Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Intro

Intro

Change is hard

friends from high school — 20 year

we love the people but we hated the time

its taken 20 years to get from there to where we are at today

lifetimes have gone by

thankful God had us to endure this journey together — its been hard but together (change is hard)

ILL: Convo about crash diet vs. lifestyle change

You can do anything for a couple weeks before you fall off the wagon

Lifestyle change means undoing years, even decades, of

bad habits and behaviors

lies you believed

Tolstoy

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

― Leo Tolstoy

ILL: Turning over a new leaf (idiom is not about a leaf on a tree)

― Leo Tolstoy

changing yourself is too hard and too dangerous

ILL: Turning over a new leaf (idiom is not about a leaf on a tree)

Turning the page in the book of life

Are you reading the same blood stained pages of your life’s book?

Life should be a series of new leafs

What if you flip back?

(3 days of cognitive dissonance)

— Where does real change—new pages—come from?

Your sin is your own responsibility.

you were dead

you previously lived according to the ways of this world

We all lived in our fleshly desires

we all carried out the inclination of our flesh and our thoughts

we were children under wrath

—we do escape the responsibility for our sin, our brokenness, our contributions to the fall of the human race

But there is a deception deeply embedded in the world that directs our steps away from living according to the great love of God

you previously lived according to the ways of the world — the world has patterned your steps

according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedience

the devil, the satan, the deceiver

his job is to tell you lies

lies about yourself — worthless, irreparable, used up, unworthy

lies about the world — its not so bad, its just how life is, everyone has to suffer this way

lies about other people — you don’t have to love everyone, that person doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, everything is their fault

biggest lie — you can never change, never get out, never turn over a new page

or (2)

you’re fine the way you are

it’s not your fault it’s theirs

These lies run deep in this world

they cut us to the heart

they cripple people, many times for a lifetime

we believe the lies and we get stuck on the same blood stained, tear stained page in life

The greatest two words in all of history are recorded here in our passage.

ILL: Turning over a new leaf story Your sin is your own and you are under wrath for it“you were dead in your trespasses and sins” — spiritual death is not Adam’s fault even if sin stems from Adam“you previous lived” — you make your own life choices “desires of our flesh” — you don’t need the devil to tempt youWhat about the devil?

Ruler of the power of the air

Spirit now working in the disobedient What the devil did and didn’t do in the garden What the devil does today BUT GOD!

You were dead in your trespasses and sins…but God, who is rich in mercy...made us alive with Christ… (CSB)

Change is so hard because we often go at it alone

We try to do on our own power what God has reserved to be accomplished in us but His power

When we were dead, God made us alive with Christ

Doctrine of Regeneration

Regeneration is a change of heart caused by the Holy Spirit, who gives life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins by enlightening their minds to understand the Word of God and renew their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness.

Regeneration is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

change of heart caused by the Holy Spirit Regeneration is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

to generate again — to make again

a fresh page, a blank canvas, a new leaf, a new life

comes from God who gave life in the first place

REGENERATION

A new way of life( Turning over a new leaf or something else?)VIII.

REGENERATIONRegeneration is a change of heart caused by the Holy Spirit, who gives life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins by enlightening their minds to understand the Word of God and renew their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness.

Regeneration is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

change of heart caused by the Holy Spirit Regeneration is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

A new way of life( Turning over a new leaf or something else?)VIII.

REGENERATIONRegeneration is a change of heart caused by the Holy Spirit, who gives life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins by enlightening their minds to understand the Word of God and renew their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness.

Regeneration is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

change of heart caused by the Holy Spirit Regeneration is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

Regeneration is a change of heart caused by the Holy Spirit, who gives life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins by enlightening their minds to understand the Word of God and renew their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness.

Regeneration is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

change of heart caused by the Holy Spirit Regeneration is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

​The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary RegenerationRegeneration is not a separate work of the Spirit added to the salvific work of Christ; it is the subjective actualization of Christ’s work.

life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins enlightening of their minds to understand the Word of God (Episodes #10 and #14) renewal of the whole nature2 Timothy 2:22love holiness; practice holiness

Why do we care?

“A leopard can’t change its spots.”

Can’t change who you are, can’t change how you live.

Can’t turn over a new leaf on your own.

The promise of “But God” is that you can change by God’s power.

If there is internal change, though, your spots must change as well.

(elaborate)

KINGDOM ANALOGY: the way of the world (self) vs. the way of the Kingdom of GodContrast between the old creature and the new What does it mean that you were spiritually dead, but now you are spiritually alive?

IOW, You can’t turn over a new leaf and begin to write the same old story over and over again.

It’s time to write a new story.

A new inclination

(CSB)

We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh…

inclinations of the flesh (habits) vs. spirit

flesh

childhood teaching

environment

culture

trauma (defense)

trauma (defense)

Spirit