Category: Sermon Post

  • OTHNIEL AND EHUD: Judges 3:7-31

    OTHNIEL AND EHUD: Judges 3:7-31

    DISCUSSION

    1. Read verses 7-11. What does the writer mean when he says “they forgot the LORD”? What do we learn about salvation and God’s grace in this passage?
    2. Read verses 12-14. What did the people of Israel do? What did the LORD do in response?
    3. Read verses 15-30. What is the significance of Ehud being left-handed (verse 15)? What stands out to you in this passage and why? What should we learn from these verses?
    4. Read verse 31. What light does the ESV Study Bible note on Judges 3:31 shed on the identity of Shamgar?
  • RESCUE THE WEEK AND THE NEEDY: Psalm 82

    RESCUE THE WEEK AND THE NEEDY: Psalm 82

    PSALM 82
    1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
    2 “How long will you judge unjustly
    and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
    3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
    4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
    5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
    they walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
    6 I said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
    7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,
    and fall like any prince.”
    8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for you shall inherit all the nations!

  • IDOLATROUS: Judges 2:6-3:6

    IDOLATROUS: Judges 2:6-3:6

    DISCUSSION

    1. Read verses 6-10. What marked the people of God during the time that Joshua and his fellow elders lived? What happened after the generation of Joshua? How should this sober us as we teach the next generation and make disciples in our day?
    2. Read verses 11-15. What are some of the words used to describe what the people of Israel did after the death of Joshua and his generation? What are some of the words used to describe the LORD’S response to their apostasy? *apostasy: “abandonment of former faith.”What is the state of the people of Israel as described in verse 15? How do we see the sovereignty of God in these verses as opposed to a naturalistic view of history?
    3. Read verses 16-23. These verses serve as a summary of the entire book of Judges. What did the LORD do in response to the “terrible distress” of the people? What did the people do in response to the LORD sending them Judges to save them? What else stands out to you in these verses and why?
    4. Read chapter 3 verses 1-6. Why did the LORD leave the other nations among the people of Israel according to verse 2? Why did the LORD leave the other nations among the people of Israel according to verse 4? Is testing the same thing as tempting? How do James 1:13 and 1 Peter 4:12-13 help clarify?
  • HALF-HEARTED: Judges 1:1-2:5

    HALF-HEARTED: Judges 1:1-2:5

    DISCUSSION

    1. Read Judges 1 verses 1-7. What do we learn about the period of history in which this book is set, according to verse 1? How does this differ from Joshua chapter 1, which followed the death of Moses? Who did the LORD tell to go up against the Canaanites and who actually went? How does Adoni-bezek respond once they “caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes”? What can we learn from all of this?
    2. Read verses 8-15. How does Joshua 15:13-19 help tie the book of Joshua and the book of Judges together? How does 1 Samuel 18:25 help us understand what is happening here with Caleb, Achsah, and Othniel? What else stands out to you and why?
    3. Read verses 16-36. What had the LORD commanded his people to do in Joshua 6:17 and 11:14? How do these verses help us see the half-hearted obedience of the LORD’S people?
    4. Read chapter 2 verses 1-5. Who is “the angel of the LORD” and how can we tell? What did he do? What did he promise? What did he command? What did the people do in response? What did the LORD do in response to their disobedience? How did the people respond to the LORD’S discipline? How does Hebrews 12:3-17 help clarify?
  • THE GOD OF ALL GRACE: 1 Peter 5:6-11

    THE GOD OF ALL GRACE: 1 Peter 5:6-11

    1 Peter 5:6-11
    6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
    English Standard Version (ESV)

  • A PEOPLE FOR HIS OWN POSSESSION: 1 Peter 2:9-12

    A PEOPLE FOR HIS OWN POSSESSION: 1 Peter 2:9-12

    1 Peter 2:9-12
    9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
    11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
    English Standard Version (ESV)

  • WHY DO WE NEED CHRISTMAS? 1 Timothy 1:15

    1 TIMOTHY 1:15
    The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
    English Standard Version (ESV)

  • PRINCE OF PEACE: Isaiah 9:6

    PRINCE OF PEACE: Isaiah 9:6

    ISAIAH 9:6
    For to us a child is born,
        to us a son is given;
    and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
        and his name shall be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

    English Standard Version (ESV)
    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

  • EVERLASTING FATHER: Isaiah 9:6

    EVERLASTING FATHER: Isaiah 9:6

    ISAIAH 9:6
    For to us a child is born,
        to us a son is given;
    and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
        and his name shall be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

    English Standard Version (ESV)
    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

  • The Lord renews his people – Joshua 8:1-35

    The Lord renews his people – Joshua 8:1-35

    SCRIPTURE

    Joshua 1:1-18

    God Commissions Joshua

    1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success[a] wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

    Joshua Assumes Command

    10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”

    12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

    16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

    ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV)

    THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION. ESV® TEXT EDITION: 2016.
    COPYRIGHT © 2001 BY CROSSWAY BIBLES, A PUBLISHING MINISTRY OF GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS.