The Joshua Victor Theory

Sermon Outline ·          Passage speaks of our being joined to Christ Jesus through baptism—grace words: received Him, rooted, built up, established, taught. Passive for us on the receiving end, but describes the life that God is shaping in us: a living, active reality of faith. Walk in Him, abound in thanksgiving. New life created. ·          Rooted and built up in Him? How? How do roots grow, or is a foundation built? Overnight, or slow and steady process? Storms headed our way—trees that are deeply rooted weather a storm, buildings that are on a secure foundation weather a storm. ·          Time investment, priority, constant, lifelong attention to “sending down roots”. Cf. parable of the sower, shallow roots or no roots, plants are scorched and wither or choked out. Vs. a lifelong growth of roots, a person who is mature in faith, Ephesians 4:13–14 (ESV) 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the m

No sermon manuscript this week--just notes and you can go to the podbean link for the audio file of my sermon. A sermon about Psalm 119, and how is a Christian able to have a positive view of God's law? What resolves the tension in us about how we relate to God's Law? Sermon Talking Points Read sermons at:    http://thejoshuavictortheory.blogspot.com Listen at:   http://thejoshuavictortheory.podbean.com Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and is an “acrostic poem.” It’s divided into 22 stanza, of 8 lines/verses each, and there is one stanza for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet (176 verses total). There are 8 key words used in the Psalm that are synonyms for the Law of God. These 8 words show up 177 times in the 176 verses, so that the Psalm “overflows” with words about God’s instruction. Read the section from our Introit, or any other section of Psalm 119. What does the author think of God’s Law? Look

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The Good Samaritan is probably one of the most recognizable stories that Jesus taught, in all the Gospels. And the parable is part of a series of questions between a Jewish lawyer and Jesus, beginning with this question: “ Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” As we unfold this teaching of Jesus for us, consider also the words of St. Paul: “ Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5). This passage illuminates a fundamental flaw with the lawyer’s question. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The faulty logic in the question is that you can’t do anything in order to inherit something. Like Paul says, if you are working for something, you earn your wages as pay that is rightfully due to you. Your