One night I dreamed of walking along the shores of different lands.I could tell that You were with me by the footprints in the sand.As I gazed upon the heavens, I saw pages of my life.It was then I realized that You remained there by my side.When the clouds began to gather and the rains came falling down,I looked to only find one set of footprints on the ground.I said, "Lord, why did You leave me in the troubled times of life?I believed that You would always walk beside me day and night." (Then I heard:)"My precious child, I'd never leave you.I have carved you on the hollow of My hand.It's then I carried you in My arms,When you see one set of footprints in the sand"Dear Lord, will You be with me as I travel through the years?Will You be there in the struggles? Will You wipe away the tears?As my eyes turn toward the ocean and the shores of distant lands,I'm still thinking of the single set of footprints in the sand. (I heard Him say:)"My precious child, I'd never leave you.I have carved you on the hollow of My hand.It's then I carried you in My arms,When you see one set of footprints in the sand."Will I hear the angels singing, as my life comes to an end.Oh Lord, I long to see You. Will You be there once again?My eyes turn toward the heavens, along the path of foreign lands,Once more, I'm thinking of the set of footprints in the sand. (Jesus said:)"My precious child, I'd never leave you.See your name carved on the hollow of My hand.I'm here to carry you to your home.You will see one set of footprints in the sand. (by Mark Hargrave)
The text describes a dream, in which the person is walking on a beach with God (in some versions, specifically identified as Jesus). They leave two sets of footprints in the sand behind them. Looking back, the tracks are stated to represent various stages of this person's life. At some point, the two trails dwindle to one, especially at the lowest and most hopeless moments of the character's life. When the person questions God about this, believing that God must have abandoned his follower during those times, God gives the explanation: 'During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you'.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Not a Chance
Sunday Sermon
May 24th 2009
Rhema Community Church
Sermonic Skeleton
Sermonic Scripture: ESV Ruth 2:1-7 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, "The LORD be with you!" And they answered, "The LORD bless you." 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, "She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest."
Sermonic Theme: The Providence of God (God will provide)
Sermonic Subject: Chance or Providence (Though there be no such thing as Chance in the world; our ignorance of the real cause of any event has the same influence on the understanding, and begets a like species of belief or opinion. David Hume)
Sermonic Sentence: God will provide what you need when you need it where you need it how you need it, and who you may need to achieve it. (He may not come when you want Him, but you are going to want Him when He comes.)
Sermonic Tension: There are no accidents in the life of believers. “Chance, when strictly examined, is a mere negative word, and means not any real power which has anywhere a being in nature.” David Hume
Sermonic Background: Providence from the Latin providere, “to provide.” The word “providence” does not occur in the Bible. It refers, however, to three biblical concepts: (1) In theology, providence is the general foresight, love, and care of God for people. (Romans 8.28) Providence can also refer to the idea that (2) God had divinely ordained or preordained certain events, or that (3) the universe is under God’s control so that ultimately good will be produced.
Redemption from the Latin redemption, from redimere, “to redeem,” to buy back again.” In theology, the idea that Christ “redeemed” or “bought back” mankind by delivering us from sin and its punishment, therefore making salvation possible. Jesus came to redeem all of fallen creation and to pay the price for human sin.
NLT Mark 10:45 For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."
NIV Luke 2:38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
ESV Luke 24:21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
KJV Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
NIV 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
ESV Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-
NIV Galatians 4:5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Hume clearly acknowledges that chance has no existence: there is “no such thing as chance in the world.” He also speaks of the real cause of any event. We may be ignorant of the real cause, but it emphatically does not follow that there is no real cause. We know that chance can never be the real cause of anything because there is no such thing (res) in the world as chance. Speaking of “chance” in a causal way is begotten from ignorance of real causes. Chance is an unreal cause, which is no cause.
Sermonic Structure:
I. The family you have do you think that’s by chance. (Verse 1)
II. The friends you have do you think that’s by chance. (Verse 2)
III. The field you’re in do you think that’s by chance. (Verse 3-5)
IV. The footsteps you’ve made do you think that’s by chance. (Verse 6)
V. The favor you are receiving do you think that’s all by chance. (Verse 7)
May 24th 2009
Rhema Community Church
Sermonic Skeleton
Sermonic Scripture: ESV Ruth 2:1-7 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, "The LORD be with you!" And they answered, "The LORD bless you." 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, "She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest."
Sermonic Theme: The Providence of God (God will provide)
Sermonic Subject: Chance or Providence (Though there be no such thing as Chance in the world; our ignorance of the real cause of any event has the same influence on the understanding, and begets a like species of belief or opinion. David Hume)
Sermonic Sentence: God will provide what you need when you need it where you need it how you need it, and who you may need to achieve it. (He may not come when you want Him, but you are going to want Him when He comes.)
