BLACK FRIDAY AND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS
SERMON STARTER
The name “Black Friday” seems to have originated in Philadelphia when people began to notice the difficulty shopping downtown when all the shoppers were out bargain-hunting on the first day of the Christmas sale season. From a business point of view the use of the term, "Black Friday" refers to the old accounting practice of marking a loss in red ink, but marking the profit made in black ink.
Many retail businesses depend on the sales made on this one day to make up for the losses of the previous months. It is reminiscent of the liberal media calls we were hearing last year to get out there and spend, to boost the failing economy. The politico/economic policy has been to "Tax and Spend."
This is the time of the year when people get crazy. (Show the cartoons. . .)
PARODY:
"Deck the Malls with Lots of Mo-ney. . .
Fa-la-la-la-laaaala-la-la-la!
'Tis the season to make Mon-ey!
Fa-la-la-la-laaaala-la-la-la!
CONTRAST:
The Gospel of Jesus is about the Cross of Jesus and about how Jesus, in whom was life and his life was the light of men. The Gospel of Jesus is about how He came to GIVE (not to get). He willingly gave His life for our sins. Through His Gospel of Peace all mankind can be saved.
The Good News is that because of Jesus dying on the Cross for our sins, God's wrath against sin is no longer against us. His peace can rule and rein in our hearts. This sermon is one of contrasts. The contrasts between the pure Gospel of Jesus and the crass self-indulgence of those who walk in darkness is getting stronger and stronger. The Good News is that He has overcome the world.
Pastor Phil <><<
First Sunday of Advent - November 25, 2012
Sheepfold Ministries - Pastor Phil Roland
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS
John 1:1-14
"The purpose of my sermon this morning is to CONTRAST Black Friday's seducing people into fruitless, self-defeating efforts to make themselves happy, with the Coming of Jesus who has come to bring true inner peace."
Pastor Phil <><<
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12
WORD = LOGOS = "An IMAGE embodying or representing an entire organization." "He (Jesus) is the image (Icon) of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)
I. THE TRUE GIFT IS JESUS HIMSELF
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God." NKJ
“Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God." TLB (Paraphrase)
A. Jesus existed before any material thing existed
1. He was with G-d
2. He, in fact, is G-d
B. His Coming on the planet is God's Ultimate Gift to us
1. Jesus calls Himself "the Gift of God" - John 4:10
"Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and
who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked
Him, and He would have given you living water."
2. God's ultimate gift to mankind is Himself - John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life."
C. Three Types of People close themselves off from Jesus' Gospel
1. The Proud are Gospel Resistant - Luke 1:51
"He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in
the imagination of their hearts."
2. The Powerful are too Self-Sufficient- Luke 1:52
"He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly."
3. The Pacified are too Comfortable - Luke 1:53
"He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent
away empty."
a. POEM: Martha Snell Nicholson - "TREASURES"
b. God's Gifts are not lavished on the Satiated
c. Jesus has come for the hungry and thirsty
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS, cont., p.2
II. THE TRUE GIFT HAS GREAT VALUE - John 1:3
"All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."
A. Jesus owned the Riches of Heaven and Earth
1. He left heaven's riches to bring you God's true Gift
2. He became poor for you and me - 2 Cor. 8:9
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He
was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His
poverty might become rich."
B. Mystery of the Trinity is that God gave up His own Son
1. We worry and fret about the Toys and Trinkets of this Life
2. It's all dust as are our physical bodies
C. Receive His Valuable Gift and become part of God's Family - v.12
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name:"
1. "Right" - "Power" KJV = "Ex-oo-see-ah"
a. The "power" of Influence
b. We have the potential of becoming God's child
2. God's Gift will take you thru Eternity
a. KNOW JESUS - KNOW LIFE
b. NO JESUS - NO LIFE
III. THE GIFT MUST BE RECEIVED - John 1:12, 13
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of
God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
A. God's Gift of Salvation through Jesus is not Inherited - v. 13
1. Roland's paraphrase - “Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
2. Salvation does not run thru the generations
a. God has no Grandsons and Grand daughters
b. God has only Sons and Daughters thru their choice
B. God's Gift begins w/a decision and continues w/a commitment
1. You Don't Deserve the Gift - Ephesians 2:8,9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast."
a. It is a Gift you cannot Buy
b. Eg. Theodore Roosevelt and Clara Barton
2. You Can't Afford the Gift - What would you give for a child?
"knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like
silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from
your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot."
4. You Can't Refuse the Gift
a. Many settle for much less
b. Free Verse Poem by Wilber Rees
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS, cont., p.3
Three Dollars Worth of God
I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.
Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep,
but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk
or a snooze in the sunshine.
I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man
or pick beets with a migrant.
