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...
info_outline
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!
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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!
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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!
info_outline
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.
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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_outlineThis 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 king).’”
In verse 6 we read that after hearing the prophets words, Rehoboam humbled himself and his people humbled themselves and they understand that the Lord is just. Their humility is an example for us today. We too must be humble before God.
Verse 7, we see that when they humbled themselves the mercy of God was displayed as He says that He will not destroy them but will give them deliverance and will not pour out His wrath on Jerusalem through the Egyptian king, Shishak. But that there would still be a consequence to having abandoned God’s law.
Rehoboam reigned 17 years and what we learn is: There is nothing more important than knowing the living God and walking with Him.
Rehoboam’s son Abijah succeeds him as king and reigns 3 years. The war between Jeroboam (Northern kingdom) and Rehoboam continues while Abijah is king as well. In 2 Chronicle 13:3 we see Abijah battling with 400,000 and that Jeroboam had a troop total of 800,000.
Abijah announces to Jeroboam and his men, “God is with us; he is our leader. The priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.” Abijah recognizes it’s important to follow God and at the sound of Judah’s priests’ trumpets the men of Judah raised the battle cry and God gave them victory over Jeroboam and his men.
Though Abijah and his men were outnumbered 2 to 1, we read in verse 18 that the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord.
This is a truth not just for back then, but it is a truth for us today. This story is a reminder to rely on the Lord no matter how bleak the outlook appears, no matter how difficult things look, we can rely on the Lord!
Abijah’s son, Asa, succeeded Abijah. Asa does rule for 40 years, ruling Judah from 910-870 BC. His story is found in 1 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 14-16.
In 2 Chronicles 14:2 we read that Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord. Asa was the 1st of 8 “good” kings of Judah. Judah had 19 kings, 8 were “good.”
Israel also had 19 kings - none of them are described as “good”.
While Asa ruled, he removed the foreign altars, cut down the Asherah poles and commanded Judah to seek the Lord and to obey the Lord’s laws and commands. The kingdom was at peace under him. He got rid of the false worship, wanting His “people to worship God alone.”
Near the end of Asa’s reign they are under several major attacks. Asa calls on the Lord to help them and outnumbered they win because they relied on the Lord.
Azariah, the prophet, then speaks to Asa, 2 Chronicles 15:1-2, and tells Asa that the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And revival brakes out across Judah. They turned their hearts back to God.
May we too seek the Lord, humble ourselves and turn our hearts to Him, for in God alone is Salvation, in God alone is strength and in God alone is victory!
Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.
View live or on demand: https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class
Join us Sundays
https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service
Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.