SERMON SEEDS
BIBLE OUTLINES FOR PASTORS, TEACHERS, AND STUDENTS
U33 – FOR WEEK OF 11/28/22
First Baptist Church of New Holland PA - SERMON SEEDS (fbcnhremembers.com)
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WHY?
CHRISTMAS REVISITED #1
- Hallmark Channel shows movies.
- T.V. networks run holiday specials.
- Businesses have sales, have parties, give days off and issue bonuses.
- Children (and adults) look forward to receiving and giving presents.
- And little children look forward to a visit from the Jolly, Little Old Man in a red and white suit who has elves for employees and reindeer as transportation for his sleigh full of toys.
- Families have special get togethers, and people travel from North to South and from East to West to be with those they love.
- Churches have concerts, children’s programs, and extra services.
WHY? – IT’S CHRISTMAS!
Most of us would agree that many, many people who celebrate haven’t a clue about the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate Christmas.
Even we as Christians, who know that we celebrate Christmas as the day Jesus our Lord and Savior was born, may not grasp the significance of His birth.
So, this morning, let’s answer the question “Why” Jesus’ birth is so important. We’ll do by taking a brief trip through the Old Testament.
PARADISE – Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17 – Adam and Eve were in the perfect environment.
PROBLEM – Genesis 3:1-13,16-19, 22-24 – Adam and Eve sinned! Spiritual and Physical death were then realities.
PROMISE – Genesis 3:14-15, 21 – There would be a redeemer. First blood sacrifice for man’s sin were the skins that covered Adam and Eve.
PEOPLE – Genesis 12:1-3 – The redeemer was to come through Abraham.
PREEMINENCE – Genesis 49:10, 2 Samuel 7:12-17 – The Redeemer would come through the Tribe of Judah and kingly line of David.
Shiloh - Bible Knowledge Commentary – “Most commendable is the alternate Hebrew textual reading … meaning “to whom it belongs,” thus “until he comes to whom it [i.e., scepter] belongs.”
PROPHECIES
- Isaiah 7:14 – “God with us”, Matthew 1:22-23
- Isaiah 9:6 – God over us
- Micah 5:2 – God (comes) to us
- Isaiah 53 – God for us
PARADISE – Revelation 22:1-2 – Because of the Sacrifice of Jesus, we who are believers, will be in Paradise.
TO HEAR PASTOR JACK PREACH THIS SERMON VISIT:
First Baptist Church of New Holland PA - Sermons (fbcnhremembers.com)
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JOSHUA 23:1-16 – A FIRST FAREWELL – LEADER TO LEADERS
#19 – MOVING FORWARD – THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
Joshua had followed Moses as the leader of the Nation of Israel. He was called upon by God to lead Israel into the Promised Land (Joshua 1:1-6). Like other leaders, Biblical and otherwise, Joshua gave farewell addresses. This is the first of two, which was evidently given to the leadership of Israel who would lead after he passed off the scene.
INTRODUCTION: Vss. 1-2
REMINDER OF PAST VICTORIES Vs. 3
- Why is it a good thing to remember past victories?
- What part does giving thanks have in remembering past victories?
REMINDER OF FUTURE CONQUESTS Vss. 4-5
- The job was not done. The enemy still had strongholds and needed to be totally eliminated. Why?
- In our Christian lives after salvation, we also need to be vigilant in eliminating the habits in our lives that are contrary to God’s standards. Hebrews 12:1-4, 2 Peter 1:3-11
REMINDER OF CURRENT RESPONSIBILITIES Vss. 6-12
1. Obedience Vs. 6, 1 Peter 1:14-16
2. Separation
Negative Vss. 7,12, 1 John 2:15-17
Positive Vss. 8-10, Zechariah 4:6
3. Devotion Vs. 11, Deuteronomy 6:4-9
REMINDER OF GOD'S JUDGMENT Vss. 13-16
- Vs. 14 – God had been faithful to bless Israel as Israel was obedient.
- Vss. 13, 15-16 – Israel would be judged if Israel was not faithful.
- Often, Christians are disciplined for lack of obedience. However, there is no fear of us losing our salvation if we are truly born again. Hebrews 12:5-11
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2 KINGS 4:10 – STEADY MAINTENANCE
LIFE OF ELISHA, THE STEADY PROPHET - #4 of 9
2 Kings 4:10 - Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
Introduce the message by asking the following questions:
- What are some of the things that you use regularly that require periodic maintenance?
- Why is maintenance so important
- Why is maintenance of your spiritual life so important?
- What are some of the things that you do to maintain your spiritual life?
In 2 Kings 4:10 we find four things that are necessary for the maintenance of physical and spiritual life.
BACKGROUND
Elisha evidently passed through the village of Shunem on a regular basis.
A woman, evidently the wife of a wealthy land owner, fed Elisha whenever he traveled past her home. Vs. 8
The woman could tell that Elisha was a "holy man of God". Can people tell that we are holy men or women of God? Vs. 9
The lady suggested the building of a "prophet's chamber" for the entertaining of Elisha, complete with basic necessary furnishings.
