|
"And take...the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17)
In this issue:
How to Tell When You are Getting Weak (Author
Unknown)
Love versus Lust... (Dennis
Rigstad, Pulpit Helps)
Sermon Outlines:
Noteworthy News:
Let Them Ride a Horse!
How to Tell When You are Getting Weak
Author Unknown
1. When you had rather stay home than assemble with the saints.
2. When you had rather watch TV than
visit the sick (or weak) and teach the lost.
3. When you had rather read a magazine
or the daily paper than the Bible or religious material.
4. When you find a political speech
inspiring but a gospel sermon boring.
5. When you pray for the preacher but
sleep through his sermons.
6. When you thank God for the elders
but refuse to cooperate with them.
7. When you talk long and loud about
what the church should do, but never do your part in what is being done now.
8. When you sing with your lips what
you don’t really mean in your heart.
9. When you look upon spiritual work
as a chore rather than a privilege.
10. When you are offended by an article
like this.
Top
Love versus Lust...
Dennis Rigstad, Pulpit Helps
Love
1. Love is patient
2. Love is kind
3. Love does not envy
4. Love does not boast
5. Love is not proud
6. Love is not rude
7. Love is not
self-seeking
8. Love is not easily
angered
9. Love keeps no record
of wrongs
10. Love does not
delight in evil
11. Love rejoices in the
truth
12. Love always protects
13. Love always trusts
14. Love always hopes
15. Love always
perseveres
16. Love never
fails; it is constant, enduring, and faithful to the end.
|
Lust
1. Lust can't wait,
is impulsive
2. Lust is cruel,
critical and manipulative
3. Lust seeks more
than it earns
4. Lust builds self
at another's expense
5. Lust is easily
threatened
6. Lust is
disrespectful and thoughtless
7. Lust is demanding
and uncaring
8. Lust is
temperamental and retaliates
9. Lust does not
forget offenses
10. Lust commits wrong
to get its own way; rationalizes
11. Lust encourages lies
and covers up misdeeds
12. Lust takes to gain
its own ends; lacks concern for consequences to others
13. Lust is suspicious
and jealous
14. Lust says one chance
and your out
15. Lust backs out when
it is no longer convenient
16. Lust ceases when
self is no longer served; it is fickle, insecure and unfaithful.
-Dennis Rigstad, Pulpit Helps
1 Corinthians 13
1 Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become
sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I
could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but
have not love, it profits me nothing. |
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
Bible Question Box (May 2004)
Scripture Reading: Psalms 33:1-15
#1: When were cave men
supposed to have existed? Before Adam & Eve? (How could that be?) After
Adam & Eve? (Did man regress to grunting & not knowing how to be human?)
Or, did cave men exist at all?
1.
When were cave men supposed to have existed? (Evolutionists say
“Neanderthal” people lived 28,000-125,000+ years ago.)
2. Other assumptions: Cave dwellers were inferior; Half-animal &
actually lived; Accuracy of dating processes used to assign timeframe.
3. Before Adam & Eve? (How could that be?) No, Adam was 1st
man – Gen. 5:1; 1 Cor. 15:45.
4. After Adam & Eve? (Did man regress to grunting & not knowing how to be
human?)
a. The assumption that living in caves meant grunting regressive life.
b. Fact: Bible speaks of people living in caves – Gen. 19:30;
Judg. 6:2 (1 Sam. 13:6; 1 Kgs. 18:4); Heb. 11:38. (The
Common Propaganda Regarding “Cave Men,” Wayne Jackson,
ChristianCourier.com)
#2: What does the
Bible say about euthanasia?
1. Definition.
2. Why do
people choose euthanasia/assisted suicide? (Oregon, 2002…)
3. What saith the Scriptures? (Eccl. 3:2)
a. Death due to human rebellion: Spiritual & physical – Eccl. 12:7
(spiritual, Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12; physical, Gen. 3:19). Do not murder
(Exo.20:13; Rom. 13:9).
b. Human life is sacred: Precious gift from God – Acts 17:25 (Isa. 42:5;
1 Tim. 6:13).
c. Body is not ours (God’s); Use to His glory – 1 Cor. 6:15, 19-20.
d. When men wanted to die…were not killed – Num. 11:15; 1 Kgs. 19:4;
Jonah 4:3, 8.
4. Is a Christian morally obligated to treat (prolong) terminal illness?
Conclusion: Jno. 11:25-27; 14:6
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
Nurturing Children or Raisin'
Cain?
