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Sermon Starters
Support and Resources For Pastors and
Christian Ministry Professionals
Thomas F. Fischer, M.Div., M.S.A., Editor
First Sunday After
Pentecost/
Festival Of The Holy Trinity
Series C
Option
One: The
Trinity"
Romans 5:1 et al.
Rev. Wayne Dobratz, B.A., M.Div.
Note: Todays Sermon Starter is in the form of notes for an expository message on the Epistle of the day.
(Rom 5:1) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, being justified by faith--as is evident from the context, Paul is speaking of "subjective justification," of those who have faith in the Savior and stand forgiven of sin.
Barnes Notes on the New Testament: Have peace with
God--true religion is often represented as peace with God; see Acts 10:36; Rom
8:6; 10:15; 14:17; Gal 5:22; see also Isa 32:17. This is called peace, because,
(1) The sinner is represented as the enemy of God, Rom 8:7; Eph 2:16; James 4:4;
John 15:18, 24; 17:14; Rom 1:30. (2) The state of a sinners mind is far from
peace. He is often agitated, alarmed, trembling. He feels that he is alienated
from God. The plan of salvation by Christ reveals God as willing to be
reconciled. He is ready to pardon, and to be at peace (Rom 5:2) through whom we
have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. We have access-- Doddridge renders it,
"by whom we have been introduced," etc. It means, "by whom we
have the privilege of obtaining the favor of God which we enjoy when we are
justified." The word rendered "access" occurs but in two other
places in the New Testament, Eph 2:18; 3:12. By Jesus Christ the way is opened
for us to obtain the favor of God. By faith--by means of faith, Rom 1:17. Into
this grace--into this favor of reconciliation with God. (Rom 5:3) Not only so,
but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance;
But we glory--the word used here is the same that is in Rom
5:2, translated, "we rejoice," kauchometha.
It should have been so rendered here. The meaning is that we rejoice not only in
hope; not only in the direct results of justification...but we carry our joy and
triumph even into the midst of trials. In accordance with this, our Savior
directed his followers to rejoice in persecutions, Matt 5:11-12. Compare James
1:2, 12. In tribulations--in afflictions. The word used here refers to all kinds
of trials which people are called to endure; though it is possible that Paul
referred particularly to the various persecutions and trials which they were
called to endure as Christians.
(Rom 5:4) perseverance, character; and character, hope. And
patience, experience--patient endurance of trial produces experience. The word
rendered "experience" (dokimen)
means trial, testing, or that thorough examination by which we ascertain the
quality or nature of a thing, as when we test a metal by fire, to ascertain that
it is genuine. It also means approbations, or the result of such a trial; the
being approved, and accepted as the effect of a trying process. The meaning is
that long afflictions borne patiently show a Christian what he is; they test his
religion, and prove that it is genuine. Afflictions are often sent for this
purpose, and patience in the midst of them shows that the religion which can
sustain them is from God. And experience, hope--the result of such long trial is
to produce hope. They show that the Christian faith is genuine; that it is from
God; and not only so, but they direct the mind onward to another world; and
sustain the soul by the prospect of a glorious immortality there. The various
steps and stages of the benefits of afflictions are thus beautifully delineated
by the apostle in a manner which accords with the experience of all the children
of God.
(Rom 5:5) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has
poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Matthew Henrys Commentary on the New Testament: this hope will not disappoint
us, because it is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of love. It is the
gracious work of the blessed Spirit to shed abroad the love of God in the hearts
of all the saints. The love of God, that is, the sense of Gods love to us,
drawing out love in us to him again. The ground of all our comfort and holiness,
and perseverance in both, is laid in the shedding abroad of the love of God in
our hearts; it is this which constrains us, 2 Cor 5:14. Thus are we drawn and
held by the bonds of love. Sense of Gods love to us will make us not ashamed,
either of our hope in him or our sufferings for him.
+ +
+
The Message For Children
Romans 5:3: ...we also
rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4)
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
If you turn on the TV this time of the year, you will see
all kinds of sports--basketball, hockey, baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer
and others. There are even football games in indoor arenas such as the Bradley
Center in Milwaukee.
The regular season football players are busy too. Do you
have any idea what they do this time of the year? "Pumping iron," they
call it; they are weight lifting. Strength coaches help them to lift more and
more and to have both the strength and the endurance they will need during the
season. "Endurance" means that they will be strong for the whole game.
