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Intro: Theme/Topic (What’s the problem, the question, etc.) In 1928, scientist Alexander Fleming entered his laboratory to discover that mold had contaminated one of his petri dishes. But before he could throw it away he noticed that the bacteria surrounding the mold was all dead! This seemingly bad…

Judges 13:25-14:20 Last week we were introduced to a man, Manoah, and his wife. They were told they were going to have a son, a son that was going to be great! He will begin to deliver Isael out of the hand of the Philistines. Because of the cycle of sin that Israel was stuck on, once the last judge…

Today we are wrapping up this six part study of the Good News called, “Life in 6 Words.” We get these six words by using the word “Gospel” as an acrostic. As a way of review, let’s walk through these six words one final time… G - God created us to be with Him. ( Genesis 1-2 ) O - Our sins separate us…

Introduction Frightening driver’s ed stories. If you ever break down at night, don’t shine your light at approaching cars. It’s true…our bodies follow our eyes. Which makes it important for us to pay attention to where our eyes look. This is what we learn from Samson - to pay attention to what we are…

Samson seems like a super-hero. With his super-strength he is almost invulnerable, and single-handedly kills thousands. And yet his story is one of constant frustration and failure. Samson's strength is not his own, for he was called to a purpose: ridding Israel of the Philistines. So even when he ignores this purpose, God works through him to achieve this end. How can we avoid being like Samson--striving for (and failing at) our own purposes serving greater ends despite ourselves? Are we, too, doomed to Samson's restless misery, or is there a better way?

Lesson 2: Introduction Part 2 Last week we mainly gave a scope of what we are going to be covering in this study – the books that are involved and explained how the make of Israel went from one kingdom to a the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel. This week we are going to look at the subject & precursors…

To be in but not of Judges (Reflections: Samson and Culture Wars, Then and Now) The people of God have always been tempted to reflect culture instead of transforming it, but perhaps the temptation is greater in North America today than at any other time or place in the history of God’s people Jerry McCann…

Pastor Mike looks at the beginnings of the life of Samson, reading verse-by-verse through Chapter 13

Gods Plan For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. For Samson to be separated unto God a deliverer he was to begin to defeat the…

Judges: A Few Good Men…And Women Introduction: What is the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the word “judge”? Turn to the person next to you and share what came into your mind first. Remember, no swearing in church. Some people think of something like this: (Flip Wilson of “Here Comes…

Introduction Retaliation at Falls Creek. Turning off hot water heater to koolaid in shower heads to stealing clothing and bedding. Retaliation is nothing new. About a year ago, we looked at the life of Samson ( Judges 14-15 ) His riddle led to a threat and him striking down 30 men. Then after his almost…

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, We come before You today with grateful hearts, thanking You for the gift of family and the privilege of coming together to seek Your face. As we gather in Your presence, we ask for Your Holy Spirit to be among us, guiding our thoughts and opening our hearts to the message…

Intro; When we started this study on faith we began in Hebrews 11 asking “What Is Faith?” Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith - Trust, belief, walking with Jesus, etc.. but is goes beyond that. Faith is substance [ trust ] that is connected to hope […

Today we are starting a series that I hope you will find interesting and engaging, but above all my hope and prayer is that this series will be a tool that God will use in your life to reach a lost and dying world. Today we are going to go back to basics and study the Good News. If you don’t feel comfortable…

Intro; As we come to the end of our study on “What Is Faith?” , we’re going to look at a montage of people and their faith. One main theme runs through these last verses on faith and it’s “A Faith that Perseveres”. The word perseverance means “to bear up under.” It describes someone who remains steadfast…

Introduction Johnny Manzel documentary came out. Johnny Football. And it was realized the waste of incredible talent. I look at those guys and wonder what would have happened…? Had a better work ethic, character, purpose? The story of Samson, from Judges 13 - 16 , is similar in that there is this man,…

Open to Hebrews 11.32-40 ... Today we finish out chapter 11... In this final section the author gives us a generic grouping of examples to wrap up the point he has been trying to make since v. 1-2... We’ll look at these examples, not in too much detail, at least not like we have with the previous examples...…

Genesis 3:14-15 Dec 17, 1927 8 year old S class submarine conducting tests off coast of MA. 2273 Any Hope Of Rescue? Someone has said that if you could convince a man there was no hope, he would curse the day he was born. Hope is an indispensable quality of life. Years ago the S-4 submarine was rammed…

Leader Guide ESV, Unit 9, Session 4 © 2018 LifeWay Christian Resources, Permission granted to reproduce and distribute within the license agreement with purchaser. Edited by Rev. Lex DeLong, M.A. June, 2022. Summary and Goal In the previous sessions, we saw how God uses unexpected people and circumstances…

Summary Ezekiel 17 presents a riddle or parable of two eagles about the treachery of Zedekiah, the puppet governor appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to replace Jehoiachin, the Judahite king taken captive in an earlier wave of exile of which Ezekiel had been a part. Zedekiah would be captured in the last phase…

Leader Guide ESV, Unit 9, Session 4 © 2018 LifeWay Christian Resources, Permission granted to reproduce and distribute within the license agreement with purchaser. Edited by Rev. Lex DeLong, M.A. June, 2022. Summary and Goal In the previous sessions, we saw how God uses unexpected people and circumstances…

God dispersed the people for their own good, then later He united the peoples out of His mercy.

Does anyone know what this picture represents? This might be the most amazing data picture you see in a lifetime! It shows the 63,779 cross-references in the Bible. The white bars along the bottom represent each Bible chapter, Gen. 1 - Rev. 22 . The line’s color shows the reference’s distance from the…

Good morning, Gateway! Scripture: Psalm 31 . Prayer Intro Good morning, again! August 5, 2001 was a beautiful night in Cleveland, Ohio at Jacobs Field, especially if you were a Seattle Mariners fan. The Mariners coming into the game were 80-30, they had won the first two games of the series, and seemed…

Good morning, Gateway! Scripture: Lam 3:21-26 . God of creation. God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God of the covenant. You are merciful, and gracious, slower to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and sin, but you are also…