May 11, 2014 | Matthew 23: Religion vs. the Gospel, or Why Don't You Tell Us How You Really Feel Jesus

Here are the sermon audio and notes from our study of Matthew 23.

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. ⁸ But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
 
¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ [Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? ²⁰ Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. ²² And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

³⁴ “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Audio
Notes


January 12, 2014 | Matthew 19:1-9: All the King's Horses: Marriage, Divorce & the Gospel
January 19, 2014 | Matthew 19:10-12 - What's the Point?: Marriage, Singleness, & Living for the Glory of God
January 26, 2014 | Matthew 19:13-30: What Must One Do to be Saved? 
February 2, 2014 | Matthew 20:1-16: Marvel at Grace
February 16, 2014 | Matthew 20:17-28 - The Key to True Greatness
February 23, 2014 | Matthew 20:29-34
March 3, 2014 | Matthew 21:1-11: The Royal Entry
March 9, 2014 | Matthew 21:12-22 
March 23, 2014 | Matthew 21:23-46
March 30, 2014 | Matthew 22:1-14 - What Not to wear or Heeding God's Invitation to Celebrate His Son
April 6, 2014 | Matthew 22:15-22: Life After Death and Taxes
April 13, 2014 | Matthew 22:23-33 - I Don't Want to be a Sad-You-See, or Why the Doctrine of the Resurrection Matters
May 4, 2014 | Matthew 22:34-46
May 11, 2014 | Matthew 23: Religion vs. the Gospel, or Why Don't You Tell Us How You Really Feel Jesus


For more:
Matthew 1-18 | The King Has Come: The Gospel According to Matthew Series
MacArthur on the Greatest Act of Love
Ain't No Grave . . .
The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus
The Gospel of Matthew Movie
Humpty Dumpty & Grace
I Am Yours, Save Me

Driscoll on Consumers vs. Worshippers

As I work on Sunday's message from John 2:12-22 on Jesus cleansing the Temple, I came across the following section from Mark Driscoll's very helpful sermon Angry Worship.

Do you guys see what’s happened here? Do you guys know what the difference is between a consumer and a worshipper? This is exactly what the difference is: A consumer is someone who believes that the entire world exists to service their needs, and that they have a certain amount of money that they are now going to place in some particular business. Therefore, all the businesses should compete for their dollar. And then whoever wins, right – I’ll just show it to you. This is how it works: Here’s my buck. I’m a consumer. Now, I want some things. Now, what I’m trying to figure out is who will give me the most for my dollar. And so I start to look at competitors, and then people rise up against each other to compete for this. And then what I try to find out is where can I place this and get the maximum return with the least amount of inconvenience? Who will do for me the most and charge me the least? That is a consumer.

Now, a worshipper is just the opposite. A worshipper looks at this and says, “Where can I give this so that the most number of people are benefiting? Where can I give this so that I don’t get anything from this, but that someone else gets God’s love, grace, mercy extended to them in some tangible way?” A worshipper looks at it and says, “It is not about me. It is about God and those people that don’t yet know God.” A consumer looks at it and says, “It’s all about me. I’m the customer. The customer’s always right. The customer is king. Whatever the customer wants.” We live in a world that is governed and dominated by consumerism. And when consumerism creeps into our spirituality, what happens then we look at church and brothers and sisters in Christ and God and the work of the Gospel as something that is to compete for our interest. “What will it take for me to get as much as I can and give as little as I can? How can I have some sort of transacting relationship in which I win?” That’s exactly what is happening. “How can I get the biggest bang for my buck?”

And a consumer views church and view God and views religion as the place where they can get all of their needs met without making any sacrifices, without being inconvenienced, without having to carry any responsibility for anyone else. The worst of it is when men don’t look at it and say, “Well, gosh, what can I do for women, children, single moms, widows, orphans, the poor, the handicapped, the neglected, those in need?” If I am an able-bodied male, that means “How can I take what I have and invest that so that they are blessed and that they are loved and that they have an opportunity to worship God as well? How can I pay the bills for them so that they can come to know God?” That’s an attitude of a worshipper, but a consumer it is not.

A consumer takes every single dollar and hour and interest and invest them – invest that in themselves. And what that is, is it’s idolatry. It’s self-worship. It is giving what belongs to God to myself. It’s self-glorification. We also call that things like self-esteem or self-actualization. We got a whole language for pride. Jesus is confronting the heart of this kind of worship. The disciples look at it and they say, “You know, he has zeal for his father’s house.” What always happens then is the religious professionals that are making a good income off of this sort of transaction they get angry because they’re losing market share. They’re losing income. And if people believe what Jesus has to say, then the whole thing is going to come undone.


