Watch or listen to sermons preached from the pulpit at Fairview Baptist Church.
Gideon and Abimelech
After the success of Gideon’s victory over the Midianites by the grace and working of God, Gideon’s life ends in turmoil. Rather than humility, God’s grace in Gideon’s life leads him to pride, to assume the role of the king and exact revenge on those who defy him. Following Gideon’s death, Gideon’s son Abimelech then sends Israel into further turmoil until God judges him for his sinful and underhanded ways.
Gideon
As the people of Israel again do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, the Lord prepares them for deliverance. He sends his prophet to call them to repentance and obedience, he tears down their idols, and then he reduces their army to practically nothing so that he and he alone would receive all the glory and honor. There is much for us to learn here from God’s actions and Gideon’s flawed faith.
Deborah and Barak
We see another Judges “cycle” where God delivers his people in an amazing and surprising way. In this story of twists and turns the result is that God is praised and worshiped. We see in this text, his power to deliver and his might and sovereign hand orchestrating this deliverance years in advance.
The Lord of All Comfort
What a promise that those who receive the new birth, those who enter the kingdom will be comforted.
Othniel and Ehud
The first two Judges begin to describe the Judges “cycle.” The people forget God, turn to idols, God sends an oppressor, the people cry out to the Lord, and God raises a deliverer who gives rest for a time. Then the people forget God again.From Othniel and Ehud, we can learn how we can prevent a similar cycle to happening in our own lives. We also are encouraged that our deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ, brings total deliverance. And unlike…
Heaven (Part 4): What Is Heaven Like?
In this final part of the series we look at what heaven is and what heaven will be like.
Heaven (Part 3): What Is Hell Like?
In part 3, we look at the reality of hell and what the Bible says about it.
Living in a Pluralistic Land
These verses summarize the time period of the Judges. It describes a disobedient people living in an idolatrous and pluralistic land. They have failed to pass on the faith to the next generation and they have failed to put out the idols that surround them. Interestingly, we living in similar times. Can you see the influence of the culture on your Christianity? Do you bring every aspect of your life under the lordship of Jesus Christ? May our hearts yearn…
Heaven (Part 2): Visions of Heaven
After looking in part 1 how our contemporary “Christian” culture sees heaven, we turn to the Biblical authors and how they see heaven. We’ll look at the visions in Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, and Revelation.
Heaven (Part 1): How Do We Know?
How do we know about heaven? Where do we go for answers? This session looks at how people claim to know what heaven is like, especially looking at the plethora of “heaven tourism” books that are so popular among Christians today. These books are not only deceptive, they are destructive. The session ends by explaining why the Bible is our definitive source of truth about heaven.
Half-Hearted Obedience
Continuing the conquest of Canaan, the Israelites partial obey God. They were half-hearted in their obedience. God calls this half-hearted obedience…disobedience. How are we like these Israelites? When do we settle and not obey God courageously and boldly? When do we say “I can’t” when God hears us say “I won’t.” The key to pressing on in obedience and service is to trust in God, in his strength, in his power to save, power to forgive, and that he accepts…