THE BED SPEAKS OF REST IN CHRIST. Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 37:7, Mark 6:31
THE TABLE SPEAKS OF FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST. Psalm 23:5, John 15:1-7
THE STOOL SPEAKS OF INSTRUCTION FROM CHRIST. Deuteronomy 33:3, Psalm 32:8, Luke 10:38-42
THE CANDLESTICK SPEAKS OF TESTIMONY FOR CHRIST. Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 1:8, Revelation 2:4-5
The basic outline is from 1,000 Bible Outlines by F. E. Marsh, (Formerly published as 1,000 New Bible Readings), Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan, 1953, (This is a reprint. The date given in the preface is 1925), Page 171
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ISAIAH 7:14etc. - ISAIAH'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
Isaiah is a great book of prophecy. One of Isaiah's favorite topics is the Lord Jesus Christ. Here are three prophecies concerning his coming, which will help us remember the true meaning of the Christmas season.
THE COMING OF JESUS - Isaiah 7:14-16
The promise is given of a virgin conceiving and bringing forth a son.
His name will be called "Immanuel", or "God with us."
See Micah 5:2.
THE CHARACTER OF JESUS - Isaiah 9:6
"Wonderful"
"Counsellor"
"The Mighty God"
"The Everlasting Father ("Father of Eternity")"
"The Prince of Peace"
THE CONDUCT OF JESUS - Isaiah 61:1-3
You will note that there are parts of this passage that refer to Jesus' first coming to earth, and parts that refer to His second coming. Those things mentioned in verses 1-2a (ending with "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.") refer to the first coming. Those things mentioned in the remainder of the passage deal with His second coming.
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JESUS IS COMING! – FOUR OUTLINES FOR YOU TO DEVELOP FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON
WEEK #1 - ANTICIPATION - JESUS IS COMING!
TEXT - Old Testament Scriptures
The Old Testament Prophets anticipated the birth of our Lord Jesus. Here are three of their prophecies:
THE VIRGIN - Isaiah 7:14
The virgin, of course, was Mary.
The birth was of "Emmanuel", "God is with us".
THE VISIT - Micah 5:2
The visit is to Bethlehem.
The visitor is the one that will be ruler in Israel. (Isaiah 11:1-10)
The visitor is eternal.
THE VICTORY - Isaiah 9:6
"The government shall be upon his shoulders."
He is:
"Wonderful"
"Counselor"
"Mighty God"
"Everlasting Father
"Prince of Peace"
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WEEK #2 - ANNOUNCEMENT - JESUS IS COMING!
TEXT - Luke 1:26-38
GOD'S FAVOR - Vss. 26-28
MARY'S FUTURE - Vss. 29-37
MARY'S FAITH - Vs. 38
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WEEK #3 - ASSURANCE - JESUS IS COMING!
TEXT - Matthew 1:18-25
To me, Joseph is the forgotten man of Christmas. It took a man of great faith to believe and accept the events surrounding his pregnant wife. God gave Him the assurance that what was happening was indeed of God and in God's perfect will.
CONCEPTION - Vs. 18
Mary was engaged to Joseph. Engagement in that culture, engagement made a couple was considered married, even though the marriage had not been consummated. During this time of engagement, Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit.
CONFUSION - Vs. 19
You can imagine Joseph's disappointment. Because he was a just man, he decided to privately divorce Mary. He loved her too much, I feel, to bring her public embarrassment.
COMFORT - Vss. 20-23
Joseph was told that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
He received the comfort of God in a dream.
This birth is the fulfillment of prophecy.
COMMITMENT - Vss. 24-25
Joseph, by faith, made a commitment to Mary and to guardianship of the Son of God.
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WEEK #4 - ARRIVAL - JESUS IS HERE!
TEXT - Matthew 2 and Luke 2
THE PLACE OF BIRTH - Luke 2:1-7, Matthew 2:1-6
THE PROCLAMATION BY ANGELS - Luke 2:8-14
THE PEOPLE WHO SAW (WITNESSED)
The arrival of the Messiah was witnessed by:
The Shepherds - Luke 2:15-20
Simeon - Luke 2:25-35
Anna - Luke 2:36-38
The Wise Men - Matthew 2:7-12
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2 CORINTHIANS 9:15 – GIFTS
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Because of God’s gift of His Son, we have gifts.
THE GIFT OF REDEMPTION – 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:6-9, John 3:16
THE GIFT OF REPRESENTATION – Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:24-25, 1 John 2:1-2
THE GIFT OF RESPONSIBILITY – Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Peter 3:15, 4:10-11
THE GIFT OF RESOURCES – Ephesians 3:16-27, Philippians 4:13, John 15:1-7, Acts 1:8
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REVELATION 4:11 – HEAVENLY GIFT LIST
The day after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season for Christmas. If you value your sanity, the best thing to do the Friday after Thanksgiving is to stay out of the department stores!
Christmas is coming, and most of us have a sizable Christmas shopping list. I wonder how many have on their list the one who's birthday we celebrate? He's the only one I know who celebrates a birthday and watches others get more presents than He does.
