Sermons on Ezra 3:17-21:

Dedicated To Joy Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on Mar 29, 2008

Joy isn’t ginned up with fun entertainment. Joy doesn’t pass with changing seasons or swinging moods. True, unquenchable joy comes only from God. That’s the kind of joy to be dedicated to.

1. Intro (6:16) 2. The first way we can be dedicated to striving for joy is with joyful sacrifice. (6:17) 3. The second way we can be dedicated to striving for joy is with joyful service. (6:18-20) 4. The third way we can be dedicated to striving for joy is with joyful separation. (6:21-22a) 5. The ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 6:16-22

Denomination: Baptist

Building And Battling Series

Contributed by Jonathan Campbell on Apr 4, 2008

Building Christ’s church on earth is not easy work. There will be Satanic opposition.

1. A SUBTLE APPROACH "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 4:1-24

Mission Accomplished Series

Contributed by Jonathan Campbell on Apr 5, 2008

Despite much opposition the temple was rebuilt. This sermon looks at the reasons for the ultimate success of the Jews building project.

Text - "This house was finished on the third day of the month Adar". Why was the temple project successful? 1. GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY God said the temple would be built and it was. God’s sovereignty was particularly evident in lives of two kings - Cyrus and Darius. a) Cyrus the foreordained king - ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 6:15

Look Who Finally Showed Up Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on Apr 8, 2008

Ezra had confidence in God’s providence. When you see God’s providential hand of control it takes away your worries and fears and it gives you joy and peace and assurance. When you see God in control it gives you boldness and confidence to do the things H

1. Our history has been providentially guided by God 2. Our life’s journey is providentially guarded by God 3. Our mission is providentially given by God Sam was a very dedicated pastor. But, like many who follow God’s call into the ministry, there were people who didn’t like Pastor Sam. There ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 7:1-10

Denomination: Baptist

Le Courage Du Croyant

Contributed by Créteur Fabien on Feb 24, 2008

Courage (vient du cœur). Force de caractère, fermeté que l’on a devant le danger, dans la souffrance ou dans toute situation difficile à affronter. Qui ont donné lieu à des expressions familières, comme prendre son courage à 2 mains. Faire appel à tout

LE COURAGE DU CROYANT, DU LEADER Introduction sur le sujet (10 min) Courage (vient du cœur). Force de caractère, fermeté que l’on a devant le danger, dans la souffrance ou dans toute situation difficile à affronter. Qui ont donné lieu à des expressions familières, comme prendre son courage à 2 ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 10:4

Denomination: Pentecostal

Almost Right Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on Feb 27, 2008

The question isn’t whether we’re going to encounter opposition. The question is, how are we going to handle it when it comes. The remnant did exactly what they were supposed to do—almost. They stood strong in the face of opposition but they didn’t quit

1. How did the opposition respond to the remnant? a. With distrust (1) b. With deception (2) 2. How did the remnant respond to the opposition? a. With discernment (3a) b. With determination (3b) c. With direction (3c) It would be nice if everything in life was easy, wouldn’t it? It would be nice ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 4:1-3

Denomination: Baptist

Swimming Upstream Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on Feb 27, 2008

Do you ever feel like everything is opposing you? That is what the remnant was experiencing. The first step to facing our opposition the right way is to "know our enemy."

In our walk as Christians and in our work as a church… 1. We must stand against the persistence of our opposition (4:4-7) 2. We must stand against the pervasiveness of our opposition (4:8-10) 3. We must stand against the persuasiveness of our opposition (4:11-16) 4. We must stand against the ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 4:4-24

Denomination: Baptist

Obedience Works! Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on Mar 3, 2008

In one sense, the remnant was just like us--they had free access to the Word of God. God had just spoken His Word to them through Haggai and Zechariah. God’s Word was available--what were they going to do with it? What are we going to do with it?

1. Obedience was immediate 2. Obedience was inspired 3. Obedience was inclusive 4. Obedience was investigated Imagine if you will, not having access to a Bible. Throughout history, that’s the way it’s been for most people. In the early church, the Bible consisted of the Greek translation of ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 5:1-4, Ezra 5:7-17, Ezra 5:1-17

Denomination: Baptist

Le Courage Du Leader

Contributed by Créteur Fabien on Sep 24, 2007

"4 Lève-toi, car cette affaire te regarde. Nous serons avec toi. Prends courage et agis." Esdras 10/4. La crainte peut et gardera beaucoup de bons leaders à devenir de grands leaders. Beaucoup de grimpeurs en montagne se sont tenus au camp de base d

LE COURAGE DU LEADER "4 Lève-toi, car cette affaire te regarde. Nous serons avec toi. Prends courage et agis." Esdras 10/4. La crainte peut et gardera beaucoup de bons leaders à devenir de grands leaders. Beaucoup de grimpeurs en montagne se sont tenus au camp de base du Mont Everest, pourtant ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 10:4

Denomination: Pentecostal

Getting Where You're Going Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on May 31, 2008

Are we prepared for the journey that awaits us?

In his book, Gentle Thunder, Max Lucado tells the story of Sir John Franklin. It was 1845 in England. In 1845, America was at the beginning of what was called “Manifest Destiny.” That was the idea that we were destined to explore and inhabit and eventually annex the west. While we were ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 8:21-32

Denomination: Baptist

Where To Start? Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on May 31, 2008

Sometimes the toughest thing about a project is knowing where to start.

Have you ever had a project that was so big, you just didn’t know where to start? My garage is like that. It was a mess before we moved in and it’s only gotten worse. It absolutely drives me nuts. Several years ago, when we lived in Mississippi, I had a beautiful tool shed. I had pegboard on ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 8:33-36

Denomination: Baptist

Keeping An Eye Out Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on May 31, 2008

How do you feel when you see the sin in the world around you? Do you feel the same way about the sin that’s in your midst? What about the sin that’s in your heart?

It seems like every few months in the news, we hear about some new espionage investigation. One thing you can count on in this world. Somebody somewhere is spying on somebody else. As a matter of fact, the Defense Department spends millions of dollars per year developing new technologies to spy ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 9:1-2

Denomination: Baptist

Counting Change Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on May 31, 2008

Newton’s First Law of Motion states: Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it. Do the forces of sin around you compel you to change?

Turn with me to Ezra 9. EZRA 9:3-5 After putting it off for a long time, a man finally went to the doctor. After the examination and all of the tests and blood work, the doctor just shook his head. He told the man, “You are in terrible shape. In order to pull out of this, you’re going to have ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 9:3-5

Denomination: Baptist

Broken Prayer Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on May 31, 2008

What does the prayer of corporate confession look like?

Three theologians were having a deep theological discussion while they were walking down the street one day. They were talking about prayer. More specifically, they were talking about the most effective positions of prayer. The discussion got pretty intense so they actually stopped there on the ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 9:6-15

Denomination: Baptist

Restoring A Remnant Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on Nov 17, 2007

God is all powerful but He chooses to accomplish His work through people. While God’s desire is for all to respond to Him, the fact is that only a remnant will. But in that remnant, God provides the kinds of people it takes to accomplish His work.

1. The leaders (2:2a) 2. The laymen (2:2b-35) 3. The Lord’s ministers (2:36-58) 4. The leftovers (2:59-67) EZRA 2:1 It’s difficult to find anything more difficult to read through than a list of names. But that’s where we find ourselves in our text tonight. How do you act when you get a new ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 2:1-67, Ezra 2:1

Denomination: Baptist