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Post 289: Prepare for Battle

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:27:49 GMT

Welcome back friends, I have posted yet another sermon written for the children of my church. By all means read it and critique it. I would love to know honest, unbiased opinions. I will also be recording the sermon as I deliver it and hopefully will be able to post it on here.

Introduction: (Blow the battle horn a few times.) Are you ready for battle? Get on your feet! Come on! Stand at attention! What’s the matter with you? Grab your armor, your shield, and your sword; let’s go! What’s the matter? What’s wrong? You don’t have any armor? You don’t have a shield? You don’t have a SWORD? What kind of warrior are you? I’ll tell you what I’m going to do for you. I’m going to get you battle ready! First let’s work on a battle cry. A battle cry is what warriors do to scare the enemy before a battle. So, any time I blow the horn I want you to yell as loud as you can. (Blow the battle horn a few more times.) Great job warriors! Now before I give you your armor I have make sure you’re ready. So have a seat and we’ll get started.

We can learn a lot from the Bible and today we’re looking in the Book of Joshua. Adult’s please help the younger kids find it. We talked about how the Israelites received the ten commandments from God, they sent spies into the promised land and were too scared to go, and God made them wait 40 years in the desert but now it’s time to get the land He promised them. Let’s read. (Joshua 1:1-9)

Now, let me tell you about what’s waiting for us! Our Leader and Lord, Jesus Christ God’s Son has given us some “Promises” too. (Slide 1) We’ve read a promise already. It’s in verse 1:5. What does it say at the bottom. “I will not leave you nor forsake you.” This is what God said to Joshua. He gives this promise to us too! Jesus said something similar in Matthew 28:20. He said “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. That means no matter who we are, no matter what we do, no matter where we are; He will always be with us! He’ll be with us whenever we need help and even when we don’t! God is a good friend and that’s only one of the promises for us! James 1:5 promises wisdom, Matthew 7:7 promises to provide our needs, John 14:2 states the promise of Heaven! There are more promises than I can tell you about. So, there are many rewards for our hard fought battles.

Now that you know what our promises are let’s move to “Preparation”(Slide 2). Joshua had to do some preparation. If he just marched into the land without food or water they would have died very quickly. In verse 1:11 Joshua commands the people of Israel to make preparations. They need to store up food and water to take with them because there were no grocery stores or fast-food restaurants back then. However, in verse 1:8 he had them prepare something totally different. (Joshua 1:8) He had them prepare their souls! This was very important because in a war a lot of people die, so if any of them died he wanted to be sure that they went to be with God. Also, he know that God wouldn’t help them unless their souls were right. The best way we can prepare our souls is to study the Bible, pray, and worship. If we do that then God will equip us with his armor. How many of you have heard of the “Armor of God”? (Slide 3)

(Ask for a helper to put the armor on.) Well, let’s go through the armor piece by piece so you know what to expect. Everyone turn to Ephesians 6:13-17. (Ephesians 6:13-17) If we seek after God in prayer, worship, and Bible study then He will give us the armor. Now what do you do if you don’t feel like reading your Bible even though you know you should? Let’s take a look. (Psalm 37:4) This verse says that if you do God’s work to make you happy then He will give you what you desire. This doesn’t mean that He’ll give you a new bike or a game system. There is another way to look at this verse. God will not only give you what you desire, but He will also give you the desire itself. He’ll help you to want what He wants. All you have to do is go to God and ask Him! (Have helper take off armor and then sit down.)

So, after you know what promises await you, and after you prepare, then you’re ready to “Proceed” (Slide 4)! In Joshua 1:16 the Israelite warriors answered him. (Joshua 1:16) Why were they ready to do whatever Joshua told them? The answer is back in verse 1:5b. (Joshua 1:5b) They weren’t afraid because they had the promise that God would be with them, and they had made all of their preparations. So, now that we have our promises, and we know how to prepare ourselves; how do we proceed? Jesus told us how to proceed in something called “The Great Commission”. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Conclusion: So, we have our promises from God that He’ll be with us and give us what we need. We know that to prepare we need to seek after Him through prayer, worship, and studying our Bibles (and if we don’t want to we can ask Him to help us to want to). Finally, we know the battle plan, how to proceed in this war. We are to follow the Great Commission. However, only some of you are ready. Some of you aren’t even fighting in our army yet. In order to be in our army we have to have the same Leader. A lot of you have asked Jesus to come into your heart but that’s only part of it. You also have to accept Him as your Leader, your General, your Lord! Until you do that, you’re actually on Satan’s team! But, now is your chance to join the Lord’s army! How many of you want to fight for Jesus? (Blow the battle horn!) Now’s your chance to join! We’re going to pray and if you want to fight for Jesus then repeat what I say and mean it when you say it to Him. (Prayer)

