September
29 Sermon – “Have You Read It for Yourself?”
II
Timothy 3:10-17
Unlike the other letters of the Apostle Paul which are addressed to
whole churches, the Pastoral Letters were written to specific individuals
including Timothy and Titus. In our
II Timothy reading for today, Paul reminds young Timothy that all
scripture is inspired by God.
The key
word in this passage is “inspired.” It literally means, “God breathed.” The
scriptures are alive because God has breathed life into them. The word, “inspired”
is probably not the best word to use since it doesn’t convey the deeper meaning
that God has breathed life into the scriptures.
What
can the scriptures do for us?
1) V.
15 – It can make us wise not merely in terms of factual knowledge but living
according to God’s purposes.
2) V.
16 – It can teach and rebuke us. Rebuke is a negative word but the scriptures
do help us to live the way God wants us to live.
3) V.
16 – For correction (improvement)
4) V.
16 – Train you in righteousness. Righteousness is a combination of God’s
goodness and justice.
The
result of all of the above is to make us complete (V. 17.) This means that we
will live out who God created us to be.
Matthew
7:24-29
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus concludes his teachings
on the Sermon on the Mount with a short parable about a storm where one house
is able to remain standing and the other house falls down. By obeying God's
Word, we will be able to stand against any storm.
Matthew’s Gospel is divided into five sections reminding us of the Pentateuch,
the first five books of the Old Testament to show that Jesus is the new Moses
and even greater than Moses!
The
Sermon on the Mount reminds us of Moses on Mt. Sinai.
The
parable of the two houses are a warning that we need to obey God’s Word so that
we can withstand the storms of life.
“Built
on a rock” was referring to the Temple which had been built on a rock. Instead
of the rock being the Temple, Jesus will build his church on the confession of
faith (Peter.)
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