For Unto Us a Child is Born

Lead Vocalist (Joel)

Welcome & Announcements (Hopson)

Good morning family!

Ask guests to fill out connect card

3 announcements:

1) If you’re a part of the Big Bro/Big Sis Program don’t forget there’s an event on June 28 at 6:30 PM

2) VBS Workers: there’s a mandatory meeting for all volunteers on June 30 at 4 PM

By the way, now is a perfect time to begin inviting families in your neighborhood to VBS!

You can get some of the invite cards at the welcome table

3) For everybody: Our monthly Sunday Night gathering will be next Sunday at 6PM

These gatherings allow us to discuss some things as a church family that are not always easy to discuss on a Sunday morning

Update from the SBC, from our missionaries Luke & Emily Waite, and from our youth group

Potluck at 5 PM, we’ll eat what you bring

Adventure Kids for children

Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Psalm 33:8-9, 11)

Prayer of Praise (Brittney Clukey)

Immortal Invisible

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Prayer of Confession (Joel Whitcomb), Failure to study God's Word

Assurance of Pardon (Psalm 116:5-7)

Before the Throne of God Above

His Mercy is More

Scripture Reading (Judges 13:1-7, 24-25)

The text for today’s sermon is Judges 13. You can find it on page 251 in the black Bibles underneath your seats.

If you don’t have a Bible, we invite you to take one of those Bibles as our gift to you.

Judges 13:1–6—And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

Now skip down with me to verse 24...

Judges 13:24–25—And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Pastoral Prayer (Hopson)

Prayer for PBC—Deacons/coordinators

Jay Bright, Member Care

Missy Holdren, Hospitality

Stuart Holdren, Ordinances

Bibi Laborte, Welcome

Ted Payne, Safety

Chuck Quilhot, Finances

Tasha Tollison, Kids Coordinator

Kelly Watkins, Women’s Ministry

Elizabeth Wells, Office Coordinator

Josh Winchell, Men’s Ministry

Prayer for sister church—Christ Fellowship Church

Thank you for their new building!

Provision and perseverance as they complete the renovations so they can move in

Peter Hess—sabbatical

Prayer for US

Poquoson mayor Gordon Helsel

Thank you for his willingness to serve our city. Give him wisdom to make policies in our city that would lead to human flourishing.

Prayer for the world—Seychelles (sey-shells), collection of Islands north of Madagascar

Leader—President Wavel Ramkalawan—justice for the vulnerable, protection for the unborn, and human flourishing for all the citizens

Social issue(s)—Against the voodoo-like African spiritism that dominates the minds and hearts of people, including many professing Christians

Spiritual issue(s)—Pray for the Seselwa New Testament to be available to all native speakers.

Local churches—Grant believers discernment!

Laborers

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

There are no characters in the book of Judges that loom larger than Samson.

His strength, his long hair, his relationship with Delilah, and his sacrificial death make him a legendary character.

In fact, he just may be one of the most popular characters in the Old Testament.

In art, there are scores of famous paintings and sculptures of Samson featuring artists like Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and Gustave Doré.

In literature his story has been referenced by scores of renowned authors like Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, Benjamin Franklin, Longfellow, Charlotte Brontë, and countless others.

In music, he’s the subject of an entire composition by Handel, and referenced by artists like Bob Dylan, Freddie Mercury, Bob Marley, The Grateful Dead, The Pixies, The Cranberries, and Bruce Springsteen.

And who can forget the famous reference to Samson and Delilah in Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah:

“She tied you to a kitchen chair / She broke your throne, and she cut your hair / And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah.”

By the way that is NOT a Christian song.

In TV and film, Samson has been the subject of about a dozen different movies and TV shows, most famously by Cecil B. deMille in 1949. But he’s been referenced in movies and shows like Pulp Fiction, Lost in Space, Pinky and the Brain, The West Wing, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Family Guy, and Lost.

Perhaps the most creative reference to Samson in television is in an episode of The Simpsons where Homer enjoys miraculous hair growth, giving him newfound confidence and success. The episode is brilliantly entitled Simpson and Delilah.

In business, companies that pride themselves on strength love to name themselves after Samson. Like Samsonite, Samson Technologies, Samson Resources, and Samson Rope.

