The Covenanting Table

Dear friends, one might think after forty-four years of pastoring (I was an Associate Pastor for two years before that), I would have this preaching thing, ‘nailed down.’ But….as I hope you can tell from this outline, I am continually refining my preaching in an effort to best honor God and the Bible, help others learn how to craft sermons or teaching material, serve you, and tell others about Jesus. So, I guess you could say, I have those four audiences in mind – God, elders/CG leaders/teachers, the congregation, and the lost - whenever I perform my sermon preparation. I think it was last year that I introduced the CG questions in the Observation, Interpretation, Correlation and Application format. That’s just a basic study outline for any Bible text, much as Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration is the basic subplot of the Bible. (I most often use the larger scheme: Creation, Fall, Israel, Church, Jesus, New Creation). I also introduced the Daily Devotion that same year. Last week, and without notice, I introduced a summary verse, theme, concern (problem) and purpose of the text. This is intended to help me, you, CGs and our people focus on the raison d'être for the text. But I do want you to notice it this week and hope to make it a weekly part of The View from My Study each Monday morning. I’m hoping these three thoughts will give us laser focus on any passage we read, study or preach and teach. As you can tell, sermon preparation is hard work. It is solo, even lonely work and I often think about how John MacArthur’s responded when someone asked him for the source of his preaching ministry success. He replied, “Keep your bottom in the seat until the work is done.” That’s good advice. The problem is, I’m never done. Four fifteen on Thursday afternoon arrives, and the sermon material has to be delivered to Debbie. And then, Sunday morning at 10:30 arrives and it has to be preached. What I hope, is as Jerry Vines, once said, “Pray the sermon will be born once in the study and born again in the pulpit.” Well, those are two good words from two masterful preachers. And then, of course, hermeneutics, (the science of interpreting the Bible) and homiletics (the art of writing sermons) is only the mechanical part of it. Preaching is mostly a spiritual work. And so, as we study and as we preach/teach we must acknowledge that “all is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down,” and so we cry, in the study and in the pulpit, “Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.” (from the song, Brethren, We Are Met to Worship). This is my particular prayer verse in the study: “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Timothy 2:7) This verse reminds me of the divine/human efforts in sermon preparation. God does not bless laziness. I must “think over” what the Bible says. At the same time, the Lord will honor that effort, yet, only “the Lord will give you understanding.” This is call to humility in sermon preparation and preaching. As we study, it’s as though the Holy Spirit stands over our shoulders, whispering in our ears so that we can “have the mind of Christ” in every passage (1 Corinthians 2:16). This is how I view the text today and hope to build on this outline for the Sunday sermon. Please note that I’ve included some questions, (in the form of QUES, in the preaching outline specifically for you as a CG leader. I hope these questions will stimulate your thinking about this passage. That too, I hope to make a weekly part of The View from My Study. Friends, if these changes are helpful, let me know how. If they discourage your study, please let me know that too. Here are my thoughts thus far on this Sunday’s passage. I hope this is helpful to you. The Road to the Cross Text: Luke 18:31–34 Summary verse - “…everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished…” (v 31). Theme – Jesus deliberately sets His face toward Jerusalem to fulfill the divine plan foretold by the prophets. This demonstrates that the cross was not a tragic mistake, but the triumphant, design of God. Concern - That people hear about the cross without understanding its necessity or implications, just as the disciples did. People cannot be saved without understanding the cross. Purpose - To awaken us to God’s work in Jesus on the cross and to remind us that Jesus knew, foretold, and embraced His suffering for our salvation. I want to call listeners to trust the cross and simultaneously marvel at Jesus’ obedience, causing us to fall greater in love with him and trust him more. Intro: Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem where he will die but he is joyfully determined to get there and perform the Father’s will. (He knows something the disciples don’t know). First: The Road to Jerusalem is the Road to the Cross (v. 31a) - “See, we are going up to Jerusalem…” QUES: What do you know about Jerusalem? I hope to insert a biblical history of Jerusalem here, God’s city on the earth—Jesus intentionally heads toward suffering. Think about Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Zechariah 12:10 App: The cross was always God’s plan A and not plan B. How does that encourage me to trust God in my suffering? Second: Prophetic Precision in Divine Suffering (v. 31b) - “…everything that is written…will be accomplished.” The Old Testament prepares the way for the cross. QUES: I hope to illustrate this from the OT. What OT texts can you think of? Jesus fulfills every prophecy with divine accuracy. Just how many OT scriptures did Jesus filfill? App: The Bible is amazingly (divinely) accurate. How does the Bible’s reliability strengthen my faith? Third: The Scope and Depth of Christ’s Humiliation (vv. 32–33) - “…delivered …mocked…shamefully treated…spit upon…flogged…killed…” (Speaking of the Scripture’s reliability, look at how exact Jesus’ prophetic word is) The Passion predictions are shockingly specific. Christ suffered physically, emotionally, and spiritually. App: Jesus endured every breadth and depth of pain for your redemption. Does this give you the assurance of salvation and does it make you love Jesus more? Fourth: The Disciples’ Incomprehension (v. 34) - “…they understood none of these things…” Let’s talk about human blindness to spiritual truth. QUES: What texts do you know that demonstrate human blindness to spiritual truth and God’s remedy? Divine truth often remains hidden apart from grace. App: I’m a “Beholding is Becoming” kind of Christian. I think if we truly see Jesus, we will love him and follow him. Will you pray that God will let you see Jesus in all his glory? Conclusion Jesus walked knowingly into His suffering because He walked obediently into the Father’s will. The cross was never a surprise to Jesus — it was His mission. May we marvel at His resolve, trust His plan, and follow Him without reservation.