For more:

April 3, 2011 | Matthew 12:1-21 - The Burden of Religion and the Rest of the Gospel

And finally, here is yesterday's sermon from Matthew 12:1-21.  I have really enjoyed our series in Matthew and will conclude our verse-by-verse exposition for the year once we finish chapter 12 but will return to Matthew at the first of next year.  I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.





Audio 
Notes 


For more:
January 2, 2011 | Matthew 8:1-17 - "Be Cleansed":  The Great Healer & His Great Gospel
January 16, 2011 | Matthew 8:18-27 - The High Worth of Discipleship   
January 23, 2011 | Matthew 8:23-34 - Knowing is Only Half the Battle:  The Authority & Power of King Jesus
January 30, 2011 | Matthew 8:1-9:8 - Chasing a Tail Named Idolatrous:  Our Enslaved Idolatry and How Jesus Sets Us Free 
February 6, 2011 | Matthew 9:1-8 - Anything You Can Do . . .:  Why Forgiveness Is Greater Than All Our Sin 
February 13, 2011 | Matthew 9:9-13 - "Its Just a Flesh Wound:  Jesus, the Liberating and Transforming Gospel, and Why We Need It 
February 27, 2011 | Matthew 9:14-17 
March 6, 2011 | Matthew 9:18-10:4 - Be Ye Restored:  The Gospel of Jesus & the Gift of Restoration 
March 13, 2011 | Matthew 10:5-42 - The Few.  The Proud.  The Christian.
Matthew 20, 2011 | Matthew 11:1-19 - Jesus in a Box: Why Jesus and the Gospel is Better Than Our Idols
The Sermon on the Mount Series
Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5
The Last Week of Jesus: From Triumphal Entry to Triumphal Grave Series   

February 27, 2011 - Matthew 9:14-17

I know I'm really behind, but here is the sermon audio and notes from February 27, 2011 on Matthew 9:14-17.

Audio
Notes 





For more:
January 2, 2011 | Matthew 8:1-17 - "Be Cleansed":  The Great Healer & His Great Gospel
January 16, 2011 | Matthew 8:18-27 - The High Worth of Discipleship   
January 23, 2011 | Matthew 8:23-34 - Knowing is Only Half the Battle:  The Authority & Power of King Jesus
January 30, 2011 | Matthew 8:1-9:8 - Chasing a Tail Named Idolatrous:  Our Enslaved Idolatry and How Jesus Sets Us Free 
February 6, 2011 | Matthew 9:1-8 - Anything You Can Do . . .:  Why Forgiveness Is Greater Than All Our Sin 
February 13, 2011 | Matthew 9-13 - "Its Just a Flesh Wound:  Jesus, the Liberating and Transforming Gospel, and Why We Need It 
The Sermon on the Mount Series
Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5
The Last Week of Jesus: From Triumphal Entry to Triumphal Grave Series    

August 29, 2010 - Matthew 7:15-12: Watch for False Gospels

Here are the audio and notes from last Sunday's morning message.  We are quickly coming to the end of our study of the Sermon on the Mount.  Next Sunday will be our final message on this wonderful text of Scripture.  I hope it has been as much of a blessing for ya as it has been for me.




Audio
Notes


For more:
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:43-48 - Love God as He Loved You
May 23, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 6:1-4 - Camouflaged Gold:  Why Christians Should Give In Secret
May 30, 2010 - Matthew 6:5-8 - Jesus on Prayer:  Our Inward Motivations
June 6, 2010 - Matthew 9-13 - The Model Prayer 
June 13, 2010 - Matthew 6:14-15 - The Forgiven Forgive:  The Inseparable Reality of the Gospel of Forgiveness
June 27, 2010- Matthew 6:16-18 - The Gospel of Self-Denial:  Why Fasting is Biblical and What it Says About Our Faith
July 11, 2010 - Matthew 6:19-24 - Investing in the Kingdom of God  
August 1, 2010 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Worry and the Providence of God:  What Our Anxiety Says About What We Believe About God 
August 8, 2010 - Matthew 7:1-6 - Judge Not But Please Remove This Speck.  Its Killing My Eye:  Learning to Judge Righteously, Not Hypocritically   
August 15, 2010 - Matthew 7:7-12 - The Golden Rule and a Community of Love 
August 22, 2010 - Matthew 7:13-14 - The Gospel is for Fools:  How to Empty a Church and Grow a Kingdom 

Some Helpful Videos About Jehovah Witnesses

I came across the following videos regarding Jehovah Witnesses and their teachings. It is from the Way of the Master program which is usually on the cheesy side. This video, however, is pretty well done and straight forward.