Around the world, Samson is just as popular. In Austria, about a dozen annual parades celebrate Samson. In Israel the military’s nuclear program is called “The Samson Option.” In England, a popular golden syrup brand uses the story of Samson and the lion for its logo. In Belgium an annual festival features Samson. In Ireland, a famous ship-building crane is named after him. In Czechoslovakia, there’s a brewery known for its bold and robust beers called Samson Brewery. And there are towns named after Samson all over the world, in places like Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Haiti, New Zealand, Nigeria, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Despite all the cultural familiarity with the Samson story, tragically most people miss the main point of his story.

Turn to Judges 13.

Samson is the twelfth and final judge, or rescuer, whose story is told in the book of judges.

SHOW 12 JUDGES TABLE

There may have been more men and women who helped rescue God’s people in these days, but the author gives us twelve—one from each tribe—to make a theological point.

Even the greatest individuals from each and every tribe cannot rescue God’s people from themselves.

Given all the cultural infatuation with Samson, you would think that finally, he would be the one who can ultimately rescue God’s people.

But to think that would be to completely miss the point.

The point of the Samson story is not his strength, or his long hair, or his incredibly high testosterone, or his women, or even his sacrificial death.

The point of the story of Samson is to point to the only One who actually can rescue God’s people.

Or, to put it succinctly, The final judge is meant to point us to the ultimate Judge.

That’s the Big idea I hope to communicate this morning with God’s help.

And we’re going to unpack this Big Idea by examining Four Characters in Samson’s origin story:

1) An Unaffected People

2) An Unlikely Mother

3) An Unsure Husband

4) A Unique Rescuer

Let’s begin with...

1) An UNAFFECTED People

Judges 13:1a—And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,…

By now you should be very familiar with that phrase.

We’ve seen it six times so far in the book of Judges, and this is the seventh and final time.

Why doesn’t this phrase appear in the book again?

It’s NOT because the people are no longer going to commit evil.

The evil God’s people commit after Samson’s death is more diabolical and disgusting than anything we’ve seen up to this point.

In fact, it’s so bad I still haven’t figured out exactly how I’m going to preach it in a room filled with young children. Pray for me!

After the death of Samson, the wording changes a little bit. Instead of saying “the people did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes,” the author tells us “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

This is a good reminder, that you can be doing evil while at the same time convincing yourself that you’re doing what is right. Your feelings, your convictions, your opinions, your truth isn’t the standard of right and wrong. God is.

But that’s not the only lesson we need to take away from verse 13. Let’s finish the verse...

Judges 13:1b—… so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

Once again, a phrase like this shouldn’t be that surprising.

What IS surprising here is that there is no record of God’s people crying out for help.

In each of the previous six instances where we’re told “the people did evil in the Lord’s eyes” within a few verses we see them yelping for help. Every other time.

But not here.

God’s people have grown so used to the slavery of sin that they’re no longer even crying out for rescue.

Dale Davis puts it this way...

Here then is . . . an Israel who not only does not cry out in repentance from sin but also does not even cry out for relief from misery. They have, apparently, grown accustomed to servitude; in fact, in the Samson cycle, they are content with it, are surprised should anyone suggest otherwise (see 15:11). [1]

This is a tragic reminder that sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.

Like the frog who gets boiled alive by slowing turning up the heat, you can become so comfortable with your sin that you stop noticing the ways it is killing you.

One reason why we take time for a prayer of confession every week is to shock our systems just a bit and remind ourselves that we cannot play around with sin!!

Do not harden your heart!

Now think for just a moment. If God’s people will not cry out for help, aren’t they doomed?

If that old saying is true—God only helps those who helps themselves—then there is no hope for the people of God.

If God only rescues people who ask for help than they—and us!—are forever doomed!

But praise God He rescues His people even when we don’t ask for rescue!

And we see that rescue begin to unfold by looking at the second character in our story...

2) An UNLIKELY Mother

Judges 13:2—There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.

It’s been said that Samson’s entire life story can be told be examining his relationships with four women: his mother, his wife a prostitute, and the temptress Delilah.

Ironically we only know the name of the woman who led to his downfall.