Friends, Here’s the view from my study this Monday morning, the first Monday of June. I’ve tried to give you a head start on the text for this Sunday and my emphasis in the text but, wow, when it came to the mercy seat, I just got carried away in study and ran out of time this morning. Then again, I love getting lost in the Word. That will probably be reflected in the sermon also. The OT mercy seat and its NT corresponding texts is a major theme in Scripture, kind of like the scarlet thread of redemption. Anyway, my emphasis in this text this Sunday will be on saving faith and the majority of the message will be directed to the unsaved, the ‘ex nous,’ those outside, as C. S. Lewis called unbelievers. In the sermon I will be sharing the gospel and reminding our people of the joy of salvation by grace through faith. I hope it is a joyful, celebratory time for the people who know Jesus. The staff and I are reading A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter by Miriam Huffman Rockness, which I would encourage you to also read. Throughout the book, Lilias understands the power of prayer and relies on it to keep her and her friends safe in Algeria, (English women in a Muslim country in the middle of the 19 th century) and to prosper the Gospel. Thank you for your prayers for your CG, Heritage, the Word and me. My prayer for you is that you will find Jesus to be your all-in-all this week, that he will fill your soul, home, and every place you go with His felt presence. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for loving Jesus. Here’s what I have for the sermon so far. Jesus, the Pharisee, the Tax Collector and Me (Saving Faith) Luke 18:9-14 Intro: In this section of Luke, Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27). He’s meeting many people, but Luke has chosen several specific encounters to highlight various themes in Jesus’ ministry and teaching. In this chapter, Jesus a) tells the story of a widow and a tax collector, and b) meets children, a rich ruler and a blind beggar Each of these stories provide us with Jesus’ definition of faith. In this particular story, it’s the definition of saving faith. First: The Self-Righteous Heart. 9 It is rare but as in the last story, Luke tells us at the very beginning of this story, what it is all about. V 9 - He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: a) They thought themselves righteous b) They treated others with disdain c) A result of grace – grace makes us all equal, unable to Remember last week I mentioned that God is the only self-defining entity in existence. We can’t judge ourselves appropriately. 1 – We all have the same problem Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 2 – Unbelievers have a particular problem 2 Corinthians 4:4 - …the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, Second: Two Different People. 10 a) A Pharisee b) A tax collector c) God’s view – we are all sinners Romans 3:10 - None is righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (v 24-25 - and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Hallelujah for the cross!) Third: The Faithless Prayer. 11-12 a) “Standing by himself”….(Pharisee = separated) b) “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…” – comparison c) “I fast twice a week…” – self-righteous IMP: Self-righteousness is an oxymoron. 1 - When we get saved, God grants us Jesus’ righteousness. 2 – It is an alien righteousness, never ours 3 – It is a declaration based on what Jesus has done, not on us at all Fourth: The Faith-Focused Prayer. 13 Merciful = hilaskomai = to make propitiation The Greek translation of the OT uses the Greek word hilasterion, propitiation, for the Hebrew word, kappuret. Picture of mercy seat: ILL – On top of the ark was the mercy seat, flanked by two cherubim (Ex 25:19). Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest, walked into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat. In response, God’s shekinah glory filled the Holy Place and God met Israel there. Exodus 25:22 – There I will meet with you. John 20:12 – When Mary Magdalene wetn to the empty tomb, she found “she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.” (Stop for a moment and let your heart say, “Hallelujah!”) In the NT, that mercy seat has been transformed into at the throne of grace (Hb 4:16). IMP: What is the difference between mercy and grace? 1 – Mercy = rachimim = compassion 2 – Grace = hesed = favor 1 – Mercy points to forgiveness 2 – Grace grants unmerited favor Romans 3:21-25 - But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation [hilasterion/mercy seat] by his blood, to be received by faith. Fifth: Jesus’ Judgement. 14 – “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified…” ILL: Both of these men stepped into God’s courtroom but only one walked out justified – not by argument but by mercy. Justified = dikaioo = declared righteous Conclusion: 1 – To the proud – Don’t bring your spiritual resume. God isn’t hiring. 2 – To the broken – God’s mercy is greater than your sin. 3 – To everyone – Justification/Righteousness is found in Jesus alone, by faith alone.

