May 17, 2015

Testing and the First Judges

Speaker: Scott C. Jones Series: Judges: Partial Victories & the Faithfulness of God Topic: Exposition Passage: Judges 3

Testing and the First Judges from Jacobs Well.


 

THE JOURNEY DOWNWARD

 

     The Purpose of Testing

 

     Getting Civilized

 

OTHNIEL

 

     Ideal Judge / Ideal Provision

 

     The Importance of Leadership / Temporary Impact

 

EHUD

 

     Unlikely Hero, Strange Victory

 

     Ehud’s Revelation: The Comic Deceitfulness of Idolatry

 

SHAMGAR

 

     (Even More) Unlikely Hero, Strange(r) Victory

 

THE POINT OF THIS?

 

     Jesus: Spirit-Giver, Eternal King

 

          Unlikely Hero, Strange Victory over Idolatry

 

     Us: Unlikely Victors in Jesus

 

COMMUNITY MEDITATION

KNOW

  • What are the idols in our culture that can appear most seductive to you? What evidence is there that those idols offer misleading hope of fulfillment? Help one another “unveil” the deceit of the idolatry in our lives.
  • Consider Jesus’ provision over and against the false promises of the idols you’ve just discussed. How is Jesus better?

FEEL

  • Do you think there’s anything in your life that God may be using to “test” you?Do you think of yourself as an unlikely member of God’s plan to redeem the world? What makes you feel inadequate? How do you think God would respond to your objections?
  • The Book of Judges begins with conflict and ends in chaos? How can we find encouragement in this? If this was the only chapter of the story, how would we feel?

LIVE

  • Waging war against indwelling sin is primarily a fight to worship the actual God rather than false imitations of God. What practical steps can you take to pursue right, rather than misguided, worship this week? Go beyond simple answers and get very practical here.

other sermons in this series