Manoah’s wife is unnamed and mostly unknown.

And she is an unlikely mother.

The text tells us this woman was barren.

This doesn’t mean she didn’t have children, but she couldn’t have children.

Unlike for many in our world today, having children was not a lifestyle decision.

In those days having children was a sign of great blessing. Being barren was considered a great curse.

But God loves to bring unearned blessings to unlikely people.

Judges 13:3—And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.”

This is not the first time God caused a barren woman to conceive, and it wouldn’t be the last.

First there was Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

Sarah was 65 years old and barren when God first promised them a child.

25 years later, God kept His promise and Isaac was born.

Then there was Rebekah, who was also barren. Until her husband Isaac prayed for her and the Lord gave her twins.

Next came Rachel, Jacob’s wife, who was barren for many years until God gave her two sons, Joseph and Benjamin.

Around the time of Samson, a barren woman named Hannah prayed for God to give her a child, and nine months later Samuel was born.

About 1000 years later, an old barren woman named Elizabeth gave birth to a baby boy named John.

The birth of Samson is not just another story. It’s one square on a patchwork quilt of stories about how God brings life to the barren and light out of darkness.

And the birth of Samson also teaches us a lesson about the character of God that isn’t as clear from the other 11 judges.

Sometimes it’s tempting to imagine God as something like a really good chess player.

Good chess players may have an overall plan, but they often have to adapt to the moves made by their opponents.

Throughout the book of Judges, you might get the impression that God is simply really good at adapting.

“Okay, you’ve sinned again? Alright, which enemy nations out there are strong enough to overpower you? Midianites, you’ve got a green light!”

“Oh, My people asked for help? Okay, let me find a rescuer… I guess this Gideon guy will work well enough.”

The story of Samson will not let us believe those things about God. Here God is not raising up a rescuer from a list of available alternatives. He is growing one from scratch. He is not engaging in divine crisis management. He is in perfect control, working all things according to the counsel of His will.

Trust that God knows what He’s doing! Everything in your life is working out according to His plan. Trust Him!

You might be tempted to respond, “Well it would be much easier if an angelic visitor appeared and told me that personally! How am I supposed to trust Him when I feel like I’m in the dark?”

If you feel like that, you’ll probably relate with the third character in our story...

3) An UNSURE Husband

After talking with the Angel of the Lord, the woman goes to talk to her husband, Manoah.

For whatever reason, he wasn’t there when the angelic visitor first appeared, so he needs to trust the words of another.

By the way, this is almost everybody in human history. If you were to count up every person in the Bible who had a personal encounter with God or an angel it would be a pretty short list.

Most people—including all of us in this room today—have to believe more than what our eyes can see.

Even though he still had unanswered questions and some level of doubt, Manoah was a noble man. And he was willing to believe. At least somewhat...

Judges 13:8—Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.”

Notice, Manoah doesn’t refuse to believe like Barak did.

And he doesn’t ask for proof, like Gideon did.

He believes his barren wife will conceive, he even says “the child who will be born.”

But he doesn’t know what to do with this kid!

Sounds like most new fathers I know.

When my son was born, I was determined to help. But I could relate with Manoah in verse 8. “What am I to do with this child?!?”

That was especially true during diaper changes.

Experienced dads know you’re supposed to keep little boys covered while you’re changing a diaper. As a rookie, I did not.

So we’re in the hospital, I’m clumsily working my way through one of my first diaper changes and nature calls my son’s name.

So I did the only thing I knew how to do.

Rather than covering my son up to minimize the mess I ran away!!!

Dads, your Manoah moment may be different, but all of us have had them.

We’ve all wanted exactly what Manoah asks for. “God, please visit me and tell me exactly what to do with this kid!!!”

God answers Manoah’s prayer request, and the Angel of the Lord returns.

But their exchange in verses 9-20 is as awkward as season one of The Office.

“Are you the guy who talked to my wife the other day?”

“I am.”

“Uh. . . okay. Well, what are we supposed to do with this kid? How are we supposed to raise him? What will his mission be?”

“I already told your wife.”

"Right, right, okay. Um. . . want to stay for dinner?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“But you can offer a burnt offering to the Lord.”

