Micah 5:2-4 Prophesy of Jesus' birth

Prophesy regarding the birth of Jesus

Micah 5:2-4   8 Century B.C.

Isaiah 9:6-7 Somewhere between 740 to 680 B.C.

Isaiah 7:14

Luke 1:26-38      10 months B.C.

Isn’t it amazing that God used the ancient prophets to provide notice of Jesus’ coming?

What can we learn about God from these prophesies?

                He is eternal

                He has always known that we would need to be redeemed

                He has always had a plan to save us

                His plan came to pass, and we can have confidence that the whole thing will be fulfilled

Jesus coming was prophesied, announced, and occurred. He showed up, lived a sinless life, then gave himself on the cross to pay the price for our sins. You have accepted his salvation, and in this joyous season we celebrate that amazing part of God’s plan that brought Jesus to us.

I’d like to ask you to think back over this past year, since last Christmas. There have been weddings, funerals, graduations, births, successes, challenges, and life has gone on. I’d like to ask a few of you to share how knowing Jesus has made a difference in your life over the past year or in other words, how has your relationship with the savior shown up this past year?

As we celebrate Jesus birth this year, I challenge you to think beyond the manger and to the presence of Christ, living in us day by day.

John 14:16-29 - Holy Spirit

Role of the Holy Spirit

Is that the  prompting of the Holy Spirit, or  coincidence, or just my own selfish desires?

John 14:16-29

What do these verses say about the Holy Spirit?

· Jesus asked the Father to send Him

· He is with us forever

· He is the spirit of truth

· The world does not see per receive him

· He abides with us and will be in us

· He is the Helper

· The Father sent Him in Jesus name

· He will teach us all things

· He will help us remember what Jesus has said

How can this person we are describing help us understand God’s will?

Romans 8: 26-28

²⁶ In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;  and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Ephesians 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Isaiah 30 - God's will

God’s Will

How to know God’s will – After the fact.

Walking by faith – Sometimes the “Faith” part of our walking with the Lord is to use the tools God has given us (education, wisdom, knowledge, common sense, etc.) to decide on a given course of action.

Hannibal Smith – A Team -Have you ever heard the saying, “I love it when a plan comes together”.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit will confirm to us that we have made the right decision in a very special way.

There are a couple of scriptures where we can see how God confirms the rightness of obedience after the fact. Let’s look at those this morning:

Exodus 3:10-12

¹⁰ Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

Two Promises: I will be with you; I will give you a sign

How did giving Moses a sign after he obeyed the command help Moses?

Have you ever had a situation where you were sure you did what God wanted – but only after the dust had settled?

Isaiah 30:19-22

¹⁹ People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. ²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ²² Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”

Passage written for Judah, and speaks prophetically about Christ’s coming and the work of the Holy Spirit. The OT context for this passage is Isaiah telling Judah they would be punished for worshipping Idols, they would then turn back to God and he would hear and answer them.

God has not changed. He sometimes molds us and allows us to grow in our reliance on him through adversity.

Do we look at adversity and affliction as bread and water?

How can adversity help us to hear that voice saying “This is the way; walk in it.”?

Psalm 127 Prosperity

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.
² It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors;

For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

What does it mean for the Lord to build the house?

Solomon talked about Vanity in Ecclesiastes.

2:12-17 Wisdom is vanity

2:18-23 Work is vanity

5:10-11 Being rich is vanity

Ultimately he says in Ecclesiastes (12:13) Fear God and keep his commandments.

Children

Blessing and a responsibility

³ Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵ How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Blessing

Tim speaking at Graduation Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Responsibility

How do the blessings and responsibilities of being a parent impact you?

How can fulfilling the responsibilities of parenthood be a blessing?

Psalm 73 Good things/Bad people

Why do bad things happen to good people?

1.       No one is good, except God. Mark 10:18

2.       We are all sinners.

3.       Prosperity, good health, good relationships, are all results of obedience to God – Wrong!

Sometimes bad things happen as a consequence to sin or unwise choices.

Sometimes things happen that seem bad, but are not really bad when you look at the long view.

Sometimes we walk through difficult circumstances so that God can be Glorified.

John 9. Read 1-9.

Was it mean for God to make this man bear blindness for many years, just so that He could cause a controversy with the Jews?

V13-41 Read

Jesus used this encounter to give sight to the blind man and force the Pharisees to see who He was.

They chose not to acknowledge his Deity.

How do we handle the “bad things” that come our way?

1.       Is it the result of sin? Is God punishing us?

2.       Is this something that God us using to bring Glory to Himself?

a.       Yes – recognize it

b.      Not sure – Trust in His goodness Mark 10:18.

