Sunday – March 2, 2014 Judges 14-15 “The Lion, The Wench, & The Wardrobe”

Sunday – March 2, 2014 – Read the Word on Worship

Judges 14 and “The Lion, the Wench and the Wardrobe” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.


Word On Worship – Sunday – March 2, 2014 Download / Print

Judges 14:3-4
“Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she looks good to me.” 4 However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.”

Have you ever known anyone who wasted his or her life? Someone who, based on the subjective standards of the world, appears to have great potential because of their intelligence or creativity or personality and yet never lived up to your expectations of those qualities? Samson is perhaps the most well-known of all of the judges. There have been times when he has been held up as a hero, but in reality he may be the worst of the judges recorded in this book. If anyone knew what Samson’s potential was, it would have been his parents.

Think of the anguish Manoah and his wife experienced as they observed Samson’s disdain for his calling as a Nazirite. How many sleepless nights were there for these godly parents when they realized that in spite of their desire to raise Samson to be a godly young man, he had every intention of going his own way? While some might argue that they did not do enough to stop him from marrying a Philistine wife, they did clearly express their displeasure and sought to persuade him to marry an Israelite woman. In spite of their efforts, Samson was intent on going his own foolish way, more interested in satisfying his desires than in fulfilling his spiritual calling.

Here’s the beautiful thing: Samson’s sin would neither hinder nor thwart God’s purposes. Samson would be a deliverer, or, in the words of the Angel of the Lord, he would “begin” to deliver Israel from the Philistines. God’s purposes are vastly greater than anything we can imagine. What Samson’s parents could not see at the moment was that God would use Samson as an unwilling instrument, and thus He would accomplish everything that He had purposed.

In times like ours, things certainly look bleak, spiritually speaking. Our nation has forgotten and forsaken its spiritual roots. Christians are no longer respected as they once were, and there are indications that greater persecution is coming for those who trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and believe that the Bible is His inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word. We see Congress out of control, proposing legislation that would have seemed preposterous only a few years ago. Are we as Christians wringing our hands, as though God’s promises and purposes are at risk? Unlike Samson’s parents, we have been told what God is going to do in the future, and we have also been assured that no power on earth can thwart His plans and purposes. The very things over which we may be agonizing may be what God is using to accomplish His sovereign will.

Sunday – February 9, 2014 Judges 9:22-49 “Payday is Someday”

Sunday – February 9, 2014 – Read the Word on Worship
Judges 9 verses 22 to 49 “Payday is Someday” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.


Word On Worship – Sunday – February 9, 2014 Download / Print

Judges 9:56-57
Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. Also God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them.”

I love precision, not because I am precise in everything that I do, but because I get great pleasure watching others do their tasks with such skill and accuracy. It is one of the reasons why I love watching the Olympics so much. But it is more than sports; it might be the gardener who knows exactly what to look for to fix my sprinklers or the doctors who treated me in the hospital last year. They waste little time and material, and they make their work look so easy.

The Book of Judges illustrates the precision with which our God goes about His work in this world. The obstacles and difficulties are many but God is at work through different kinds of men and women, few of whom are godly, or even wise. The goal of God’s work is the preservation of His people, the fulfillment of His covenant promises, and the punishment of those who have played a part in the slaughter of the 70 sons of Jerub-Baal (Gideon). And the punishment must be meted out in such a way as to destroy the guilty, and yet secure the safety of those who were not involved in the evil committed against the sons of Gideon. The skill and efficiency of God are entirely consistent with His character, but it is still a wonder to behold.

Our text is an excellent demonstration of the fact that God is not only able to execute justice in such a way that the wicked get exactly what they deserve, He is also able to judge in such a way as to protect those who are innocent. Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem perish for their treachery in the murder of Gideon’s sons who were Abimelech’s rivals. Gaal, his relatives, and the people of Thebez were spared because they had no part in this evil. I take great encouragement when I realize that God’s timing and His work of deliverance and destruction are always done with great precision. There are no accidents in what God brings to pass, His ways are perfect.

When I read the newspaper or watch the news on television, the world appears to be in chaos. Do not despair, as though no one is in control. The Scriptures teach us to view the chaos of our world differently than we often do, as the unseen hand of God, bringing about the fulfillment of His plans and purposes. Our passage wonderfully demonstrates the awesome truth of the sovereignty of God. God is in complete control of everything that happens so He can fulfill the curse of Jotham in such a precise way. So do not fear, there is no question that God’s plans and purposes will come to pass as He providentially and more visibly governs the affairs of men.

Sunday – February 2, 2014 Judges 8:33 – 9:21 “When Government is God’s Judgment”

Sunday – February 2, 2014 – Read the Word on Worship

Judges 8 verses 33 to 9 verse 21 “When Government is God’s Judgment” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.


Word On Worship – February 2, 2014              Download / Print

Judges 8:33-35
Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.”

Before we are told of the evils of Abimelech and of leaders of Shechem, we first are told of the evils of the Israelites, evils which were the reason for God’s judgment upon the nation. This is a judgment that came from within, rather than from without. It was Gideon who created the ephod which the Israelites worshipped. But as bad as this worship of the ephod was during Gideon’s lifetime, we see things went from bad to worse when Gideon died.

But upon Gideon’s death, the Israelites plunged “full speed ahead” into their idolatry. We are told that “they made Baal-Berith their god.” We are very familiar with the term Baal, but the expression “Baal-Berith” is new to us. In the Hebrew text, the term “Berith” means “covenant,” and so the Israelites made “Baal-Berith” their god. Or perhaps we should say the Israelites entered into a “new covenant” – not the Mosaic Covenant, and most certainly not the “New Covenant” of the New Testament – but a covenant with Baal as their new god. The Israelites are not worshipping the God of Israel and also some Canaanite god; they are worshipping a Canaanite god as their only god. They have rejected their covenant with God and have entered into a new covenant with a heathen god, exactly what God had warned them not to do.

Many Christians today, including me, bemoan the fact that our government has become more and more corrupt, so that people of both political parties have become cynical about the motives and actions of politicians. Can anyone deny the decline in morality and justice in government which has been increasing at an alarming rate in recent days? Homosexuality is not merely tolerated by our highest officials; it is praised as something good. Abortions – most of which are really murder – are accepted, praised, encouraged and all too often financed by our government. Our passage in Judges declares to us that our government, corrupt as it is, is precisely what we deserve. God has given the people of our country what many have wanted, as well as what we deserve.

How tragic it is to see that the people of Shechem put their faith in the wrong person. First they trusted in Abimelech, and soon they will trust in Gaal. There is only One who can deliver Israel and us today, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is worthy of our trust and of our praise and looking elsewhere for deliverance will only lead to our destruction. May we pay attention to what is happening in our lifetime and turn to the Lord Jesus.