A WEiRD Way to Save The World

Sermon Summary:

 ·         It’s obvious that we live in a very fallen world and it is equally as obvious that there is little we can do to change the world.

    • We have always sought a savior, a messiah, someone to deliver us from this fallen world?

·         In the Old Testament, God’s people had hope for a messiah that would be a political and militaristic king that would judge their enemies with mighty power.

·         Jesus was weird because he did not fit the normal picture of a messiah.

    • Weird interaction: dwelling among us instead of judging us from above.
    • Weird entrance: A baby in a manger from a humble lineage.
    • Weird lifestyle: A carpenter from a poor family who hung out with sinners and had uneducated disciples.
    • Weird Salvation: Instead of gaining power He gave up His power.  Instead of taking, He gave.  Instead of demanding sacrifice, He sacrificed.  Instead of passing judgment, He took the judgment on Himself.

·         Why did God have to become and to live like one of us and to die like one of us by our hands?

    • For only the one who was both fully human and fully God could pay the price on humanity’s behalf and have it be sufficient to pay the debt.
    • Immanuel “God with us”