Saints and Sickness
This is a message that attempts to bring some helpful perspective to the pursuit of healing and the challenge of unanswered prayer. Many bible readers fail to see that there are many examples of believers struggling with sickness referenced in the New Testament and not all are healed. This is not an apologetic for sickness and disease or an attempt to show that miracles are not for today. It’s a pastoral plea to understand what the bible teaches unanswered prayer, community and what God does through, in or in-spite of sickness.
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Valentines Day with the Prophets.
God is a jealous lover of His people and the prophet Jeremiah and Ezekiel write some strong break up songs. In one of the oddest stories in the bible, God uses underwear to speak to his people. It’s a message that will awaken your heart with the extent to which God will reach out to those He loves.
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Work & Worship
Help finding fulfillment & meaning Monday to Sunday from the book of Isaiah.
The Gift of Work
The Dangers of Work
The Offering of Work as Worship
Worship at Work
- Work should be shaped by Worship (Who God is and what God expects of us)
- Work is about order over chaos (providing stability, order and possibilities)
- Work is about provision for yourself, family, others
- Work is a means to meaning (what you do, how you do it and what you do with the income)
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7 Gospel Allusions in Isaiah 1 & 6
1) 1:10-14 Authentic worship
2) 1:15-17 Righteous living
3) 1:18-20 Confession, repentance, cleansing and forgiveness
4) 6:1-5 Encounter & Revelation
5) 6:6-8 Service in ministry and mission
6) 6:9-13 Challenge
7) 6:11-13 Death and resurrection/loss and hope
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Song of Songs
Essential Musical Notes to a Healthy Marriage Love Song:
The Notes of infatuation
The Notes of patience
The Notes of character
The Notes of words
The Notes of praise
The Notes of sex
The Notes of little things
The Notes of withdraw and pursuit
The Notes of discovery & maturity
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Job: Battling the Beasts of Chaos
“Wrestling with Theodicy, how can a good God allow evil in the world?
The problem: Theodicy . . .trying to explain evil or how there can be evil in a good God’s world
God is all-good. God is all-powerful. Terrible things happen. Trying to reconcile these three things is what we call theodicy—an attempt to understand why God allows evil to exist in the world. To quote Abraham: “Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Gen 18:25).
The Adversary: One of the important keys to understanding God’s argument is the symbolism of Behemoth and Leviathan, which in their ancient Near Eastern context represent the sinister forces of chaos, death, and evil. God addresses the issue of Job’s suffering in a very pointed way by reminding him that the chaos in the world originates with the Enemy—an enemy that God alone can and will subdue.
Conclusion: In the end, relationship transcends explanation. Job seemed satisfied by the simple reality that God visited him, while the friends, who offered a view of God, that get’s rebuked.
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Where’s the King?
Message Overview:
The cycle of repentance, rescue, reign, rebellion and ruin continues. At this point there’s a regathered people, a rebuilt temple and a restored city…but no King or Ark. The last star light of Esther closes out the books of histories and prepares us for the coming star 400 years in the future that will announce the birth of the last King.
Themes:
Ezra: Restoration of the word, worship and temple Of God
Nehemiah: Rebuilding of the city of God
Esther: Salvation of the people of God
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The Writing on the Wall
5 truths from the book of Daniel and Ezra about God and his activity in our world.
-God is involved in the kingdoms of this world.
-God is a political and personal God (transcendent & immanent)
-Predictive prophesy and providential actions provide the basis for personal peace.
-The knowledge of God’s sovereignty offers us security in a world of chaos.
-God invites us to live in relationship to Him under His rule.
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The Apostolic Mandate
Becoming a people on mission: Insights, instructions and inspiration from the letter to the Romans in the context of the book of Acts.
The Gospel Apostolic Mandate:
1. Purpose: Romans 1:6-7
2. Prayer: Romans 1:9-11
3. Plans: Romans 15:23-24
4. Passion: 2 Corinthians 5:6-11,13-15
5. Power” Romans 1:16
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Your Son is Alive!
This sermon is about the young man who fell asleep in church and fell out the window in Acts 20:7-12. There is a similar story in Homer’s Greek classic “The Odyssey”. I contrast both stories to highlight the good news being preached to the Greeks in Paul’s missionary work.
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