Sermon Tone Analysis

What examples of rebellion and revolution, national or personal, stand out to you? Why?

I. God’s People Rebel against God by Abandoning Him

How is it that a new generation arose that did not know the Lord?

This is just as much a picture of discipleship as it is of child-rearing.

In fact probably more so.

Why is it that modern Christians paint choose to believe a loving God is also a God who is very understanding when we break his commandments?

“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Ex

This is just as much a picture of discipleship as it is of child-rearing.

In fact probably more so.

A. Sin as Idolatry

Sin is not only an act of rebellion against God, but it is also a matter of the heart.

In Scripture, idolatry usually refers to bowing down to a statue made of wood or gold.

But idolatry can take on more subtle forms: a seeking of approval from others, security, power, pleasure, etc.

Here I want to strike a note of balance to the best of my ability.

Being passionate about things in this world is not ipso facto idolatry.

What do you think is one of the most common ways professing Christians engage in idolatry in our age?

What are some excuses people use to justify their idolatry and to live outside of God’s will?

II.

God’s People are Punished & Given over to their Enemies

Does God still punish sin today?

While I am not prepared to call any natural disaster a special act of divine wrath, I am certainly unwilling to say that none of them are.

Sin has consequences.

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Do not buy into the popular modern idea that it is fine for you to be angry with God or express displeasure to God.

Few things are more blasphemous and few things are more dangerous.

Have you ever heard someone talk about how it is okay to tell God you are angry with him?

How dare we speak with God like he is a man!

It is NEVER okay for you to be angry with God.

What it is is extremely dangerous.

To be angry with God indicates:

We think we deserve something better from God

We do not appreciate the sinfulness of sin

We do not believe God is really as holy, righteous, and just as Scripture describes

How does discipline work to correct and train God’s people?

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III.

God’s People are Saved through God’s Chosen Leader

How does this depiction of God differ from the one described by most modern American Christians?

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins

God’s chosen leader for salvation is Christ who is the Son of God:

How do God’s attributes explain his dealings with sin as well as his mercy and grace for rebellious sinners?

A. Attractional Christianity

The music had to be appealing

The atmosphere had to be appealing

The style of the sermon had to be appealing

The dress had to be appealing

The content has to be appealing

Relationship displaced discipleship

People were told doctrine didn’t matter

What will it mean for God’s people to listen to His Word?

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