In this passage (17:1-19), Jesus turns himself from the Pharisees and the temporal kingdom they are trying to build, to his disciples and the characteristics of his eternal kingdom.

Passage: Luke 15:8-10 Exegetical Theme: This story demonstrates the true value of what is lost, the searcher’s efforts and the worth of the effort, experienced in the joy of recovering the coin. The Botton Line : The search for lost people is worth Heaven’s investment. This is my potential outline for this sermon. First: The Context. 1-2 Second: The Lost Coin. 8a Third: Three Different Kinds of Lostness. Luke 15 Fourth: The Search. 8b Fifth: The Joy. 9 Sixth: The Necessity of Repentance. 10 This story takes us all the way back to creation because value is assigned by God in the imago dei. One sheep or one coin may not be of much value, or worth the risk to unfaithful shepherds. The lost coin is worth about a day’s wage and circumstances may have dictated whether or not it was worth the search. Yet both stories highlight the joy and celebration of recovering something precious to its owner. As you noticed last week, I’m using all three stories to focus on Heritage’s part in God’s saving mission in the world. In its simplest form, missions is all about looking for God’s sheep, coin and sons. The “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) is that, in each story, what is lost is found. What an encouragement to evangelize “here and around the world.” I hope you’ll think about this in connection to your world and that of your CG. There are lost sheep, coins and sons in our families, at the grocery store, where we work, where we or our children go to school or socialize, where we play sports or have hobbies, literally everywhere. Their value is assigned by God and demonstrated in the blood of the cross. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to see the world with God’s eyes and heart and then go with God into the world to find his lost sheep, coins and sons.

Jesus came to seek sinners, not righteous people.