I hope this helps:

Brian McLaren and Celebrating Ramadan

For anyone interested in knowing why I spent a year researching and writing my M.Div thesis on Brian McLaren (whom most in the church have never heard of), here is a good example why. Dr. Denny Burk, dean of Boyce College, has written an article in response to McLaren observing the Islamic holiday Ramadan. Burk has finally called McLaren a Wolf in Wolf's clothing, and I think he is right. Here is a money quote:

This explanation is so filled with dangerous and damning error, it’s difficult to know where to begin. For starters, one cannot observe Ramadan as a “deeply committed” Christian. Fasting in the Christian tradition is irreducibly Christocentric. It involves praying to the Father of Christ (Mt 6:18) and longing for the return of Christ (Mt 9:15). The meaning and aim of the Muslim fast has nothing to do with Jesus. How can one observe Ramadan in any meaningful sense and do a Christian fast? The answer is that you can’t. If you try, you will end up distorting the Christian fast with syncretistic gobbledy-goop that is no longer recognizably Christian.

I would warn that McLaren is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but he has dropped the ruse.

For more:

Denny Burk - McLaren: A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing

Brian McLaren - Ramadan 2009: Part 1 What’s going on?

Brian McLaren - Ramadan 2009: Day 1

Brian McLaren - Ramadan 2009: Day 3

Thesis Availble Online

Emerging Church Archive

Brian McLaren Archive

The Emergent Gospel In 140 Characters or Less

What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?

Final Week of Jesus: The Cleansing of Religion - Mark 11:12-20

Sunday Morning: Mark 11:12-20







Sunday Night: Micah 6:1-8

Resources:

Books

Mark

Barclay, William. The Gospel of Mark. The Daily Study Bible Series. 3rd edition. Philedelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1975.

Calvin, John. Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, vol. 3. Calvin’s Commentaries vol. XVII. trans.

Rev. William Pringle. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2003.

France, Richard Thomas. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Compnay, 2002.

Hendriksen, William. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1975.

Robertson, Archibald Thomas. Word Pictures in the New Testament: The Gospel According to Matthew and the Gospel According to Mark. vol. 1. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1930.

Jesus, the Gospels, and the New Testament

Barnett, Paul. Is the New Testament Reliable?: A Look at the Historical Evidence. Downders Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986.

Blomberg, Craig L. Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997.

Bock, Darrell L. Jesus According To Scripture: Restoring the Portrait From the Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002.

Bruce, F.F. New Testament History. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1972.

Kempis, Thomas A. Imitation of Christ. Nelson’s Royal Classics. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999.

Lewis, Clive Staples. Mere Christianity. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1980.

Miller, Calvin. The Book of Jesus: A Treasury of the Greatest Stories and Writings About Christ. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Stein, Robert H. Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

Swindoll, Charles. Jesus, Our Lord. Bible Study Guide. Fullerton, CA: Insight For Living, 1987.

Tenny, Merrill C. New Testament Times. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,1965.

Thomas, Robert L. And Stanley N. Gundry. The NIV Harmony of the Gospels: With Explanations and Essays. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988.

Martin Luther

Atkinson, James. Martin Luther and the Birth of Protestantism. 2nd edition. Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1981.

Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. 14th edition. New York, NY: The New American Library, 1950.

Kittleson, James M. Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career. Minneapolis, MI: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986.

Marius, Richard. Martin Luther: The Christian Between God and Death. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999.

Software

Clarke, Adam. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible. software, E-Sword.

Gill, John. Luke. software, E-Sword.

Henry, Matthew. Commentary on the Whole Bible. software, E-Sword.

Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, & David Brown. A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments.

Henry, Matthew. Commentary on the Whole Bible. software, E-Sword.

Sermons

MacArthur, John. Matthew 21:18-22: The Way of the Fig Tree - The Promise Without Performance. From http://www.gty.org/Resources/Browse/Scripture/Matthew; accessed January 5, 2009. Text found at http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/2352; accessed January 5, 2009.

__________. Matthew 21:12-17: Purging the Perverted Temple. From http://www.gty.org/Resources/Browse/Scripture/Matthew; accessed January 5, 2009. Manuscript found at http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/2351; accessed January 5, 2009.