Finding Permanent Hope and Value in God

 

Summary

In this sermon, I explored the concept of knowing God personally and the implications of this relationship on our lives. I emphasized the importance of understanding that our hope, if it doesn't include God, is temporary at best. However, if our hope is centered in God, it is always permanent, regardless of the circumstances. I also highlighted the significance of understanding our value in God's eyes, stating that our lives are worth what God was willing to pay for it. This sermon was a call to examine our lives against the claims of God who deeply loves us and wants to be in a perfect, permanent relationship with us.

In the second part of the sermon, I delved into the concept of human moral performance and how it is flawed because we have no objective moral standard of our own. I emphasized that God's standard is not 'better than', but 'holy'. I also discussed the good news of Jesus' love for us, which starts with the bad news of our cosmic rebellion and sin. I concluded the sermon by discussing the importance of understanding our value in God's eyes and the significance of trying to get better in our spiritual journey.

Key Takeaways:
1. Our hope, if it doesn't include God, is temporary at best. If our hope is centered in God, it is always permanent, regardless of the circumstances ([01:32 ]).
2. Our lives are worth what God was willing to pay for it. This is a call to examine our lives against the claims of God who deeply loves us and wants to be in a perfect, permanent relationship with us ([05:58 ]).
3. Our moral evaluation is flawed because we have no objective moral standard of our own. God's standard is not 'better than', but 'holy' ([07:07 ]).
4. The good news of Jesus' love for us starts with the bad news of our cosmic rebellion and sin ([08:14 ]).
5. Understanding our value in God's eyes and the significance of trying to get better in our spiritual journey is crucial ([18:33 ]).

Study Guide

Bible Reading:
1) Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." [03:49 ]
2) Romans 3:10-12 - "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." [07:42 ]

Observation Questions:
1) What does Romans 3:23 mean when it says "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"?
2) In Romans 3:10-12, what does it mean that "no one seeks for God"?

Interpretation Questions:
1) How does the concept of "all have sinned" in Romans 3:23 relate to our understanding of our own moral performance?
2) What does Romans 3:10-12 imply about our natural inclination towards God?

Application Questions:
1) How does understanding that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" affect your view of yourself and others?
2) In what ways have you seen the truth of "no one seeks for God" in your own life?
3) How can you respond to the reality of our sinfulness and our need for God's grace in your daily life?
4) Can you think of a specific situation where you tried to justify your actions based on being a "better person" than someone else? How does Romans 3:23 challenge this perspective?
5) What is one way you can seek God this week in an area of your life where you've been relying on your own understanding or efforts?

Quotes

1. "Even if you don't describe yourself as a Christian, you have a moral constraint, you have a framework, you have a list of things that you go, this is what I want to do, this is what I don't want to do, this is who I want to be, this is who I don't want to be. And what Paul would say is, you violate your own standards. So when you say you're a good person, what does that really mean when you fail your own standards of what it would mean to be a good person?" - 10:56

2. "We're all in this together. Not one understands God, not one seeks God. That's pretty all-encompassing. It turns out that the foot of the cross is even for all of us." - 08:16

3. "Just because we're sorry for what we did, it doesn't remove the consequences for which we are sorry. Because we don't understand that being remorseful doesn't take those consequences. I wish it did, but it doesn't. And there are stakes to our mistakes." - 13:30

4. "Your life is worth what God was willing to pay for it. Maybe that seems crass to you or flippant, but at the end of the day, if the God of the universe is willing to do what I believe he did to win you back, it's worth considering." - 05:26

5. "Our moral evaluation is flawed because we have no objective moral standard of our own and therefore we are always comparing our moral performance to the flawed moral performance of someone else. God doesn't work that way. See, for God, his standard isn't better than. God's standard is what's called holy. He's set apart, he's perfect, he's not in comparison to, he stands alone." - 05:26

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Transcript
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Were there any personal stories shared?