Sermon Preview
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
This coming Lord’s Day, as we continue on our walk through select sections of the book of Judges, we will arrive at the most famous of Israel’s judges, and one of the most well-known men in the whole Bible—the man called “Samson.” And in chapter 13 we discover the very beginning his story—what will prove to be the longest of the stories of any of the judges, taking up four whole chapters.
What most of us know about this popular Biblical character is that he was incredibly (supernaturally!) strong, and that somehow his extraordinary strength was connected to the length of his hair. And we also know that he was kind of a reckless man, not truly loyal to the Lord, one who hobnobbed with the enemy, married a non-Israelite (a Philistine woman!), and met his tragic end because he could not resist the seductive powers of that infamous and diabolically clever woman named “Delilah.”
But who was Samson, really? And why is his story so important, a fact underlined by the amount of verses and chapters dedicated to him in the Bible? And why—if he was such a reckless, undisciplined man, who was led astray by his sinful impulses—is he listed among the faithful in the New Testament Book of Hebrews, alongside noble men like “David and Samuel and the prophets” (Hebrews 11:32)? And the more pressing question would be, what can Samson’s life and times teach us about our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, and about living for Him in obedience, love, purity, and faithfulness–all the things that seem to have been missing from this man?
Well, believe it or not, the Holy Spirit has infallibly inscribed and preserved Samson’s story in the Bible because there is something for us to learn through him! He is, despite what we might think at first, and Old Testament ‘saint’ whose life and times prepared the world for the coming of our Savior and Lord—‘The Greater Samson’! As we prepare for worship and the preaching of the Word, let me encourage you to read Samson’s story once again as found in Judges 13-16. Our focus for the next two weeks will be upon 1:1-9, with special emphasis this Sunday on verse 1.
In this initial verse, that introduces the Samson episode, we discover something very tragic about the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel at the time this strong and mighty man appeared. Once “again” Israel has descended into the abyss of idolatrous rebellion against the Lord, and this is a refrain we have heard before. And, as we have also seen repeatedly, there are painful consequences for this sin: “so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.” However, there is something very different about this ‘cycle,’ and the evidence for it is discovered in this verse. There is something missing this time around, and the absence of it serves to confirm that the people of Israel have hit rock bottom, spiritually speaking. I wonder if you can discover what it is, something most obvious by its absence.
Well, I pray that by now you have thawed out completely, and I look forward to the warmth of our sweet fellowship this Sunday!
I love you all,
Mike
Upcoming Events:
January 21, 4:30 PM – Youth Group
January 23, 10 AM – Senior Fellows Testimony at the Church House
January 23, 6 PM – Women’s Evening Study
January 24, 9:30 AM – Women’s Morning Study
January 31, 8:30 AM – Senior Fellows Bags O’ Blessings packing at The CARE Center
February 1, 6 AM – Men’s Morning Study
February 1, 11:30 AM – Women’s Monthly Lunch
February 4, 3:30 PM – Alleluia Choir at Church House
February 9, 6 PM – Parents Night Out
February 21, 6 PM – Diaconate Meeting
February 24, 2 PM – Stafford Baby Shower
February 25, 2 PM – New Members Class
Order of Worship:
You can access this week’s Order of Worship by clicking here
The songs for this week are:
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus 535, all 3 verses
Give Reviving
Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul
Why So Heavy
Announcements:
Youth Group: Youth Group meets again on January 21 at the church at 4:30 PM for all students in grades 6-12. Invite friends and neighbors!
Women’s Bible Studies: The Women’s weekly studies are ongoing. The Tuesday evening study is at 6 PM, while the Wednesday morning study is at 9:30 AM.
Men’s Bible Study: The Men’s Morning Bible Study is also back in action, meeting every other Thursday. The next meeting is February 1 at 6 AM.
Senior Fellows: On Tuesday, January 23 at 10:00 AM Senior Fellow John Baxter will present his Life Story/Testimony at the Church House. Visitors are welcome. Attendees will go to lunch afterward. Also on January 31 at 8:30 AM the Senior Fellows will support Bags of Blessings packing at The CARE Center.
Women’s Monthly Lunch: The next Women’s Monthly Lunch is February 1 at 11:30 AM.
Alleuia Choir: Alleluia Choir for students in Second through Sixth Grades will resume on Sunday, February 4th, meeting from 3:30-4:20 PM upstairs in the Church House. New choristers are always welcome.
Parents Night Out: There will be a Parents’ Night Out on February 9, 6:00-8:30. We will have a winter theme, with crafts, games, a movie and probably pizza. Please contact Faithann Gibson if you are interested in helping out. We hope we can give the parents at our Church a Valentine’s Day treat!Her email: faithanngibson@gmail.com
Stafford Baby Shower: There will be a baby shower to celebrate the arrival of Baby Stafford on February 24 at 2 PM at the church. Contact Fatihann Gibson to help.
New Members Class: The next New Members Class will be on February 25 from 2 to 6 PM at the church. Childcare will be provided, and there will be a meal immediately following. Attending the class does not obligate you to join the church, but those wishing to join must attend the class. Visitors will not receive this notice via email, so if you know of any visitors interested in church membership, please help make them aware of the upcoming class date.
Children’s Ministry Help: Our nurseries are still growing! Praise the Lord! We have SEVERAL more babies coming this spring, and we want to make sure we have loving, caring volunteers to serve our young families in the nursery area.
If you are a nursery volunteer, you will have the following role…
Arrive at the baby nursery at 10:15 am.
Greet moms, help them get their little one settled, take any instructions from visitors.
Rock, love, and hold these precious babies (ages 0 to about 18-20 mos)
If there are not many babies in nursery, and the staff feels okay about it, you may leave and return to worship. This will happen on occasion.
This is a great way to get to know some of our young families in the church!
I encourage the baby moms to sign-up, but we also like to see some of our other women of the church to serve in this way. I also allow young ladies, age 12 and up to be a volunteer. Babies love teenagers or college students!
If you feel able to meet this role, please click on my link HERE to grab a date or two for this semester. Thank you for serving Christ Pres in this way!
Ashley (Children’s Coordinator)
**Sign-up genius sends you a reminder two days out so that you won’t forget! Go ahead and write in on your calendar just in case!
Prayer Requests:
Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Bill Bower, Suzi Jones, Robin Holloway, Chris Smotherman, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, Ramona Edwards, Nolan Osmer.
Expecting: Please pray for the the Townsley family, expecting in March, and the Staffords and Deans, expecting in April.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); RUF at Alabama A&M; Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA); Franky Garcia (seminary student).