SALT LICK
A STUDY OVER THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: PART VII (TOPIC: SALT)
INTRO: What is a salt lick (give time for answers)? Of course, a salt lick is a natural or manmade deposit of salt licked by animals. Why? Because animals love salt, they need it. Horses, cows, humans…all the animals need it.
NORSE MYTHOLOGY: According to Norse mythology, long before the world began, the Norse god Buri (the one whose lineage gave birth the gods including Odin), was once buried alive in a salt lick (some stories has it as a stone). It was at that time, the “divine cow named Audhumia” began to lick. On the 1st day, Buri’s hair appeared, on the 2nd it was his head, and on the 3rd day his body was free.
TRANSITION: That’s what we’re going to do. We are going to take this generation, frozen in their sin, and free them (of course we will be using God’s Word—not the tongue of an ancient Viking cow). So let’s continue on how we do that, by studying on how we can be Salt of the Earth.
BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.
1. MELTS ICE
WISCONSIN WINTER: This is where I tell some stories about growing up in Wisconsin, this may include frozen eyelashes on my paper route, or snowdrifts up to the top of the house that my brothers wanted to sled down, or seeing a December with over 50 inches of snow, or being in school in a -70 degree wind chill. Then, talk about salt piles. In Milwaukee, the city leaves giant buckets of salt all over, and leaves it up to the drivers to stop their cars, grab the mini-shovel, and drop it on the road (other teachers, you probably have your own ice melting story). Then transition to the story of Nicodemus, a man who was touched by Jesus and the salt that He produced.
BIBLE VERSE: John 3:1-10
3:1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, 3:2 came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3:3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 3:4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?”
3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3:7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ 3:8 The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
3:9 Nicodemus replied, “How can these things be?” 3:10 Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?
BILLY GRAHAM: Tells a story of how he got to a town one time to preach a bit early, and went to the post office to mail a letter. While there, he asked a young boy where the post office was, and after being told, invited the boy to service that night and told him if he came that “he would tell him how to get to heaven.” The little boy said he wasn’t going to go. When asked why, the boy told Billy Graham, how can I listen to you about how to get to heaven when you cannot even find the post office?
NICODEMUS: Nicodemus is a little like the little boy. Here’s the deal, Nicodemus is a Pharisee, but rather than challenge Christ, he was puzzled. He wanted to know how the miracles were being done, he wanted to know why this guy was able to have so many followers, he wanted…the salt, because Jesus made him more spiritually aware while in his presence.
BORN FROM ABOVE (ANWQEN): In the phrase “born from above,” the word “above” means anwqen, which can mean again, or from above. Obviously, Nicodemus uses incorrect which allows Jesus to teach a lesson using the technique of the “misunderstood question.” Born from above might just be the better of the two phrases, and this should lead into mention of salvation.
THIRTY-TWO DEGREES: At 32 degrees, three things can happen. Water can turn into ice OR ice can turn into water OR nothing can happen as everything stays the same. We have a goal as Christians, and that is for ice to melt, water to flow, and for people to live. And that is one of our purposes of salt.
2. ADDS TASTE
Electrolyte: Sodium is one of our body’s primary electrolytes (sodium, potassium calcium, magnesium, that’s a lot of “ums”). Too little salt results in dizziness, muscle cramps, or even some brain problems. So here is the point, if you’re ever down (and life can get you down), get around a bunch of salty Christians!
BIBLE VERSE: Job 6:6-7
Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
There are just times when a person’s life or a person’s lot is just…okay. Nothing spiritually awesome, nothing spiritually down, just okay, maybe you could call it bland (notice this happens when a person’s life is way down low, just like Job).
PROMOTE NEXT FELLOWSHIP: Because it works into the Bible Lesson, now is the time to promote the next fellowship. Seriously, if someone is down, come on out to the Friday Night Girl’s Lock-In. If you’re down, come on out to the Boys Retreat. Find something. It WILL lift your spirits. And it will lift your spirits because you’ll be around people who are salt!
SLIME OF THE YOLK: The phrase white of an egg can mean “slime of the yolk” or even “juice of the mallows.” It implies something tasteless or insipid (bland). What they’re saying is, is without Christ, life is in actuality very, very bland. And it is bland for a host of reasons, one of those is because there is no real purpose for someone a part from Christ. What eternal difference can they make if they don’t know Christ?
HUNGRY DONKEY CRYING: If you look at Job 6:5, it makes a comparison to a “donkey braying in the grass.” This gives the picture that life without Christ is equal to a starving donkey bellowing for food in some dried out field. Wow! We need to change the dull non-Christ living life for one fulfilled in John 14:6. And helps others do that as well.