Sermonic Tension: There are no accidents in the life of believers. “Chance, when strictly examined, is a mere negative word, and means not any real power which has anywhere a being in nature.” David Hume
Sermonic Background: Providence from the Latin providere, “to provide.” The word “providence” does not occur in the Bible. It refers, however, to three biblical concepts: (1) In theology, providence is the general foresight, love, and care of God for people. (Romans 8.28) Providence can also refer to the idea that (2) God had divinely ordained or preordained certain events, or that (3) the universe is under God’s control so that ultimately good will be produced.
Redemption from the Latin redemption, from redimere, “to redeem,” to buy back again.” In theology, the idea that Christ “redeemed” or “bought back” mankind by delivering us from sin and its punishment, therefore making salvation possible. Jesus came to redeem all of fallen creation and to pay the price for human sin.
NLT Mark 10:45 For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."
NIV Luke 2:38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
ESV Luke 24:21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
KJV Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
NIV 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
ESV Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-
NIV Galatians 4:5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Hume clearly acknowledges that chance has no existence: there is “no such thing as chance in the world.” He also speaks of the real cause of any event. We may be ignorant of the real cause, but it emphatically does not follow that there is no real cause. We know that chance can never be the real cause of anything because there is no such thing (res) in the world as chance. Speaking of “chance” in a causal way is begotten from ignorance of real causes. Chance is an unreal cause, which is no cause.
Sermonic Structure:
I. The family you have do you think that’s by chance. (Verse 1)
II. The friends you have do you think that’s by chance. (Verse 2)
III. The field you’re in do you think that’s by chance. (Verse 3-5)
IV. The footsteps you’ve made do you think that’s by chance. (Verse 6)
V. The favor you are receiving do you think that’s all by chance. (Verse 7)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Are you Bitter or Better?
Sunday Sermon
May 17th 2009
Rhema Community Church
Sermonic Skeleton
Sermonic Scripture: ESV Ruth 1:19-22 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, "Is this Naomi?" 20 She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Sermonic Theme: The Providence of God (God will provide)
Sermonic Subject: The Grace of God. (Stop grumbling over Grace)
Sermonic Tension: God is good however, life maybe bitter. (How do you handle life when you think God is being bitter towards you?)
Sermonic Sentence: Glorifying God is the antidote to bitterness.
Sermonic Structure:
I. If you desire to be better and not bitter acknowledge you are human (Verse 19)
II. If you desire to be better and not bitter acknowledge you are hurt (Verse 20)
III. If you desire to be better and not bitter acknowledge you have help (Verse 21)
IV. If you desire to be better and not bitter acknowledge you have hope (Verse 22)
May 17th 2009
Rhema Community Church
Sermonic Skeleton
Sermonic Scripture: ESV Ruth 1:19-22 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, "Is this Naomi?" 20 She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Sermonic Theme: The Providence of God (God will provide)
Sermonic Subject: The Grace of God. (Stop grumbling over Grace)
Sermonic Tension: God is good however, life maybe bitter. (How do you handle life when you think God is being bitter towards you?)
Sermonic Sentence: Glorifying God is the antidote to bitterness.
Sermonic Structure:
I. If you desire to be better and not bitter acknowledge you are human (Verse 19)
II. If you desire to be better and not bitter acknowledge you are hurt (Verse 20)
III. If you desire to be better and not bitter acknowledge you have help (Verse 21)
IV. If you desire to be better and not bitter acknowledge you have hope (Verse 22)
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Power of God's Love
Sunday Sermon
May 10th 2009
Rhema Community Church
Sermonic Skeleton
Sermonic Pericope: ESV Ruth 1:1-18 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. 6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!" Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." 11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me." 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you." 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
Sermonic Theme: The Providence of God (God will provide)
Sermonic Subject: God’s Love (God packages His love in human flesh)
Sermonic Tension: Love ones die however, the love of God forever lives.
Sermonic Sentence: The providential hand of God’s love is actively at work in our lives today.
Sermonic Background: The book of Ruth is set chronologically in the midst of the dark years of the judges. It offers encouragement and hope to those who decide to follow God. This story of love and dedication revolves around three people who determine in their hearts to walk in integrity, clinging to their God and His precepts three people who know who their King is and who do what is right in His eyes Ruth, Naomi and Boaz.
It is the story of an ordinary godly family that despite life’s misfortunes never lost hope and in the end found happiness. Life’s villains are present sin, famine and death in the midst of this reality the book of Ruth reveals to us the loyalty, generosity, kindness and devotion of simple honest people.
