Bible Verses for Sunday Service March 26, 2023
Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
2 Timothy 2:19
But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
Announcements:
We will have choir practice right after service today. Please meet up at the front.
Would you like to be the Krispy Kreme volunteer? With Steve leaving, who will bring these sugary snacks on Fellowship Sunday? If you live towards the West End, do you want to replace Steve when he soon moves to New Mexico?
Our year of Awana is soon drawing to a close. We will recognize the clubbers for their hard work in their handbooks, and will be rewarding them with their book awards. We thank God for the great year He has provided. Awana awards night is April 5th at 6:30 to 8PM. Thank you to all the leaders and helpers who served.
Pastor is planning the traditional Easter Breakfast. As usual, we will meet for breakfast and have a short time of praise and worship as we celebrate our Lord’s resurrection. There will be a sign-up sheet so we can plan for numbers and the food.
On April 20, LaVie will host 321 Improv, a Christian improv group. Laughter will fill that night, along fun and prizes. Everyone is welcome, but it is geared towards youth ages 11-18. While it is a fundraiser for LaVie, SBC will receive free tickets for their youth groups. Pastor Jim needs to know by Feb 28 how many tickets to request. You can find more information on the church bulletin board.
Coming April 29th is a Ladies Luncheon, which will be a time of fellowship for women of all ages. Bring your family and friends. Soon, we will post a signup sheet.
Be sure to mark your calendars for our summer VBS coming June 5- 9. We look forward to an exciting week of ministering to children. VBS will run from 9AM to 11:45. As usual, we will need help. So please let Natasha know if you can give of your time that week.
Sermon:
This Sunday, Pastor’s sermon addressed Luke 6:1-11, “The Bible’s Bad Guys.” In this section of Scripture, Luke covers two successive Sabbaths. On both of these Sabbaths, the Pharisees found fault with Jesus’ disciples eating and Jesus healing. Pastor described how the Pharisees are really the Bible’s “bad guys,” the ones that would be wearing black hats in old silent movies.
This judgment seems sound in light of their behavior in this scripture, which chronicles them trying to assert their authority respecting the law with the one who made the law, Jesus, the law maker. God provided the law to Moses, approximately 600 individual laws. The Pharisees claimed to interpret the law, and create more laws, going beyond those provided by God.
In contrast, Jesus claimed that he made the law, so he had the power and the authority to interpret it. Moreover, He provided examples from Scripture to support His interpretation of Sabbath. Rather than a Sabbath burdened with man made rules, Jesus stated that the Sabbath was provided so we could have rest. The Sabbath was made for man by Him.
Besides having the power to interpret the law, Jesus came to live a perfect life as a man to fulfill the Law. Consequently, we can rest not just on the Sabbath, but every day in the perfect work of Jesus. Matthew 11:28-30 illustrates this, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
By healing the man with the withered hand on Sabbath, Jesus brought into focus the deceitful intention of the Pharisees. He knew their hardened hearts. Even though he did nothing physical, just spoke, and in speaking healed the man’s hand, the Pharisees became enraged. So angry in fact that from this day forward they hatched a murderous plan to kill Jesus. This plan would come to fruition two years later in bringing about His crucifixion.
Perhaps the most important point Pastor made was that we are all law breakers. But, that is not the end. Jesus by His work on the cross gave us rest. Let’s make sure we enter into this rest and enjoy and serve Him without getting caught up in the legalism of a pharisaic spirit.
Accessing the Service, Bulletin and Sermon Outline:
Here are the pages from the bulletin, click on the images below to see them full size:
If you would like to have the sermon outline, you can download it here, a pdf file.
If you would like a link to this service you can find it here. Perhaps you would like to share it with your friends. You could also share that link on social media, if you use any of the providers. We use Rumble, a safe alternative to Google’s YouTube.