The Joshua Victor Theory

Sermon Outline: 1.       What’s in a name? Know the meaning of yours? Significance to your life? Seen as shaping the future of a child in some cultures. Adam = mankind, Eve = living, Abram = father to Abraham = father of many nations, Jacob = grasper, deceiver to Israel = strives with God; Ichabod = “glory has departed”; most important of all names is the name of God Himself. Revealed at Sinai to Moses—YHWH (Yahweh). Most often translated as LORD. Jehovah is a corrupted spelling of Yahweh. Note significance of this Name given in the blessing in Numbers 6—the “Aaronic benediction.” God’s Name would be placed on Israel, and so He would bless them. There is much in a name—especially in God’s Name. 2.       Notice in the benediction—Trinity. God’s movement toward us: “bless you; make His face shine upon you; lift up His countenance upon you” and the result of His activity: “keep you; be gracious to you; give you peace.” God’s Name on H...

1. Intro: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Famous saying of Jesus, response to those who were trying to trap Him in His words about taxation. Paying taxes was never very popular. Often used to prove that Jesus supported the legal authority of governments to tax the citizens, and the citizens’ duty to pay their taxes (Minor point). Major point= render to God the things that are God’s. 2. Render means to pay, or to give back. What you owe, what is due. The reason Jesus gave for the government’s right to tax, was the inscription and likeness of Caesar, the emperor, on the coin. They had minted the coin. To ‘mint’ a coin is to stamp or press an image onto a piece of metal. The coin then has the “likeness” or picture of whatever person was used. Abraham Lincoln on a penny, George Washington on a quarter. On the back, it has the inscription of the United States of America. Image shows ownership. 3. On to the major point! Jesus “caught” Hi...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. In today’s epistle reading, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, the Apostle Paul talks about the relationship between the wisdom of the world and God’s wisdom. So what’s the place of reason and knowledge in the Christian faith? What’s the relationship of the word of the cross, or the message of the Gospel, to human wisdom? And how’s God’s true wisdom taught in the cross? Some people claim that Christianity is against reason and wisdom. That it’s irrational. They would call the Bible a book of legends and miracles that disobey the laws of nature. Some would say that Christianity is above reason and wisdom. That faith and reason belong in two completely disconnected realms. They would say that reason can neither prove or disprove nor explore the events and claims of the Bible. Still others might claim that Christianity is completely rational and that everything in the Bible can be logically explained ...