Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of the sermon from Sunday, January 25, 2009:
1. In Jacob’s moment of need God appears to him in a dream to assure him of His blessings (the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant-land, descendants, blessing the nations through him) and of His presence with Jacob wherever he is.
2. Though Jacob was reaping the consequences of his sin, God would be with him and bless him. “God still had a plan for his life” (Warren Wiersbe)
3. Jacob has a vision of a ladder/stairway in his dream. In John 1:51 Jesus reveals that the ladder that bridges earth and heaven, mankind and God is Him. He was the ladder. Jesus is the only way to God, the only mediator between God and man (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5).
4. Jacob’s response to God’s revelation of Himself is to worship, to set up a memorial, to rename the place Bethel (“house of God”), to make a vow (understood as either an act of weakness-bargaining with God, or an act of faith.
5. We must get to the point in our spiritual lives where we no longer bargain with God, but trust His grace.
6. Finally he commits a tithe to the Lord representing giving everything. Money is one of the most practical ways we show our faith.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Flight to Faith
Click here to download the sermon file.
Re-cap of the sermon from January 18, 2009:
1. Hatred, murderous intentions and separation result from the disregard of God’s Word and deception which occur earlier in Genesis 27. Disregarding God’s Word in a family leads to all kinds of dysfunction.
2. Isaac warns Jacob against marrying a woman from among the Canaanites who would bring pagan belief and practices into the people of God. There are warnings in both Old and New Testaments about the people of God marrying outside the faith. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 warns against being unequally yoked with unbelievers, not just in marriage, but in other relationships as well. Marrying outside the faith will lead to compromises in a believer’s life and will result in not being able to be wholly committed to the Lord in worship and service.
3. God sometimes has to separate us from the familiar to get us alone with Him, to isolate us to Himself. He does this often through difficulties, trials, unexpected challenges, or a change of circumstances. He does this to reveal Himself to us in a new way and to remind us that He is here, He is near, and that He is real.
Re-cap of the sermon from January 18, 2009:
1. Hatred, murderous intentions and separation result from the disregard of God’s Word and deception which occur earlier in Genesis 27. Disregarding God’s Word in a family leads to all kinds of dysfunction.
2. Isaac warns Jacob against marrying a woman from among the Canaanites who would bring pagan belief and practices into the people of God. There are warnings in both Old and New Testaments about the people of God marrying outside the faith. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 warns against being unequally yoked with unbelievers, not just in marriage, but in other relationships as well. Marrying outside the faith will lead to compromises in a believer’s life and will result in not being able to be wholly committed to the Lord in worship and service.
3. God sometimes has to separate us from the familiar to get us alone with Him, to isolate us to Himself. He does this often through difficulties, trials, unexpected challenges, or a change of circumstances. He does this to reveal Himself to us in a new way and to remind us that He is here, He is near, and that He is real.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Living Without Scheming
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of the sermon from January 11, 2009:
1. Genesis 27:1-40 is a story of deception, fraud, and deceit…all in the name of God. While the chapter is rightly seen as a failure of faith with all its attending complications, at its core it is the story of the chaos that overtakes a family when a father does not lead his family in a Biblical/spiritual way.
2. Applications from Genesis 27:
-Fathers must lead their families in living out the Word of God honestly and transparently
-our sympathies often lie with people rather than with God’s purpose for them (this is exemplified in Isaac’s actions toward Esau). Our loyalties must be with God.
-Spiritual responsibilities must be carried out in spiritual ways (by faith, not the flesh, in God’s timing, not ours)
-Life becomes complicated when we abandon faith as our way of life opting instead to live by our appetites, sympathies, our wits. The result is broken relationships, hatred, separation.
Recap of the sermon from January 11, 2009:
1. Genesis 27:1-40 is a story of deception, fraud, and deceit…all in the name of God. While the chapter is rightly seen as a failure of faith with all its attending complications, at its core it is the story of the chaos that overtakes a family when a father does not lead his family in a Biblical/spiritual way.
2. Applications from Genesis 27:
-Fathers must lead their families in living out the Word of God honestly and transparently
-our sympathies often lie with people rather than with God’s purpose for them (this is exemplified in Isaac’s actions toward Esau). Our loyalties must be with God.
-Spiritual responsibilities must be carried out in spiritual ways (by faith, not the flesh, in God’s timing, not ours)
-Life becomes complicated when we abandon faith as our way of life opting instead to live by our appetites, sympathies, our wits. The result is broken relationships, hatred, separation.
Monday, January 05, 2009
DeJaVu All Over Again, Part 4
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of the sermon from January 4, 2009:
1. God blesses Isaac (Genesis 26:12-14) in response to his obedience in staying in the land and not going down into Egypt. God’s instructions in vv. 2 & 3 were to remain where he was and he obeyed (vs. 6).
2. Isaac persisted in the land despite opposition and animosity.
3. If we achieve anything of worth it will come through persistence (not personality, not giftedness, not the right connections).
4. We must persist in faith, persist in ministry, persist with people, persist in holiness and righteousness.
5. Isaac achieved peace with his enemies through: honesty; diplomacy (must show restraint, Proverbs 17:9,27; 19:11); renewed fellowship; and humility (Biblical humility is not being a push-over or fawning or weak; it is powerful and strong; not pretending a wrong was not done but exercising forgiveness in spite of the wrong done to us.
Recap of the sermon from January 4, 2009:
1. God blesses Isaac (Genesis 26:12-14) in response to his obedience in staying in the land and not going down into Egypt. God’s instructions in vv. 2 & 3 were to remain where he was and he obeyed (vs. 6).
2. Isaac persisted in the land despite opposition and animosity.
3. If we achieve anything of worth it will come through persistence (not personality, not giftedness, not the right connections).
4. We must persist in faith, persist in ministry, persist with people, persist in holiness and righteousness.
5. Isaac achieved peace with his enemies through: honesty; diplomacy (must show restraint, Proverbs 17:9,27; 19:11); renewed fellowship; and humility (Biblical humility is not being a push-over or fawning or weak; it is powerful and strong; not pretending a wrong was not done but exercising forgiveness in spite of the wrong done to us.
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