Psalm 34 - David in despair

Have you ever heard of the saying, Praise your way out of despair?

1 Samuel 16:7-13 – David Anointed to be King.

What do you think was going through David’s mind during that ceremony?

How do you think he visualized his ascent to the throne?

1 Samuel 17:41-54 David Kills Goliath

VICTORY! How do you think this event fit into David’s idea of how he would become king?

Was he saying, “I love it when a plan comes together”.

1 Samuel 18:20-30 David Marries Michal, Saul’s Daughter

One more step in the process. Marrying the King’s daughter. Not only that – she loved him.
David then goes through a long series of events – 15 years worth – where he flees Saul. He comes back, then leaves, multiple times. His ascent to the throne of Israel is looking pretty shaky. He goes through trial after trial. The passage below is one of the lowest of the low points.

1 Samuel 21:10-end and 22:1-2.- The bottom falls out – David flees Saul.

This is about the time David writes Psalm 34. He is in the pit of trouble. For many of us, despair would beat us down to a pulp. Let’s read this Psalm.

Psalm 34.

·         It is an acrostic with all but the last verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

·         V7 The angel of the Lord – the Pre-incarnate Christ. Camping around those who fear Him.

o   HA - Card

 Does praising God in time of trouble help? Why? How?

What do these verses claim that God can and will do?

·         Interesting side note: senses used

V5  looked

V8 Taste

11 Listen

V12 see

V13 tounge (taste) Speaking (hearing)

V15 eyes of the lord, ears open

Psalm 23

David pictures the Lord in the role of shepherd. What did the ancient shepherd do?

Is there a modern equivalent to the shepherd for us?

Like many of the Psalms, David is praying in a way that acknowledges God’s goodness, regardless of his current circumstances. This is the perfect prayer to pray when we are nowhere near green pastures or quiet waters. This prayer helps to remind us that God is loving, caring, and generous even when our circumstances would shout otherwise in our ear.

Verbs – V2,3

Makes me lie down

Leads me

Restores

Guides

V6. We can be sure of God’s love for us.

How can we experience the certainty of dweling in the house of the Lord forever?

Psalm 3 - David's debacle

David, although he was a man after God’s own heart, made some bad decisions and fell short of being all that he could have been. Today we are going to work through some of the events that let up to his writing Psalm 3.

2 Samuel 13

The Story of Amnon and Tamar – 1-13 Amnon concocted a scheme to get alone with Tamar, then raped her.

²¹ Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry.

                What does this verse say about how David handled this situation?

                What happens in a bad situation when anger is added to the mix?

                What had David done to influence Amnon? Absalom?

24- 39 Absalom found out about it formulated a plan to kill Amnon

³⁷ Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. ³⁸ So Absalom had fled and gone to Geshur, and was there three years. ³⁹ The heart of King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, since he was dead.

Chapter 14 – 1-20 a long and complicated story about how Absalom was banished, followed by V21

²¹ Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I will surely do this thing; go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.”

Read 14:25-33 Absalom and David Make up.

Read 15:1-18 Absalom steals the hearts of Israel, and a coup ensues.

Talk about a messed up situation.

1)David is one of the most revered people in the Bible, but he had some serious character flaws.

                Why do you think he had such trouble with his children? Was it just bad luck?

2)One reason that David is so revered is because he was human and made mistakes like we do, but David knew enough to turn to God when time got rough.

Read Psalm 3 (Silently)

What is David expecting from the Lord at this tragic time in his life?

What experience has David had that allows him to pray V7?

What can we expect from God when we face trouble?

What about even trouble that we bring upon ourselves?

Psalm 1 - God's word as a priority

Psalm 1 ALL Read it.

Something that troubles me is to see people who attend church for 10 or 20 years, give, sing, fellowship, and otherwise seem to be nice people – suddenly turn away from all that they previously claimed to hold dear to pursue some other way of life. Sometimes leaving their wife or husband, children, and church to live a completely different lifestyle.

This type of action make me wonder, “Did the preacher’s sermons make any impact? Did the CG or Sunday School teacher make any impact? How did this person start down a path of rebellion?

I am convinced that people who make that kind of drastic life change, didn’t come to the decision overnight, but over a longer time. I also feel strongly that Preachers and SS teachers can only go so far, but as Psalm 1 teaches us, “Meditating on God’s law” consistently leads to blessings that ONLY God can give. I also think that ignoring God’s law, as revealed in His word, is a recipe for disaster in any life.

So, as a CG leader, one of the most important things I can do is to try to point everyone, including myself, in the direction of the Bible. That is where God is going to speak to you and to me.

