Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 3
Awake Us Now
Solomon: Builder ⁃ Temple construction - 1 Kings 6 (took 7 years to build) ⁃ Temple dedication - 1 Kings 8 ⁃ God appears to Solomon - 1 Kings 9 ⁃ Solomon’s palace - 1 Kings 7 (took 13 years to build) Pastor shares archeological discoveries around Solomon in recent years including a massive stone wall and gate and more. Solomon: Reputation ⁃ Fleet at Ezion Geber - 1 Kings (for the first time Israel had its own navy - 1 Kings 9:26-28 - we read that...
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Big Questions - Birth Pains?
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Wars, violence, persecution - Jesus warned these things would mark the time before His return. These things, He said, were like birth pains - increasing trial and suffering that herald a joyful ending. "When these things begin to take place," He said, "... lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28)
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Big Questions - Who?... How?... What?...
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Scripture repeatedly warns us against the dangers of simply going with what we want to hear - we usually end up listening not to God, but to deceivers who have no proper authority.
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David and the Heart of God - Week 13: Psalms
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Scripture: David’s Psalms. This is the final teaching in the “David…and the Heart of God” series. We will explore David’s Psalms today. In 2 Samuel 23:1 we read that David is described as the sweet psalmist of Israel. David’s psalms have influence and spoke to the hearts of people for millennia. C.S. Lewis said, “The most valuable thing the psalms do for me is to express that small delight in God which made David dance.” And Billy Graham said, “I used to read five psalms every day - that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of...
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David and the Heart of God - Week 12: Legacy
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Scripture: 1 Kings 2:1-4, 2 Samuel 7:16, Daniel 2:44, Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel 9:26, Acts 2:29-32. We will take a look at David’s legacy. 1 Kings 2:1-4, “When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son, “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his...
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David and the Heart of God - Week 11: Father Wounds/Father's Wounds
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Scripture: 2 Samuel 13-19. Father Wounds - are wounds brought into our lives through family members. Deep wounds with lasting consequences. Father’s wounds - are wounds to parents by their children. It is grieving because their children turned their backs on the things they were taught from the time they were little. Both are deep and painful wounds. How to deal with the pain and how to go beyond it. Our study covers: Amnon rapes Tamar (2 Sam 13) Absalom hates Amnon (2 Sam 13) Absalom murders Amnon (2 Sam 13) Absalom flees to thalami (2 Sam 13) Absalom conspires against David (2...
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Questions - Week 3: Did Jesus Really Exist?
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Did Jesus exist? Is Jesus a myth? Is there any evidence that Jesus actually lived? Is there any evidence outside the Bible? The answer is absolutely, there’s a great deal of evidence. Many are unaware of some of the very profound and powerful evidences for the existences of Jesus. Today we will take a look at the evidence for Jesus’ existence, coming at it from three different vantage points: Ancient Hostile Witnesses: (Pastor goes into detail regarding each of the following hostile testifiers to Jesus and His followers) • Tacitus...
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Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 2
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Scripture: 1 Kings 3:1, 1 Kings 3:4ff, 1 Kings 3:16ff, 1 Kings 6, 1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5-7, 2 Chronicles 3:1, Genesis 22, 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 7:14, 1 Kings 9:4-5 This study helps us dig deeper into Solomon: Wise Leader ⁃ Pharaoh’s Daughter - 1 Kings 3:1 - Solomon secures a peace treaty with Egypt and a strategic marriage to one of the Pharaoh’s daughter’s. ⁃ Sacrifices at Gibeon - 1 Kings 3:4ff - shortly after taking the throne we see Him following his father David’s advice. We see Solomon going to Gibeon to offer...
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David and the Heart of God - Week 10: Moral Collapse
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Scripture: 2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Corinthians 10:12, Psalm 51, Matthew 21:9. This message deals with the difficult topic of moral collapse, specifically in David’s life. Painful as it is, it can teach us much about the importance of walking faithfully before the Lord and resisting temptation. David fell into temptation after seeing Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam (a trusted soldier) and the wife of Uriah (one of David’s elite soldiers). David had her brought to the palace and he slept with her resulting in her pregnancy. Instead of coming clean, David goes deeper into a dark place with more...
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David and the Heart of God - Week 9: Ark of Gold
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Scripture: 2 Samuel 6, Psalm 30:4-5, Hebrews 9:5, Romans 3:25. Today’s story of David is one that is an oft time ignored account from David’s life, but we will see ways it dramatically impacts and applies to our lives. We open with 2 Samuel 6:2 “David and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.” Pastor shares the history of the Ark from the Book of Exodus during the time of Moses, its description, and rules and regulations from God...
info_outlineThe Gospel of John Week 11
Scripture: John 7:22-59.
Pastor opens by sharing details of the Feast of Tabernacles and the scriptures of the Living Water that were read during this 8 day festival. Festival readings included: Ezekiel 47:1-12, Zechariah 14:8 and Jeremiah 17:13b.
As our story opens, it is the Feast of Tabernacles and these scriptures would have been read. Pastor goes on to share that there has been much learned over the last 100 years and especially in the last 15 or so that helps to bring this text and the story alive. As we look at what we know about the time of Jesus and what we are discovering, they are changing our understanding of the Bible, bringing a new sense of significance and even urgency as what we are discovering is a testimony that says, “This is real!”
Some recent archeological work has found what is believed to be the City of David - but not at all where it was thought to be, and the discovery of the Hezekiah Tunnel, and more recently the Pool of Siloam show us a different location than originally thought for the Pool and also that it was a very large pool, not a small one. Also that it was filled with fresh water by the Han Spring flowing through the Hezekiah Tunnel into the Pool. The Pool of Siloam was the only fresh - or living water in the city of Jerusalem.
Pastor shares the events of Tabernacles and the pouring out of water into the Temple by the priests carrying it from the Pool of Siloam for the first 7 days of the festival. On the 7th Day they carried and poured water 7 times in the Temple.
So as our story continues, it’s either Day 7 (7 times the priests poured water in the Temple) or it’s Day 8 (the day of rejoicing, and celebration) when we read verse 37-38, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
He is essentially telling them that what you’ve been doing for the last week with the pouring of water, point to Me and it’s what the prophets said would happen when Messiah comes, that living water would pour out of the Temple. And then it goes on in verse 39, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.and that the Living Water is the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is saying that He is the fulfillment of what the prophets have declared and that everyone who believes on Him will receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus is calling us to a new day - the fulfillment of what the prophets have said - Messiah- is here! And He, the Messiah, gives the Holy Spirit. Jesus is claiming to be God.
At this some called Him prophet, others called Him Messiah and others were in disbelief and angry. The crowd became divided with many wanting to seize Jesus. The temple guard go and report back to the chief priests.
The chief priests were Sadducees and they united with the Pharisees, a group that they did not get along with but they did unite together over their desire to do away with Jesus. The very ones who should have embraced Jesus as the Messiah, instead say, “Let’s kill Him.”
Pastor concludes by saying in 6 months from this event of Tabernacles, the Passover will be celebrated and we will see Jesus dead, and raised during another important festival and how this festival too, finds its fulfillment in Jesus.
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⁃ The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels.
⁃ The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible. Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.
Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!