Sermon Tone Analysis
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*Luke 1:1-25*
*The Domino Effect*
*Open to pp. 1587*
v On 15 November 2002 a Guinness record was set for the most dominoes toppled.
Ø It took 100 builders working 8 hours a day between September and November to set up the nearly 4 MM dominos.
§ After some 72,000 man-hours of painstaking and delicate set up the moment came when one person toppled that first domino which went into another
· Which went into another
¨ And so on and so on
Ø That first domino set in motion an unstoppable series of events which did not end until the last domino fell
§ The Domino effect
v What we have before us today is exactly the same
Ø God has taken literally the time from creation to 0 BC to set up this great stage of redemption
§ Where Christ will be born, grow up, live a sinless life and die for us in our place.
· But before that can happen, there must be a forerunner to prepare the people
¨ One like Elijah must come again
Ø There must be that first domino to set everything into motion…
Ø *READ V. 1-4*
v Luke has taken time to “/carefully investigated everything from the beginning/”
Ø Just like the people that set up the dominos
§ Luke has taken time to gather all the dominos
· To gather all the facts
¨ Luke was a traveling companion and close friend of Paul
Ø Col 4:14 ~~ Dear friend Luke
Ø 2 Tim 4:11 ~~ Only Luke is with me
Ø We passages ~~ Acts 16, 20, 21, 27-28
Ø It is generally accepted that Luke is Paul’s account of the life of Christ
§ Important because that is one of the criteria for acceptance in the canon
v Luke not only gathered the facts…
Ø He then sits down and writes an ”/orderly account/” of the life of Jesus
§ Just like setting up dominos one after another with perfect precision
· So Luke does with the details of Jesus’ life
¨ *In fact, Luke gives us details that no other Gospel does*
Ø Stories such as…
§ Zeccheus
Ø Teachings such as…
§ The parable of Lazarus and the rich man
Ø Crucifixion details such as…
§ The thief on the cross
Ø Extensive resurrection appearances
§ Such as the road to Emmaus
Ø And the narratives such as
§ The birth of Jesus
§ Jesus in the Temple talking with the teachers
§ Details about John the Baptist’s ministry
Ø And the birth of John the Baptist is the domino that starts it all
v So Luke starts at the very beginning
*READ V 5-7 ~~ An Unusual Couple*
* *
v Here we are told of a */Very Unusual Couple …/*
Ø Zechariah & Elizabeth
§ They were unusual for several reasons…
· 1) They were both in the priestly lineage of Aaron
¨ Zechariah was a priest in the division of Abijah
Ø There were 24 divisions of priests
§ Each consisting of about 300 priests
· Each division took turns serving at the temple
¨ 2X per years for a week each time
¨ Elizabeth could not serve as a priest, but Zechariah could
· 2) They were childless
¨ In Semitic culture, barrenness was a cause for great disgrace
Ø Hagar looked down on Sarah when she got pregnant (Gen 16)
Ø Remember Hannah (mother of Samuel)
§ *1 Samuel 1*
· Elkanah, Peninnah, Hannah
¨ Pininnah teased her because she was barren
Ø Elizabeth states in verse 25 that her disgrace has been taken away
· 3) Both were “upright in the sight of God”
¨ Luke is careful to make this observation because in Jewish society childlessness was associated with sin
Ø Cf *Lev 20:20-21* ~~ B~/C of certain sin, they will die childless
¨ These two were (δίκαιοι) God fearing Israelites
¨ Obeyed all commandments and regulations
Ø This is unusual because they lived in an age when Israel had wandered
§ We know the Pharisees were far from God
§ We know that God only sends prophets to call His people back to Him
Ø So here is an unusual couple who are serving the Lord, following all the commandments of the Lord despite living in an age of sin and hypocrisy
§ Yet they cannot conceive
· In fact, they will not because they are past the age where they can
§ You can imagine what questions they had!
· They are the same questions we ask today…*/WHY LORD?/*
Ø A Christian couple cannot conceive and we ask…Why
§ They seem perfect, they would raise the child in a godly way
· Why would God withhold that blessing
Ø A missionary dies…Why
§ He is doing the Lord’s work
Ø What this text is saying to us is that…
§ We have to realize */God has a plan for our life/*
· Things don’t happen on our timetable
¨ They happen on His and for His purposes
Ø And that is certainly evident here…
§ Zechariah & Elizabeth I’m sure prayed their little hearts out for a child
· But they did not know God’s purpose for withholding a child
¨ Had they known, then things would have been different
Ø Had they known that they would be the parents of the second Elijah, that would have changed things
Ø But they didn’t, and neither do we
§ That is why we have encouraging words such as Proverbs 3:5-6
· *We must trust in the Lord with all your heart*
¨ Trust that God knows best and has a purpose for everything
· *We must not lean on our own understanding*
¨ Don’t trust our logic, His thoughts are greater than ours!
· *We must commit all our ways to Him*
¨ Start living as *Romans 12:1* says…as living sacrifices
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