Prayer Makes us Human

Sermon from CCM:Kingsway
;

LISTEN

This sermon was preached by Tim Simmonds at the CCM Kingsway site of Christ Church Manchester on Sunday 16th September 2018.

SERIES

This message was part of the ‘SERIES NAME’ series, preached at Christ Church Manchester’s church in Burnage in EARLY/MID/LATE YEAR. The full series included the following sermons:

BIBLE VERSES

This sermon was based on Genesis 18:16-33.

16Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lordby doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

22So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

KEY POINTS

God Wants Us Involved in a Way of Life

  • To be human is to be involved in the work of God – We are not on the sideline of creation – watching it play out. We are involved.
  • Part of that is prayer – talking to God about what we see happening.
  • We have a purpose. To image God – to represent him, to look like God on earth, to have conversation with God – to know him.

We Are to Do Righteousness and Justice

  • Humans are involved in creation. Suffering, poverty, injustice –  it’s easy to blame God. Actually, we are here and have been given purpose by God to DO righteousness and justice.
  • As we pray we are to seek out Gods heart for Righteousness and Justice
  • God’s heart is not always immediately obvious and sometimes it is not what we expect or would have wanted. (Look at the story of Jonah)

Prayer Reveals Who We Are and Who God is

  • Prayer is a bold move! To step toward God and ask a question. Even, to question what Gods up to.
  • As Abraham and Jonah talk to God their own hearts are exposed and God’s heart is displayed more clearly.
  • Abraham’s relationship with God is deepening as they talk – Abraham is growing in mercy – he’s becoming an image of God.

MORE SERMONS

To see more sermons from Christ Church Manchester, you can visit our sermons page, or why not consider subscribing on iTunes.