Text: Luke 14:15-24  Friends, as I look at Sunday’s passage, I see these exciting things. Exegetical Theme: In this passage, Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Banquet. The host (representing God) invites many people to a feast (symbolizing the kingdom of God). Those initially invited (the Jewish religious leaders sitting at the table with Jesus who represent Israel) make invalid excuses and refuse to attend. The host then extends the invitation to marginalized people who are normally not invited to such gatherings – the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame— (symbolizing ostracized Hebrews like the man with dropsy). Even though they accept the invitation and attend the banquet, there is still room for more who also are invited (symbolizing Gentiles). Meanwhile, those who initially refused the invitation will not (ever) be allowed into the feast. Bottom Line: Don’t let anything get in the way of accepting Jesus’ invitation to eternal life. When Jesus was born the angels sang, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (2:10). And when Simeon first saw the baby Jesus in the Temple, he said, “…my eyes have seen your salvation…a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (2:32). Throughout this Gospel, Luke has reminded Theophilus of that great promise. He has already highlighted the Old Testament inclusion of Gentiles in the salvation stories the widow of Zarephath and Naaman. He’s already told the story of the Centurion’s faith and will later tell the stories of the Samaritan leper and Zachaeus before he concludes the book in 21:24 with a word about “the times of the Gentiles…” This is a theme he more fully develops in the book of Acts when the good news leaves Jerusalem for “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He then dedicates the last half of that book to the story of Paul and his mission to Gentiles. Lest we miss Jesus’s love for “…the cripped, blind and lame” (vs 13 &21), Larry LaPlue, the CEO of Luke 14 Ministries, will be with us on Sunday to share how we can serve those “affected by disability” and help them “find community and connection to Jesus through his church.” Fortunately for Northeast Tennessee, Luke 14 is headquartered in Morristown. You can learn more about this ministry at https://luke14ministries.net/ . I hope you will take the time to read this passage every day this week, allowing the word of Christ to richly dwell in you (Col 3:16), transforming you (2 Cor 3:18) into the image of Jesus, who is the Best, most beautiful and perfect person, and in whom it is your best interests to be like. PS. It’s also in the best interest of those you love and the entire world. Lord willing, (Deo volente) I will see you on Sunday. - Reggie Weems

As of this morning, I’ve broken the text, Luke 14:1-14, down into these thoughts. Exegetical Theme: A Pharisee invited Jesus to supper. (Was it one of the “some” in 13:31?) Sitting at the table, Jesus taught several important lessons about kingdom living. The first three, which we will cover this Sunday, include unaffected service, genuine humility and sincere kindness. Bottom Line: Jesus is teaching us how we ought to live, in effect, reversing the curse of Adamic selfishness. He’s not turning the world upside down. He’s turning it right-side-up. This is the way it used to be and will one day be again…and permanently. I’ve put the text together like this. First: The Heart of Unaffected Service. 1-6 Jesus is unaffected by the Jews’ abuse of the Sabbath and heals a hurting man. Second: The Heart of Genuine Humility. 7-11 Genuine humility does not think less of oneself but of oneself, less. Third: The Heart of Sincere Kindness 12-13 The difference between sincere and insincere kindness is expectation. IMP: At some point, I’ll connect all three of these characteristics to Adam in the Garden, demonstrate how he failed at each of them, illustrate how we are affected by his sin and then demonstrate how Christ’s perfect service, humility, kindness serve as the model for the world as it ought to and will be. Friends, Jesus is creating the most wonderful world. This little eco-system that surrounds him in his incarnational ministry is a review of Eden and a preview of the New Jerusalem. Now, we live in the ‘already’ – there are already people who live like this – and the ‘not-yet’ – everyone does not yet live like this (but they will!). The challenge is to believe Jesus, to live like this even though it is counter to the world around us. But the way the world lives now is self-destructive. We witness it every day. Yet Jesus is rebuilding the real world. (He’s not building an alternative world). The challenge for us as Christian disciples and as shepherds of our people is to live this way and to encourage others to live this way. What will it take? Looking to Jesus, not to ourselves, others or the world at large. That can be so discouraging. Instead, “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin [think about the weights and sins of Luke 14:1-14] which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3). Thank you for loving Jesus, his church and the world over which he cries, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” No one’s heart ever broke like the heart of Jesus because no one else has ever seen how beautiful it was, understands how terrible it has become and longs for it to be reconciled to the Father. No one’s heart ever broke like the heart of Jesus because no one else has ever seen how beautiful it was, understands how terrible it has become and longs for it to be reconciled to the Father like our Savior.