Post 288: God's Chisel

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:31:08 GMT

If you haven't seen this skit, please take the time to do so. It is very clever and meaningful.

Post 287: Spies in the Promised Land

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:29:00 GMT

Welcome back friends. From time to time I'll be posting my sermons on here for anyone that my stumble across them. I'm working on my expository skills but I don't have any formal training. Further more my audience is K-6th Grades. So, if you enjoy a good exposition then crack open your Bible and follow along. Otherwise, have a nice day.

Spies to the Promised Land

(Numbers 31:1-14:25)

(Slide 1) Introduction: (Treats for Bibles) How many of you have ever pretended to be a spy? Did you know there are spies in the Bible? If we look carefully, we can find them. Turn to Numbers 31:1 and we’re going to read through 14:25. Please stand and follow along in your Bible.

(Slide 2) Faithful Few: God helped Moses and Aaron bring the people of Israel to the land that He promised to give them. However, the Lord wanted to send in spies ahead of them. So he had Moses pick some trustworthy men to do the job including. Caleb and Joshua were two of the twelve. Now, if you want to know more about Joshua, he has an entire book all to himself called “Joshua”. Well, as we read, after the spies got back all the people wanted to go back to Egypt or just die in the wilderness. But, Caleb was different. What did he say in verse 13:30? (Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.)

Caleb was one of what I call the “faithful few”. How was he a faithful one? (He trusted the Lord.) Look in verse 14:24 and see if you can see what made him different from everyone else. (He had a different spirit and followed God fully.) Caleb trusted God and was ready to give his life for whatever God wanted to do. That’s what we should try to do. If your friends don’t want to do what is right, you should do the right thing anyway.

(Slide 3) Many Mutiny: Now, Caleb’s answer wasn’t the only one. Look in verse 14:4 and see what the other spies were encouraging the people to say. (They wanted to get a new leader and go back to Egypt.) It seems clear that they wanted to run away because they were afraid but why? What does it say in verse 13:33? (There were giants, they felt tiny like grasshoppers.) Have you ever said “I don’t want to, it’s too hard”? That’s the same thing they were saying. They didn’t trust God like Caleb did, even after all He had done for them in Egypt and through the desert.

(Slide 4) Asking Again: God was very angry with their betrayal. He was ready to get rid of all of them and start a new nation with Moses. But, Moses pleaded with God not to destroy them. Why? The answer is in verses 14:13-16. (He was worried about God’s reputation with the Egyptians.) Moses also had friends and family and so he probably wanted to save them too! Moses pleaded with the Lord for the ones he cared about, did you know that Jesus did too? In fact, Jesus prayed for you! I would like my three helpers to go ahead and read their verses. (John 17:20-26, Luke 23:34, Luke 22:31-32)

Even though Jesus is God, He still prayed to the Father for help for us. He prayed for Peter, He prayed for the people killing Him on the cross, and he prayed for us to be strong and united.

(Slide 5) Pardon and Penalty: Well, God is just and can get angry but He is also very loving and forgiving. In verses 14:20-23 is God’s answer. He will forgive them but they must be punished. How many of you have ever been punished? Why do you get punished? Do your parents love you? What’s the point of punishment? (So you will learn from your mistakes.) God wanted to do the same thing your parents do. Your parents forgive you when you do bad things but you still need to be punished so you will learn. God is the best parent ever! He knows exactly how much forgiveness and how much punishment we need. For the people of Israel he had to make them wait forty years before they could go to the land He promised them. But he did forgive them by letting them live.

