Luke 11:33-54

Sermon Notes

Luke 11:33-54

Wisdom in Warnings

Pastor Matt Pierson

Eleven Silly Laws

1. No wearing fake mustaches that cause laughter in church
2. It’s illegal to fish while driving across a bridge
3. You must pay parking fees for an elephant tied to a parking meter
4. No tying alligators to fire hydrants
5. No whale hunting
6. It’s illegal to let your donkey sleep in a bathtub
7. It’s illegal to set a mouse trap without a hunting license
8. Cats may not run loose without having been fitted with a taillight
9. It’s illegal to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket
10. It’s illegal for frogs to croak after 11 pm
11. It’s against the law to drive while asleep

The function of light is to shine

“The ability to see things clearly should affect the whole way you act and live.”
Michael Wilcock, The Bible Speaks Today

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
C.S. Lewis

“Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu al n’tilat yadayim.”
Hebrew Hand Washing Blessing

1. Why does God care about sin?

“God’s wrath is not a cranky explosion, but his settled opposition to the cancer of sin which is eating out the insides of the human race he loves with his whole being.”
Rebecca Manley Pippert, Hope Has Its Reasons

“The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.”
Ezekiel 34:4

“What you have in the cross is the appeasement of the wrath of God, by the love of God, through the gift of God.”
Alistair Begg

2. How is our faith affecting others?

“Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads.”
William J. Toms

“All of us inevitably communicate what we are. We can do all the right religious things…but we will ultimately impart what is within. We leave our fingerprints on each other’s souls, for Christ or for unbelief.”
R. Kent Hughes, Luke: That You May Know the Truth

3. Neither rule-following nor rule-breaking will save you.

Three approaches to observing rules:

1. A rule follower
2. A rule bender
3. A rule breaker

Nothing we have done or will do can make God love us any more.
Nothing we have done or will do can make God love us any less.

“This is the difference between them (the law and the gospel): the law says ‘Do this’; the gospel says ‘Christ has done it all.’ The law requires works of human achievement; the gospel requires faith in Christ’s achievement. The law makes demands and bids us obey; the gospel brings promises and bids us believe.”
John Stott

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God