Cause We Are Living In A Material World Series

CAUSE WE’RE LIVING IN A MATERIAL WORLD

A STUDY ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: PART XXIV (CLOTHING)

BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 6:28-30

6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith?

INTRO: MATERIAL GIRL

Here are some lyrics from the “Queen of Pop” (I guess that could be her nickname, I dunno), on her first real hit song made back when music was music in the 1980s (by the way the message is horrible).

“Some boys kiss me

Some boys hug me

I think they’re ok

If they don’t give me proper credit

I just walk away

They can beg and they can plead

But they can’t see the light (that’s right)

’Cause the boy with the cold hard cash

Is always Mister Right

’Cause we are living in a material world

And I am a material girl

You know that we are living in a material world

And I am a material girl”

SADLY…IN MANY WAYS…I THINK SHE IS RIGHT

…but is she right for Christians?

1. THE CLOTHES:

Who wore the first clothes? (hopefully someone will get the right answer here)

BIBLE VERSE: Genesis 3:6-7

3:6 When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

What was the immediate guilt evidence God saw after Adam & Eve sinned? He saw the fig tree, the covering of their nakedness. So why was the initial reaction of a person who has just sinned?

Correct, the first thing the first person did after the first sin…was to put clothes on. Wow, huh.

A Generality: Here is something we should know about Christianity vs. The Pagan world. Whenever Christ is shared and a remote tribal village becomes Christian, one of the first things that happen is people put clothes on (the other general thing that happens is they stop cutting themselves). Why?

History Lesson: As USA progresses, our nation has worn less and less clothes.

There was once a time in the Victorian era (that is 1870s-1890s), when kneecaps were covered, and the dirty girls showed their knees.

Then in the Roaring 20’s, miniskirts came in, and the women showed their elbows.

When the 1960’s hit, the hippies wore tight revealing clothes, some exposed themselves (remember, accept for the hippies, it was still a culture of purity in the early 60s).

In the 1980s, cleavage became popular for even the clean girls.

And when the century turned, the upper buttock region became popular to show.

Literally, it is now okay to show anything, have you heard of thong swimsuits?

Is it right?

The World’s Message: The World tells us to take off our clothes. Mass media glamorizes red carpet clothes that reveal everything. To Planned Parenthood, clothing is obstacles to freedom. Those covering themselves are considered prudish by the media, modest clothing orders is supposedly God’s way of spoiling our fun.

The World Doesn’t Love You. “The world doesn’t love you. It doesn’t even know you! But people in the world want your money. Companies and corporations try to get it by selling you "sexy" clothes (to "attract the opposite sex"), contraceptives (so you don’t have to "worry about getting pregnant"), an abortion (when contraception fails), and expensive pharmaceutical products to treat the sexually-transmitted disease they don’t tell you about but which you might pick up. What they can’t sell you is a product that will repair your broken heart; a pill that will cure your disease; the ability to restore your baby to life; or a therapy session that will provide forgiveness, hope, and change the way God can.”

What is God’s Response to the Lack of Clothes for Adam and Eve?

BIBLE VERSE: Genesis 3:21

3:21 The LORD God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

IF THE QUANTITY OF WHAT WE WEAR DOESN’T MATTER TO GOD, THEN WHY IS HIS FIRST ACT FOR US TO PROVIDE US WITH CLOTHES? (food for thought, maybe is does matter)

2. THE IDEA:

It’s called “the idea” because we want to put the idea into people’s heads that clothes and may modesty matter, especially since we don’t want anyone to fall into the sin of Matthew 5:28.