MEDITATION - Matthew 23:5

“They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,”

‌

CALL TO WORSHIP - Psalm 37:12–22

“The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.”

NT READING - Matthew 23:16–22

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.”

‌

Heidelberg Catechism (37. Sunday)

QUESTION 102. May we swear by the saints, or any other creature?

No: for a lawful oath is a calling upon God, as the only searcher of hearts, to bear witness to the truth, and to punish me if I swear falsely; which honor is due to no creature.

‌

SERMON SERIES:

RENEWAL IN CHRIST

‌

SERMON TEXT: 2 Corinthians 10:7–12

“Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we. For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”

‌

SERMON TITLE:

A NEW MEASURE OF AUTHORITY

‌

SERMON SUMMARY:

No matter the situation, one of the most important questions one can ask is, “Who is in charge around here?” Whether at home, work, school or in battle, there is a great deal of comfort in simply knowing who has the final word and who is ultimately responsible. Who is to blame? Who gets the credit? Who does the discipline? Who signs the checks? After a year of being Lead Pastor here at NCF, this question is more important to me than ever before.‌ In this week’s passage, the Corinthians had come a long way and their change was remarkable, but there still remained a loud minority who continued to challenge Paul’s authority as Apostle. Incredibly, Paul’s reaction is not to exalt his God-given authority as leader, but to bring everyone to the center as equal in Christ. A Christian leader is a leader amongst equals… not a dictator amongst servants. As we are called to lead, the church is to be reminded of Jesus’ example of being called to serve and not to be served.