It is impossible to read Ruth without the feeling that although He was hidden behind coincidence and human artifice, God was in control all the time. When we are told that “chance” led Ruth to Boaz’s plot we know that it was anything but “chance”. Nor can we escape the conclusion that when religion nationally was in distress, it was through islands of faith in the families of people like Naomi that God preserved a nucleus of faith. Moreover, whilst God was caring for ordinary families He was equally at work on the stage of history. For when Ruth remarried, it was to become the great-grandmother of David and an ancestress of Christ Himself. In recounting this the sacred author is showing through Ruth, a woman with the Moabite blood of one of Israel’s staunchest foes in her veins, that when it comes to race or sex God has no favorites.
In a poem that touches the sublime in a paradigm of devotion and piety Ruth, elects to accompany Naomi back to Bethlehem and to adopt her God as her God (Ruth 1.1-22). The final verses of Ruth show us that Ruth was included in the genealogy of David and therefore in the human lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only did a sovereign God include the harlot, Rahab, in the genealogy of His Son, moreover, He also chose a Gentile, Ruth. Both of these women chose to believe God when those around them did not! In the book of Judges, Israel forsook the true God and turned to idols, while in Ruth the opposite is seen. One Gentile woman turns from idols to serve the only wise true living God. (Naomi is an unsung ‘shero’ of sacred scripture.)
Sermonic Structure:
I. Naomi is Surrounded by God’s Love (Verse 1)
II. Naomi is Supported by God’s Love (Verse 2)
III. Naomi is Surprised by God’s Love (Verses 3-17)
IV. Naomi is Silenced by God’s Love (Verses 18)
May 10th 2009
Rhema Community Church
Sermonic Skeleton
Sermonic Pericope: ESV Ruth 1:1-18 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. 6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!" Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." 11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me." 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you." 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
Sermonic Theme: The Providence of God (God will provide)
Sermonic Subject: God’s Love (God packages His love in human flesh)
Sermonic Tension: Love ones die however, the love of God forever lives.
Sermonic Sentence: The providential hand of God’s love is actively at work in our lives today.
Sermonic Background: The book of Ruth is set chronologically in the midst of the dark years of the judges. It offers encouragement and hope to those who decide to follow God. This story of love and dedication revolves around three people who determine in their hearts to walk in integrity, clinging to their God and His precepts three people who know who their King is and who do what is right in His eyes Ruth, Naomi and Boaz.
It is the story of an ordinary godly family that despite life’s misfortunes never lost hope and in the end found happiness. Life’s villains are present sin, famine and death in the midst of this reality the book of Ruth reveals to us the loyalty, generosity, kindness and devotion of simple honest people.
It is impossible to read Ruth without the feeling that although He was hidden behind coincidence and human artifice, God was in control all the time. When we are told that “chance” led Ruth to Boaz’s plot we know that it was anything but “chance”. Nor can we escape the conclusion that when religion nationally was in distress, it was through islands of faith in the families of people like Naomi that God preserved a nucleus of faith. Moreover, whilst God was caring for ordinary families He was equally at work on the stage of history. For when Ruth remarried, it was to become the great-grandmother of David and an ancestress of Christ Himself. In recounting this the sacred author is showing through Ruth, a woman with the Moabite blood of one of Israel’s staunchest foes in her veins, that when it comes to race or sex God has no favorites.
In a poem that touches the sublime in a paradigm of devotion and piety Ruth, elects to accompany Naomi back to Bethlehem and to adopt her God as her God (Ruth 1.1-22). The final verses of Ruth show us that Ruth was included in the genealogy of David and therefore in the human lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only did a sovereign God include the harlot, Rahab, in the genealogy of His Son, moreover, He also chose a Gentile, Ruth. Both of these women chose to believe God when those around them did not! In the book of Judges, Israel forsook the true God and turned to idols, while in Ruth the opposite is seen. One Gentile woman turns from idols to serve the only wise true living God. (Naomi is an unsung ‘shero’ of sacred scripture.)
Sermonic Structure:
I. Naomi is Surrounded by God’s Love (Verse 1)
II. Naomi is Supported by God’s Love (Verse 2)
III. Naomi is Surprised by God’s Love (Verses 3-17)
IV. Naomi is Silenced by God’s Love (Verses 18)
Monday, May 4, 2009
Dancing with God
Sunday Sermon
May 3rd 2009
Rhema Community Church
Sermonic Skeleton: This is an introductory Sermon to the Book of Ruth
Sermonic Scripture:ESV Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Sermonic Theme: The Providence of God
Sermonic Subject: Trust God with your life.
(Faith in God)
Sermonic Tension: In life, you may experience a tremendous amount of negativity.
Sermonic Sentence: God will provide
Sermonic Background: By any standards the Book of Ruth is a classic short story. It has been called the most beautiful short story ever written. It deals with a plot that naturally emerges through conversations between the major characters: Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. The setting of the book is the time of the judges. The period of the judges was between the initial conquest of Palestine under Joshua and the establishment of the monarchy under Saul. It was a time of moral and political chaos in Israel. There was no strong central government or leader, the people repeatedly turned away from God, and neighboring peoples constantly harassed and invaded the disorganized nation (Judg 2:14-15; 21:25).
