Sermon Extra: A New Heart for an Old Temptation

This past weekend at Zion, we continued our message series Keeping Score, where we’ve been exploring some of the different ways we keep score in life. And we do keep score—all the time.

We tally what he said. We track what she did. We log our own guilt, calculate what we’re owed, and obsess over the hidden ledgers of our lives.

Keeping score might offer a brief sense of control, but it’s a rigged game where everyone eventually loses—even the person on top.

So, what if we stopped all that? What if we kept score no more?

In Sunday’s message, we confronted one of humanity’s most destructive scorekeeping struggles: lust.

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Sermon Extra: When the Score Says God Let You Down

This weekend at Zion, we continued our series Keeping Score, where we’ve been looking at some of the scores we’re keeping that we ought to be canceling.

We tally our superiority over others. We fixate on the slight someone committed against us. We keep a meticulous account of everything we’ve done for someone—and how they haven’t bothered to return nearly all of our fabulous favors.

Then there’s the score we talked about this weekend: the score we keep against God.

We count the prayers we’ve prayed, the weekends we’ve dragged our family to church, and the dollars we’ve dropped into the offering plate. We tally every fragment of faithfulness we can find. Then we set that total against what God has—or hasn’t—done for us. And before long, we’ve convinced ourselves that God’s account with us is overdrawn.

But what if we wiped our scoreboard against God clean? What if we kept score no more?

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Sermon Extra: The Scoreboard Never Reads “Enough”

This past weekend at Zion, we kicked off a new series called “Keeping Score.”

Scorekeeping is one of those ingrained, nearly involuntary habits of modern life. We calculate the dollars in our bank accounts, the hours we spend at work, and even the steps we take using our Apple watches. Some of the math is helpful. It can help us discern where we are and decide where we want go next.

But numbers make cruel masters.

When we demand that these scores not only inform us, but define us—to tell us whether we are winning, worthy, ahead, or enough—we become slaves to the scores we keep.

Keep score in your marriage—what she said, what he forgot, how many times you swallowed your pride and apologized first—and you aren’t merely keeping a record. You’re tallying reasons for resentment. Keep score of other people’s successes—their promotions, vacations, children, homes, or happiness—and you can turn their joy into kindling for your envy.

So, what if we stopped? What if we cleared the scoreboards that keep us trapped in resentment, envy, guilt, and exhaustion? What if we kept score no more?

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Sermon Extra: The Sword Balaam Saw, But Never Suffered

This past weekend at Zion, we wrestled with one of the oddest and liveliest stories in Scripture: Balaam and his talking donkey in Numbers 22.

Balak, king of Moab, is in a panic. Harrowing reports of Israel’s military victories have reached his throne, prompting him to defend his nation against an attack he assumes is imminent as Israel travels near his territory. Desperate to weaponize anything he can, including the supernatural, Balak sends for Balaam—a shady, but famous prophet-for-hire—to ambush Israel with a spiritual curse.

After two rounds of royal ambassadors knock at Balaam’s door requesting his spiritual services, Balaam saddles his donkey and begins the roughly 375-mile trek to Moab, eager for the big payday that awaits him on the other side of a couple of curt curses. But along the way, the angel of the Lord appears and stops him dead in his tracks.

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Sermon Extra: When Our Desires Defy God’s Choices

Our desires don’t always line up with God’s choices. And when there’s a mismatch, conflict—and sometimes catastrophe—is not far off.

This past weekend in worship at Zion, we looked at a story from Numbers 16 about a man named Korah. Korah is a Levite, which means he belongs to the tribe God has chosen to care for the tabernacle—the tent where God dwells among His people. This is no small calling. Korah has been chosen for holy work.

But Korah does not want the holy work God has given him. He wants the holy work God has given to somebody else.

He does not want to serve near the altar of the tabernacle. He wants to stand at the altar. He does not want to assist the priests. He wants to be a priest.

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