Today, I want to go through some practical and useful ideas on how to be consistent in meditating on His law.

1)      What are some of the most common excuses for Christians NOT spending time reading and studying the Bible?

a.       I don’t have time.

b.      There are other things I have to do (Work, School, that take all my energy)

c.       I get enough Bible at church

2)       How can you get into the habit of daily Bible reading?

a.       One Year Bible

b.      Use a good translation for you

c.       Quiet place, regular time

d.      Pray before reading – Ask God to help you understand

e.      Talk about what you read! Husband, wife, friend, co-workers

f.        Add it to your calendar or todo list

g.       Change it up if it is not working!

h.      Technology – iPad, iPhone, Tablet, Computer

Bottom line – It has to be important to you.

                Your priorities will eventually triumph. Is God’s word a priority for you?

Psalms Introduction

Psalm—The title of the book in the Hebrew Bible is Tehillim which means Praise Songs. When the book was translated to Greek they used the word Psalmoi which means “songs to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument”. Psalmoi eventually came to mean “Songs of Praise” and English translators transliterated the word to “Psalms” when translating it to English.

Psalms is a deep look into the spiritual life of individual Israelites and the nation of Israel.

A.K.A. Israel’s Hymnal

A source of encouragement and spiritual blessing

Structure—Poetry

Contains a Title

Body (Stanzas and Lines)

Parallelism

Some of the Main types of Psalms:

Personal Lament - Psalm 73

National (Corporate) Lament - Psalm 137 

Personal Praise  -  Psalm 32

National (Corporate) Praise  - Psalm 33

61 Psalms are classified as Lament Psalms

Messianic Psalms  - 34:20, 22, 68, 69, many others

Imprecatory Psalms  - 35, 109

Divided into 5 sections “Book I, Book II, etc.”

Written by: (Divinely Inspired) Moses (90 around 1405 B.C.), David, Asaph, Solomon, Korah’s descendants, Heman, and Ethan.

Synonymous: A close similarity between each consecutive line.     Example 7:13  

             He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
             He makes His arrows fiery shafts.

Synthetic: The second line further develops the thought in the first line. Example 95:3

For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,

Emblematic: The second line illuminates or illustrates the first line. Example 42:1

As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.

Antithetical: The second line contrasts the thought of the first line. Example 1:6

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

Climatic: Part of one line, either a word or phrase, is repeated in the second and other following lines, until a theme is developed culminating in a main idea or statement. Example 29:1-2

Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in holy array.

Genesis 37, 39 - Joseph

The last Toledot (Generations) of the 12 in Genesis is of Jacob

37:1-25 Joseph dreamt and was sold into slavery

            How would you describe Joseph at age 17?

            What was his relationship with his father, brothers?

            From Joseph’s viewpoint, do you think he felt God’s favor on his life?

Gen 50:18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. ²¹ So therefore, do not be afraid;

            Have you ever been in a situation where it didn’t feel like God was showing you all that much grace, but you later learned that he was actually taking you through something that was of great benefit for you or for a greater purpose?

Keeping God’s plan in mind, let’s look at Chapter 39.

Genesis 39:1-6

Potiphar’s house. –Wife –Jail (Joseph overcame temptation – normal application)

Genesis 39:19-23

Even though Joseph had been thrown in Jail, he had now experienced the Lord’s blessing on everything he touched.

How do you think Joseph felt about his successes?

Do you think Joseph’s success was intended for Joseph or for something else?

Both Potifar and the jailer experienced God’s blessing as well. Why?

Why do some believers experience success like Joseph and some don’t?

Mark 5:1-20 - The Gadarene Demoniac

How would you describe this man during the month prior to his encounter with Jesus?

What was the man doing at the beginning of this passage?

            Living among the dead, gashing himself with stones.

One theologian describes these actions as “self-imposed pain”. He had a fascination with death, he abused his body, he inflicted terrible torment on his body with rocks.

These actions reveal something about Satan’s tactics.

Have you seen people around you suffer from self-imposed pain?

Our culture doesn’t use stones so much, but what do you see people using to inflict self-imposed pain on themselves?  Drugs, alcohol, food, power, violence, knives – cutters.

How much self destruction is too much for Jesus to counter?

The ensuing conversation is with a demon, so let’s move on through the passage to focus on the man after Jesus cast out the demons.

How does the man appear now? (V15)

What did he want to do? Follow Jesus

Any Idea why Jesus wouldn’t allow the man to follow Him?

What does Jesus actions and response tell us about Him?

            He can command Demons, He sends certain people to do certain things

Acts 9:1-19 - Ananias

How would you describe the political and social environment of Ananias’ day?

How do these verses describe Ananias?