“Okay, great, we can do that, um. . . what did you say your name was again?”

“Why are you asking me my name? It’s too wonderful for you.”

I think there’s two lessons dads (and moms too) can learn from Manoah here:

First, we have already been told everything we need to know to be faithful parents.

Manoah wanted more details. He wanted special instructions.

But God basically says to Manoah, “You don’t need more instructions. You need to faithfully obey the instructions I’ve already given you.”

Dads and moms, how often do you want the same thing? More details. Special instructions.

What am I supposed to do with this kid?

I believe God says to us, “You don’t need more instructions. You need to faithfully obey the instructions I’ve already given you.”

I am NOT saying we can’t find parenting help from blogs, books, podcasts, Tiktok videos, or so-called experts. But I am saying you don’t NEED any of those resources to be a faithful parent. And the BEST resources are those which point you back to the pages of your Bibles. So do yourselves a favor, dads and moms, and become experts about what God’s Word says about parenting.

Ask yourselves, “Am I faithfully obeying the instructions God has already given me?”

Church: I’m thinking and praying about some sort of weekend intensive where we spend a Friday night, Saturday morning/afternoon talking about what the Bible says about parenting. If you would benefit from something like that, and you would attend it if you could, please let me know.

Now, I am NOT saying God didn’t communicate anything helpful to Manoah. But He doesn’t answer Manoah’s prayer request in the way you would expect. But He gives Manoah something far better.

After their awkward conversation, Manoah prepares a burnt offering just as requested.

Judges 13:20–22—… when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

All this time, Manoah hasn’t been interacting with a created angel. He’s been talking with God Himself!

Remember, sometimes the Old Testament uses the nickname “THE Angel of the Lord” to refer to a bodily appearance from God Himself.

So even though Manoah doesn’t get all his questions answered, he gets something far better: he gets to see God!

That’s the second lesson parents can learn from Manoah: faithful parenting begins with seeing God’s glory.

Dads, you cannot lead your family to water at springs that you cannot find yourself.

You cannot put the oxygen mask of truth on your children if you’re not breathing in God’s Word yourself.

Trying to lead your children to the God of glory without seeing His glory yourself is like the blind leading the blind!

Again, you might be tempted to respond, “Well it would be much easier if I could LITERALLY see God’s glory the way Manoah did!”

If you feel like that, you need to learn from the final character in our story...

4) A UNIQUE Rescuer

Judges 13:24–25—And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

There’s at least three reasons why Samson is unique from the eleven other judges in this book.

First, as we’ve already mentioned, Samson is the only judge with a miraculous conception.

Second, he is the only judge who is clearly set apart for a life of holiness.

In verses 4-5 we learn about his Nazarite vow.

You can read more details about those vows in Numbers 6, but they had three basic rules.

First, you couldn’t cut your hair during your vow.

Second, you couldn’t eat or drink anything from the vine. So no grapes, and no wine.

Third, you couldn’t have any contact with a dead body.

Manoah and his wife seem determined to help Samson keep this vow. And the Holy Spirit Himself is empowering Samson to keep this vow. But if you know the story of Samson, you know that, despite this incredible privilege, he failed his Nazarite vow at each and every point.

The third reason Samson is unique, is that his greatest victory comes through his death.

Samson has a number of incredible victories during his twenty years as a judge.

But Judges 16:30 clearly states that Samson won his greatest victory by dying.

And yet, despite all this uniqueness, Samson’s salvation is incomplete!

When Samson dies, the idolatry and evil in Israel continues. In fact, it just gets worse.

But none of that catches God by surprise! In fact, that was part of His plan.

In Judges 13:5 God tells Manoah’s wife, “… behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

Did you catch the key word there?

Samson would begin to save God’s people from the Philistines.

David—perhaps the only Old Testament character more famous than Samson—continued that salvation. He defeated the Philistine giant Goliath, and ushered in a golden age of peace.

But of course David couldn’t finish the job either, because David couldn’t even defeat the demons in his own heart and life.

Which means Samson, the final judge, is meant to point us to the ultimate Judge.

We began this fourth point by thinking about glory.

It would be so much easier to be faithful in whatever God has called us to do if we could see the glory that Manoah saw.

