Study Notes
A Sermon for Everyone
Ezra 10:1-5: verse 5
February 21, 2010
Learning by heart (tip): You’re familiar with the saying, “Practice makes perfect.” The Bible says something similar, “For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). Repetition is probably the best way to memorize a Bible verse. You can retain this week’s verse after repeating it about a dozen times. It is short and catchy.
Finding the gospel (hint): Ezra 10:5 is about confession, repentance, and forgiveness. How do you see this verse leading us to the gospel?
- Think about what Jesus said to the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43.
- Meditate on Luke 4:16-19 and ask yourself how Ezra 10:5 leans into Jesus’ personal mission statement.
Living witnesses (today): You can be an “Ezra 10:5” witness in at least two ways. First, come clean with God and let his grace cleanse you and assure you of pardon. Live as a forgiven child of God. Love much because you have been forgiven much. Second, refuse to let anyone you know despair over sin and guilt. Help them realize there is good news and hope!
Praying scripture (now): “Lord, I confess to you that I am ‘married’ to a sin. Sometimes I think I love this sin more than I love you. I cherish it too much. It competes with my affections for you. I let it sleep with me, control me, and drive me. I can’t get it out of my mind. But here, today, even now I believe there is hope for forgiveness and freedom. Even now I give my sin to you and receive the forgiveness Christ purchased for me on the cross. May your Holy Spirit give me the power to release my sin to you so I can also forgive myself and start fresh with you today. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
“The sin that truly troubles us shall not ruin us” (Matthew Henry).
“…the Messiah must come from and to the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob on the land promised to Abraham, so that ‘all the families of the earth’ (Gen. 12:3) will be blessed” (Matthew Levering, page 99).
“God pardons like a mother, who kisses the offense into everlasting forgiveness” (Henry Ward Beecher).