Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
In thinking about gifts and giving I thought of a man who gave half of all he owned to the poor and repaid those he had cheated four times what he took.
I’m talking about Zaccheus.
This seems incredibly generous, a great gift even.
But then I think about the poor widow who put her entire livelihood of two mites into the temple treasury.
To give all the money you have seems pretty extravagant.
But then I think about Hannah who prayed with tears and anguished pleas for God to give her a son.
When He did, she gave him back to the Lord and only saw him once a year from the time he was three.
What a sacrificial gift!
I consider the giving of these men and women and the faith required for these gifts and it can be convicting!
tells us of a gift that is so much more generous, so much more extravagant, so much more sacrificial, that it makes these gifts pale in comparison.
God loved the world, and because of that love, He gave us His Son!
This is the fourth communion service we have spent examining .
So far we have looked at the phrases “For God so loved”, “the world”, and “that He gave”.
Today we will consider the phrase “His only begotten Son”.
Jesus Christ is the Greatest gift anyone can ever receive.
Jesus Christ is the Greatest gift anyone can ever receive.
As we again consider this morning, we will explore three reasons from this verse why Jesus is the greatest gift.
As we come to understand the sacrifice of Christ more fully, we will be better able to live for Him.
First of all, Jesus is the greatest gift because…
As we again consider this morning, we will explore three reasons from this verse why Jesus is the greatest gift.
As we come to understand the sacrifice of Christ more fully, we will be better able to live for Him.
As we walk in obedience to his Word, He will be glorified in our lives.
As we consider that Jesus is the greatest gift, I want us to ask ourselves two questions.
How important is Jesus to you?
Is He important enough to obey?
We are going to learn just how incredible Jesus is as we discuss how He is the greatest gift.
First of all, Jesus is the greatest gift because…
First of all, Jesus is the greatest gift because…
1.
The Greatest Gift Is Unique
What if you were given the same gift for Christmas every year.
Not like another of the same kind, but the exact same gift, repackaged and wrapped.
Do you think that might get a little old?
You might even think, “you know what, just don’t get me a gift this year”.
One of the things that makes a gift great is when it is unique.
Christ is the greatest gift ever given because there is no one like Him!
That is literally what the term “only begotten” speaks of.
It is the Greek word μονογενής (monogenēs) meaning only; one and only.
Unique, radically distinctive and without equal.
That is a fitting description of Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ is radically distinctive and without equal!
He is one of a kind.
He is unique.
“Only Begotten” - μονογενής (monogenēs) only; one and only.
unique - radically distinctive and without equal (in a category).
Attributive adjective, accusative, singular, masculine.
He is one of a kind.
He is unique.
My mom collects horse figurines.
If you were to go into her room and look above her window she has a special shelf for these horses.
On that shelf full of beautiful, elegant horses in various postures is a wooden carving of an appaloosa (S).
This carving is flat, it is badly painted, and it is fairly plain.
Yet it has this place of honor because I made it for my mom when I was little.
It is unique, one of a kind.
With some gifts it is the giver and not the gift that makes it unique.
Christ is unique, not because of His imperfections or flaws, but because of His matchless perfection!
Christ is unique, not only because of who sent Him, but because of who He is! Jesus Christ is one of a kind!
Very briefly I want to explore some of the reasons why Jesus is unique.
First we will consider how Jesus is…
Only Begotten
Unique In His Preexistence
“Preexistence” simply means that Jesus has always existed.
He existed in eternity past, exists in the present, and will exist for eternity future.
This reality is clearly laid out in Scripture.
One of the clearest passages is , (S).
,
There is no one like Christ!
He is God from eternity past!
He enjoyed fellowship with the Father and the Spirit.
Yet, He left all that and became a man!
The fact that He became flesh brings us to a second reason for His uniqueness.
Jesus is…
Unique In His Parentage
Jesus was born of a virgin having been conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is explicitly stated in (S).
There has never been and never will be another like Jesus the Christ!
Being born of a virgin is enough of an impossible miracle, but to also be conceived by the Holy Spirit?
That is incredibly unique!
Both were necessary for Him to be the Savior and Redeemer that He has become through His death , burial, and resurrection.
His unique parentage brings us to a third reason for His uniqueness.
Jesus is…
Unique In His Person
The angel told Mary that he would be called the Son of God.
Our Western minds and understanding have a tendency to think of a son as less than the father.
But that was not the case in Jesus time.
Because a son was the heir of the father and the family line continued through him, an adult son was considered equal with the father.
bears this out (S).
For Jesus to claim that God was His Father was understood as a claim of equality with God.
And it is a fitting claim!
As we have already seen in , Jesus is God!
Because Jesus is God we find that He was also…
Unique In His Power
Jesus did things that no one else could do.
Look up a few verses at .
You can’t do these things without God being with you!
When John the baptist had a moment of doubt while in prison, Jesus sent him a message in (S).
Not only did Jesus do things that no one else could do, He spoke as no one else ever has! (S).
No one spoke like this man.
When He was only 12 years old He made the teachers marvel at His wisdom and understanding!
No one could match Jesus in His power to perform miracles and ability to speak truth.
The final reason Jesus is unique that we will consider this morning is that Jesus is…
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