Dale Critchley
10/06/2018
Children’s Sermon
Catechetical point: God uses strange tools. When He wants to save us, He doesn’t use hammer & nails or a screwdriver.
Message: God uses water in Holy Baptism. He uses bread and wine with Jesus’ body & blood in Holy Communion. And He uses His Word so we know about Him. But most of all, He used Jesus, Who died to save us so we can live forever with Him.
God’s Toolbox
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Text: Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. (John 11:47-53, NIV)
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
I.Introduction
A.Our God is an amazing God
B.And one of the ways He is different from all the idols out there, including many Christians’ understandings of Him, is that He is transcendent
1.Not only did He come to earth in the flesh
2.But He still comes to us through seemingly unlikely means
a)Not only do we see the God of heaven in a manger
b)But we find Him in a bloody corpse on a Roman cross
C.But God did not come to us just that once
D.He still comes to us in the most unlikely of places
E.And He uses tools that don’t seem to befit Yahweh Sabaoth: the Lord of the Armies of Angels
1.We’re comfortable with the bumper stickers that say, “My boss is a Jewish Carpenter”
2.But how comfortable would you be with a bumper sticker that says, “My Commander-in-Chief fights with 3 nails and a spear”?
3.Or even, “My God uses evil people as His tools”?
F.Yet St. John shows us that God can use any tool He wants to accomplish His goals, which can never be thwarted
II.Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and were saying, "What are we doing? For this man does many signs."
A.The chief priests and the Pharisees are a perfect example of the bizarre tools God would use
1.These are people who had been hammering the people with the Law
2.And in this text, we see all too clearly that their main goal was not the truth, but their jobs
3.They couldn’t see past their own self-interests, and they were willing to eliminate all who got in their way
B.Yet God shows to the skeptics of today that these men of power feared this “Jewish Carpenter”
1.He was no politician or military commander
2.But Jesus not only proved His wisdom with His Words
3.But He backed them up with miracles that none of the prophets had done, healing the blind and deaf
4.And only a true prophet of God could raise the dead
5.And His enemies had no choice but admit it
a)Jesus’ arrest warrant has been discovered by archaeologists—He was charged with blasphemy and witchcraft
b)Even His arrest warrant admits the reality of His miracles
C.But Jesus had no tolerance for those who hammered God’s people with the Law
1.He came not to beat us down in our sin
2.But rather to save us from that sin
3.And Jesus, the Word-made-flesh, knows that only the Gospel can save souls from hell
4.So in a world like ours, filled with many ideas about the spiritual, Jesus stood for absolute truth
5.And He refused to stand idly by in the face of false doctrine—teachings—about God
6.And the people knew it—nothing compares to the absolute Truth
D.And yet, God would use these men to bring salvation
III."If we leave Him alone like this, all will believe in Him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
A.Of course, this was ridiculous
1.When Jesus was finally arrested, Pontius Pilate hadn’t even heard of Him except from his wife’s dream the night before
2.This was the same supposed insurrectionist Who said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.”
3.And after questioning Jesus, Pilate had no interest in Him whatsoever and wanted to let Him go
B.But Jesus is still seen as a threat today
1.Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union constantly fight to remove all references to Him from the public square
2.Others, like the “Freedom from Religion Foundation,” have dedicated their lives to fighting One Whom they claim to be long dead
3.Of course, the devil is active through them, and he knows full well that Jesus is very much alive
C.And yet, God uses such people to bring salvation
IV.But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,
A.They had no solution for the “Problem of Jesus”
1.He was popular, so a frontal attack would likely result in a riot
2.They’d already failed at debating Him on everything they could think of
B.So how do you deal with the “Problem of Jesus”?
1.When Jesus gets in the way of your plans, how do you get rid of Him?
2.Ignore Him?
3.Convince yourself He’s not paying attention, that He won’t care when you sin?
4.Pretend that He’s changed His mind about certain issues?
C.And yet, God uses you to bring salvation
V."Nor do you reckon that it is profitable to you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish."
A.Caiaphas intended to say that Jesus death would keep the Romans away
B.But instead, he uttered and unwilling prophecy
1.He spoke God’s Word, declaring the purpose of Jesus’ death
2.Jesus died for the people, all people
3.And because He died for us, we will not perish
C.Caiaphas was intent on murdering the Son of God
D.And yet, God used him to bring salvation
VI.But he didn't say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but that the scattered children of God be gathered into one.
A.God’s children are scattered all over the world
B.It’s part of God’s plan: “Go make disciples of all nations”
C.And because Jesus did die for all nations, none need perish
D.Because all who hear the Word and have faith will not perish
E.And God uses you to bring salvation
VII.From that day on, they resolved that they would kill Him.
A.And they did just that
1.They crucified the Lord of Glory
2.And God used Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son, dead for our sins on a cross, to bring us salvation.
B.And to this day, He uses the most unlikely of tools
1.He uses water to wash away sin
2.He uses bread and wine with Jesus’ body & blood to grant forgiveness of sin
3.And He uses written and spoken Words to proclaim forgiveness and peace
a)He has perished on your behalf
b)And He has risen to grant you eternal life
c)God used Jesus to bring you salvation in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Page 1 of 4