FOOD WITH NO TASTE: But there are other cooking disasters than just the bland taste of egg whites. But rather than come up with my own…what are some of your favorites…er…worst memories of eating something nautious.
3. GIVES HEALING
SALT & SUPER BOWL: That was the name given to my event that I put on facebook. Sounds dumb right? I know. I guess I just thought that I could piggy back an outreach with a Bible Study (and quite honestly, if people are hungry for the Word, I should be able to). But I got an interesting response back. An older woman I am friends with answered back “salt, without it I would be dead.” She then went on to explain about an illness she had that salt ended up being the cure.
BIBLE VERSE: 2 Kings 2:19-22
2:19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, the city has a good location, as our master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce crops.” 2:20 Elisha said, “Get me a new jar and put some salt in it.” So they got it. 2:21 He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, “This is what the LORD says, ‘I have purified 26 this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.” 2:22 The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied.
SPECIFIC MEANINGS:
Crops: In Hebrew, the phrase doesn’t produce any crops carries the same connotation as “miscarries” or “is barren.”
Purified: In Hebrew, means “is healed.”
God, through His miraculous prophet saved the people an entire drinking source because of the symbolic gesture of trusting that God will heal the waters, and then eventually the people’s food source. The same God that moved life from the womb of Sara moved again and changed the barren waters to those that are refreshing.
DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: UNSALTY SALT: But Tom, what about salt that loses its saltiness? For two weeks now you’re talking about salt, and you’ve ignored the other aspect of Matthew 5:13 when it states “It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.” That is definitely not healing Tom, it’s the opposite of that.
THE PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD: The people of that time knew exactly what Jesus was talking about. In there time salt was collected from the Dead Sea. The sea crystals gathering there were often contaminated with other minerals and impurities. Because of the mixture, there was some salt that once was salty but is now totally worthless.
MORAINO: The Greek word for salt is Moraino. We get our word Moron from that. It’s true. People who were once salty for Christ and now live lives that are unsalty, are idiots, according to the Bible.
ALBANIA MISSION TRIP STORY: I at times am an idiot (insert your own idiot story here). While witnessing on the campus of Tirana, I and Michael Berglund where telling the story of Christ to a room full of people, we had no interpreter (the story goes on pretty funny but the highlight is that in their nation, they nod their heads opposite us when they are saying yes and no, and I had forgotten it).
4. CREATED BY GOD
BIBLE VERSE: Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
This section will be more general than specific, but will lead to an emotional close. In a passionate speech, speak on how God created the entire world for us and created us for Him.
BEGINNING: In general, start with a timeline and show the beginning of history, make mention that YOU are in the picture.
CREATED: We are created. And what is one of the ingredients inside of us? Salt! If you doubt that then cry a little bit and analyze your tears under a microscope.
HEAVENS & THE EARTH: On the timeline, show the end and heaven and point out that there was a specific goal in mind from God from the very beginning.
Sources:
Bible.org. Key Chapter: Job 6, reference page listing 22, February 5, 2009.
Skidmore, K. Edward. Evangelism 1 Salt and Light. Castle Hills Christian Church, Church of Christ, Texas (January 2006).
Wikipedia.com. Keyword: Auoumbia.
NAME: _________________________________
SALT LICK
A STUDY OVER THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: PART VII (TOPIC: SALT)
Norse Mythology: ______________________________________________________________________
BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 5:13
You are the _______________ of the earth. But if salt _______________________ its flavor how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.
1. _________________________________
Winter: ______________________________________________________________________________
BIBLE VERSE: John 3:1-10
Billy Graham: _________________________________________________________________________
Anwquen: ____________________________________________________________________________
32 Degrees: __________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________
BIBLE VERSE: Job 6:6-7
Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the _________________ of an egg?
If I ever get down, I can: _________________________________________________________________
White of the Egg can be translated: ________________________________________________________
Hungry Donkey: _______________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________
BIBLE VERSE: 2 Kings 2:19-22
2:19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, the city has a good location, as our master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce _________________.” 2:20 Elisha said, “Get me a new jar and put some ____________________________ in it.” So they got it. 2:21 He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, “This is what the LORD says, ‘I have __________________ this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.” 2:22 The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied.
The People Understood: _____________________________________________________________
Greek Word for Unsalty Salt: _______________________________
English Word Derived from That: ____________________________
4. ____________________________________
BIBLE VERSE: Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, __________________ ________________________ the heavens and the earth.