Revelation 4 is an heavenly scene showing the worship around the throne of God. The four and twenty elders are worshipping God and cast crowns at His feet. As they cast these thrones they say, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor, and power..."
Here are three things that every Christian can give the Triune God as an early Christmas present.
GLORY
Glory is praise. We can and should continually give God praise and Thanksgiving. Hebrews 13:15, Philippians 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 100, Psalm 34:1-3
HONOR
We honor God by:
- Trusting Christ as Savior. Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7
- Doing good works. Ephesians 2:10, Titus 3:8
- Using fitting speech. Ephesians 4:29
- Avoiding the wrong places and people.
Psalm 1:1, 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
- Doing all things for His glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31,
2 Corinthians 10:17-18, Colossians 3:23, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
- Thinking the right thoughts. Psalm 119:97-104
- Being Obedient. John 14:15
POWER
- Allow God's power to work in you. Ephesians 5:15-21, Galatians 5:22-23, Luke 11:11-13, Ephesians 1:19-23
- Allow God's power to work through you. Philippians 4:13, Colossians 3:17
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THE CHRISTMAS TOP TEN PART 1
Thanks to David Letterman and others, top ten lists have abounded over the years. It seems that a lot of subjects have top ten lists, so why not a top list for Christmas? Here’s one I found on the internet:
- 10 - Without Christmas, the candied fruit market would collapse!
- 9 - Without Christmas, our slow, uneventful lives would have no stress whatsoever!
- 8 - Without Christmas, barking dogs wouldn't have a music career!
- 7 - Without Christmas, Santa would only be a really weird fat guy with poor fashion sense!
- 6 - Without Christmas, there would be no Christmas bonuses!
- 5 - Without Christmas, you'd have to waste money buying all your own underwear and socks!
- 4 - Without Christmas, your cat would never know the joy of coughing up tinsel!
- 3 - Without Christmas, December would feel a lot like February!
- 2 - Without Christmas, Eggnog becomes just a disgusting beverage!
- And the number one reason for keeping Christmas alive is: Without Christmas, there would BE no Easter! — That means there would also be: no hope, no forgiveness, no victory over the grave. If that's the case, then the TRUE meaning of Christmas is certainly something worth celebrating! http://graceland.gentle.org/topten/xmas98b.html
So much emphasis is made in our secular society about the Christmas Holiday season, that it is important that when who name the name of Christ have a true understanding of the real meaning of Christmas.
With the Lord’s help, I have put together my own list of a Christmas Top Ten. This “top ten” list includes the major players in the Christmas story, and what they teach us about Christmas. To give this list a fair treatment, we will look at it in two parts.
10 - HEROD – THE FOE
This was the first of several “Herods”. He is known as “Herod the Great”.
He was actually an Edomite, a descendant of Esau. Although he took on the title “King of the Jews”, he was not.
He was a great builder, among other things rebuilding the temple.
He was a Roman vassal, and as such a great military leader, subduing Rome’s enemies in the area where he ruled for them.
He was sometimes a great ruler. He Returned taxes in times of economic despair and even melted down gold objects in the palace during famine and used it to buy food for the poor.
There was another side of Herod that was the exact opposite.
He often acted like a mad man.
He was very jealous and did everything he could to stay in power.
He had his brother in-law, wife, his mother in-law, and three sons killed.
According to John MacArthur – “One of the cruelest evidences of his bloodthirstiness and insane cruelty was having the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem arrested and imprisoned shortly before he died. Because he knew no one would mourn his own death, he gave orders for those prisoners to be executed the moment he died – in order to guarantee that there would be mourning in Jerusalem.
John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Matthew 1-7, (Chicago, Moody Press, 1985), p. 26
Matthew 2:1-8 - Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, [2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. [3] When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. [5] And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, [6] And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. [7] Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. [8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Matthew 2:16 - Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
What was the bottom line reason for Herod’s cruelty?
What motivated Him?
It was His unbelief.
It was not that Herod was a foe of Christmas.
He was a foe of Christ!
He believed in himself, and His own power.
He did not believe that God would give his power to another.
And the ironic thing was that Jesus was no threat to his immediate kingdom, or even subsequent kingdoms of his sons.
Jesus still hasn’t established his kingdom on earth.
What would make you a foe of Christ?
It would be your own unbelief.
Acts 16:31 - And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
9. THE PROPHETS – THE FORETELLERS
Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Micah 5:2 - But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
8. – ZACHARIAS AND ELIZABETH – THE FAITHFUL
Luke 1:5-7 - There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. [6] And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. [7] And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
1 Corinthians 4:2 - Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Revelation 2:10 - …be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
7. – SIMEON AND ANNA – THE FULFILLED
Luke 2:25-30 - And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. [26] And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. [27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, [28] Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, [29] Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: [30] For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Luke 2:36-38 - And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; [37] And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. [38] And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
1 Corinthians 1:30 - But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
6. THE WISE MEN – THE FOLLOWERS
Matthew 2:1-2 - Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, [2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Matthew 2:9-11 - When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. [10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. [11] And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:12 - And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Luke 9:23 - And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
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