I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth.
I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack.
I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.
— Wilbur Rees
C. God's Gift must be Received - Rev. 3:20
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens
the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."
1. "Received Him" - Greek = "LAM-BA-NO"
2. Active Verb - "Seized" - "To Catch," or "To Take Hold Of"
Eg. Theodore Roosevelt and Clara Barton
You Can't Buy God's Gift
We can’t buy this gift. Not only can we never earn God’s gift, we can’t buy it either. Salvation is not for sale because the price has already been paid. During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton was overseeing the work of the Red Cross in Cuba. One day Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to her, wanting to buy food for his wounded soldiers. But she refused to sell him any. Roosevelt was perplexed and a bit angry. His men needed the help and he was prepared to pay for it out of his own funds. When he asked someone why he couldn’t buy what he needed, he was told, “Colonel, just ask for it!” A smile broke over his face as he suddenly realized that the provisions were not for sale. All he had to do was simply ask and they would be given freely to him.
Closing Illustration:
WHY DON'T THEY LET HIM IN?
A picture of the Lord Jesus knocking at the door of a heart was taken one day by a parish visitor to a house where a father and mother lived with their small son. Some impulse made the mother pin the picture up in their little kitchen, and when the small boy came in from school, he was very interested in it.
His mother was too busy with the dinner to answer his questions, but presently Father came in from work.
"Who is the Man, Daddy, and why is He knocking at the door?" the little fellow asked again and again. The father tried to ignore the question, but it was asked again and again with great persistence, and at last he replied that it was the Lord Jesus Christ knocking at a door.
"Then why don't they let Him in?" asked the little boy, wonderingly.
Dinner came just then, and the father managed to change the subject, but again and again during the days which followed the little lad asked the same question:
"Why don't they let Him in?"
The question began ringing in the father's ears, until at last one day he fell on his knees and cried:
"Lord Jesus, it's the door of my heart at which You are knocking. Please forgive me for keeping You waiting so many years. The door is open -- oh, come right in and take possession!"
(Gospel Herald. From a sermon by Bill Butsko, God's Infinite Love, 12/25/2010)
AFTER PRAYER, SOFTLY:
“Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen his glory – the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father.”
TLB (Paraphrase)
BLACK FRIDAY AND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS
John 1:1-14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Treasures
One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.
And I walked earth's highways, grieving.
In my rags and poverty.
Till I heard His voice inviting,
"Lift your empty hands to Me!"
So I held my hands toward heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches,
Till they could contain no more.
And at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull,
That God COULD not pour His riches
Into hands already full!
-Martha Snell Nicholson
Three Dollars Worth of God
I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.
Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep,
but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk
or a snooze in the sunshine.
I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man
or pick beets with a migrant.
I want ecstasy, not transformation.
I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth.
I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack.
I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.
— Wilbur Rees
BLACK FRIDAY INSANITY
WalMart Stampede, 2008. The most famous Black Friday stampede, where a seasonal Walmart worker lost his life after being trampled to death.
Walmart Shut-Down, 2009. To prevent a tragedy like the year before, a WalMart in California kicked out a rowdy bunch of Black Friday shoppers for over two hours, which caused them to pound on the doors and look for side entries into the store.
Toys 'R Us Double Shooting, 2008. This is another infamous Black Friday incident, in which two dads shot each other dead in front of their wives and kids. Authorities didn't think it was related to Black Friday sales, but still.
Elderly Man Shot for TV. Here's a good one. A 64-year-old man in Queens was shot (and survived) for his Black Friday TV. But when the robbers couldn't fit the oversized box into their car, they left it in the street. Apparently they didn't think that one through.
Gun Threat, 2010. This 21 year old tried to cut in front of "several hundred" Toys 'R Us shoppers in Wisconsin, and then when confronted, threatened to shoot the crowd. Why? Because she wanted to get a toy for her daughter.
Family Heist, 2007. A young couple and his mother plotted a post-Black Friday heist, in which they stole over $7 million from an armored truck stocked with Black Friday retail money. Needless to say the FBI caught 'em.
PARALYZED. A woman who was second in line to get into a Wal-Mart (note to self: never go to a Wal-Mart again) ended up getting trampled over in the rush to save 100 dollars on a laptop.
The woman herself puts it best, "I saved 100 dollars on that computer. I’ve probably spent 100,000 dollars on medical bills." In the rush to get to that computer, the woman sustained a concussion, and back and neck pain.
Now, she walks with a cane, is hooked on prescriptions drugs and has memory problems. The husband called the chaos "America’s Running of the Bulls", except instead of goring, the damage comes from being attacked whilst in a fetal position.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
euaggelion = Euan-gel-ion = (Evangelism) Gospel, Good News
