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- The purpose of this talk is to convince you of the value of exploring the Old Testament,/n-and to begin the journey.
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Sermon Outline - Why Study the Old Testament?
Goal:
To convince you of the value of exploring the Old Testament,
and to begin the journey.
Studying the Old Testament
- Why? —Four motivations
- What? —Four Key Concepts
Why? Four motivations for studying the Old Testament
- God has chosen to reveal himself in two volumes
- It is not up to us to say only the second is worth much attention
- It is the foundation on which the New is built
- Some things in the N.T. are clearer if we know the old
- Some are much richer with added nuance
- Not just a bunch of stories tells a big story
- We encounter Jesus, the Father and the Spirit in the stories, in a way that enriches our relationship with them
- It has been said that most errors creep into the church from mis-interpreting the O.T.
John 13
- “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen.
But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’
- All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me…
- Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
2 Samuel 15 – Betrayal
- …Absalom… sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.
…
- But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.
- And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.”
2 Samuel 17 (after the plot failed)
- Ahithophel… set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.
Psalm 55
—What it felt like for David
- For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him.
- But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
- We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.
…
- His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
1. Progressive
2. Epochs
Epochs
- Original goodness at creation
- Fall to Flood
- Noah to Abraham
- Abraham to Exodus
- The Law through Moses
- Era of the Prophets
- The Messiah comes
3. Covenantal
Key Concepts
- Progressive
- Not smooth progress but in “Epochs”
- Covenantal
- Adam & Eve
- Humanity after Noah’s flood
- Abraham (and descendents)
- Nation of Israel after Exodus
- David
- New Covenant with us
Hebrews 8
- For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
- For he finds fault with it when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
- not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
- For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
- And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
- For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
- In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
based on ESV with some changes by amf
Key Concepts
- Progressive
- Not smooth progress but in “Epochs”
- Covenantal
- Organically Connected
4. Organic Connection
Numbers 21
- And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
- And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when they see it, shall live.”
- So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, they would look at the bronze serpent and live.
John 3
- And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
- that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Why? – Four Motivations
- God has chosen to reveal himself in two volumes
- It is the foundation on which the New is built
- We encounter Jesus, the Father and the Spirit in the stories, in a way that enriches our relationship with them
- It has been said that most errors creep into the church from mis-interpreting the O.T.
What? —Four Key Concepts
- Progressive
- Not smooth progress but in “Epochs”
- Covenantal
- Organically Connected
Luke 24
- Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things written about himself in all the scriptures.
…
- They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us while he was speaking with us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us?”
Jesus is the golden thread which links everything together. To study the Old Testament is ultimately to learn about Jesus.
Updated on 2020-10-18 by Andrew Fountain
