Sermon Tone Analysis

Secular:

Do not check your brain at the door!

-          history of the church and education… academics…scholarly pursuits

-          Universities around the world

o       Oxford

o       Princeton

o       Harvard

o       McGill

o       McMaster

o       The whole idea of organized education

-          Learn languages… to study….

To read

-          Learn about creation is to learn about God

-          To be able to read and understand scripture

-          To be able to read and understand the creative expression of His Image bearers…

o       Isaac Newton

o       *“Science, as we think of it today, came about because Reformers believed that God revealed himself in nature.”*

o       One of the world’s pre-eminent astrophysicist lives in Canada (Alberta) and said “the more I look into the heaven’s and into the tiniest particles the more and more convinced I am that we serve a might God”

Biblical:

1 Peter 3:15

15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

But do this with gentleness and respect,

 

Personal:

Why do you believe… Parents… Friends…

Just a hunch?

Gut feeling… intuition?

Feeling?

Is it emotions that hold your faith?

Because the Bible says so…

Or maybe you don’t believe…

* Sceptic

* 2,000 year old book

* On a myth

* Unscientific

* Not Rational thought

 

Bridge:

!

CHART

 

Mark 16:60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer?

What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?"

 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"

 62 "I am," said Jesus.

"And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

63 The high priest tore his clothes.

"Why do we need any more witnesses?"

he asked.

64 "You have heard the blasphemy.

What do you think?"

They all condemned him as worthy of death.

John 19:7

7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

* Jews Recognized his claim

!! Liar, Lunatic or Lord

Liar

What if Jesus was a liar?

What is He knew his claims were false?

What if Christ made a deliberate misrepresentation?

What was there to gain?

* Prestige

* Matthew 11: 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and *humble* in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

* Honour

* Phi 2:6 Who, being in very nature God, did *not* consider equality with God something *to* *be* *grasped*, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

* Wealth

* Mark 6: 8 These were his instructions: "*Take* *nothing* for the journey except a staff-- no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.

9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.

10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.

* Comfort ~/ Ease

* John 4:6 Jacob's well was there, and *Jesus*, *tired* as he was from the journey, sat down by the well.

It was about the sixth hour.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, *Jesus* said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"

* Muslims – Title for Jesus

* Rue Allah or Spirit of God

* Jewish History – Josephus (NT Church 37-100 AD)

* 3. (63) Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.

He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles.

He was (the) Christ.

(64) And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross,  those that loved him at the first did not forsake him;  for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.

And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.

* Roman Centurion at the Cross

* Matthew 27:54 When the *centurion* and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

* John Stuart Mill – philosopher, scholar, Christian Antagonist…

* About the life and sayings of Jesus there is a stamp of personal originality combined with profundity of insight in the very first rank of men of sublime genius of whom our species can boast.

When this pre-eminent genius is combined with the qualities of probably the greatest moral reformer and martyr to that mission who ever existed upon earth, religion cannot be said to have made a bad choice in pitching upon this man as the ideal representative and guide of humanity; nor even now would it be easy, even for an unbeliever, to find a better translation of the rule of virtue from the abstract into the concrete than to endeavour to live so that Christ would approve of our life.

(Grounds, RFOH,34)

Liar – Inconsistent even with Christianities Greatest critics….

Atheist, Jew, and Muslim have all attested to Christ’s High Moral Code… eliminating Liar

Even Charles Templeton… Jesus is the ideal model for life

So… NOT A LIAR

 

!!! LUNATIC

Thought he was God

Jews faith… fiercely monotheistic

* Can you imagine… declaring yourself as God

* In the NT era (during the life of Christ)

* Stoning

* Ridicule

* In this modern era

* Ridicule, etc.