Sunday Feb. 26, 2023

Call To Worship: 1st Sunday of Lent (Jesus in the Wilderness)

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
    and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
    and serve only him.’ ”

11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Songs:

Cornerstone

Verse 1

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly trust in Jesus' Name

Chorus 1

Christ alone cornerstone

Weak made strong in the Saviour's love

Through the storm He is Lord

Lord of all

Verse 2

When darkness seems to hide His face

I rest on His unchanging grace

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

My anchor holds within the veil

Verse 3

When He shall come with trumpet sound

Oh may I then in Him be found

Dressed in His righteousness alone

Faultless stand before the throne

All the Poor & Powerless

Verse 1

All the poor and powerless

And all the lost and lonely

And all the thieves will come confess

And know that You are holy

And know that You are holy

Chorus 1

And all will sing out hallelujah

And we will cry out hallelujah

Verse 2

All the hearts who are content

And all who feel unworthy

And all who hurt with nothin' left

Will know that You are holy

(Bridge)

Shout it

Go on and scream it from the mountains

Go on and tell it to the masses

That He is God (yeah)

Chorus 2

We will sing out hallelujah

And we will cry out hallelujah

We will sing out hallelujah

And shout yeah

Son of David

Verse 1

The blind won't gain their sight

By opening their eyes

A King is coming

To His city and crowds around are following

If I could see I would follow too

Verse 2

He heals the sick with His hands

As He walks by they reach for Him

If I could see I would reach out too

The blind won't gain their sight

By opening their eyes

Chorus 1

Son of David have mercy on me

Son of David have mercy on me

Son of David I want to see

Son of David have mercy

Verse 3

I cannot leave this gate

Since I cannot see my way

But I can stand and call His name

No I could never leave this gate

But I will stand and shout His name

And I will count on His grace

(Bridge)

I was blind now I see

Jesus saved me

I was blind now I see

Jesus saved me

This We Know

Verse 1

You are who You say You are

You'll do what You say You'll do

You'll be who You've always been to us

Jesus

Verse 2

Our hope is in You alone

Our strength in Your mighty name

Our peace in the darkest day remains

Jesus

Chorus 1

This we know

We will see the enemy run

This we know

We will see the victory come

We hold on to every promise You ever made

Jesus You are unfailing

Verse 3

Our guide through the wilderness

Our joy in the heaviness

Our way when it seems there is no way

Jesus

Misc 1

(Bridge)

We trust You

We trust You

Your ways are higher than our own

Teaching: Seeking God’s Kingdom First: Kingdom Origin Story

The Kingdom of God is often stated to have originated with Jesus. 

  1. However, God’s kingdom originated in creation.

  2. God is King

  3. Adam & Eve are the people

  4. Eden (Garden) is the Land

  5. “Don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil” is the law.

  1. Genesis 1 “When God began to create the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.11 Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good.22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.26 Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27 So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

  2. What is the difference between “Restoration” and “Renovation?”

    1. Renovation means to improve upon, make new, while keeping the overall purpose the same. 

    2. Restoration means putting something back the way it was before it fell apart. 

  3. Growing up in the Restoration Movement we would talk about “Restoring the New Testament church.” 

    1. Some thought this meant restoring it exactly as it was…

      1. This is difficult since we live in the 21st Century

    2. But what it was really about was restoring the original purpose, and intention…not every aspect of the New Testament church.

      1. Commitment to scripture

      2. Worshiping in community

      3. Becoming like Jesus

      4. And more

  4. God’s original kingdom in the garden was perfect and intact. 

    1. Humanity sins and breaks the original intention

    2. The rest of scripture and the rest of human history is God attempting to restore the original intent of his Kingdom in the garden while also making things NEW.

      1. Isaiah 43:14-19, Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. For your sake I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down; they cannot rise; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?”