Brothers and sisters, we have already seen a FAR GREATER GLORY!

John 1:14—And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Who is the ultimate Judge? Who is the One to whom Samson is pointing?

You know the answer. It’s Jesus.

“But I haven’t seen Him!!!”

1 Peter 1:8—Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.

You don’t have to see Jesus with your physical eyes to see His glory!

You can be filled with glory by looking with faith to who Jesus is and what He has done!

Like Samson, Jesus came to an unaffected people...

John 1:9–11—The true Light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.

Jesus did not come because people were looking for Him. His own people were completely ignorant of His coming. Lowly shepherds and Gentile magi were the only ones to celebrate His birth. And they were led there by God Himself.

If Jesus waited to come until His people were looking for Him, He would never had come.

Think back to when God saved you. Were you looking for Him, or was He looking for you?

Aren’t you grateful for grace?

Like Samson, Jesus came through an unlikely mother...

It’s a beautiful miracle when a barren woman conceives a baby.

But it’s a completely different category of miracle when a virgin conceives.

Matthew 1:22–23—All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

And yet, even though a virgin conceiving is the greater miracle, it also bring with it a greater shame...

When Manoah’s wife started to show a little baby bump, that woman who was once ashamed of her infertility was now showered with honor. People began to talk about this amazing news, a barren woman was pregnant!

But when Mary started to show, that woman who was once a honorable virgin preparing for marriage was now showered with shame. People began to talk about this scandalous news, an unmarried woman was pregnant!

Tim Keller says "This reminds us that while the other ‘saviors’ gained honor and glory in order to do their work, Jesus lost all his honor and glory to do his.” [2]

No wonder Jesus’ adopted father was initially an unsure husband...

Like Manoah, Joseph was also an honorable man.

But he could not give his life to an unfaithful woman.

Until—just like with Manoah—God Himself intervened.

Matthew 1:20–21—But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Like Samson, Jesus is a unique rescuer...

But He is not one unique rescuer among many, He is THE Unique rescuer to whom all other rescuers point!

He was holy in all the ways Samson failed.

And like Samson, Jesus’ greatest victory came through His death.

2 Corinthians 5:21—For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus knew no sin. He didn’t fail like Samson did.

But Jesus was made to be sin. That means that He was treated as if He was a sinner. That’s what happened on the cross. Jesus died as a substitute in our place.

Three days later, Jesus defeated death and resurrected so that whoever trusts in Him can receive His righteousness as a gift!

Unbeliever: have you repented and put your faith in this Jesus?

Christian: the world knows a lot about your Samson. Do they know as much about your Jesus? Who in your life needs to know? Where is God leading you to spread the truth about the ultimate judge, who all must trust in before it’s too late?

Prayer of Thanksgiving

In just a moment we’re going to sing a song, and after that we’re going to take the Lord’s Supper together.

Let me remind, you the Lord’s Supper is a special meal for Christians to remember the body and blood of Jesus.

If you are not a follower of Jesus, we invite you to repent and believe in Him today!

If you have not made your faith public by following Jesus in believer’s baptism, we invite you to talk with us about that today.

Pastor Bubba will be at the white flag ready and waiting to talk with anyone about any of these things. You can make your way to him in a moment when we stand to sing.

If you’ve not repented of your sin and followed Jesus in baptism as a believer we would ask you not to take communion with us in a few moments.

That’s not because we think we’re better than you or anything like that.

But because we want you to receive Jesus Himself, not merely the symbol that reminds us of Jesus.

Because we believe the Bible teaches baptism is the first step of obedience as a follower of Jesus, we shouldn’t take later steps until after we’ve taken that first step.

So if that’s you this morning, you’re welcome to remain in your seat when folks are dismissed to take communion in a few minutes.

Or, if you prefer, you’re free to leave the service when we stand to sing in just a moment.

If you choose to leave, nobody is going to be staring at you or judging you because there will also be a bunch of parents getting up to gather their kids from the nursery while we’re singing so that all our volunteers can join us for communion.

Now let’s stand and sing together...

Hallelujah for the Cross

LORD’S SUPPER

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below

Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Amen

Benediction (1 Peter 5:10–11)