the Bible
Being a disciple means following Jesus 24/7/52
We have a tendency in our culture to compartmentalize our lives – this is my work life, these are my work clothes, these are the things I do for work and this is my home life, these are the clothes I wear at home, these are the things I do at home
We apply that to our Christian lives too – this is my church life, these are my church clothes, these are my church friends, these are the things I do and say at church
God had a more holistic view of being a follower of Jesus – Let’s take a look
A person is not an airman Monday – Friday, You are airmen 24/7/52. You are U. S. citizens 24/7/52. It means you just can’t walk away. You have to follow 24/7.
SHOW VIDEO from Sermon Spice entitled Christianity Lite
Hoag’s Ladder of Learning
We remember:
- 5 % of what you hear
- 10 % of what you hear and see
- 50 % of what you read
- 30 % of what you write
- 95 % of what you teach
What’s the point – The more you interact with something the more it affects you - God’s word has to be more than something you hear once a week in chapel. You need to read it, write it, memorize it, meditate on it, teach it to others
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
In our culture, we say that things that are important to us are close to our heart – Jesus’ words should be on our heart – how do they get there? – romans 10:17 passage – faith comes from hearing the message of Christ – you don’t get that message at work – you get it hear at the chapel
The word “impress” here is the Hebrew word “shanan” which means to repeat – but the root interestingly means to sharpen – a person becomes sharp, useful, effective when they are taught
Some take this passage a little too literally – picture of Jewish man with phylacteries on – little cases that hold scripture verses in them – what is our text talking about – what is it that disciples of Jesus are to do?
When are you to repeat/teach God’s word to your children
When you are at home
When you are not at home
In the morning
At night
In other words all the time
Don’t tie them on your hands - Instead, allow them to influence what your hands do
Don’t tie them on your head - Instead, allow them to affect what your think about- Why?
We know that the law, even God’s laws, can’t save us – only Jesus can
In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?" tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Deuteronomy 6:20-21
We respond to God’s love, God’s gift of salvation by walking in the way of His laws
They speak of His miraculous power and their effect on one’s life
Disciples follow Jesus closely – in Jesus day a disciple could choose his own teacher just like students sign up for high school or college classes but Jesus instead calls His first disciples and us too to follow Him, they don’t form up in a classroom but their instruction is ongoing OJT
There are great benefits to living the life of a disciple
The more religious you are:
- the less likely you are to engage in premarital sex
- the less likely you are to use illegal drugs
- the less likely you are to drink excessively or smoke
- the less likely you are to be obese
- the more likely you are to do well in school
- the more likely you are to view life positively
- the longer you will likely live
- the slower the onset of Alzheimer’s disease
Divorce rates
- 80% if you’ve lived together before marriage
- 60% if you were married by a justice of the peace
- 40% if you go to church (the same as the national average)
- 20% if you go to church and pray together
- .1% if you go to church, pray and read the bible together
