Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 6
Awake Us Now
This class will focus on Rehoboam the king of Judah, the southern kingdom, and his son Abijah as found in 1 Kings 14-15 and 2 Chronicles 11-13. They reigned 931-910 BC. In 2 Chronicles 12:1-5 we read that 5 years into Rehoboam’s reign that he and his kingdom have abandoned the law of the Lord. Rehoboam rules from Jerusalem and is attacked by the king of Egypt who has a huge army and captures the cities along the way to Jerusalem. Then the prophet Shemaiah comes and tells Rehoboam, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore I now abandon you to Shishak (Egyptian...
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The Living One - Week 6: The Great Shepherd
Awake Us Now
In the last 40 years, scholars have thrown out several centuries of scholarly speculation on the Gospel of John. This book was written by Jesus’ best friend, an eyewitness to the life of Jesus. It testifies to the powerful and encouraging message for people then, and still for us today!
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The Living One - Week 5: Lord and God!
Awake Us Now
When "Doubting Thomas" saw the risen Lord for himself, his skepticism changed to acknowledgement of Jesus as "My Lord and my God." Jesus responded by saying, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.” The Holy Spirit still brings faith to those who will hear, even in our skeptical generation. Today’s message invites us to come meet Jesus as we explore the story of the disciple Thomas. He was a brave believer who was willing to die for Jesus, but also one who is most well known as “Doubting Thomas.” Our world is one of...
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The Living One - Week 4: Who Would Invent This?
Awake Us Now
Everything stands and falls on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the heart of the New Testament, and also the greatest message the world has ever heard. Christ is risen! Today’s message explores cowardice, crucifixion, corroboration, confusion and finally courage that opens our eyes to be convinced! Christ is risen, and in Him is our hope for today and forever, for He IS The Living One!
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Dig Deeper - Week 3: Temptation & Testing
Awake Us Now
We take a look at Matthew 6:13, a portion of The Lord’s Prayer. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” However, we read in James 1:13 “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;” So are these two verses contracting each other? Or are we misunderstanding something. So let’s look at the original words used in this Scripture. 1. Peirazō - verb meaning to test/try or tempt - two very different meanings 2. Peirasmos - noun...
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The Living One - Week 3: They Were Clueless
Awake Us Now
The way of the Messiah leads to the cross, and that is the measure of the love of God. But we discover that many (including Jesus’ disciples) were clueless! This message takes a look at the events of Palm Sunday, and how Jesus had repeatedly predicted his crucifixion and His resurrection on the third day. However, “they were clueless.” Let us not be clueless!
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The Living One - Week 2: Why Reject Him?
Awake Us Now
Today’s question is an exploration of why people reject Jesus. What is it that causes people to doubt Him? Why do people turn their backs on what God is offering to everyone through Christ Jesus? Pastor Dodge examines these assumptions and counters them with the truth of the scriptures.
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Questions - Week 14: Why Am I So Tempted?
Awake Us Now
Common questions on this age old topic: ⁃ Why is sin so tempting? ⁃ Why do I do things I don’t want to do? ⁃ How can I conquer temptation? ⁃ Where can I find strength to resist? ⁃ Why is this so difficult? Genesis 3:1-7 - First sin in the Bible. But prior to sin, Adam and Eve were in a time of blissful innocence. A perfect creation, perfect relationship with God, perfect relationship with each other. No death, no sorrow, no pain, but that...
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Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 5
Awake Us Now
Pastor begins with a brief overview of Solomon’s divided kingdom. Judah was in the south with two tribes ruled by a descendant of David, Reheboam. Israel in the north with ten tribes was ruled by Jeroboam (1 Kings 11-14) 931-910 BC. God had said that Jeroboam’s kingship would be blessed if he followed the Lord, but he chose the exact opposite path. In today’s class we will look closely at three incidents with Jeroboam. In 1 Kings 12:31-33 we read some of the first things he did that were against God, everything Jeroboam did was counterfeit, just like what the enemy always tries to...
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The Living One - Week 1: Did He Really Live?
