Scripture: Matthew
7:24-27
We’re obsessed with our phones; a new
study has found. The heaviest smartphone users click, tap or swipe on their
phone 5,427 times a day, according to researcher Dscout.
That’s the top 10 percent of phone users,
so one would expect it to be excessive. However, the rest of us still touch the
addictive things 2,617 times a day on average. No small number.
“And by every interaction, we mean every tap,
type, swipe and click. We’re calling them touches,” it explains.
Averaging out the numbers, the aforementioned
figures mean the heaviest users are touching their devices a couple of million
times in one year, Dscout says.
... Probably the most interesting
thing in all this was that the people surveyed completely underestimated their
phone touching. While they were initially shocked by the numbers, 41 percent
said “it probably won’t
change the way I use my phone.”
APPLICATION
How many taps, types, swipes and clicks
take place between you and God in a day?
If the number of times you were in contact
with God on a daily basis could be tracked, would you be shocked by the
result? Would it be because of how often, or, how infrequently you
reached out to Him?
"Come
near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8).
“You
have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown
weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at
first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did
at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand
from its place” (Revelation 2:3-5).
When you think about love, what
color comes to mind? RED and so you see our new theme for 2020 is RED LETTER
EDITION based on: Matthew
7:24-27
GARY
talk about Q
"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to
your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are
foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your
life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock.
25 Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit —
but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
26 But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work
them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the
sandy beach. 27 When a storm rolled in and the
waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards." (THE MESSAGE)
I want everyone
to purchase or borrow a red-letter edition bible for this year – or many bible
apps have the words of Jesus in Red for you.
How did the Red Letter Editions begin?
On June 19, 1899, Louis Klopsch, then editor of The Christian
Herald magazine, conceived the idea while working on an editorial. Klopsch
asked his mentor Rev. Thomas De Witt
Talmage what he thought of a testament with the Dominical words (words
of Jesus) rubricated (artistically singled out) and Dr. Talmage replied, "It could do no
harm and it most certainly could do much good." Klopsch published the first modern red
letter edition New Testament later in 1899. The first modern, fully rubricated (Red
Letter) bible was published in 1901. The
idea for red letters for Jesus comes from Luke,
22:20: "This
cup is the new testament in my blood, which I shed for you.”
RED LETTER CREATIVITY CHALLENGE:
Write a song, a
poem, memorize a passage, write a skit, make a video or pictorial
representation of the words of Jesus, do a painting, drawing or any other
creative endeavor related to the words of Jesus. Create a children’s story
about the words of Jesus that you could share with the children during Picnic
with the Pastor.
LET’S BEGIN TO EXEGETE THE TEXT
Slides: 1 – EXEGESIS
2 – EXEGESIS (Basically add EXEJESUS to the first one)
EXEJESUS
3
– EXEJESUS (Then
just this word alone)
(1) Exegesis = noun - critical explanation
or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture.
Exegesis includes a wide range of critical
disciplines: textual criticism is the
investigation into the history and origins of the text, but exegesis may
include the study of the historical and
cultural backgrounds of the author, text, and original audience. Other
analyses include classification of the
type of literary genres presented
in the text and analysis of grammatical and syntactical features in the text itself.
In short – Exegesis means “Drawing out”
(2) Exejesus = noun - critical
explanation or interpretation of the Messiah, Jesus.
(3) Exejesus will include looking most
directly at the words Jesus spoke – the words written in red – as well as the
cultural background, history, genre, audience, intent of his words, and what
they mean for us today.
The meaning is
plain: Two people each built a house. They built in the same neighborhood. They
built similar houses. The only difference was the foundation they built
upon. Both people described heard the
teachings of Jesus (they read – or listened to the red letters – the words of
Jesus.) One decided not to live by the things Jesus said and the other one not
only listened but also put those words into practice in his or her life. Both
had the same storms hit their house – torrential rains and rising water came
against each house – the one built on the words of Jesus stood strong in the
storm – the one built without following the words of Jesus came crashing down
and great was that crash.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
in Italy is going to fall. Scientists travel to the town of Pisa every year to
measure the building's slow descent. They report that the 179-foot tower, which
was built in 1173, moves about one-twentieth of an inch a year, and is now 17
feet out of plumb. Recent renovations may have saved the 810-year old tower and
prevent it from collapsing. Quite significantly, the word “pisa” means “marshy
land,” which gives some clue as to why the tower began to lean even
before it was completed. Also, another issue is the fact that its foundation is
only 10 feet deep! No matter how deep you put your foundation in the sand (the
ways of the world) it is certain to collapse when the storms come. Likewise,
the house built on the words of Jesus will stand strong no matter how severe
the weather becomes.
CONCLUISON
How many taps,
types, swipes and clicks will you have with the words of Jesus this year? 2617
a day? How about no less than 1 a
day? Will you read God’s word daily?
Will you join attend a current bible study or attend one of our new small
groups? I know there is nothing that will boost your spiritual life more than
spending time in the Word of God, most particularly looking at the words of
Jesus where you will get to know your savior.
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