The Joshua Victor Theory

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? ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today we remember God’s gift of baptism. We honor the Baptism of our Lord Jesus, when He came to the Jordan River to undergo a sinner’s baptism, in solidarity with and for us. We also remember our own baptisms into Christ Jesus, and what that means for our life today. St. Paul opens our reading from Romans 6 with some provocative questions: “ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” To understand his meaning, we have to look a chapter earlier, and see that he has just been talking about the incredible greatness of Jesus’ free gift of forgiveness and salvation. A gift that we did nothing to earn, that is ruled by no law, that is conditioned by no demand, but freely given by Jesus Christ. Because the Gospel is so free, and what Jesus has done for us comes as pure gift, Paul asks: Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? He’s saying, if God is so free and generous in fo...

The 13th and final sermon in a series on Romans 6-14, "God's Greater Story". Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Today is our 13 th and final week in the book of Romans—and we’ve been slowly digesting a considerable portion of the book: chapters 6-14. Like any “meal” from God’s Word, the food is rich and filling—filling us with God’s truth, with the knowledge of His love and mercy for us in Christ Jesus, and with His Holy Spirit. And yet the “table” is always far from empty, as there is much more that we could return to. God’s Word is a never-ending feast for the hungry soul—a banquet which never runs out of the well-aged wine of wisdom, nor the nourishing bread of life. And hopefully you’ve gained an appetite to return and dig deeper into Romans yourself. This would be a great opportunity for you to read through the entire book of Romans again on your own, and review its message to you. If you can do it al...

Part 12 of a 13 part series, "God's Greater Story" on the Book of Romans.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Like many other chapters in Romans, chapter 13 is so full of content and application, it will be impossible to explore it all in one sermon. Paul sets before us the reality, also taught elsewhere, that Christians maintain a “dual citizenship” of sorts. On the one hand, like all people, we are citizens of a “kingdom” or nation here on earth. There are nearly 200 independent nations in our world today. On the other hand, Christians also hold citizenship in the one kingdom of heaven, and as the book of Hebrews says, (13:14) “ For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ” Therefore, I am a Christian first, and an American second. And hopefully you understand that means if ever the two come into conflict, I must obey God, rather than men. As soon as the presence of Christians was felt by the Roman ...

Sermon on Romans 11:1-2a, 13-32, part 9 of a 13 part series in Romans, "God's Greater Story." This sermon is not adapted from the series. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today in Romans chapter 11, we come to another challenging and often misused Bible passage, which is partly why I expanded the verses included in the reading, from what you find in the bulletin insert. Paul renews his discussion from Romans 9 about the make-up and identity of the church, the relation of Jews and Gentiles (non-Jewish peoples) in the church, and the mysteries of God’s eternal choosing or predestination of His people. Part of Paul’s aim in Ch. 11 is to reign in a dangerous attitude of pride or arrogance. From any Gentile Christians who might look down on or even ignore the Jews who had fallen away from God through unbelief in Jesus, and so were under the present “partial hardening” that Paul describes. Paul wants to teach us Gentiles of our place...