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Bones
In The Church
(Adapted from a sermon by Alex Caldwell)
Introduction:
A.
The Bible has many references to bones
a.
Adam said “She is bone of my bones” Gen 2:23
b.
Joseph requested his bones to be removed from Egypt
to Canaan - Gen 50:25
c.
Ezekiel’s account of “Valley of dry bones” is one of the
most famous (Ez 37)
B.
Word “bones” is familiar to all of us
a.
Often said “I have a bone to pick with you”
b.
206 bones in the human body
C.
Just as different kinds of bones in the body, there are several different
bones in the body of Christ
a.
7 we’ll consider
b.
Which kind of bone are you?
I.
Jawbones
A. Jawbone
– person who approaches every subject with mouth open
a.
Doesn’t listen – Bible tells us to listen
i. James
1:19; Rev 2:7
Point: Once there was picture of 2 ducks quacking away.
Caption: Everybody’s talking, & noone’s
listening
B. Similar
to religious leaders of Jesus day. Say but do not!
1.
Matt 23:3; I John 3:17-18; James 2:13-24; Luke 6:46
C. Jawbones talk a good game of Christianity,
but practice poor one.
1.
Guilty of the many sins of the tongue – James 1:26
Point: Loose lips sink ships & churches too. Samson
destroyed 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. Some Christians
have destroyed nearly that many with their jawbone. Judges 15:15
2.
James 3:1-12; Eph 5:3-4
II.
Knucklebones
A. Knucklebones
knock everyone and everything
1.
1st class complainer
2.
In home steady stream of verbal putdowns
a.
Philippians 2:14; Jude 16; I Cor 10:10
B. Many are knucklebones because so easy,
doesn’t take much effort
1.
Most congregations have those who constantly murmur & complain (nothing
but sin)
2.
Vocal minority of Israel
discouraged the whole nation
3.
Church can become discouraged too. Phil 2:14
4.
Need to stop knocking and kicking and start working together – Gal
5:15
III.
Wishbones
A. Always wishing, planning, and dreaming
1.
Never get around to DOING anything
a.
Matt 7:21-23; James 1:21-22
2.
These Christians won’t roll up their sleeves & get to work
B. “I wish I could”
1.
Study more, grow more, pray more, come to church more, come to church on
time, give more, let light shine
2.
I wish this church could grow spiritually
IV.
Funny bones
A. Never seem
to take God & His word seriously
1.
Sit back, laugh and say God didn’t really mean that
2.
The preacher is just being overdramatic
3.
The preacher’s sermons don’t mean anything to me
4.
Bible class doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s a joke.
5.
We need to learn that God says what He means and means what He says!
B. What
is your attitude towards God’s Holy Word
1.
Attitude should be: God said and that settles it
a.
Dan 1:8; Isa 6:8
2.
There is a time to laugh
a.
Ecc 3:4
3.
People of Noah’s day thought God’s message of doom and gloom
was hilarious
a.
Noah wasn’t laughing
b.
He believed God
i. Matt
24:37-39; II Peter 2:5; Heb 11:7
V.
Lazybones
A. Some
Christians are so lazy they need 2 desks, one for each foot. (Rusting their
lives away.
1.
Live by philosophy – Anything worth doing is worth asking someone
else to do it.
2.
One Talent Man is an example – Matt 25:26, 30
3.
Why condemned? Not murder, adultery, lying, stealing drunkenness or idolatry
a.
Because he did nothing (slothful or lazy)
B. Barren
fig tree destroyed by Christ
1.
Heb 12:6; Prov 6:6-9; 13:4; 20:4
C. Christians
must be busy about the Lord’s work
1.
Tit 2:14; I Cor 15:58; Phil 2:12
VI.
Dead bones
A. Ezekiel 37:1-14
1.
Vision of the “Valley of dry bones” was God’s way of
describing an Israel
that had succumbed to spiritual death
B. Matthew 23:27
1.
Jesus likened Scribes & Pharisees to whitewashed sepulchers of that are
full of dead men’s bones
Point: Many congregations are nothing more than these
whitewashed sepulchers
C. The
Church at Sardis
was dead – Rev 3:1
1.
Not all the dead are in cemeteries – Matt 8:22
2.
About widows, Paul wrote “but she who gives herself to pleasure is
dead while she lives” I Tim 5:6
3.
Matt 22:32 teaches that God is not the God of the dead, but the
living.
4.
Are you a dead bone?
VII.
Finally and Thankfully there are backbones
A. God has
always had “backbones” that have kept his cause alive in a
Devil dominated society
1.
Moses led God’s chosen people
2.
Joseph when he fled advances of Potiphar’s
wife – Gen 39:9
3.
Daniel when refused to defile himself with food and drink of his captors
– Dan 1:8
4.
Daniel in the lion’s den – Dan 6
5.
Three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace – Dan 3
6.
Joshua and Caleb when they told the truth about Canaan
7.
Paul – Look at his life
8.
Stephen in Acts 7:51-59
B. We
need Christians who will stand and say that sin is sin
1.
Jude 3; I Pet 3:15; Gal 4:16; II Tim 4:1-5
a. Abortion, homosexuality, adultery, gambling, social drinking,
dancing, immodest dress, and many other sins must be taught. (I Thes
5:22)
C. We
need parents who have enough backbone to say no to their children
D. We need
preachers who have enough backbone to preach true gospel of Christ – Acts
20:20, 27
Conclusion:
A.
What kind of bone are you?
B.
Are you a Christian?
C.
Let us learn something from this lesson – II Cor 13:5
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