Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

  Core Idea, Challenge & Summary

Core Idea: Jesus, as God in the flesh, paid the penalty for our sins. This makes it possible for us to receive God’s forgiveness and have a new beginning.

Challenge: To help people receive God’s forgiveness and take advantage of the new beginning made possible by Jesus paying the penalty for our sins.

Summary: We can receive God’s forgiveness and experience a new beginning because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. With God’s forgiveness, we begin a restored, loving relationship with God. At this point, our lives begin anew. We can expect a purpose in life that will provide us with peace and joy. This peace and joy culminates with the assurance of eternal life with God. With this new beginning, we can rely on God’s power to restore relationships by making amends and offering forgiveness. We can also work through and leave behind our past hurts. This new beginning enables us to fulfill the purpose for which we’ve been created.

Have you received God’s forgiveness and taken advantage of this new beginning? Christmas is all about this new beginning. God became a human named Jesus so He could live the perfect life and pay the penalty for our sins. Christmas is a perfect time to receive God’s forgiveness and take advantage of a new beginning.   

The Sermon

     A. Judge Billy Bob Cartwright

• Judge in the wild, wild west in the 1870s
• Went from town to town delivering justice
• Believed in strict enforcement of the law
• Whenever a person is found guilty of horse stealing or murder, a hanging must occur
• Became known as the ‘noose’. When Judge Cartwright came to town, people would say, “The noose is coming. There’s gonna be a hangin.”

     B. Judge Billy Bob Cartwright’s dilemma

• Judge Cartwright presided over his brother’s trial
• Jury found Judge Cartwright’s brother, Joe, guilty of horse stealing and murder
• Judge Billy Bob Cartwright knew a hanging had to occur but couldn’t bring himself to order the execution of his own brother.
• Judge Cartwright thought long and hard about how to resolve this dilemma.

     C. Judge Billy Bob Cartwright’s solution

• Judge Cartwright realized one of Joe’s relative could pay the penalty for his horse thievery and murder
• Judge Cartwright sat behind his bench and pounded his gavel. He then stated, “Brother Joe, this court finds you guilty of horse thievery and murder. A hanging must occur.”
• Judge Cartwright stood up, took off his robe, removed his cowboy hat and walked to the gallows. He slipped his head into the hangman’s noose, looked at his brother Joe and said, “Brother, I’m giving you a new beginning.” Judge Billy Bob Cartwright hung himself and died that day to give his brother a new beginning.

II. The real life story

     A. The Creator God’s dilemma

• The Creator God is our judge.
• The Creator God finds us guilty of sin
•  The penalty for sin is death. The only thing we have to offer as payment for our sins is our lives. Therefore, the wages of sin is death.
• Dilemna: A death must occur to pay the penalty for our sins but the Creator God loves us and doesn’t want to see us die.

     B. Creator God’s solution to dilemma

• The Creator God became a human named Jesus 
• As a human, the Creator God became our brother. Jesus is our kin.
• As our kin, Jesus lived the perfect life and offered His life as payment for our sins. (Hebrews 9:26b; Hebrews 10:12 and 1 John 4:10)
• The penalty of sin was paid and we still get to live.
• Jesus proved He was God in the flesh and able to pay the penalty for our sins when He conquered sin, death and evil by being resurrected from the dead

     A. With the penalty for our sins paid in full, we can receive God’s forgiveness

     B. Receiving God’s forgiveness gives us a new beginning.

IV. We all need a new beginning at some point in our lives.  

     A. Some people have an obvious need for a new beginning:

• drug dealers
• alcoholics
• addicts
• thieves
• murders
• rapists etc…

     B. Some have a less obvious but equally necessary need for a new beginning:

• successful yet sad & lonely business people who are obsessed with making money
• politicians with a clean image who use deceit to win elections
• dysfunctional families that put on a glamorous image with big houses and fancy cars
• celebrities who hide their personal problems behind a luxurious lifestyle
• The list goes on and on

V. Our new beginning gives us a purpose for our lives

     A. Our new beginning starts with a restored, loving relationship with God.

     B. This relationship provides a purpose for our lives

     C. We all need a purpose for our lives

• Some grab on to temporary purposes: careers, family, children etc…
• Once we lose our sense of purpose, we no longer have joy and peace
• God provides a permanent purpose for our lives: To expand God’s kingdom on earth

     D. Our God given purpose gives us a peace and joy beyond our understanding

• We can work this purpose in any circumstance: At home, in a nursing home, at work, in the hospital…anywhere and anytime…we always have a purpose
• During pain and suffering, God will not only take care of us but also use us to fulfill the purpose of expanding His kingdom of love. God will redeem and use our pain and suffering to spread His love.
• Our God given purpose will enable us to have peace and joy despite our circumstances because we know God will use us to spread His love

VI. Christmas is about this new beginning