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Judges 6-8 - 15.03.09
no more heroes
It is in Israel's darkest times that they realize the most profound truths. In their darkest time God raises up for them a deliverer, but will he forget who raised him up? Will Israel remember who the hero of the story is?
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Recommendations/Influences
Books:
Judges: Such a Great Salvation - Davis Dale RalphNIV Application Commentary: Judges - K. Lawson Younger
Word Biblical Commentary: Judges - Trent Butler
Other:
Watchmen (Comic Book) - Allan Moore
Judges (McMaster Divinity School Course) - Dr. Keith Bodner
Numbers 13 and Joshua 6 - 08.03.09the walls fall downIn the face of incredible promise and overwhelming challenge... Israel has a decision to make. Do they trust God and claim the land they have been promised? Or do they doubt, fear, and return to Egypt? Do they trust in horses and chariots, or the God that has been leading them?
Do they really believe that God can be trusted? Do we really believe that God can be trusted? 
Download 'the walls fall down' from Freedomize.com
What you can't hear:During the sermon, starting from the mention of walking around the walls, members of the band, one by one, began to stand up and walk around the sanctuary. Once the finished the lap they would take their place up front. When all six band members had circled and sat, I began my walk around the edge for the final part of the sermon. Upon reaching the front and shouting 'the walls fall down...' the band exploded into a celebratory song and led us in the worship of the God we trust.
Recommendations/Influences
Books:
Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals - Dr. William Webb (deals with the idea of God's ethical ideal, or potty training... if you don't get it, listen to the sermon)
NICOT: Joshua - Martin Woudstra
Exodus 3 & 12 - 15.02.09
the new exodus
Egypt starts as an empire, but becomes a metaphor:
Egypt is a place where things are more important then people
Egypt is a place where people are treated as machines
Egypt is a place concerned with making a name for itself
Egypt is a place where motivation comes from violence
Egypt is a place where people are stuck in slavery
Egypt is a place where humanity is separated from the God who created them
And Egypt is a place that we all recognize is alive and well today, isn’t it?
Maybe some of us need to leave Egypt?
Download 'the new exodus' from Freedomize.com
What you can't hear:At the end of the sermon we literally packed up our stuff and performed out own exodus out of the building. We walked as a congregation a few blocks to another church building where we had an elaborate, beautiful 'love-feast'. The love-feast was a seven course meal made by our church's small groups and consisted of eating, laughing, talking, singing, praising, and baptizing! It was a holy and sacred evening!
Recommendations/Influences
Other:
Eating, drinking, dancing, laughing, praising, hugging, praying, baptizing...
Gen 12 & 15 - 01.02.09
may i be ripped limb from limb
The church has a difficult calling, the call to be God's hand's and feet, to be His body in the world... what if we fail? Who does the burden fall on? An agreement has been made, a covenant, but who is the God on the other side? That will make all the difference...
Download 'may i be ripped limb from limb' from Freedomize.com
What you can't hear:
Near the end of the sermon, when talking about the covenant ceremony being lay out, I walked down the center aisle, treating it as the aisle Abram made. If you are the imaginative type, you could see a little more clearly what it looked like for Abram to cut these animals in half, aware of what this covenant might cost him. One person later said "I could smell the blood of the animals; hear it sticking to his sandals." Awesome!
Genesis 3-4, 11 - 25.01.09
garden.field.tower
Sin is on the move, out to pervert everything good that God has made, turning Kingdom to anti-Kingdom. It moves from a garden, to a field, to a tower; and cheapens, perverts, and destroys everything along the way. What does this mean for us? Can we fight back? Can we move from a tower, to a field, to a garden?
Download 'garden.field.tower.' from Freedomize.com
What you can't hear:
Well, you can hear it a bit this time! Around the 17 minute mark there is a fight in the congregation... a planned fight, but a fight none-the-less! In an attempt to show people just how harsh and real the pain of sin can be, when talking about the man and the woman's relationship we had a mock fight between a man and a woman in our congregation! They both have history in acting, and it showed... a little too well. Their fight was apparently too accurate for a few people, who then spent the rest of the service praying for the couple that got in a fight! At the end of the sermon the couple came in for communion together, which was beautiful and moving, but apparently a few people still missed it, resulting in us needing to make an announcement about it the next week! Lesson learned. That said, at least the image will never leave your head!
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