Archive for January, 2009
February 1, 2009: Jesus and the Little Children
The text for this lesson is Mark 10:13–16.
Key Points
- Jesus came to us, who in our sin are helpless, dependent, and needy, to bestow His love and eternal gifts upon us.
- Law: Sinners look up: up to the bigger income, the larger house, the greater popularity. They thrill over the feel of the next ladder rung, clawing their way to the top. The “beatitudes” of this world run like this: “Blessed are the rich… blessed are the independent… blessed are those who take care of themselves.” But as wise Solomon says (who ought to know!), “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12)
Podcast Scheduling
We apologize to our listeners that this week’s podcast is being delivered much later than is normally planned and/or expected. Several factors—including inclement weather here in St. Louis—have unfortunately interfered with mastering the delivering the audio for this week in a timely fashion.
We intend to get the podcast back to a regular schedule as soon as possible, and will be making a concerted effort at jumping ahead slightly over the next couple of weeks so that circumstances such as those that occurred this week will not interfere with the publishing schedule. The intention is for the podcast to be posted on the afternoon two Saturdays before the lesson date. This gives listeners a full week of preparation and devotion prior to teaching, and also permits pastors or superintendents who wish the ability to burn CDs of the podcast for distribution to Sunday School teachers a full week in advance.
We hope to have the podcast for the 1st posted early this afternoon and the podcast for the 8th posted on Monday afternoon.
If you have any comments regarding the site or podcast, commenting is open in this post and we invite you to leave a comment to let us know what you think of Seeds of Faith. Please feel free to spread the word regarding this helpful resource and encourage others—even those who are not Sunday School teachers—to download and listen.
We hope and pray that you will continue to find this resource a helpful and edifying one as you prepare your Sunday School lesson, desire to know what your children are learning in Sunday School, or listen just to hear and learn.
January 25, 2009: Jesus Calls Matthew
The text for this lesson is Mark 2:13–17.
Key Points
- We sinners rejoice, for we too have been called from our own sin to dine at the table of the friend of sinners: Jesus.
- Law: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). But also, if we say we have no sin as bad as so-and-so’s, we dupe ourselves just as much. The root of hypocrisy is self-deception. We think we are much higher up on God’s “honor roll” than our peers. Such lies, which dam up the flow of repentance and forgiveness, leaves the sinner damned. Jesus is the friend of sinners. He lives with them, eats with them, dies with them. Self-made saints have no friend in Jesus, for they despise His compassion as well as His companions.
- Gospel: If we confess our sins, if we say “I am a sinner,” Jesus will say, “I am your friend. Fear not. I am faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness” (see 1 John 1:9).
January 18, 2009: Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
The text for this lesson is John 1:43–51.
Key Points
- In Jesus, access to heaven is given to all who believe.
- Law: You get the god you believe in. If you believe “God” to be a mean-spirited, unforgiving, damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t deity, then your belief in that false god attaches you to him. Again, if you believe “God” to be an everybody-gets-to-heaven, anything goes, laid-back Lord, then your belief in that false god attaches you to him. Remember, you get the “God” you believe in. But if the deity in whom you believe is false, then, alas, he is nothing more than one of the devil’s myriad disguises. And what you get is hell.
- Gospel: Jesus is who Jesus is. He is not whomever we twist, wrench, or otherwise manipulate Him into being. He defies our expectations, knowing all, loving all, dying for all. Something good did come down from Nazareth. That good is the Savior, who is the true Jacob’s ladder, for upon Him the angels come down to escort us upward to our heavenly home.
January 11, 2009: The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
The text for this lesson is Mark 1:1–13.
Key Points
- Jesus takes on our sin at His Baptism, facing our temptations that we, in turn, might be baptized into His goodness, His holiness, and His purity. In exchange for our sewer of sin, He gives us the fountain of life.
- Law: Repentance is not an emotion but a motion, a constant moving away from sin and into Christ, from death to life. To repent is not to “feel bad” but to confess that one is “bad”—a lawbreaker, one who fears, loves, and trusts things above God. It is to see in the lifeless wilderness around John an emblem of one’s soul, divorced from faith.
- Gospel: Jesus is baptized for us. All our transgressions cascade into Him. He also baptizes the water, as it were. He puts Himself into the water so the water, joined to Him, might join us to Him in Baptism. Once baptized, He takes down the devil for us by fearing, loving, and trusting His father above all things.
