Sermon Central
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Judges
Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jun 24, 2007 (message contributor)
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1. Winding Down
Contributed on Jun 24, 2007
The Children of Israel begin the period of the Judges well, but begin to neglect their relationship with God and this leads to defeat, much as the Christian who does not nurture that relationship with exist in the weakened flesh.
When I was in junior high a Catholic priest came to visit my debate class. I know, today a visit to a public school by a religious official would warrant calling out the SWAT team and raising the terror alert to red, but it was a different nation in those days. Anyway, I remember this gentleman ...read more
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2. The Work Or The Worker
Contributed on Jul 17, 2007
Which matters most to you - doing the job or getting the credit? That’s what Barak faces in a battle against Israel’s enemies. He makes the right choice - do we? Also - letting God do a complete work of healing in our lives.
Chapters 4 and 5 of Judges are a real bright spot in a book that is mostly bleak and depressing. Not only do we see a great victory but it also features some real role reversals. This time it’s not the guys who shine, but the gals. We have a woman, Deborah, who is both a judge and a prophetess. I ...read more
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3. Gideon, The Reluctant Hero
Contributed on Jul 29, 2007
Have you been afraid that your lack of skills, background, or ability to hear God disqualifies you for service? Learn how God worked with a timid man and turned him into a hero.
Do you remember the Sand People from the original Star Wars movie? They lived on Tatooine - I guess their proper name is: Tusken Raiders. Anyway - these nomads were covered all over with rags with little lenses or something to see and breath out of. They carried these big sticks and traveled on ...read more
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4. The Creation Of Humility
Contributed on Aug 5, 2007
God strips away from Gideon everything he had confidence in so that Gideon will have confidence in God. Learn the basis of humility and how God works it in us.
Last time we saw timid, but stubborn Gideon. He thought he was incapable of obeying God in rescuing Israel from the Midianites. He asked God for several signs - including two different signs with the fleece as a way of proving that God was really going to do what He said. So now it’s almost as ...read more
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5. King Making - King Breaking
Contributed on Aug 12, 2007
Gideon shunned position but kept power, his son Abimelech had position but not power as both were ruled by the flesh and from the flesh reaped corruption. Learn how we can fall prey to that as Christians and how to avoid it.
Judges 8 and 9 give us a good picture of what happens when we decide to let the flesh rule in our lives instead of God’s Spirit. Galatians 5:16-17 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the ...read more
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6. Sin And The Pitcher Plant
Contributed on Aug 19, 2007
If you have ever found yourself enticed by sin once then unable to stop once you gave in, then listen to this message as God shows Israel what they need to do in order for God to rescue them.
The Australian Pitcher plant is beautiful to behold. This is especially true for certain kinds of insects. If you know anything about pitcher plants you know they are what are called carnivorous because they eat meat. Here’s how it works for the Australian Pitcher: The pitchers secret nectar to ...read more
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7. Jephthah: The Rough & Tumble Guy
Contributed on Aug 26, 2007
How does an outcast rebel outlaw end up in the hall of faith and did Jephthah really sacrifice his daughter?
The story we are going to look at in Judges 11 and 12 today is one of the strangest and most troubling in the Bible. It’s about a notorious man who comes to the rescue of Israel, then promptly vows to sacrifice his own daughter and gets into a big fight where 42,000 fellow Israelites are killed. Or ...read more
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8. Samson Part 1
Contributed on Sep 2, 2007
Samson had everything going for him: supportive, godly parents, a good home environment, and blessing from God. So why did he decide to walk a path of selfishness and what does that say to us?
Samson is a puzzling character. He had great successes for the nation of Israel but personally was a total failure. He was as weak morally and spiritually as he was strong physically. Why the Lord ever used him is beyond me and why his story is just so interesting and compelling floors me. I ...read more
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9. On The Edges Of Timnah
Contributed on Sep 9, 2007
How close to the world can you get without getting into trouble? Samson finds out and the results are less than pleasant. Learn about how to keep your purpose pure as you live in the world as a Christian.
There’s an old saying that goes: "when you journey through the vineyards, you’ll eventually eat the grapes." I’ve wandered through a vineyard or two, watched them harvest the grapes about this time of year. They sure do taste sweet. But what if along with the sugar came warfarin, an anticoagulant? ...read more
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10. Samson, Part 3
Contributed on Sep 17, 2007
What happened to Samson that brought him back to the Lord and what was his real source of strength. How does that relate to our own strengths in the hands of God?
What was the secret to Samson’s strength? Was it really his long hair? God never says that. In fact, I think from the text the secret to his strength was the inrushing of the Holy Spirit. We see it in 14:6 with the lion, 14:19 with the 30 Philistine men, 15:14 and with the 1,000 Philistines. From ...read more
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11. Losing Your Way
Contributed on Sep 23, 2007
Like a hiker without a map, compass, or landmark - Israel has gone off the trail and into danger. How can that happen to us and how to get back on the trail to God?
Perspective is a nice thing. When you are on a long hike, like in my Boy Scout days, it was always great to come up on the top of a ridge so you could have a look around and get your bearings and chart the course ahead, knowing that once you plunged down into the forest it’d be hard to get the big ...read more
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12. Restoring The Broken
Contributed on Sep 30, 2007
When you let the natural nature of the human heart take over you don’t go from bad to good you go from bad to worse. Yet in the midst of a tragic story we find tremendous hope.
The events of Judges 19-21 probably represent the worst of the worst of the history of Israel. They happened, surprisingly, not long after Joshua passed away signaling, I think, the fact that shortly after conquering the Promised Land, the people fell away quickly into idolatry which then infected ...read more