Sermon Central
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Part 2: Our Most Important Choice Series
Contributed by Stephen Collins on Jan 14, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: The 4 most important choices you can make to change your outlook on life into the outlook that God intends for you.
What the Cross Teaches Us
Part 2: Our Most Important Choice
Text
“35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
36"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
37They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
38"You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
39"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
41When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(NIV, NLT)
Icebreaker
A police officer pulled a guy over for speeding and had the following exchange:
Officer: May I see your driver’s license?
Driver: I don’t have one. I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI. (Driving Under the Influence)
Officer: May I see the owner’s card for this vehicle?
Driver: It’s not my car. I stole it.
Officer: The car is stolen?
Driver: That’s right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner’s card in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there.
Officer: There’s a gun in the glove box?
Driver: Yes sir. That’s where I put it after I shot and killed the woman who owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk.
Officer: There’s a BODY in the TRUNK?!?!?
Driver: Yes, sir.
Hearing this, the officer immediately called his captain. The car was quickly surrounded by police, and the captain approached the driver to handle the tense situation:
Captain: Sir, can I see your license?
Driver: Sure. Here it is.
It was valid.
Captain: Who’s car is this?
Driver: It’s mine, officer. Here’s the registration.
Captain: Could you slowly open your glove box so I can see if there’s a gun in it?
Driver: Yes, sir, but there’s no gun in it.
Sure enough, there was nothing in the glove box.
Captain: Would you mind opening your trunk? I was told you said there’s a body in it.
Driver: No problem.
The trunk was opened; no body.
Captain: I don’t understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told him you didn’t have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glove box, and that there was a dead body in the trunk.
Driver: Yeah, I’ll bet he told you I was speeding, too.
Received from Michael L. Griffin.
Intro
-Last week, we began our series leading us up to Easter called, “What the Cross Teaches Us.” We began last Sunday by talking about how the Cross teaches us about our 3 biggest problems – That God hates sin, that we have all sinned, and that in our own power, we cannot deal with sin effectively. And we ended last week by discussing how the Cross points to the only solution for our biggest problems – Jesus, our advocate before God.
-Last week, we focused on Jesus and what He alone can do for us. Today we’re going to focus on some things that we can do for ourselves. And these things come down to our the choices that we make in the way we live our lives.
-We’re going to talk about the 4 most important choices you can make to change your outlook on life into the outlook that God intends for you.
(PRAYER)
1. Choice #1: Will I live for myself or for God?
Illustration: Many of you who were here last Sunday probably noticed the unique tie I was wearing. It was my proud University of Tennessee tie that I was wearing because last week Tennessee had just beaten Memphis in a big game to become the #1 college basketball team in the country. Well, this week Tennessee lost to Vanderbilt. Why? I watched the game and you know what I noticed? Towards the end of the game and the score was close, our players stopped responding to our coach’s directions.