Scripture Reading: Psalm 127
1. Link between discipline, love & proper
child-rearing (1 Ths. 2:11-12; Heb. 12:5-6, 10-11).
2. Children are our
inheritance from God – Psa. 127:3 (Prov. 17:6).
3. Goal: Present our children to the Lord – Gen. 18:19; 1 Sam. 1:22; 2:11.
I.
COMPREHENSIVE NATURE OF DISCIPLINE
– Eph. 6:4.
A.
Instruction – cf. Prov. 1:8-9. (Deut. 4:8-10; 6:4-9; 11:18-19; cf. Timothy,
2 Tim. 3:15).
B. Correction – Prov. 3:12, 13:24; 22:15; 29:17.
II.
DIVINE GUIDANCE ON REARING CHILDREN.
A. Teach
Obedience – Eph. 6:1-3. (Prov. 30:11; Lk. 2:51; 1 Sam. 2:12, 22-25, 29;
3:13)
B. Praise as Well as Punish (1 Sam.
2:22-24; Col. 3:21.
C. Give Them What They
Need, Not Necessarily What They Want – Matt. 7:8-11.
D. Be Consistent – 1 Sam. 2:12, 22; 3:13.
E. Do Not Show Favoritism – Gen. 26:28; 37:3.
F. Work Together – Lk. 2:51 (cf. Gen. 27:5).
G. Find & Develop the Child’s “Way” – Prov. 22:6. (cf. Eccl. 2:3;
5:18-19; 12:1)
H. Set Godly Examples – Isa. 39:4; Prov. 4:1-4 (2 Tim. 1:5); Matt. 22:37,
39.
I. Pray for God’s Help – Judg. 13:8-9; Jas. 1:5-8 (Phil. 4:6-7); Prov.
3:5-6.
J. Be Patient – 2 Tim. 3:15 (Hannah & Samuel; Jochebed & Moses); Prov.
19:18; 23:13-14; 29:15.
K. Confess & Repent When You Sin against Your Children – cf. Jas. 5:16.
L. Remember: The Responsibility & Accountability is Yours – cf. Tit.
2:4; Prov. 11:14; 15:22; 1 Pet. 4:15.
Conclusion:
Children deserve careful attention (Prov. 29:15).
Top
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the
light of Scripture)
Let Them Ride
a Horse!
Joe R. Price
It is said that when she was told that the peasantry had no bread to eat,
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, said, “Let them eat cake.” There is no
evidence to support the story, but folklore often takes on a life of its
own.
Then there is the present-day ruler of
Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov (president for life). While his subjects
in this oil-rich yet impoverished central Asian country eek out a meager
existence (the official minimum wage on government workers is $70 and
usually late arriving), he has just built a $15 million equestrian complex,
complete with an operating theater, a hippodrome and air-conditioned stables
for his Akhal Teke, a famous local breed of horses. Earlier this year he
fired 15,000 nurses and medical staff. But, not to worry: his horses have
X-ray and ultrasonic scanning machines in a state of the art operating
theater! (“New Leisure Center…for Horses”, Reuters News Agency, 27Apr04)
God, who ordained civil government, holds
rulers accountable for injustices and extravagances that are balanced on the
backs of the innocent. To the self-indulgent rulers of Israel the prophet
Amos assured divine wrath: “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion…woe to
you who put far off the day of doom, who cause the seat of violence to come
hear; Who lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from
the flock And calves from the midst of the stall; Who sing idly to the sound
of stringed instruments, And invent for yourselves musical instruments like
David; Who drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best
ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph” (Amos 6:1,
3-6). Ezekiel boldly rebuked injustice: “‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
"Enough, O princes of Israel! Remove violence and plundering, execute
justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing My people," says the Lord
GOD (Ezek. 45:9). Niyazov may rule for life over Turkmenistan, but rest
assured, Almighty God rules over him and his kingdom and will dispense His
judgment in the matter (Dan. 4:17, 25, 32).
Oppressors will periodically prevail on earth
without immediate relief (Eccl. 4:1). When they do, the people under their
wicked domination “groan” (Prov. 29:2). On the other hand, when a
ruler is righteous, the people rejoice (Prov. 29:2). Those who have power
over men on this earth would do well to remember they have a Master in
heaven to whom they will answer (Col. 4:1).
Whether one is in power or ruled over, God
requires all men to “do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly”
before Him (Micah 6:8). God’s justice will roll down upon all those who do
not (Amos 5:24).
Top
|