(Slide 6) Conclusion: Aren’t you glad God forgives us? We do bad things all the time but He doesn’t kill us or send us straight to Hell even though He could and should. He is full of love and very forgiving. He died a horrible death on the cross through Jesus so that He could forgive you! We should thank him for that.

In a moment I’m going to give you the chance to do that but I want to ask you something first. Are you going to be one of the “Faithful Few” or the “Many that Mutiny”? Are you going to be like Caleb and trust God or are you going to be like everyone else and complain? It’s your choice. (Prayer)

Outline

Introduction: (Treats for Bibles) How many of you have ever pretended to be a spy? Did you know there are spies in the Bible? If we look carefully, we can find them. Turn to Numbers 31:1 and we’re going to read 14:25. Please stand and follow along in your Bible.

I. Faithful Few

A. Numbers 13:30

1. How - Spoke up for trusting God (13:30)

2. Why - Different Spirit (14:24)

3. Modern - friends do bad, you don’t

II. Many Mutiny

A. Numbers 14:4

1. How - New Leader

2. Why - Fear

3. Modern - “It’s too hard! Don’t wanna do it!”

III. Asking Again

A. Numbers 14:17-19

1. How - spare name from Egyptians (14:13-16)

2. Why - he cared, his family

3. Parallel - Jesus asked for us

(Kids Read)

a. John 17:20-26

b. Luke 23:34

c. Luke 22:31-32

IV. Pardon and Penalty

A. Numbers 14:20

1. How - prayer and forgiveness

2. Why - promise, correction

3. Parallel - 2 Samuel 12:23

4. Modern - parents forgive but punish

Conclusion: Aren’t you glad God forgives us? We do bad things all the time but He doesn’t kill us or send us straight to Hell even though He could and should. He is full of love and very forgiving. He died a horrible death on the cross through Jesus so that He could forgive you! We should thank him for that.

Post 286: The Bible and Science

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:22:11 GMT

Does the Bible contradict science? Most people would say yes because of the miracles. However, I find it interesting that people are very quick to accept a god but not that a god would be able to do anything after making everything.

If this god made everything and wrote a book about it, do you think that he would lie or be wrong about how he did it? So, if his book is honest and true then every scientific fact in it should be accurate. Let’s take a look shall we?

Universal Categories

Herbert Spensor said there were five categories that everything in the universe could be put under. He listed them in the order of time, force, action, space, and matter.

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning (TIME) God (FORCE) created (ACTION) the heavens (Space) and the earth (MATTER).

Thermodynamics

-Law of the Conservation of Energy - states that energy can be transformed (changed from one form to another), but cannot be created or destroyed.

Ecclesiastes 1:9

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,

-Law of the Conservation of Mass - This law says that the total amount of mass does not change---mass is not created from nothing or destroyed.

And there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 3:14

I know that whatever God does,

It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.

Hydrology

-Irrigation

Isaiah 55:10

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,

-Water Cycle

Ecclesiastes 1:7

All the rivers run into the sea,

Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.

Job 36:27-28

For He draws up drops of water,
Which distill as rain from the mist,

Which the clouds drop down
And pour abundantly on man.

-Evaporation

Psalm 33:7

He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;

He lays up the deep in storehouses.

Wind Currents

Ecclesiastes 1:6

The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.

Astronomy

Psalm 103:11

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

(At the time the heavens/sky was thought to be a physical canopy, not a vast space.)

Job 22:12

Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!

(How did Job know that the stars were far away?)

1 Corinthians 15:41

There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

(Every star in the universe is as unique as humans are from each other. How did Paul know that?)

-Moon

Job 25:5

If even the moon does not shine,
And the stars are not pure in His sight,

(The ancients thought the moon did shine on its own and thought it was farther away because of its dimness.)

Geology

-Geophysics

Isaiah 40:12

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?

(If the Earth wasn’t perfectly balanced we wouldn’t be here to know it.)

-Geodesy

Isaiah 40:22

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

(We all know that the sphere is circular, a child recognizes this. How did Isaiah know the Earth was too?)

-Axis and Poles

Job 38:13-14

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?

It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.