What other people in the Bible were commanded to do something, but raised an objection to God?

How did God address Ananias’ concern?

This story describes one of the most unlikely people of that time to become a Christian.

If you were to group people in our society in some way, what group do you think would be the most likely to respond to the message of salvation? Young people, church people, poor people, sick people, happy people, … Most Unlikely?

Our experience shows us that some people respond to the gospel and some don’t. How does this affect our efforts to share God’s salvation message with them?

Ephesians 4:17-19  So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

Ananias had a direct command from the Lord, first hand, in a vision, to go to Saul.

How does God usually command you to do something? His word, His Spirit, wise counsel, circumstances.

What does this story tell us about God?

Acts 10 Cornelious

Olympics – Favorite event.

Gold medal winner, silver medal winner, Bronze medal.

Some people didn’t make the team.

Some people didn’t try.

We frequently want to rank people by their abilities, talents, and accomplishments. We even sort people by height, weight, income, race, and many other personal features.

The character we are going to consider today, held a highly sought after position of authority, and was favored by God, but not because of his race or his position of authority.

Acts 10 Cornelius – A Centurion of the Italian Cohort

V 1-23  ,, V 24-48

Caesarea – a seaport city 33 miles north of Joppa. The city covered about 165 Acres and received its water from a 7 mile long aqueduct from Mt. Carmel.

Roman army Units – 1 Contubernium = 8 men, 10 Contubernia – 1 Century, 80 men.

A Centurion was over 80 men. The Italian cohort may have been from Syria.

The centurian carried a stick (or staff) and rode a horse. The stick was used to discipline men when needed.

Characteristics – devout, feared God with all his household, gave alms to the Jewish people, prayed continually, saw a vision, responded to God “What is it Lord?”, Obedient to God’s direction, Explained everything to his servants and sent them to Joppa, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews,

What can we learn about God through Cornelius’s story?

God is not prejudice.  He does not discriminate based on race or other things.

But we often do.

What are some of the prejudices we see around us?

Race, income, intellect, position, background…

How should we respond to prejudice in others?  In ourselves?

Jesus came to save anyone who would accept salvation, not just the Jews.

2 Samuel 7 - Nathan

Nathan the Prophet – God has given, served King David and King Solomon.

2 Samuel 7:1-17 – Letting David know about the permanent house of God

            Prophesy of Jesus

2 Samuel 12:1-15 Nathan rebukes David for his sin with Bathsheba

            Nathan showed David that he would condemn his own actions if they were done by someone else. This brings up the question, “How would God (and others) view the things I do?”

            Nathan taught David that sin has consequences, and that God forgives.

1 Kings 1:9-37 Nathan works to get Solomon named King instead of Adonijah (with Bathsheba)

What characteristics to we see in Nathan? Courage, stand up to the king, do the right thing, speak the truth.

What does God using Nathan in these stories tell us about God?

            God can speak through others to us.  Word, Spirit, wise counsel, circumstances

            Sin is serious, consequences may be harsh.

            God forgives, repentance is necessary.

John 19:25 Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene

One of the most speculated about people in the NT.

1)      The gospel of Mary was not written by Mary Magdalene or any other Mary of the Bible. The Gnostic teachings found in the gospel of Mary date it to the late 2nd century A.D. at the earliest. As a result, there is no validity to its teachings. Similar to the gospel of Thomas, the gospel of Philip, and the gospel of Judas, the gospel of Mary is a Gnostic forgery, using the name of a biblical character in an attempt to give validity to heretical teachings. The only value in studying the gospel of Mary is in learning what heresies existed in the early centuries of the Christian church.

2)      The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) invents a scenario where Mary and Jesus were married and had a child. Nothing in scripture or history supports this fiction.

3)      It has been speculated that she was a prostitute, but there is nothing in scripture to support that claim.

Luke 8:1-3 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, ² and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; ³ Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

1)      Mary traveled with Jesus and his followers

2)      Jesus had cast 7 demons out of her

3)      She helped to support the ministry

John 19:25 Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
            Mary stood by Jesus at the crucifixion.

Mark 15:47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.
            Mary followed Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb.
John 20:1-18
            Mary was the first person to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection.
And they, when they had heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, did not believe it” (Mark 16:9–11).

Characteristics of Mary Magdalene (examples)
Loyalty
Didn’t give up
Supported Jesus by her following and her money
Obedient – “Go” – she went!
She knew both Blessings and hardships in following Jesus
What can we learn about our Lord from Mary’s story?
He delivered Mary from her demons
He allowed her to face hardship even after she did what she was supposed to do.

He used her to deliver the most important message ever (He had risen!)