      2. Revelation 21, “ “See, I am making all things new.” “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 

  5. One of the most important parts of creation was God’s desire to give humanity the ability to “choose.” 

    1. In giving us the ability to choose him he also infused with us the ability to NOT choose him.

    2. Real love exists when the ability for another person or thing to return that love is present. 

    3. Love requires “love in return” for it to be a real loving relationship. 

  6. The Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) exist in community with one another

    1. They embody love because they are able to express and understand love in the context of one another. 

    2. Creation was an expression of Love because it was born out of a desire for the fullness of what was known in the Trinity to be known in all of creation as well.

  7. 6 times in Genesis 1 God sees his creation and calls it “Good”

    1. TOV is the Hebrew word for “good”

      1. It is used over 700 times in the Bible

    2. Psalm 119:68 says God IS good and DOES good

    3. Psalm 86:5 “For you, O Lord, are GOOD and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.”

    4. TOV is difficult to understand fully in English 

    5. “HESED” is a Hebrew word which means many things: love, loyalty, mercy, steadfastness, and more.

      1. When Translators come across “HESED” in the Hebrew Bible they have to choose 1 of its English equivalents to translate it into.

      2. Exodus 34:6-7 has the word HESED twice

        1. In nearly all English Translations they will translate HESED (1 Hebrew word) using 2 different English words

    6. Love has 4 different Greek words, Philio, Eros, Storge, and Agape. 

    7. TOV is often translated as “Good” or “goodness” but still doesn’t fully encapsulate it’s meaning. 

  8. TOV described God. 

    1. God is Good. He IS good and he DOES good.

  9. TOV also describes God’s creation

    1. God sees is creation and evaluates it as “good”

  10. TOV is active

    1. God works to bring righteousness and justice (his TOV) into the world

    2. Righteous and Justice are the same Hebrew word

    3. Jesus is described as doing GOOD. 

    4. He calls himself the GOOD shepherd in John 10:11

    5. Jesus doesn’t just do good, he IS good. To be like Jesus is to be TOV. To be TOV is to be like Jesus. 

  11. TOV resists Evil. 

    1. God pits TOV against RA (Evil) in the tree of the knowledge of Good & Evil.

    2. He tells Adam & Eve not to eat from that tree

      1. They do anyway and immediately realize they are naked

      2. It was the nakedness that was evil

      3. It was hiding in the shame of their disobedience. They were no longer vulnerable in relationship before God.

  12. After Adam & Eve disobey a curse is leveled against humanity.

    1. Between Humanity & God (distance that has to be bridged through perfect sacrifice)

    2. Between Humans & other Humans (power struggles, abuse, coercion, oppression, hatred, etc.)

    3. Between Humans & Creation (thorns, weeds, earthquakes and more)

  13. In the moment of Sin, when the intention and original desire of God was broken, God does not throw his hands in the air and call it quits. 

    1. He spends the rest of human history in the position of restorer and renovator. 

    2. He works to restore the original TOV in the garden while making all things NEW. 

  14. Revelation 21:1-5 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”  

  15. The origins of God’s Kingdom should cause us to cling to 2 things

    1. Love

      1. Love God, Love others

    2. TOV

      1. Bring TOV into the world by:

        1. Allowing the Holy Spirit to help us become the TOV of God

          1. Love, patience, grace, mercy, forgiveness, etc.

        2. Begin to see the TOV of God in his creation

          1. If we see God’s goodness in things then we will work for it’s good, not its harm or destruction.

        3. We will actively pursue TOV (Righteousness & Justice)

        4. We will resist all that is NOT TOV. 

Communion:

  • In small groups discuss the following questions for a few minutes:

    • What does becoming TOV (goodness of God) mean in your life?

    • How are you going to pursue TOV more fully during this season of Lent?

  • Invite 1 person from your group to pray over your discussion and your time of communion.

Benediction:

Our Father in heaven,

May your name be revered as holy.

May your kingdom come.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.


May the strength of God pilot us;

May the wisdom of God instruct us,

May the hand of God protect us,

May the word of God direct us.

Be always ours this day and for evermore.


Amen

Jared King