Sermon Outline July 20, 2008 Morning Service

Topic: See From God's Heart 

Text:        Mark 12:28-34

Introduction

I.       There is no commandment in all of scripture greater than these.

II.      This scribe shows remarkable understanding.

A.      Negatively, we associate him with those who were arguing with Jesus.

B.     Positively, he recognized the difference between God’s eternal principles and earthly institutions.

III.     But not everyone sees things as did this scribe (Luke 10:25-29).

A.      The ruler understood the Law’s requirements as well as the scribe did.

B.     But he was also aware that he fell short of fulfilling them.

C.     There are three ways a person can react when that awareness dawns:

1.      We can admit that we are sinners and appeal to God for mercy.

2.      We can focus only on what we do well.

3.      We can reinterpret the Law to set lower standards.

D.     Here Jesus sets the stage for us to See From God’s Heart.

Text

I.       We need a new perspective.

A.      We aren’t talking about reinventing the wheel or changing the church.

B.     A worldly perspective limits our ability to see.

B.     For some reason, this may be especially true when it comes to other people.

II.     Seeing God: The Loving Father.

A.      To begin to see from God’s heart we must acknowledge who God is – the great I AM.

B.     But God is also Abba Father (Romans 8:14-16).

III.    Seeing Self: A Beloved Child.

A.      The greatest thing we will ever do is love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength.

B.     We will experience the greatest joy and peace when we seek after the knowledge, wisdom and understanding of His ways as our highest priority.

C.     But the second greatest commandment is to love others as ourselves.

IV.    Seeing Others: Beloved Family

A.      God loves each of us simply because we exist.

B.     We can see others for what they are; beloved and desired by God.

C.     We can love as God loves us (1 Corinthians 13:1-7).

D.     Accepting what we see from God’s heart changes the “me” to “we” and the “I” to “us.”

E.     Even as He prepared for betrayal and death, Jesus’ thoughts and prayer were that all Christians would come to fully accept and love one another (John 17:20-21).

Conclusion

I.       There are no commandments greater than these.

II.      To See From God’s Heart is to see these truths.

III.     To see these truths is to follow through with actions that testify to their worth.

Kind words will never wear out the tongue.