(The ends of the Earth are the poles and it turns like clay under a seal. The Earth rotates on and axis that runs through the poles. How interesting.)

Outer Space

Job 26:7

He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.

(How did Job know that there was nothing holding the earth up?)

There is so much more that can be shown but I think this makes it clear enough that God did write the Bible. After all, who would know how he created things better than He.

Post 285: Kid Questions II

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:56:32 GMT

Welcome back friends. As in my last post my 5th and 6th graders at my church had some good questions that I'll be answering. Below are the questions and in parenthesis is the scripture(s) I will use in conjunction with the answer I'm giving them. Let me know what you think. If you can add scripture to my answer or would like an explanation as to why I am using these scriptures, speak up!

1. Do babies who die go to heaven? (Mark 9:36-37, 2 Samuel 12:23)

2. Why does God love us when He doesn't have to? (1 John 4:7-8)

3. What does "holy" mean? (Leviticus 19:2 = Matthew 5:48)

4. What does God do in Heaven? (John 14:2, Job 1:6, Revelation 4 & 5)

Post 284: Kid Questions

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:44:54 GMT

Welcome back friends. If you are reading this it means you never gave up on me (thank you) or you were just to lazy to delete me from your subscriptions (we are so alike). I would like to get back into blogging but I won't be using the SOAP format for two reasons. First, I have found a better way (better for me that is) to study that can't be posted. Second, no one really seemed to be interested. So, I'll just be posting about random things when I have time.

As some of you may know I teach the 5th and 6th graders at my church. One thing I like to do is have an occasional question-answer session with them. Below are the questions they asked. In parenthesis is the scripture(s) I will use in conjunction with the answer I'm giving them.

1. Why are catholics considered Christians? (Mark 7:7)

2. Who wrote the Bible? (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21)

3. Why does God want us to be baptised? (Romans 6:4)

4. Does God have a father? (Exodus 3:14 = John 8:58, Revelation 1:8)

5. Why did Adam and Eve sin against God? (Genesis 3:6)

6. Is there a difference between Lutherans and Christians? (1 Corinthians 1:11-15)

7. Is it a sin to hate your enemies? (Luke 6:27, Matthew 5:43-44)

8. Why do people not believe in God and woship false gods? (Romans 1:24-25)

9. Is Jesus a man or a woman? (Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 14:33, 8:29, 4:6)

Post 283: The Good Confession, Instruction to the Rich, Guard the Faith

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:16:30 GMT

Welcome back friends. Everyday I go through a new section of scripture and I journal about it. I have decided to share it with all of you. And it is done in an easy format that you can follow along with or even do yourself!

The format is called SOAP, which stands for Scripture, Observations, Application, and Prayer. Please let me know what you think!

Scripture:

The Good Confession (1 Timothy 6:11-16)

Instruction to the Rich (1 Timothy 6:17-19) and

Guard the Faith (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

Observations:

Godly men should seek righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. 6:11

They must put forth their full effort in their faith to obtain eternal life, which they have been called to do. 6:12

They must keep up this effort in their faith for as long as they breathe and do so for Christ and before God. 6:13-16

They wealthy should trust in God, who gives all riches, not in riches itself. 6:17

They should commit to doing good, be willing to give and share. 6:18

Their “true” riches will accumulate in the life to come. 6:19

They must keep the Gospel clear of false teachings. 6:20

Many believers fall into the traps of the false. 6:21

Application:

If we are to be of God then we must seek to be righteous, godly, faithful, loving, patient, and gentle. We must put forth all of our effort into our faith in the life we have been given. Our effort is required as long as we physically live and should be done in Christ for God.

Those who have much should trust in God, not what they have. Knowing what they have is given by and belongs to God, they should be willing to give and share. All true riches will be given to us after this life.

We should work hard to the keep gospel from being tainted and be wary of the traps of false teachers.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to be Yours. Help me to be righteous, godly, faithful, loving, patient, and gentle. Help me to have a stronger faith and do everything for You. Help me to trust in You with what I have and never take Your Word for granted.

Post 282: Honor Masters/Error and Greed

Fri, 01 May 2009 09:42:09 GMT

The format is called SOAP, which stands for Scripture, Observations, Application, and Prayer. Please let me know what you think!