Providence The idea of providence is implicit in any notion of God as the Supreme Being. An adequate definition of the idea of God requires his over lordship of the history of all that is. Nevertheless, the Christian doctrine of the providence of God rests not upon such metaphysical speculation, but on the teaching of the Bible. Providence is the beneficent outworking of God’s sovereignty whereby all events are directed and disposed to bring about those purposes of glory and good for which the universe was made. These events include the actions of free agents, which while remaining free, personal and responsible are also the intended actions of those agents.
Providence thus encompasses both natural and personal events, setting them alike within the purposes of God. Providence from the Latin providere, “to provide.” The word “providence” does not occur in the Bible. It refers, however, to three biblical concepts: (1) in theology, providence is the general foresight, love, and care of God for people. Romans 8.28 reads: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Providence can also refer to the idea that. (2) God has divinely ordained or preordained certain events, or that. (3) The universe is under God’s control so that ultimately good will is produced. Providence is the loving care and governance that God exercises over the created universe. The traditional picture of providence is one in which God, as an omniscient, omnipotent and perfectly good being, has exhaustive knowledge of the past, present and future, and exercises his power to ensure that every event that occurs is part of his perfect plan. Some have recently questioned such a view of providence by arguing that it does not do justice to human freedom. According to a revised view, God knows all the possibilities and knows what responses he must make to ensure that his goals are achieved. The issues raised by providence are closely linked to the problems raised by predestination and the compatibility of divine foreknowledge and human free will.
Sermonic Skeleton:
I. Hear Life’s Music
a. The tempo of life's music is selected by God
b. The length of life's music is determined by God
II. Follow God’s Lead
a. God leads us with His omniscience
b. God leads us with His omnipresence
c. God leads us with His omnipotence
III. Hold Onto God’s Hand
a. God has plans for your life
b. God has people for your life
c. God has provision for your life
May 3rd 2009
Rhema Community Church
Sermonic Skeleton: This is an introductory Sermon to the Book of Ruth
Sermonic Scripture:ESV Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Sermonic Theme: The Providence of God
Sermonic Subject: Trust God with your life.
(Faith in God)
Sermonic Tension: In life, you may experience a tremendous amount of negativity.
Sermonic Sentence: God will provide
Sermonic Background: By any standards the Book of Ruth is a classic short story. It has been called the most beautiful short story ever written. It deals with a plot that naturally emerges through conversations between the major characters: Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. The setting of the book is the time of the judges. The period of the judges was between the initial conquest of Palestine under Joshua and the establishment of the monarchy under Saul. It was a time of moral and political chaos in Israel. There was no strong central government or leader, the people repeatedly turned away from God, and neighboring peoples constantly harassed and invaded the disorganized nation (Judg 2:14-15; 21:25).
Providence The idea of providence is implicit in any notion of God as the Supreme Being. An adequate definition of the idea of God requires his over lordship of the history of all that is. Nevertheless, the Christian doctrine of the providence of God rests not upon such metaphysical speculation, but on the teaching of the Bible. Providence is the beneficent outworking of God’s sovereignty whereby all events are directed and disposed to bring about those purposes of glory and good for which the universe was made. These events include the actions of free agents, which while remaining free, personal and responsible are also the intended actions of those agents.
Providence thus encompasses both natural and personal events, setting them alike within the purposes of God. Providence from the Latin providere, “to provide.” The word “providence” does not occur in the Bible. It refers, however, to three biblical concepts: (1) in theology, providence is the general foresight, love, and care of God for people. Romans 8.28 reads: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Providence can also refer to the idea that. (2) God has divinely ordained or preordained certain events, or that. (3) The universe is under God’s control so that ultimately good will is produced. Providence is the loving care and governance that God exercises over the created universe. The traditional picture of providence is one in which God, as an omniscient, omnipotent and perfectly good being, has exhaustive knowledge of the past, present and future, and exercises his power to ensure that every event that occurs is part of his perfect plan. Some have recently questioned such a view of providence by arguing that it does not do justice to human freedom. According to a revised view, God knows all the possibilities and knows what responses he must make to ensure that his goals are achieved. The issues raised by providence are closely linked to the problems raised by predestination and the compatibility of divine foreknowledge and human free will.
Sermonic Skeleton:
I. Hear Life’s Music
a. The tempo of life's music is selected by God
b. The length of life's music is determined by God
II. Follow God’s Lead
a. God leads us with His omniscience
b. God leads us with His omnipresence
c. God leads us with His omnipotence
III. Hold Onto God’s Hand
a. God has plans for your life
b. God has people for your life
c. God has provision for your life
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