[Sermon notes / 설교노트 ]
"Earth's Alphabet & Grammar, Heaven's Poetry” (Gal 6:9)
"땅의 알파벳과 문법, 하늘의 시" (갈 6:9)
1.Biblical scripture / 성경본문(Gl 6:9, NIV11)
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”(갈 6:9, 새번역)
“선한 일을 하다가, 낙심하지 맙시다. 지쳐서 넘어지지 아니하면, 때가 이를 때에 거두게 될 것입니다.”
2. Live Notes / 설교 노트
Fill in a few blanks as you listen. After the sermon, tap Copy to save/share.
이 노트는 설교를 듣는 동안 빈칸에 짧게 적어보신 후, 자신의 노트에 옮겨 보세요
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[Sermon Transcript] Earth's Alphabet & Grammar, Heaven's Poetry
Scripture: Galatians 6:9
(Gl 6:9, NIV11) “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”1. Introduction: The Boredom of the Alphabet
Dear brothers and sisters of Worship Frontier Church, especially our young students and researchers here in Boston. The winter in Boston is long and relentless. As you walk to your labs through the freezing wind by the Charles River, as you fight with endless paper revisions, repetitive childcare, or the same Excel charts at work, you might ask: "Why is my life so boring and repetitive? What am I even doing here?"
When this repetition feels like meaningless "labor," we become deeply exhausted and discouraged. Remember last Saturday’s QT (1/31)? We learned how to rise again after failure. But what awaits us after we rise is often not a flowery path, but the same tedious routine we had yesterday.
C.S. Lewis compared us to "a nine-year-old boy learning Greek grammar." The boy memorizes boring words and copies complex verb tables. The teacher says, "One day, you will enjoy the poetry of Sophocles." But those words offer no comfort because the boy cannot yet imagine the beauty of poetry. To him, it is just drudgery to be endured.
How about your life today? Are you just flipping through a boring vocabulary book? Through Galatians 6:9, let’s discover how the [ ALPHABET & GRAMMAR ] of Earth turns into the brilliant [ POETRY ] of Heaven.
2. [C-1] The Necessity of the Basics: Routine as Spiritual Training
(Live Note: The routine is a spiritual [ BASICS ] to increase our capacity for joy.)
We often think we will be automatically happy when we get to Heaven. But Lewis argues that the "capacity for joy" must also be trained. On January 27th, we learned that "weakness becomes a channel." That very place of weakness and boredom is the classroom where our spiritual muscles grow.
Look at the Israelites in the wilderness. For 40 years, they went out every morning to gather Manna. They complained, "We hate this miserable food!" But through that tedious "Manna Grammar," God taught them that "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." The boredom of the wilderness was a time to develop "spiritual literacy" to recognize God even amidst the future abundance of Canaan.
Young researchers and parents, your tedious bench work, those thousands of repeated experiments, and the daily diaper changes are not wasted time. Through this [ BASIC STUDY ], you are learning the language of Heaven—unconditional love and patience.
3. [C-2] Proper Reward: Not a Bribe, but a Consummation
(Live Note: True reward is not a bribe, but the [ CONSUMMATION ] of love itself.)
Then, what is the reward at the end of this grammar study? Lewis distinguishes between two types of rewards: a "bribe" that has nothing to do with the act, and a "consummation" which is the act itself in its finished form.
If someone marries for money, that is a bribe. But when lovers long for the reward of "marriage," it is not greed. Marriage is the proper [ CONSUMMATION ] of love itself.
Look at Jacob in Genesis 29:20. He worked 7 years to win Rachel. The Bible says, "they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her." When the reward is the "consummation of love," 7 years of tedious grammar study turns into a love song in an instant. Is your reward a worldly "bribe," or is it the "consummation" of deepening your relationship with the Lord?
4. [C-3] The Scent of Home: Evidence of Our True Citizenship
(Live Note: Our holy dissatisfaction is the [ EVIDENCE ] of our true home.)
We get discouraged when we feel an unquenchable void on this earth. But Lewis says, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." Just as hunger is evidence that "food" exists, our spiritual longing is the [ EVIDENCE ] that we belong to Heaven.
All of us living in Boston are "strangers." When you miss the food of your hometown, that longing proves you have a "home" to return to. Remember Lewis’s quote: "If you catch the scent of flowers from an invisible garden, you are already near the flowers."
The "holy dissatisfaction" you feel—the feeling that "this isn't all, I want to know the Lord more"—is like catching the [ SCENT ] of home. Tomorrow's QT (2/2) challenges us to have a "Noisy Time" (vocal conversation with God). Speaking out loud to the Lord who is near you is the beginning of receiving the poetry of Glory.
5. [C-4] Kingdom Outward: Sharing the Scent of Heaven
(Live Note: I will share the scent of [ HEAVEN ] with my VIP through small kindness.)
Finally, we must share this "Heavenly Grammar" with the VIPs around us. To them, life is just an endless struggle and an undecipherable code.
Let us interpret their lives using the grammar we have learned. "Your hard work is not in vain; you are God's masterpiece (Feb 3rd QT theme)." What a VIP needs is not a grand theological lecture, but a friend who stays by their side, helping them memorize the "words" of life.
Your small act of [ KINDNESS ], a cup of coffee for a coworker working late, will be the first "scent of heaven" they ever encounter. Let your kindness be a "trailer" for the Kingdom of God.
6. Conclusion: You are a Heavenly Poet
Dear brothers and sisters, look at your routine again. The tedious tasks waiting for you tomorrow morning are not a prison. They are God’s sophisticated "Grammar Class of Glory," shaping your soul so you can handle the immense joy of Heaven.
Every boring word you memorize today will be read as a brilliant [ POETRY ] on the day you stand before the Lord. When you open your QT tomorrow, remember the "Noisy Time" and talk to Him: "Lord, let this grammar I learn today become a poem."
You are not just a laborer; you are a "Heavenly Poet" writing the poetry of an eternal kingdom. I bless you to discover the brilliant poetry within the tedious grammar this week.
"Let us not become [ WEARY ] in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap if we do not give up." (Gal 6:9)
3. Week Notes / 주중 노트
WEEK Notes is a devotional journal for reflecting on God's word throughout the week. It helps you set "This Week's Small Action" and "A One-Sentence Prayer."
Please refrain from using it during the worship service sermon.
WEEK Notes는 말씀을 한 주 동안 붙잡고 살아내기 위한 짧은 묵상 노트입니다.
“이번 주의 작은 실천”과 “한 문장 기도”를 정하도록 돕습니다.
설교 시간에는 사용하지 않기를 부탁 합니다.