Scripture:

Honor Masters (1 Timothy 6:1-2) and

Error and Greed (1 Timothy 6:3-10)

Observations:

Servants should show honor and respect to their masters to please God. 6:1

If the servants’ masters are believers, don’t despise them; but serve them in love. 6:2

If any one teaches anything unwholesome or that which is not in line with Christ, stay away for their minds are of greed. 6:3-5

Being content while being godly is beneficial. 6:6

Nothing of this world matters once your life is finished. 6:7

Be happy with what you have. 6:8

The desire for wealth only leads to misery and destruction. 6:9

The love of money is the cause of evil and many believers have fallen because of it. 6:10

Application:

We should honor and respect those in authority, for God has placed them there for a reason. Do not despise them; serve in love.

We should avoid those who teach falsely for their minds are full of greed. We should be content as true followers of God, because He is all tat will last beyond our lives; that should give us joy. We should not desire wealth because it is the great cause of evil and leads to destruction.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to honor and respect those in authority over me. Help me to serve with love.

Help me to avoid those who teach falsely that I may avoid the pitfalls of their greed. Help me to be content in You. I know that You are my greatest reward. Let me not replace You in my heart with anything.

Post 281: Honor the Elders

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:31:46 GMT

The format is called SOAP, which stands for Scripture, Observations, Application, and Prayer. Please let me know what you think!

Scripture:

Honor the Elders (1 Timothy 5:17-25)

Observations:

We should give extra honor to the elders who do well in their ministry and study the Word. The Bible tells us to do this. 5:17-18

Be careful what you listen to about them from others. There must be more than one complaint to have credence. 5:19

Public humiliation makes a good example to others. 5:20

All should be held to these consequences. 5:21

Control yourself, think before you act, and don’t be involved with the others’ sins. 5:22

Paul knew that a “LITTLE” wine is good for your body. 5:23

Some sins are clearly seen, others won’t be seen until later. 5:24

The same can be said of good-works. 5:25

Application:

We should give extra honor to our Christian elders if they do well in ministry and study the Word. This is clear in the Bible. Don’t take one man’s word about something the elders have done. There must be more than one witness/complaint. If and elder has sinned then it may not be a bad idea to make and example of him/her by either having them repent of be cast out (depending on their choice) in front of the church body. We should think before we act and not get involved with the sinful acts of others. A little wine may be good for your body but the Bible is clear on excess. Just like sins, some good-works are seen right away and others aren’t seen until later. However, God sees them all first-hand.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to honor those whom are my elders. Please, show me how to respect them. I ask that You would strengthen their integrity; make them greater examples. Help me to think with Your wisdom and avoid sin. I know You see all my sin and good-works; please guide me.

Post 280: Treatment of Church Members and Honor True Widows

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:02:27 GMT

The format is called SOAP, which stands for Scripture, Observations, Application, and Prayer. Please let me know what you think!

Scripture:

Treatment of Church Members (1 Timothy 5:1-2) and

Honor True Widows (1 Timothy 5:3-16)

Observations:

We should treat everyone as beloved family. 5:1-2

We should help widows and help with their children. 5:3-4

True widows (deserving of help) should be focused on God. 5:5

Those who seek pleasure first have no "real" life in them. 5:6

These are commands. 5:7

One whom cannot provide for his family is worse than an unbeliever. 5:8

Help out those who live rightly and helped others. 5:9-10

Be leery of helping the greedy; they will trade faith for their desires and grow accustomed to the help. 5:11-13

Young widows should remarry and live on in faith. 5:14

The church should help its own first. 5:15-16

Application:

We should treat everyone with love and respect.

If a widow (or single mother) needs help with their children, we should offer it. However, those receiving help should be focused on God and not anything less. Otherwise, they may get used to the help. It is a good thing for a widow to marry and have the husband support her. We should, as family, put those of the church before those who aren't.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to treat all of Your children with love and respect as You do for me.

Help me to be responsive to the needs of those around me. Help me to be discerning of those who need more than others. Give me Your compassion that I may share it with those around me.