Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of the sermon from December 28, 2008:
1. Fear for his life prompts Isaac to repeat the sin of his father and to lie about Rebekah being his sister. In doing so he is making a mockery of God’s promises.
2. Fear is:
-inconsistent with faith, the antithesis of faith
-paralyzing
-a tacit acknowledgment that we doubt God’s control or His good intentions for us
3. Isaac’s lie is discovered by the pagan king who acts more righteously in this instance than God’s servant.
4. A. W. Pink cites the following lessons from Isaac in Genesis 26:
-Isaac readily follows the sin of his father – “…it is much easier for children to imitate the vices and weaknesses of their parents than it is to emulate their virtues.”
-Abraham and Isaac, despite their differences in temperament succumb to the same sin – “…no matter what our natural temperament maybe, unless the grace of God supports and sustains us we shall inevitably fall!”
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
God's Salvation In Infant Form
Click here to download the sermon file.
A re-cap of the sermon from December 21, 2008:
1. Luke cites two witnesses to the significance of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:21-40, Simeon and Anna. The setting is the Temple, 40 days after Jesus’ birth when Joseph and Mary bring the sacrifice (burnt offering and sin offering) for Mary’s purification (she was not sinless as some doctrine claims) and to present Jesus, the first born to the Lord.
2. The birth of Jesus is significant in three ways:
-He came to bring salvation to the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike (“…all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel”)
-Salvation is found in the person of Jesus, not in a religious system, not in a philosophy, not in righteous works (“My eyes have seen your salvation”)
-Salvation is necessary because we are all sinners and in need of redemption (Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”)
A re-cap of the sermon from December 21, 2008:
1. Luke cites two witnesses to the significance of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:21-40, Simeon and Anna. The setting is the Temple, 40 days after Jesus’ birth when Joseph and Mary bring the sacrifice (burnt offering and sin offering) for Mary’s purification (she was not sinless as some doctrine claims) and to present Jesus, the first born to the Lord.
2. The birth of Jesus is significant in three ways:
-He came to bring salvation to the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike (“…all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel”)
-Salvation is found in the person of Jesus, not in a religious system, not in a philosophy, not in righteous works (“My eyes have seen your salvation”)
-Salvation is necessary because we are all sinners and in need of redemption (Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”)
Monday, December 15, 2008
DeJaVu All Over Again, Part 2
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of December 14, 2008:
1. In Genesis 26 Isaac, following the bad example of his father Abraham, lies to Abimilech and the men of Gerar about his wife Rebecca calling her his sister to protect himself.
2. Lying of any magnitude (“little” or “big”) is dangerous because it dulls our senses to what is morally right, and will eventually erode our ability to distinguish the truth from falsehood.
3. The Old Testament condemns bearing false witness in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5:20), in the prophets and in the Proverbs.
4. Lying is inconsistent with the nature of God within the Christian, for God’s nature is to be truthful. In fact, He is truth (Titus 1:2).
5. Lying is however consistent with the nature and language of Satan. He is the “father of lies” (John 8:44).
6. By example and by teaching the believer is exhorted to truthfulness in the New Testament (Acts 5, Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9). Lying is part of our old nature, the sin nature, which we are to be putting away by yielding to the Spirit of God and the Word of God as we are being remade in the character of Jesus Christ.
Recap of December 14, 2008:
1. In Genesis 26 Isaac, following the bad example of his father Abraham, lies to Abimilech and the men of Gerar about his wife Rebecca calling her his sister to protect himself.
2. Lying of any magnitude (“little” or “big”) is dangerous because it dulls our senses to what is morally right, and will eventually erode our ability to distinguish the truth from falsehood.
3. The Old Testament condemns bearing false witness in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5:20), in the prophets and in the Proverbs.
4. Lying is inconsistent with the nature of God within the Christian, for God’s nature is to be truthful. In fact, He is truth (Titus 1:2).
5. Lying is however consistent with the nature and language of Satan. He is the “father of lies” (John 8:44).
6. By example and by teaching the believer is exhorted to truthfulness in the New Testament (Acts 5, Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9). Lying is part of our old nature, the sin nature, which we are to be putting away by yielding to the Spirit of God and the Word of God as we are being remade in the character of Jesus Christ.
Monday, December 08, 2008
DeJaVu All Over Again
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of December 7, 2008:
1. While Genesis 26 is similar to earlier incidents in Abraham’s life in Genesis 12 & 20, it is a different and separate incident in the life of Isaac, repeating the earlier sin of his father.
2. Genesis 26:1 specifically says this is a different incident, also there are similar elements to the earlier incidents but there are also differences.
3. A famine brings about this test of faith in Isaac’s life (as famine often does in the Bible).
4. As Warren Wiersbe points out: “Faith cannot grow apart from trials.” Our faith grows when it is challenged, when we are stretched beyond ourselves, when we are forced to use “new muscles” in our spiritual life.
5. “A commitment to Christ and obedience to his commands stretch us beyond ourselves, and that hurts. But this is a very different pain from that inflicted by torture or punishment. Growth pain is the kind we don’t regret; it leads to health and not disease or neurosis.” (Eugene Peterson).
Recap of December 7, 2008:
1. While Genesis 26 is similar to earlier incidents in Abraham’s life in Genesis 12 & 20, it is a different and separate incident in the life of Isaac, repeating the earlier sin of his father.
2. Genesis 26:1 specifically says this is a different incident, also there are similar elements to the earlier incidents but there are also differences.
3. A famine brings about this test of faith in Isaac’s life (as famine often does in the Bible).
4. As Warren Wiersbe points out: “Faith cannot grow apart from trials.” Our faith grows when it is challenged, when we are stretched beyond ourselves, when we are forced to use “new muscles” in our spiritual life.
5. “A commitment to Christ and obedience to his commands stretch us beyond ourselves, and that hurts. But this is a very different pain from that inflicted by torture or punishment. Growth pain is the kind we don’t regret; it leads to health and not disease or neurosis.” (Eugene Peterson).
Monday, December 01, 2008
Reversal of Fortune, Part 3
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of November 30, 2008:
1. Jacob schemed for what was already his. Esau sold his birthright (and its spiritual implications) to satisfy his physical hunger.
2. In Esau we are warned not to satisfy physical appetites at the expense of spiritual values. In Jacob we are warned against scheming, manipulating people, circumstances, and even God in seeking spiritual things (pursuing them by the sinful nature rather than by the Spirit).
3. Kent & Barbara Hughes in their book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome
define true success as: faithfulness, serving, loving God, believing, prayer, holiness, and (a good, positive) attitude.
4. According to the Hughes, we should ask the following questions concerning holiness: Are we being desensitized by the present evil world; where do our minds wander when we have no duties to perform; what are we reading; what dvd’s, videos are we renting (what websites are we going to); and finally, how many chapters of the Bible did we read last week?
Recap of November 30, 2008:
1. Jacob schemed for what was already his. Esau sold his birthright (and its spiritual implications) to satisfy his physical hunger.
2. In Esau we are warned not to satisfy physical appetites at the expense of spiritual values. In Jacob we are warned against scheming, manipulating people, circumstances, and even God in seeking spiritual things (pursuing them by the sinful nature rather than by the Spirit).
3. Kent & Barbara Hughes in their book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome
define true success as: faithfulness, serving, loving God, believing, prayer, holiness, and (a good, positive) attitude.
4. According to the Hughes, we should ask the following questions concerning holiness: Are we being desensitized by the present evil world; where do our minds wander when we have no duties to perform; what are we reading; what dvd’s, videos are we renting (what websites are we going to); and finally, how many chapters of the Bible did we read last week?
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