Each day we separately walk different sandy roads to arrive at the same destination so that we can talk about Jesus with one another. Then we eat lunch from a common bowl, a symbol of our united hearts. Today, Sunday, we participated in communion, reminding us that we have Christ in common with one another. There is so much that draws us together. But there is also much that is uncommon/different between us and our African brothers and sisters. During the testimony time this morning, M, thank God for taking his family to Heaven. Just last week soldiers pursuing terrorists, massacred 150 people in his village, killing M’s mother, two sisters, cousins, and nieces. And yet today, on Sunday, he, thanked God for grace and Heaven. S was a sheep thief. It’s how he made his living. But one day he met an American missionary, who told him about Jesus. S refused Christ but soon found himself in a sandstorm like no other he had ever encountered. As he covered his face and knelt in the sand, he prayed, “Oh God of the Christians, save me, and I will serve you.” S survived the sandstorm, found the missionary and trusted Christ. As of today, he has discipled a multitude of new believers in his country. When J became a Christian his father shot at him with a shotgun, trying to kill him. Today he says, “I am my father’s favorite son.” Fortunately, his father, who is not a Christian but who carries much influence in his community, has enabled his missionary son to be released from prison multiple times. When E became a Christian, he prayed seven years for a wife. He eventually led a woman to Christ, married her, and they had a baby. But when her Muslim parents found out their daughter and her husband were Christians, they used the country’s law to threaten to take the child. Rather than abandon their baby, E’s wife returned to her family who moved her and the baby to an undisclosed location in their country. He however, considered Christ the greater treasure, and could not turn back from following Jesus. Like every other story, I have told in this post, there are now innumerable believers in these countries, because of the sacrifice these Christians have made. These are just a few of the countless and common stories of common men and women who have opted to follow Jesus in Muslim dominated countries. Suffering and sacrifice is as common to their Christianity as sand is to the ground of the countries in which they serve. Uncommon in our world but common to much of the world.  Today, during the preaching time, I thanked them for loving Jesus, and told them they were the model for the American church. It astounds them to believe this is true, but it is. We have much to learn from our African friends. And we are watching them…thanking God for them…and hoping to imitate them in their love for Jesus.

Last night our little body of believers stood in an upper room in this African country and simultaneously sang, “I have decided to follow Jesus” in almost ten different languages. It reminded me of when TS baptized his son at Heritage in the late 90’s. T asked his son a question that was never previously asked at a Heritage baptism and has not been asked since. That’s because T and his family were born and lived in a Communist country that killed Christians as easily as toppling dominoes. What was the unique question T asked his teenage son? “Are you willing to die for Jesus?” We don’t ask that question at American baptisms because Christians in America have never been persecuted to death. Not yet anyway. But in too many countries, Christians are killed for their allegiance to Jesus’ name. Even so, people around the world continue to believe in him. And Tertullian’s maxim, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” continues to prove true. I mean, when killing the Leader results in an undeniable resurrection, what can you do to discourage his followers? Where T lived and where these brothers and sisters live, the defining moment is often baptism, that public confession of faith in Jesus as God’s Son. And yet, presciently knowing the danger but in light of his resurrection, Jesus commanded his followers to take the gospel everywhere, baptizing new believers (Matt 28:18-20). And people continue to be baptized - publically confessing their love for Jesus and symbolizing their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as death to their past life and new life in Christ - in spite of the inevitable danger. So the next time you witness a safe baptism in America, say a sincere prayer for your brothers and sisters around the world who step into a baptismal pool like the one I took a picture of in this Muslim dominated country where Teana and I are now. They may as well be stepping into a shark infested sea, an alligator ridden lake, or the piranha filled Amazon, risking their very lives to follow Jesus. It seems no one is discouraged by the question, “Are you willing to die for Jesus?” The answer is “Yes. I have decided to follow Jesus,” every time.