Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction:
Everyone knows the Christmas narrative.
Everyone knows that this is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Im sure when you walked in this morning you were thinking “oh no Bro.
Joey is going to tell me a story I already know.”
In a way that is true, but today we are going to look at the antagonist of the Christmas narrative.
Today we are going to talk about King Herod.
Go over some of the history of “Herod the Great”.
How he became king, how many wives he had, what he did to his sons and how he left a will for one of his wives to be killed upon his death.
Matt 2:1-17
Transition: Why would I possibly want to discuss a cruel and evil person like Herod at a time when we are supposed to share peace and good will towards men.
The simple fact is God thought it important enough to mention Him here, and that is reason enough.
But more than that there are characteristics and flaws also know as sin that way too many Christians are portraying today that we need to look at and address.
Character flaws of a Herod-
Jealousy- Vs 3
Self-Centered
Attention Seeking
Envious
Hypocrytical- Vs 4 and 7 and 8b
Called in all the chief priests and scribes
Called secret meetings to try and gather information from the wise men
To the outsider it would look like he wanted to seek out the Messiah and worship him, but in his heart was hate and contempt.
(
Pretending to worship just by showing up and talking about Jesus, isn’t the same as worshipping Jesus.
Spoiled- Vs 16a
Spoiled- Vs 16a
When Herod didn’t get his way he threw a fit
When Herod didn’t get his way he threw a fit
he was livid.
he was used to having people follow his every command
Temper tantrums- I’ll show them, I’ll just quit coming to church.
I’ll cause havoc, I’ll make their life miserable.
These are temper tantrums of spoiled individuals
Controlling- Vs 8 and 16b
Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days.
I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell.
The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.
Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow."
"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.
The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: 'We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.'"
Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees."
The captain said, "Send: "I'm a captain, change course twenty degrees.'"
"I'm a seaman second-class," came the reply.
"You had better change course twenty degrees."
By that time the captain was furious.
He spat out, "Send: 'I'm a battleship.
Change course twenty degrees.'"
Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."
We changed course.
He loved being in control.
He loved being the bully
He loved the fear in the peoples eyes
In vs 8 he tells the wise men what to do, fully expecting them to do it.
In vs 16 we see the outcome of and the reach that his control had over people.
Little did he know that God had already prophesied about this in Jeremiah.
So was Herod really in control?
He had control over things of this world
But he could not control what God had planned for Jesus!
This still happens today: We like to control so much that we get in the way of the Holy Spirit trying to work in our life, in our family, in our jobs, and in our church!
2. What Can You Do to Fix It- (Tips from the Wise Men)
What Can You Do to Fix It- (Tips from the Wise Men)
What Can You Do to Fix It- (Tips from the Wise Men)
a. Recognize Jesus for who He is- Vs 2
Recognize Jesus for who He is- Vs 2
Recognize Jesus for who He is- Vs 2
b.
Truly worship- vs 10, 11a
Truthful worship- vs 10, 11a
c.
Avoid the Herods of this world- vs 12
Avoid the Herods of this world- vs 12
d.
Eliminate Jealousy, envy, and strife- vs 2 and vs 11a shows unity.
they came
Eliminate Jealousy, envy, and strife- vs 2 and vs 11a
shows unity.
they came
shows unity.
they came into the house together
they worshipped together
c.
Realize that we all have our own unique and special gift to offer Jesus as a form of worship
Realize that we all have our own unique and special gift to offer Jesus as a form of worship- 11b
Conclusion:
Herod tried to kill the very baby that God sent to die for HIM!
When you display these Herodian characteristic flaws, you seek to put to death the spirit of Christianity and the spirit of Unity in the church and you kill the opportunity to witness to a lost person.
God still gets all the glory!
Jesus came, He was spared, he lived a flawless sinless life and died on the cross to redeem you.
You have an opportunity Herod didn’t have today.
Even though you may act like Herod at times, even if you think God won’t forgive you, even if you think God shouldn’t forgive you…He will.
Recognize His grace, ask for His mercy, fall at His feet and plead for forgiveness and He will answer your prayer.
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