Awake Us Now
This teaching compares non-Christian writings of Tacitus, Josephus, Suetonius and Pliny from the first and second centuries to the New Testament writings. The evidence is clear and calls us to recognize we are sinners in need of a Savior, The Living One!
info_outlineScripture: Psalm 119:105, Mark 7:6-23, Ezekiel 26, Luke 24.
"Can I really trust what the Bible says?" An increasing body of evidence says "Yes," but are we willing to let God's Word impact our lives?
We continue to look at ordinary things that are often overlooked but when we have eyes to see - we suddenly recognize the incredible power and presence of God among us.
Today, we talk about the Bible and its reliability.
⁃ Can I trust the Bible? Is it trustworthy? True?
⁃ Does this really matter for me today? Does it apply to my life?
What God desires is to bring answers to those questions, life changing answers, answers that speak directly into our doubts and questions. Sometimes we don’t want our doubts answered because we are comfortable with them. Are you willing to let His Word (Bible) change that?
FIVE EVIDENCES that tell us of the reliability the Word - things readily seen, clearly demonstrated, and that can be carefully researched and checked out
- Documentary Evidence
How do I know that people didn’t change what was originally written? How do I know the words haven’t been tampered with over the years? Are there ways to examine if the word has been changed over time?
In the last 70 years remarkable discoveries for the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures make it very clear how incredibly reliable those ancient words of the Bible have remained.
Pastor shares archaeological information of recent discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls that show really remarkable faithfulness of the transmission of these scriptures down through the ages. These scrolls date back to before Jesus.
For the New Testament Pastor shares proofs of the New Testament being remarkably well attested as one compares all the diverse copies written down in various centuries preserved over the years. We are able to compare multiple volumes and find they have been faithfully preserved. As well, other ancient writings from even non-Christian historians document the events of Jesus’ life bearing evidence of reliability of the scriptures.
⁃ Archaeological Evidence
Discoveries in the last few decades give cause to even the most skeptic of minds to say, “maybe there’s something to this!”
Pastor shares several archaeological discoveries of 2005 (David’s palace), 2004 (Pool of Siloam), 2015 (ancient bullah - clay seals with the inscription, “belonging to Hezekiah son of Ahaz, King of Judah.”) and 2018 (another seal inscribed with “belonging to Isaiah the prophet” dating nearly 3000 years ago). These are the very names of people who are described in the Old Testament scriptures and this reminds us that these people as well as the places they inhabited are REAL!
The Bible is not made-up stories. It is the true and living account of real people who encountered the real God and whose lives were transformed.
These ancient evidences remind us that the Bible is something genuine, sharing the successes, but also not does hesitating to share the failures of its heroes. God is a truth teller.
⁃ Prophetic Evidence
These are things recorded for centuries before Jesus came and which were fulfilled decades, centuries and for some millenia later - some in our own day. (See week 2 for more on this)
Biblical prophecy is the clear declaration of what is to come, and shows the truthfulness of what the Bible proclaims and has been proven reliable.
Pastor shares several prophetic examples. Throughout the Scripture we can see amazing prophetic words that are key, critical and powerful testimonies to an all knowing God!
⁃ Christological Evidence
Pastor shares evidence of Jesus - Jesus was more than a “great man” and tremendous teacher. He made it clear that the Hebrew Scriptures point to Him. Pastor sights several examples of Jesus fulfilling what the Old Testament proclaimed.
⁃ Personal Evidence
Pastor shares testimonies from people whose lives were dramatically changed through encounters with God’s Word, including his own testimony.
God’s Word (Bible) is reliable - allow His Word to speak to your heart. God speaks to us personally through His Living Word. It’s a Word that changes lives. Let Him change yours. It’s a Word that renews the soul. Let Him renew yours. It’s a Word that gives direction, guidance, comfort, assurance and power to those who will hear His voice. Will you see the Scriptures as reliable?
WE ALL NEED HIS WORD IN OUR LIVES TODAY!
Watch the video from our website https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class
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