It hurts to get prepared for this, but it makes you
stronger. Our lives are like this too. There are times when God lays heavy
weights on us. He doesnt do it to harm us; he does it to make us stronger; to
get us prepared for things down the road when we will need to be strong and we
will need to hang on for a long time.
Paul the Apostle says that we can REJOICE in our
sufferings, because all kinds of good things come from them. Its just like
the football players who win because they got strong "pumping iron" in
the summertime. Were hoping for victory too, but its not just winning a
game. Its being a part of Jesus victory over death when he rose from the
grave. Its being part of Jesus Kingdom which is fighting Gods enemies
until he takes us home to eternal life.
+ +
+
Option #2: "Divine
Majesty" or "Three Wise
Guys"
Proverbs 8:22-31
Rev. Kelly Bedard, B.A., M.Div.
The following is inspired by
and otherwise adapted from Francis Rossow
The Point:
wisdom, more than a morally desirable virtue, is in actuality Christ Himself!
The Problem: futile
attempts to reach God by virtue of so-called, self-directed and self-beneficial
wisdom, truth, and living
The Promise: God
the Father through God the Son gives us access to the throne (Rom
5:1-2) and all that is rightfully His alone and, through God the Holy Spirit, guides
us in into all truth and tells us what is to come, even living in
our very bodies (Rom 5:1-5)
Notes:
1. chokmah {khok-maw'},
8:1: wisdom; skill in war; wisdom in administration; shrewdness; prudence
in religious affairs; ethical and religious wisdom. (Blue
Letter Bible)
2. nacak {naw-sak'},
v23: niphal, anointed. (BLB)
3. sha`shua`
{shah-shoo'-ah}, v30: noun masculine plural; intensive delight, enjoyment; object
of delight. (BLB) So is "I was
daily His delight" more exact than NIV's "I was filled with delight
day after day..."?
4. Our text is full of surprises. At first it appears to be
recommending a trait called wisdom, a virtue all of us admire and desire, but
hardly worth the subject of a sermon that hopes to rise above moralism. Then we
notice that throughout the text and in verses 1-8 of this chapter, the writer
speaks of wisdom as if it were a person rather than an abstract trait. Is this
just a rhetoical trick to make the material more readable? If so, we appreciate
the writer's artistry. But then we turn to 1 Corinthians 1:24 and get the big
surprise. There Paul calls Christ "the wisdom of God." It turns out
that wisdom is a person, no less a person than the Second Person of the triune
God!
The next surprise is the considerable participation of Wisdom (Christ) in the creation of our world, an activity we usually attribute primarily to God the Father. So active was Christ in creation that the text calls him "the craftsman at [God's] side" (v30). This description implies two truths: that Christ helped create the world ("craftsman") and that Christ is intimate with the Father ("at his side").
Verses 35-36 of this chapter provide us another surprise.
Christ crafted more than our world--He crafted our salvation. "Whoever
finds me finds life" (v35). This activity is spelled out in more
detail in the Epistle (Rom 5:1-5) and Gospel (John 16:12-15, where our salvation
is pictured also as a trinitarian activity. (Francis
Rossow)
5. Opportunity for bonus
Gospel: Christ, alias Wisdom, says in verses 24-25, "When there
were no springs abounding with water...before the hills, I was given
birth." Treated imaginatively, this statement can provide bonus Gospel for
a sermon...
Exegetically, Christ is simply asserting His eternity. He
existed before our world did. He was around long before springs of water and
hills were created. True as far as the relationship between Christ and His
creation is concerned. Yet, in another sense, it is not true. There was a spring
of water in existence even before the world was created. Christ Himself was that
spring. "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the
water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal
life" (John 4:14). "If [anyone] is thirsty, let them come to me and
drink. Whoever believes in me...streams of living water will flow from with
them" (John 7:37-38) There was a hill in existence even before the world
was created. Christ Himself was that hill. The psalmist was aware of it, for he
said, "I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My
help comes from the Lord (Ps 121:2). Repeatedly, he called Jesus "the rock
of my salvation."
The purpose of this suggestion is not to contradict the
clear truth of our text. Rather, it is to call attention to an even greater
truth: The springs of water and the hills in the world that Christ helped create
were but a microcosm of the springs of water and hill that He Himself was for
eternity. In that sense, those springs and hills were made in the image of
God--like craftsman, like craft. (Rossow)
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